We just gave Jerry's beautiful children (Lea and Max) their souvenirs from Peru. Lea got a handmade Llama doll made of Alpaca wool. Max got an Inca Kola t-shirt and a Peruvian Rain Stick.

Last day in Peru. Exhausted. Sad. But I was still able to end it on the perfect note: a soccer game between Peru's National Team and Brazil in a luxurious 9 seat suite. It was a qualifying game for the 2010 World Cup. And Peru scored a game tying goal against the World's Best! I'm not a soccer fan and even I almost cried! The energy of the stadium was indescribable.Now back to Los Angeles and all things Muttpop!

The reason I'm here: my cousin's wedding. It was the King of weddings. I thought they were exaggerating when they said the Latins know how to party. What Americans call a party is like a 100m sprint. A Latin Party is a marathon. The wedding started at 7pm and ended at 5:30am...which, I've been told, is typical.

I'm feeling super sick (food poisoning) so this will be short and sweet.Macchu Picchu is a magical place. I'd love to have more time there. And Cuzco is an amazing city filled with life...too bad the high altitude makes it so difficult to acclimate.The Cuzco photos are from the train's window as we went to Macchu Picchu. I have also included the handful of pictures I took of Macchu Picchu before my battery died.

Since the batteries on my camera died (DAMN IT!), I'm going to have to focus this post on some more Peruvian Cuisine.Dinner on my first night in Peru was at Pascuale, a popular new restaurant by some famous Chef that is attempting to create Peru's equivalent of fast food. Apparently, his way of doing this is by putting a variety of Peruvian dishes on french bread and calling them sandwiches.Even if the idea is a bit lazy the results are pretty tasty. I chose a Value Meal that included the Lomo Pascuale with Yuca Fritas and an Inca Kola.Inca Kola is the preferred soda of Peru. The only soda in the world that outsells Coca-Cola in any region of the world. Coca-cola realized that they couldn't beat Inca Kola in Peru so they did the next best thing: they bought the Inca Kola company. You can immediately notice that the portion of soda that comes with the meal is mighty small...I'd guess 8-10 oz (way less than a can).Yuca comes from the same family as the potato but is a bit longer and stringier in texture. It's a bit heavy...but it's consistency makes it a far more substantive finger food than the "french fry".The main course, the Lomo Pascuale consists of thinly sliced steak with some cheese, chimi churri sauce, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. It doesn't really taste "Peruvian"...but it's a darn good sandwich. I GUESS it's supposed to be Lomo on bread but Lomo is steak and pretty much every country makes steak, right?

What I learned today: Incas were really crafty with big rocks. Incas were really crafty with gold. Indigenous looking Peruvian women love being photographed…until they realize you’re not going to tip them. Condors are huge. High altitude’s a bitch on your body. Breathing pure oxygen from a tank makes you look cool.