Derrall & Julie

I Hope They Send Me on a Mission ... so I can have my Own Apartment

2012-01-09T20:44:00.000-08:00

When you send your children out on missions you always hope that they are healthy and safe. The Mission Presidents do all they can to make sure the missionaries are safe,

but the conditions are often something less than glamorous. The Gospel is being carried to ALL people and some of them are very poor by North American standards.

Julie went out with a Mission President's wife to inspect some of the missionary apartments.

Each missionary gets a desk, a bed, some kind of closet and a dresser to share.

Not every missionary is "man" enough to deal with this bedroom.

With a room like this a missionary might be glad to be on the streets all day.

even with all the dust. Luckily it NEVER rains in Lima...can you imagine the mud?

I'll bet the senior companion gets the blue bed. It looks bigger.

This is one of the reasons why the missionaries don't drive.

All of the modern amenities...

in minature.

Everyday is Wash Day somewhere in the world.

The front door leads to...

just the basics...

nothing fancy.

Not much to come home to.

Such a regal entrance.

Neighborhoods that a missionary can love and talk about the rest of their lives.

This staircase to the Sister Missionaries apartment...

also accesses the neighbor's construction storage yard.

You can tell a "sisters" apartment by the stuffed animals on the bed...

and the fact that they are made better than the Elders can do.

You can tell that laundry is not a "private" thing.

Home...Sweet Home

Guinea Pig...a la Peruana

2011-11-09T05:49:00.001-08:00

November 7, 2011

The Senior Missionaries have a Family Home Evening group and they invited us to go out with them.

Sometime during your stay in Peru you have to try the "cuy"...known to North Americans as

Guinea Pig.

The presentation could use some improvement.

Julie preferred her's without the head attached.

The flavor was really good but there was not a lot of meat on these little guys.

Another unique experience...and a good time.

The Peña

2011-11-09T05:49:00.000-08:00

Nov 5, 2011

Some friends from Church put out a notice to everyone on the email list that they were planning a date night at a Peruvian buffet that included a peña, a floor show of typical Peruvian dances. We were happy to join them.

The upscale shopping mall of Larcomar. A park on top...

and 3 levels of shops underneath.

Plus a view of the coast.

The majority of the stores are foreign. I bought shoes at the Florsheim store. It's hard to remember that you are in a foreign country when you have Chili's, TGIF, Northface, Timberland, Radio Shack, Cookie Factory, Dunkin Donuts, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Hush Puppies, Nicole Lee, etc.

The arcade had games I'd never seen...but that is not saying much.

Julie and I think we will go back for a night of bowling.

The restaurant we went to was called "Lady Jane"

The buffet was all typical Peruvian foods so we got to eat great things including ceviche, lomo saltado, lucuma, chicha morada, arroz con leche and many others. They served food for 2 1/2 hours, even after the peña was over.

The region and history of each dance was explained but my memory isn't good enough to repeat much of it. Obviously, this dance showed the indigenous roots of Peru.

Several of the dances reflected events of everyday life. This dance was a campesino flirting with a girl carrying a jug of water on her head.

This was a cute "flirting" dance that turned in to a jealousy match.

There is a paper hankerchief pinned on to the rear-end of each dancer. They also each have a candle. The "pursuer" tries to light the kerchief on fire while the "pursued" dances and sways trying to avoid getting their kerchief lit.

These guys were from the area that raised llama for the wool. The dance they did developed over centuries, apparently by bored llama shearers. They danced with scissors in on hand and did all kinds of acrobatics, each taunting the others to out do their moves. It was a cross between Russian Cossacks and breakdancing.

A very fun evening!

the Rest of Downtown

2011-10-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

8 October 2011

The Lima Cathedral at Plaza de Armas (Plaza Mayor) on the right. The wooden balconies on the left are part of the Palace of the Archbishop.

Piura Passage. The old post office is now used for other things.

The Order of Santo Domingo was designated by Francisco Pizarro in 1535. Construction of the convent carried over into the 1600's.

There are still about 15 monks that carry out their lives on the upper level.

What once was the dining room is now the library with over 25,000 books dating back to the early 1600's.

This hymnbook is over 3 feet tall. The pages are said to be made of lambs skin, thus the fine preservation in Lima's humid climate. The notes and words had to be large...

so that the priests could see it as they sat in their choir seats 15 to 20 feet away.

The Iglesia de Santo Domingo is the burial place of Santa Rosa de Lima, patron saint for all of South America, the Philipines and the National Peruvian Police Force.

She had planned on being a nun but quickly decided she could do more good in helping others if she was out with the people.

She died in 1617 at the age of 31.

Her simple resting place.

I was surprised that there was no alter near her crypt.

I think the simpleness was indicitive of her sincerity and humility. She was canonized in 1671.

The rear courtyard leading to the chapel of San Martin, another local that became a Saint.

Because he was of mixed color, Martin de Porras was not allowed to become a priest. Nevertheless, he was dedicated to the Dominican Order and served as barbar and doctor and slept under the stairs. Because of his miraculous healings he was canonized 3 centuries later...

and the infirmary where he worked his entire life was converted into this chapel, now containing his crypt.

Stairs to the choir loft and rear of the chapel.

I love the accoustics in these old churches.

It is amazing how beautiful simplicity can be.

The strong Moorish influence of the 1600's is obvious.

The entire ceiling is made up of thousands of pieces of wood brought from Guatemala and assembled without nails or glue. Surprisingly, it has survived many earthquakes without damage.

Around the corner from the convent is the Basilica of the Veracruz.

a "place of prayer and not of conversation".

Even though old ...

and abandoned...

Santa Claus still comes to your house.

Another Holiday...Another Trip Downtown

2011-10-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

October 8, 2011

Julie and I had such an interesting time when we went downtown last holiday that we figured we would give it another go.

We ventured out from Plaza Mayor and went east.

Yes, we were actually there. Julie reminds me that "we" are seldom in pictures.

It is interesting how varied the shops and business are.

This is an Internet Cafe...soft drinks but no coffee.

This diner "in the dark" did not seem to have much going on...

but the "almost on the sidewalk" cafe seemed to be doing well.

We braved a deep fried churro with creme filling.

The "kitchen" of this Chinese restaurant was right at the edge of the sidewalk. Anyone could have stuck their hand in the pot and had a free sample. Maybe that's where the "special" flavoring comes from.

People do whatever they can to eek out a living.

Some have rather limited offerings.

This entrepeneur had a bathroom scale, and for 7 cents you could check your weight. Perhaps he was doing promotionals for Jenny Craig.

This guy seemed to have given up. The cup fastened to his guitar was empty and I never saw him play. Great gig if you can stay alive.

I think that this little girl realized she would never get ahead unless she did well in school and stuck with it. When Julie and I came back by 10 minutes later she was still hard at work practicing the letter "A".

Another guy "gone to the dogs".

These must be the retired bunch.

One of the things that drew us towards the east was a better look at the hillside. The top of San Cristobal hill offers a great view of all Lima on a reasonably clear day but it is an area "non-locals" should not go into. Nice that my new camera has a 14x zoom.

There were also several churches we wanted to see but this one was closed until evening Mass. We continued our wandering eastward in the hopes of seeing other historical churches.

These guys thought it was cool that a foreigner was interested in their game. They offered to let me join in their card game but they would not tell me the rules. Knowing that it was a betting game I decided not to accept their offer.

We kept walking further away from the town center, not realizing that this tiny carpenter's shop was the last sign of productivity in the neighborhood.

The sights were equally interesting...

but as we continued...

we noticed that...

the city was losing life.

There were fewer people about.

and we were now the attraction for them...

something seldom seen in their part of the city.

Then Julie and I both had the revelation that we were no longer in the safety of the holiday or tourist crowd. We had ventured too far.

Luckily, we experienced no physical harm, just some heckling from a few exremely rude neighbors. A quick taxi ride took up back to Plaza Mayor.

2011-10-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

September 9, 2011

Julie and I have been in Lima for a month now. Our personal and household goods are finally going to be released from Customs and everything will be delivered to the apartment on Saturday.

We have a couple of new favorite foods. My favorite is the pastry called "orejitas", or little ears. In Spain they were called "palmeras". I have even found them in Hong Kong. Julie's favorite is the chocolate covered almonds.

For a month now we have eaten almost every dinner together at the hotel restaurant. Because we like to eat earlier in the evening than the Peruvians, the majority of the time we are the only ones in the place. The waiters have gotten to know us by name.

The food is always good but they did not have anything light on the menu. It was always a full meal.

Each dinner began with a varity of dinner rolls. In the words of our waiter "pancitos bien calientes".

Always very artistic presentations.

Chicken wraped in bacon served on a bed of the most flavorful potatoes you've ever tasted.

Steak with a corn cake pattie.

Steak in curry sauce. This alone was worth the move to Peru. It only looks scary.

We finally tried a hamburger from the room service menu.

We noticed that there was a "Bimbo Gathering" in one of the conference rooms. Go figure.

Actually, Bimbo is the "Wonder Bread" of Peru.

2011-10-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

September 3, 2011

We have been looking for furniture ever since we got to Peru. We need sofas and a dining room set. We looked at the few department stores and found a couple of things that we were interested in, but we had heard about a section of town, Villa del Salvador, where there are a lot of furniture makers. If you don't see what you like then you can show them a picture and they will make it for you. It may not turn out the way you want it but that is the chance you take. I had to satisfy my curiosity and Julie agreed to go. A guy from my work that lives out that direction offered to go with us.

The area is about 4 blocks long, both sides of the street. There were also some side streets but our friend did not think it was worth our time (actually it was not a good idea for us foreigners) to venture off the main street.

The people in the shops were very nice and helpful, but most of the furniture was too modern for our taste.

These little cars served as taxis and hauling trucks.

We left around lunch time...

without trying the food.

A Quick Visit to Old Downtown Lima

2011-10-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

As a continuation of our unexpected holiday several weeks ago, Julie and I decided to venture out into the old part of downtown Lima. We started at Chinatown.

There was a big crowd but we never found a parade or anything special going on.

Mostly we just got some interesting photographs.

The street dancers were fun to watch.

Julie and I started looking at windows and doors in Italy 3 years ago.

The tradition moved to Spain, then the UK and now Peru.

We love capturing the life situations...

but I am usually too embarrassed

to get in people's faces

for a really great shot.

The public markets are too fun.

An entire shop dedicated to ribbons.

The market stalls are always fun to see.

Such orderly turkeys.

Such orderly chickens.

Cow stomach anyone?

The fee to sit down is more than if you are going to stand up going to the bathroom. Makes sense if you are the person cleaning up afterwards. What I don't get is the extra fee to wash your hands or face. Not a great policy for disease control.

There is still some traditional dress in the big city.

Can you imagine the lawsuits if this sidewalk was in North America? The Peruvians have great common sense. Everyone walked around the holes, no one got hurt and no one sued the city.

People actually make a living this way.

The same house...

but every window...

with different character.

Typical Spanish balcony.

Outside the San Francisco church and monestary.

A great gathering place for people and birds.

The chapel at the San Francisco church and catacombs.

Another Satuday in Lima...plus Monday

2011-09-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, soon after arriving at work, I found out that Monday and Tuesday of this week would be Dias Feriados (holidays). Tuesday, August 30th was the Day of Santa Rosa de Lima, patron saint of the national police. It was too late to plan a trip outside of the city so we were in town for the 4 day weekend. Saturday we went to the Inka Plaza and looked at the traditional handicrafts.

Hand-stitched Mural

Woven Rug

Plates

From there we went to the National Museum to check out exhibitions on the discovery of Machu Picchu and the plight of Peru during the time of the Shining Light Revolution...both very interesting. That's where my camera batteries gave out.

Later we went to a nice shopping center and looked for sofas and lamps. It's amazing that we can go to a major department store, and in the home decor section, only find 2 lamps.

Monday, after scouring the "Lima Survival Kit, a Guide for Foreign Residents" we mapped out a city search for lamps and pianos. We took a taxi to the store furthest away and then worked our way back towards our hotel. We were amazed that we could find all 7 stores, they were all open, and we actually found pianos to rent or buy and furniture that was not ultra modern. We looked down one street and saw a lot of fun congestion about 2 blocks up. Following our instincts, we happened upon Kennedy Park, full of kid's playgrounds, art for sale and sidewalk restaurants. We bought 2 paintings and carried them for about 2 hours. Another 7 hour day of walking and discovery.

This just seemed too happy to pass up.

A restful reminder of Europe (painted by a Peruvian)

This is in honor of...

Julie's brother Dave.

A long Walk along the Ocean

2011-09-05T22:56:00.000-07:00

Not being ones to sit around, Julie and I decided to walk down towards the beach. It turned into a marathon of over 4 hours. We knew that there was a cool mall somewhere down the coast but weren't sure we could walk that far. Nevertheless, we started on our way.

Our hotel (and apartment) are just 1 1/2 blocks from a huge golf course.

You are never far from a little street vendor, be it flowers...

or fruit.

Right at the coast we found the open market for our part of town, San Isidro.

Very clean...

very orderly...

but not very exciting.

Would you like one chicken or two?

Right in the middle of the local cheeses and goodies, what do we see, but a bag of pine nuts from Costco. Definately not local.

Gas stations are small but tucked away in handy spots all over
town. Gas is sold by the gallon...between US$4.50 and 6.50 depending on the grade.

Since it is always overcast in Lima we were surprised to see islands off shore.

We were at the north end of a very long boardwalk (malecon), had not been walking long, so we decided we needed more exercise. We headed south towards the mall.

I should have taken up surfing when I was younger.

Soccor park...

Strolling park...

Flower park...

Along the way we ran into a couple that was on the plane from Atlanta with us. (no picture)

We talked for almost an hour. They gave us some good tips regarding life in Lima.

Kite park...

Sitting park...

Skate park...

more Strolling park...

and more Strolling park...

Lighthouse park...

the Park of Love...

Gee could you tell?

Pretty cool restaurant. We hear it is pricey, but...

but has a good view of the surfers. It reminded us of Ruby's (Coronado, San Diego style) on

the Seal Beach pier in California.

We knew we had walked a long way, but there was so much to see along the way to the mall that it did not seem too bad. (I'm pretty sure we'll never do it again)

Pretty modern stuff.

Tony Romas's, T.G.I.F., Chile's, Dunkin' Donuts and a whole lot more.

Pedicure for the bride.

Nice Italian/Peruvian restaurant

Great company...best of friends!

The New Neighborhood

2011-09-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

We finally arrived in Lima, Peru on August 11th. Because you always arrive in Lima at midnight you are never sure what things look like around town. The Hotel Libertador, which will be our home until our things are out of Customs, ended up looking pretty nice.

You can see our apartment just down the street. It is the first white building that you
can see to the right of the hotel.

The hotel room was big enough to enjoy without stepping on our luggage and belongings...

which became very important once we started unpacking our bags.

It is amazing what you can get in 6 suitcases and 3 carry-ons.

We had to pack for the unknown. We did not know if our stay in the hotel would be 2 weeks or 6. We also had no idea exactly what the weather would be like. We only knew that we were leaving the hot dry summer of Utah and moving to the damp cool winter of Peru.

We could finally unwind after four months of craziness getting ready for the move!

Our apartment is just up the street from the hotel. The name of our street is Los Eucaliptos. It is not very fun to pronounce. (Los A-oo-ka-lip-tose) That is the word for "eucalyptus trees"...but you probably already figured that out.

This is our stackable washer and dryer in the apartment.

That has made it nice to do laundry while we have been staying in the hotel.

Here is a quick tour of the apartment...often stating the obvious.

"Front" door on the left. Stairs to the bedrooms on the right. Livingroom straight ahead.

Balcony off the living room.

View from the balcony. Our hotel is behind the orange building on the left. Behind the hotel is the ocean. Lima is very overcast much of the time so you can only see the ocean once in a while.

The view from our balcony and front bedrooms. On a clear day you can see the islands out in the ocean. The trees in the foreground are in the park just across the street from our apartment.

Guest bath at the bottom of the stairs in entry hallway.

Obviously the kitchen. We think they could have found a better place for the water heaters. Normally the only one that would see the kitchen and the water heaters is the hired cook. In this case that would be Julie.

Master bedroom

Walk-through closet to get to the bathroom.

Master bathroom...

with jetted- tub!

Back bedroom. The previous owners left this table and chairs.

Back bedroom closet and...

attatched bathroom.

Small front bedroom...

closet...

and attatched bathroom.

This, and the following pictures, are the park in front of our apartment.

It will be nice to go outside and enjoy the park once the weather gets warmer as we move into spring and summer. Right now, in the dead of the Peruvian winter, the temperatures are in the 50's and 60's with plenty of humidity.

You never see raindrops, but the frequent mist helps keep the vegetation green and the sidewalks slippery.

Our park has it's own statue. We just don't don't know who the hero is.
We will have to Google his name sometime.

Our apartment in the background.

Saying Goodbye to Family

2011-09-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

In May Julie and I counted up our possible Saturday workdays and realized that we did not have much time to get the house in shape for renters. We also wanted to spend as much time as possible with family. Quite the emotional dilema. Our kind and generous kids offered to drive down from Logan and help us with whatever we needed them to do. So...we had a great day together scraping and painting. We got an amazing amount of work done.

We took turns playing with Dax.

Especially Julie.

The next day was Father's Day...

so even more family came to be with us.

Julie's parents.

To save gas travelling back and forth between Logan we combined Tyler's birthday with Father's day. Lindsey picked out some cool toys for Tyler.

As our departure got closer we took every opportunity to get together in spite of the distances. Julie and I went to Logan a couple of times one week. We just couldn't get enough of our family...

and playtime with Dax.

One of the few times Dax slowed down. How sweet.

Every Adams get-together has to have some games. We think that Yspahan is the new family favorite.

During our last week in Utah, family knew that we just could not get away to visit them so they came by and helped clean, take things to neighbors, bring us lunch or dinner, and just spend time with us, often while we continued to work. Hopefully we did not offend anyone.

Julie's brother Dave.

The Benich Boys

Julies' sister Jamie (mother of the boys)

Julie's mom made her a plastic apron. We will have to wash all our produce in the sink with a little bleach and we have been warned that there is a tendency to ruin a lot of cloths if you don't have an apron.

Julie's friend Angee

Cousin Nancy helped us with the final packing of suitcases and taking things to Julie's parent's house...things that we think we may want to get to before our three years are over. When we finished about 11:30 she had her guest room ready for us. Thanks to the many who also offered a place to sleep. We are blessed to be surrounded by so many loving members of family and friends.

Mike and Julie Grange picked us up at 6:00am and took us to the airport. Again, thanks to them and all our friends and family for your support and love.

Saying Good-bye to Neighbors

2011-08-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

We have come to know so many special people during the past 14 years in Utah, but among the best are our neighbors. It was difficult to find time to say good bye to each neighbor, so our good friends, Angee and Michael Thomson, along with Debbie Kenning, Juile Grange and Beth Rosenlof, put together a non-party as a send-off. In the Adams tradition, "Nobody was invited but everyone was welcome." The moving company had just finished boxing all our goods so we had nothing in our house. The party provided a wonderful way to eat a bit, see a lot of our friends, talk, and enjoy an evening without too many tears.

Michael & Angee

Angee, Julie & Debbie

Julie and Julie

Julie & Beth

Kathy Driggs made this awesome cake. The flag was a perfect replica.

Vern Wood, Gerald & Lois Gardner, with Beverly Lemon in front.

Glenn Young and Michael Thomson cooked hot dogs all night...but nobody eats without a prayer. Thanks Jon.

Brian & Jeanne Hatch, Betty Turman

Sharalyn Beazer

Lesa Rose

Dan Seelos

Brian Hatch & the Cronins

Scott Rosenlof (thanks for the tables and who knows what else)

Glen Plaizier & Garret Dahl, Rob Jackson, LeNore & Jon Bouwhouis, Von Hill

Natalie & Olivia Jackson, Talia Riley, Julie, Heather Murri, Debbie Kenning

Tyler & Lindesy even made it down from Logan. (Happy 3 year anniversary)

Julie with TJ Riley, who came back to the ol' neighborhood for the evening.

Lyman Rose and family brought the Sno-Cone machine. Thanks!

John Kenning got a few hugs in before his mission. We will miss him too!

Mike Grange took pictures all evening. Thanks for the memories.

It really meant a lot to us that so many friends would bring food and make it such a nice occasion.

We will miss all of you.

Getting Ready to Move was 4 Months of Mess and Stress

2011-08-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

It's pretty amazing what your head goes through when you have to make the thousands of decisions of what to send to Peru, store for at least 3 years, give to someone specific, sell at a yard sale or just throw away. If you throw it away do you need to shread it first? What do you keep so you can live in relative comfort for 8 to 10 weeks before you see your stuff again? Will it all fit in your suitcases when you go or do you leave it at a family or friend's house until you can come back for it? What important things do you take as "carry-on" in case someone gets into your luggage or the airline loses it?

It was great to look through keepsakes that had been around for decades. Something we should had taken time for earlier.

Sorting and shreading seemed like an endless task.

We weren't very interested in eating even when we were hungry. We did not feel like we had to to cook or clean up. Even finding a place to eat was a challenge.

Finally packed for storage.

The kids came by the night the packers boxed everything so we stopped for a little Yspahan.

We have decided that is must be easier to sell a house than get it ready to leave as a rental. If you sell a house you declare what is broken or does not work and you walk away. If you rent your house EVERYTHING must be in good condition and work perfectly.

The packers came and hauled off what we wanted to store.

That left us with 9 pieces of luggage.

An empty house but still a home full of memories.

(the chair went in the trash)

Too Much New to deal with the Old

2011-08-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

I want to fill in the activities of the past 4 months as we got ready for our move, but first I have to mention a couple of encounters that have happened since we left Utah last Thursday.

1. Julie and I were sitting in the Salt Lake airport waiting for our flight to Atlanta and a neighbor of ours (flight stewerd for Delta) walked off the plane we are going to leave on. We talked and he took a picture. We seldom have a picture of Julie and I together.

2. As I finished washing my hands in the Atlanta airport bathroom I glanced up and in the mirror behind me I saw a face I recognized. It is Gonzalo Pena, the Venezuelan Stake President when we lived in Caracas 30 years ago. I was on the High Council under him. We were so involved in catching up on things that we forgot to take a picture.

3. Last night while eating dinner in our hotel 3 men walked in. They had the typical calm Mormon spirit about them but we were not sure. To start a converstation with them, when we walked out we mentioned that it was nice to hear some English. We quickly discovered that they were from Utah, Mormon, and 2 of them had friendship connections with our family. One was Home Teaching companions with one of our sons-in-law and Bishop to a lady that Julie worked for for 13 years. The other is married to a girl from our home Stake in California that Julie knew. I knew the older brothers.

Julie and Derrall are Moving to Peru

2011-08-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

At some point I will post about our trips to Spain and the UK, but for now I will share the latest.

Last November Julie and were talking. She said that she could move. She wanted a house with at least one room where the entire family could gather...a room that would hold the expanding family of in-laws and grandchildren. I surprised her by stating that of late I had the feeling that, indeed, we would not be in our house very much longer. When she asked if we should start looking for another house I said "no". I told her that I had a very strong impression that when it was the right time to move "it would be very clear". Julie said "OK" and we went on with our lives, even starting some minor remodeling projects that we had talked about for some time.

In late March of this year I was walking down the hallway at work (FLSmidth) and the Operations Manager asked me if I had a minute. He reminded me that a couple of years ago I mentioned that if an opportunity came up in the company to work in a Spanish speaking country I would be interested. He asked if that was still the case and if my wife would be supportive. I said I was interested and that Julie and I mentioned it to each other every once in a while. The Operation Manager living in Chile that was covering both Chile and Peru had resigned and FLS wanted to replace him with someone to cover Chile and also someone else dedicated to Peru. He asked if I could consider living in Peru for a couple of years. I told him I was for it and that since Julie was leaving the next day to visit her sister in Texas for a week I could ask her when she got back.

That evening Julie was in charge of a Relief Society project making over 50 porta-potties. I went over to help but there was no time to talk or bring up anything about the move. By the time she got home I could not hide my enthusiasm. She asked "what's that smile on your face?" I said, "How would you like to move to Peru for a couple of years?" She asked a couple of questions and then after about 3 minutes she said "THAT'S VERY CLEAR" and that she was not opposed. It depended upon the deal.

The next day Julie flew off to Texas and I told the Operations Manger at work that "we were in". I asked if the company was truly serious about the opportunity. I was assured that the offer was real and that we would be happy with the deal. It only needed to be formalized. He told me that the Peru office was in favor of my move and that the man in Chile who resigned had endorsed me. The Peruvians snd Chileans at FLS had come to know me while working together on various projects over the past 4+ years.

It was that simple. I had a business trip already planned for Peru and Chile within 2 weeks. I told work that if they were serious Julie should come down for a long weekend while I was in Peru so we could look for a place to live. They told me to book her flight.

OUR PERUVIAN ADVENTURE HAD BEGUN

Mexican Cruise with Lindsey's new In-Laws

2009-08-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

Lindsey's new in-laws, Kelly and Nadine Coy, asked Julie and I to go on a Mexican Riviera cruise with them and some of their friends and family. It was a great time to get to know them better. We went out from Long Beach so we got to stop in and be with my mom for her birthday. (Yes, the cruise was November last year, 2008. Life has been busy.)

Had to try the soft serve ice cream as soon as we got on board.

Fun with the Gang.

Hand-and-Foot was one of the favorite passtimes.

Our first stop...Puerto Vallarta.

Zip-line through the jungle.

Julie is so brave.
Interacting with the statues along the promenade.

Our second port...Matzatlan. The day began with a van tour of the island.

The markets were tempting.

But we waited for a real lunch, complete with Mariachis.

The cliff divers were worth the wait (and the big tip)

Nothing says MEXICO like a bunch of souvenir shops.

Ah..."all-you-can-eat" becomes a reality

Our third port was Cabo San Lucas where we tried parasailing

Lunch at The Office

A quick ride back to the ship...

...and another sunset.

Our last day at sea started slow...

..but ended with a great night of Philipinos singing

Beatles, Led Zephlin and disco hits.

We danced 'til our feet were sore.

Venice - September 9th

2008-11-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

The hotel we stayed at was right on one of the canels

but the courtyard...

would never lead you to believe it.

The streets were picturesque

and the shops interesting.

But Venice is all about the water.

(and tourists)

Take a picture of me! (must be Taiwanese)

The canels truely sustain daily life in Venice.

the bus stop

mail truck

police (giving out tickets)

taxi

delivery truck

supply truck

lumber truck

freeways

and traffic jambs.

Even to cross the "street"

you needed a boy scout with a gondola.

Like the rest of Italy...

beauty was everywhere

and artists...

tried to capture it.

Some art just seemed to happen.

We were lucky just to be there.

A most unforgettable trip...

for which we are extremely grateful.

Verona - City Sites

2008-10-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

Verona was our favorite city.

Life seemed more simple...

and serene.

This bridge, originally built with white marble by the Romans,

was bombed out during World War II.

The people of Verona loved the bridge so much that

they salvaged as much of the original marble as they could

and rebuilt the bridge.

This entrance lead Romero past love notes...

to Juliette's balcony

(pure fiction! not to mention the balcony built in 1934)

Inside the castle doors.

And out the back door.

These Renaissance stairs originally lead to nowhere

so a "more modern" building was built around them.

The whale rib has supposedly hung in this arch for
thousands of years, which will fall only when someone
who has never lied walks under it.

Verona - Windows

2008-10-08T20:51:00.001-07:00

Verona - Doors

2008-10-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

Verona - beginning with the 1st Century

2008-10-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

Whether by night

or by day,

these ancient gates

are stilll impressive

even if they are

2000 years old.

These gates are much prettier from the front...

...than from the back.

Not all roads lead to Rome

but this one leads to the Roman arena.

Built in the 1st century...

this arena is extremely well preserved.

It has been used as an opera theater since 1913,

but in the past has been used for entertainment such as

gladiator battles, medieval executions, jousts,

circus performances and dances.

Augustus, the emperor, commanded from this box

before crowds of up to 25,000 people.

Back to Florence - Sept. 7th

2008-09-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

Julie and I hurried back from Pisa so we could enjoy

the evening in Florence.

We went across the Arno River to the Piazzale Michelangelo.

Everyone sits on the steps...

and enjoys the view of the hills and city as the sun goes down.

Back in the middle of town the lyrics of "Ave Maria"

drew us to the Piazza della Repubblica.

A girl accompanied by an accordian was singing off in a corner of the plaza.

We found a place to sit and listen to several more songs

and watch people in the plaza.

Pisa

2008-09-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

We walked over to the Leaning Tower after going to Church

in the very first LDS chapel built in Italy.

Directions can be very confusing...

but the landmarks were easy to spot.

Not everyone makes it to the Field of Miracles

Gate to the Field of Miracles

The tower was started by the architect Bonanno Pisano in 1173.

He also designed the bronze doors of the Duomo.

The bell tower is 200 feet tall and 15 feet out of vertical.

It was built over a 200 year period by 3 different architects.

After the 4th story was built construction stopped for a century.

The construction halted again for another century

after three more stories were built.

The belfry was completed in 1372.

The Arno River

Siena - A 13th Century Town

2008-09-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

il Campo - the heart of the city and a great place

to sit around and do absolutely nothing all day.

Said to be the best square in Italy.

The color of the buildings and soil is sienna.

This is the town that the color "burnt siena", in your crayon box, is named after.

Not much organization, but very cool to look at.

It seemed like a fantasy land...

but people actually live here.

Better than Disneyland...this stuff is for real.

and a lot less crowded

Florence - Our 1st Day on the Road

2008-09-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

The view out our window

The view inside our room

Along the Arno River

The Ponte Vecchio - The most famous bridge in Florence

Doorways along the streets

Tasteful grafitti

The stone work was surpassed only...

by the quaintness of the narrow streets...

and the tall buildings

Artwork was everywhere

Even normal life was art.

Some people expressed their own art

Every street had its shops

but the best shops sold gelato

Fortresses, castles and museums were everywhere

There was no shortage of Churches and bell towers

The Arno River at dusk

Shops on Ponte Vecchio

Sidewalk cafes were especially busy at night

Piazza S.S. Annunziata

Unexpected Business Trip to Italy - Day 1 in Milan

2008-09-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

Driving into Milan. Who designs this stuff?

The view from our hotel room

More view

Somebody's home

The only thing free in Italy besides the view

Stone streets and lots of scooters and motorcycles

High style dining and shopping at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

Dreaming

Really dreaming now

From shopping direct to the church

The Duomo (4th largest cathedral in the world)

Built from 1386 to 1810 - no granite...just pink marble

Sculpted entry doors

David and Goliath (exterior wall)

Cain and Abel

(glass bought by wealthy families seeking favor with the church)

16th century inlaid marble

The best part of the tour was the roof

Amazing detail

Some people enjoy the roof so much they bring their picnic lunch

Not much money so she had to marry me for love

Gardens in the courtyard of the Senaculo

(site of Leonardo di Vinci's painting of the Last Supper)

Peru - August 2008

2008-08-31T18:40:00.000-07:00