Saturday night and Sunday, Lauren's Last Day :(

Last night after dinner, Mabel, Lauren and I got dressed up to go out dancing.  We were going to go to a discoteca called La Noche, but after the taxi dropped us off there, the men at the front door told us that Mabel couldn't go in with sneakers and that it cost 20 soles each.  We hadn't brought that much money and Mabel would've had to change her shoes anyway, so we caught another taxi and Mabel asked him to take us somewhere where we could go in with sneakers.  He took us to another club and Lauren and I waited in the car while Mabel talked to the men at the front door.  She came back and said that it was a private party, so she asked the driver to take us to another place.  He did and Lauren and I stayed in the car again while Mabel went to inquire.  She came back and said that you could wear sneakers in there, but that we would need our IDs.  Lauren and I were wondering if we should just go to karaoke instead, and Mabel said that if the last place didn't work out, we could go to karaoke.  She asked at the fourth place and they said that she could wear sneakers.  We went in and they told us that it was 10 soles each.  None of us had brought a lot of money, but after we had gotten that far, we didn't want to go home without having danced at all.  So we pooled our money and had enough to get into the club and get a taxi home.  The cost included two beers each.  Lauren doesn't like beer and Mabel and I hadn't planned to drink, but a waiter walked us in with six beers on a tray.  He lined them up in front of us, opened them all, and then gave us glasses.  We each drank a little bit and then got up to dance.  They had some good music and we ended up dancing until one in the morning, even though we were all feeling the effects of the hike.  Some guys wanted to dance with us, but Mabel shooed them away each time.  It felt really good to dance, but what I really miss is dancing salsa!

Lauren and I got up early even though we'd gone to bed late.  It always ends up being like that for some reason with both of us.  She had to move into my room on Saturday morning since the group of fifteen came, so we were discussing if we should get out of bed and go see if breakfast was in the making.  We eventually did and were trying to be sociable with new people, but they all weren't very sociable, so we spent more time in the kitchen talking with Mari and Mabel.  After breakfast, Lauren and I got ready to go out to accomplish everything she wanted to do her last day in Huancayo (sniff sniff :( ).

First we walked to the Coqui Cafe to get her some coffee.  It was raining, so we were hoping that by the time we had finished at the cafe that the rain would have stopped.  Lauren ordered coffee and I got a slice of torta de tres leches (three milk cake).  I felt a tiny bit guilty eating dessert in the morning, but not too guilty.  ;)

Torta de tres leches.

Lauren and her espresso vienes.

When we were finished at the cafe, the rain had let up, but there was a huge political demonstration in the Plaza de Constitucion.  There were police all around the square and we were wondering how we were going to get around.  We had wanted to go visit Leslie, Tino's niece, at her store, but when we made our way over to where we thought it was, a policeman said we couldn't go any further.  We ended up going down a side street to go to the Sunday market, thinking that we could go visit Leslie later on.

We got to the Sunday market just as everyone was setting up their stands.  We poked around the stalls, bought a few things, and then stopped at our favorite jewelry stand.  Anton knows us now and I think his wife recognizes us too.  Lauren had wanted to say goodbye to him, so I told him that it was her last day in Huancayo.  He said she couldn't go, and when she started looking at this pretty silver and quartz necklace, he said he would make her a bracelet and earrings to go with it as a going away present if she bought the necklace.  I was also looking at a quartz necklace and he said he would give me a quartz bracelet also if I got the necklace.  He calls us clientes fijos or loyal customers.  :)  We both ended up taking his offer and watched him as he made our bracelets and Lauren's earrings.  He designed our bracelets a little bit different from each other.  The silver links are different shapes.  Lauren's are triangular and mine are more circular, but they are both beautiful.  When we left his stand he gave us both a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  He told Lauren that she'd be back.  :)

When we left his stand, we were starving, so we made our way to Detras de la Catedral.  We both liked what we had last week so much that we had it again today.  She got a hamburger and I got lomo saltado.  We both got lucuma fruit juice too.  Leslie had told me that the crepes with ice cream (panqueques con helado) were really good, so I ordered that for dessert.  Lauren didn't help me so much with the dessert and it was so good that I thought it would be a shame to let it go to waste.  Unfortunately, the dessert won and I couldn't finish it all.  It was extremely delicious though.

Lomo saltado y jugo de lucuma.

Mmmm...panqueque y helado!!!

When we finished lunch, we went back across the plaza to see if we could find Leslie's shop.  We finally saw it and looked around for a bit.  She has purses, girl's toys, diaries, and stuffed animals.  It's a really beautiful store.  When we left, she wished Lauren good luck on her travels and said she would see me later.

Next we went to Plaza Real.  I wanted to look at a Peru jacket and Lauren wanted to get some sweets as gifts for the staff at the house.  We accomplished our tasks, and then finally made our way home so Lauren could pack.

Both Lauren and I did some laundry and I finished up right as the rain started coming down.  It had started to thunder in the distance while I was scrubbing my socks.  Tino's mother had been out there knitting and said "Chau" and went inside after it started to thunder.  She always laughs at me when I make faces at the sky.  :)

Back in our room, I turned on some music.  I sewed the strap back onto a top she had bought at the Sunday market while she continued packing.  I also helped her write notes in Spanish for the little gifts she had gotten for the house staff.  Rubila had made dinner for the big group, so we got dinner as well even though we usually don't get dinner on Sunday.  After dinner, we put on a movie and braced ourselves for the return of the big group.

Now I'm here by myself writing my blog and wishing I was already warm in my bed, teeth brushed and pajamas on.  Good night everyone...