Ephemerratic

Queso helado? That’s cheese ice cream! Well, I never.

Lauren — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:00:38 +0000

Wherein does my cheeselove come from? In the U.S. we practically worship amber waves of cheddar and mozzarella mountain majesties, so there’s that patriotic peer pressure. And, although I’ve lived for 15 years in San Francisco, veganism — locally, one of the most popular radical diets — holds as little appeal as, well, giving up [...]

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Something about this city doesn’t click

Lauren — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:00:14 +0000

Who’s to decide when a city has really pulled together, gathering at least a few of its cultural tendrils into a civic identity that can cause visitors to feel connected to something vital and foreverafter refer to it as unforgettable? Certainly not me. Certainly not after just a few days exploring. Yet here I go, [...]

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A plaza for people watching and conspiracy plotting

Lauren — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:00:46 +0000

You don’t promenade in Arequipa, Peru’s Plaza de Armas. Not exactly. People wander about the main square, drifting from one group to another. They catch up with friends, kvetch about the cost of corn, plan vast conspiracies — it’s hard to tell exactly what they’re up to. At every moment of the day and night, [...]

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Jarred hearts, dead nuns, and a spring bride: Arequipa’s Santa Catalina Convent

Lauren — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:37:42 +0000

I’d been led to believe that a visit to Monasterio de Santa Catalina (Santa Catalina Monastery) in Arequipa, Peru would be a serene, beautiful experience. Sure, sure. Except for the presence of death everywhere. Other than that, yeah, total bliss. The postmortem paintings of long-lived and now long-dead nuns are one thing. The hearts tucked [...]

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Peru’s finest petting zoo. No…wait.

Lauren — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:31:04 +0000

There’s more to getting lunch at Arequipa, Peru‘s largest market than just showing up and finding the most popular and promising food stall. You really need to be careful which route you take through the market’s many aisles. What you should not do, under any circumstances, is start your visit to Mercado San Camilo by [...]

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Recipe for making Peru’s adobo arequipeño at home

Lauren — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:00:45 +0000

Adobo arequipeño, also known as adobo de chanco, is a traditional dish from Arequipa, Peru. Cooked overnight, adobo arequipeño is a popular hangover cure and Sunday brunch dish at Arequipa’s local picanterías, or “spicy shops.” Though eating adobo arequipeño on bleary-eyed Sunday morning in Peru is an experience not to be missed, this recipe for [...]

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Today adobo, tomorrow the world: The best adobo in Arequipa, Peru

Lauren — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:45:45 +0000

A town in which the traditional Sunday brunch is a bowl of spicy pork stew is a town I can get with. I just hope that the adobo in Arequipa, Peru is actually good. I don’t want to get with something if the gettin’ ain’t good. The scene in Arequipa is promising. Arequipeño cuisine is [...]

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Jesuits and Catholics have their day

Lauren — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:04:56 +0000

There are two things to do on a Sunday in Arequipa, Peru. One is to soothe your hangover with a bowl of adobo arequipeño, a spicy pork stew. The other is to go to church. So I do as the Arequipeños do. If it’s not obvious yet, let me clear something up: I am not [...]

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Sh*t just got real…istic in Arequipa, Peru

Lauren — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Nothing like wandering the streets of a new-to-me city and seeing this: This nightmare isn’t some Pan’s Labyrinth be-hoofed creature come to haunt the streets of Arequipa, Peru. It’s Peruvian folklore, rendered large and hyper-realistic. This statue and 11 others are part of “Caylloma y su Historia Milenaria” an art exhibition organized by the government [...]

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Eating guinea pig: A pet at home, dinner in Peru

Lauren — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:14:51 +0000

An old saying begins, “If you love somebody, let them go.” If you’re traveling to Peru and you’ve had a guinea pig as a pet, a more fitting expression may be, “If you’ve loved something, put it in your belly.” The guinea pig my husband Todd and I had wasn’t a pet, not precisely. He [...]