Parks, Parks & More Parks

 Down the street about 3 blocks is the Malecón.  Along the Malecón, are various parks and playgrounds, where we went almost daily to let the kids burn endless calories

 In the evening, we went to see the water fountains.  A park with many interactive and entertaining water fountains that dance, light-up and refresh.

 Also refreshing: Inka Kola, Chicha Morada, tropical fruit juices... Not so refreshing but certainly yummy and cholesterol inducing: The Peruvian Churro (not your average Churro).  These are stuffed with delicious Manjar Blanco.  Our son may be the only person on the planet to turn down a fried, sugary pastery, stuffed with caramelized goodness, and opt for OJ...

 (Above:  the only use that these "Machu Picchu" sun hats ever got!)

 More parks on the Malecón

 (this one had an old boat--converted into a play structure = genious!)

 (If only this thing had a lock on it...we adults would have gladly set this contraption on spin cycle and had ourselves a cocktail!)

 Parque de Leyendas

 We dont have black panthers at our local zoo back home!

 just a pretty picture in Barranco

Sometimes I wondered why we spent all of that money to fly out to Peru, when these kids were content to chase bubbles along the corridor and frequent the neighborhood park...but then I remembered: familia!!!  It really was a wonderful time!!!

Los Primitos

This picture captures exactly how our usually very adorable little guy looked, behaved and sounded for the majority of our trip to Peru--like a roided-out WWF world wrestler!  wOW!

And, even when he wasn't channeling The Hulk, he still managed to get into mischief with his little accomplice

These two were definitely the Dynamic Duo--their powers (of mischief and naughtiness) were magnified when near one another.

Between the three cousins, there was no rest for the weary.  Below: While waiting for a table at the local Chinese restaurant, we adults quickly realized that these "creaturas," as Peruvians gingerly call young children, were not to be taken out into public, at least, not around nap time...

...Chifa TO-GO-PLEASE!

But the lesson was not learned by the familia...we continued to tempt fate by taking the children out into public spaces...to places serving caffeine (hey, how else are we supposed to keep up?) "Look son--it's the coffee train!  Double espresso, porfavor!"

Below: just moments before becoming every waiter's nightmare (i.e. pulling all of the napkins out of the holders and throwing them to the floor).  Well, at least we ordered something (we had only planned on taking a peak inside--but realized a monetary contribution was the way to go)!

Below: mid-performance of a demand for cappuccino (decaf please!) and more napkins (notice the table is now bare).

Below: documentation of some semblance of tranquility (although, I do not recall this quiet story-time moment...please refer to picture #1 for my recollection)