Peru... Five years ago

I had this blog post in my head.  All about valentines day, and making sushi with my husband.  It was a fun day but tonight when I was on the phone with my mom I got another idea... SOOO guess what, you're not going to hear about Sushi, yet. :)  

Five years ago, this month,  my family and I went on an adventure to Peru.  WE had very close friends down there, and we decided that it would be a good experience for us.  I went with mixed emotions, I was extremely excited to be traveling to a new country and yet, I was leaving behind my boyfriend and missing his first birthday, as a couple and, more importantly, our first valentines day.  However looking back I don't regret a single moment of that month spent with my family.  We made some awesome memories and traveling outside of my comfort zone opened my eyes to a whole new world.  

 WE arrived in Lima Peru and somehow managed to get to the bus station and in the right area, without knowing any Spanish.  (this was before I had taken ANY spanish at all so we were CLUELESS)  We were meeting our friends in Arequipa but up until that point we were on our own.   My dad was great at playing the language barrier game and we were all relieved when we we were on the bus and on our way




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Arequipa was a busy city and we enjoyed exploring it for a few days, however the real adventure was just around the corner.  We got on another bus ride, which deserves a whole blog post to itself, and made our way back to a quant little town, in the mountains, called Velille.  

 This is where we spent a couple weeks and I was amazed at the culture and the food!  In the market they had these venders that sold cheese,  From what I can remember the cheese was the highlight of this town, it was what they were known for.  They also had alpaca on a stick that you could walk to the market and buy on Sundays and some other days of the week.  All these foods were amazing, and though my father thought my sister and I were crazy for eating it, I would eat all the food again  in a heartbeat!  

 The thing that took my mind back to that village, tonight however, was their yogurt.  Emily, Jenny, Julie and I would walk through the streets and into the market building to where the ladies would sit, selling their yogurt.  The would put it in little plastic bags for us and we'd rip open the one corner and start drinking away!  It was so natural tasting and nothing like I had ever had before. Here in the states most of the yogurt we buy is thick, however this yogurt was not thick at all.  It was the consistency of thick milk, but not solid, it was runny

So tonight I 'll drink my fresh homemade yogurt from a bag, and remember all the great experiences of Peru!  

Buying Milk from the local lady

Where are some places you've traveled, with food you have never experienced before?