Plaza de Armas and other adventures...

Last night Devin, Amy and I decided to head to Lima's Plaza de Armas (aka the Plaza Mayor) for some sightseeing and dinner. The cab ride there took at least 30-45 minutes on the smoggy highways and streets of Central Lima, but was only 35 nuevo soles ($12). The Plaza is beautiful and we arrived at the perfect time: dusk. The government band (I'm guessing) played outside the Palacio Gobierno and the sun began to set over the yellow buildings in the square. We haven't quite figured out if President Garcia lives in the Palacio Gobierno or not, but it is essentially the Peruvian equivalent of the White House.
In addition to the Palacio Gobierno and the yellow buildings (I don't really know what they are), the Plaza has the Cathedral of Lima as well. We headed over to the Cathedral and as we neared one of the chapels I heard the "Wedding March." Quickly thereafter a bride and groom exited with their family following. We tried not to be a bother so we stood back until the had left the chapel area, but we had not gone undetected. A number of the youngest wedding members came toward us asking "De donde son?" The three of us made friends with about five kids who requested our email addresses and to be in our photos (which Amy has). It was very cute, but I felt kind of bad for disrupting the wedding festivities. Then we wandered around the area finding some food and Peruvian kitsch stands, as well as a singer/salesmen who would pitch vegetable steamers between songs. Eventually we settled down for dinner at Tanta and had sanguchos (Peruvian sandwiches), Peruvian beer and some tasty desserts. We were supposed to get together with my friend Diego for drinks later, but he had to cancel due to a family obligation. Anyhow, we called it an early night at 10pm because the three of us were exhausted.

In other updates, I found a USB cable for my camera at a little camera shop near the grocery store, so I have pictures now! I also started a picasa album, which I think somehow I can link to this... I'll figure it out.