We started sort of early because Daniela had to do some work
in the office so we got cleaned up and headed there. I bought us a quick breakfast at Fruta Grande
which was a juice shop across the street. I had a coffee and got Daniela a
juice of pineapple and strawberry and we shared a fruit salad. After a few minutes I set out to find the
local crafts and tourist markets up the street and spent a while doing some
looking around to buy things.
When I got back to her office we had to go back to the hotel
and pick up our stuff in order to bring it over to the apartment and we also
talked to the apartment owner along the way.
After getting settled in the apartment we went out to get lunch (though
it was kind of late for lunch). We went to Lima Café which uses actual Peruvian
coffee. For food we both got a set menu.
I had fried yucca for starter and Daniela had a salad. We both had the
spaghetti with rocotto sauce on it. I think I have mentioned that rocotto is a
type of chili pepper here. It was not
spicy but it was very tasty. With the
meal I had a chocolate milkshake and Daniela had a lemonade. While we were eating her friend Michelle from
Switzerland (who used to live in Peru) came by with her husband and we talked
for a while. Her husband Javier is from Nicaragua though he has lived in
Switzerland for many years. They were
both very nice people. They also had another friend stop by while we were there
because Javier was leaving for home that night.
The lunch also included a cake and we got coffee to go with it. Daniela
had a cappuccino and I had a regular café Americano.
After Michelle and Javier left we spent a few more minutes
at the café then we headed to do some shopping for Daniela before heading back
to the room to get ready for the opera.
We managed to get into a taxi with what turned out to be just enough
time to be seated before they started the show.
There was a lot of traffic on the roads and though the distance wasn’t
far it took us about 40 minutes to get there. The Gran Teatro Nacional was in
San Borja which is where the office I taught in during the last trip to Peru
was. It really only should have taken
about 15 minutes to get there if it was not the heart of rush hour still.
At the theater we were seated and almost immediately they
dimmed the lights. The opera was Aida by Vivaldi. This was my first time to the
opera. They had a projector that gave
subtitles which of course were in Spanish so I listened to opera singing in
Italian while reading the subtitles in Spanish and trying to translate it all
as best as possible. The basics of the
story are: Egyptian general is in love with slave woman named Aida. Slave woman
is really the daughter of an Ethiopian king.
The Pharaoh’s daughter is in love with the general. Egypt goes to war with Ethopia and many
prisoners are captured including the king. Aida and her father are reunited but
not after the Pharaoh’s daughter figures out what is going on between the
general and Aida. Aida tries to convince
the general to run away with her but also manages to trick the general into
giving up some tactical information that will help her father. The general is caught as a traitor and is
sentenced to death by being buried alive in a tomb. Aida sneaks into the tomb
before he is sealed in and they die together in love in the tomb.
The opera was set in 4 acts with an intermission after the
second. When it was over we stayed for a
little while and the stars came out and signed autographs so we waited and went
through the line and took pictures.
After the opera was done we took a cab back to the room, got
changed and went out for walk along the coast of Miraflores. We walked through
the various parks we went through several nights before and this time I got to
take some pictures. Then we went to the
market and bought some water and snacks and slowly made our way back to the
apartment for the night.
The pictures for day 15 can be found here.
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