La Paz

This morning I woke up late to discover that my alarm clock (my phone) had died. I didn't mind because the sleep was precious this morning!

This afternoon Ronnie and I embarked on an adventure to La Paz, a suburb north of Montevideo where he grew up. We rode the bus (a 20-30 min. ride), which was an experience of its own! Ronnie pointed out to me the place where he was born, where the last president (Tabaré Vasquez) lived, and where Eric likes to buy country things. There was a good stretch of road that could have convincingly passed as the countryside outside of Galveston: flat with shrubs, wild bamboo, and palm trees:)

When we arrived at La Paz, we walked right over to the house of Ronnie's good friends, Alvaro and Maria del Carmen, whom I had just met earlier this summer. With a jovial smile, Alvaro welcomed us in for a delicious lunch of asado, complete with melted cheese, sandwiches, salad, postres......
Is anyone picking up on a recurring theme yet?

Anyway, we had a good time of fellowship over lunch, and then took a walk through La Paz to see all the sights. We stopped at the elementary school Ronnie and Alvaro attended, and were welcomed in to discover that not too much had changed...
(A picture will be added soon!) I liked the church where Alvaro and Maria del Carmen were married, which was right on the plaza. The city really was much more peaceful than Montevideo, which was a good change of pace.
Maria Del Carmen bought me a "pañuelo," or handkerchief, with a horse and gaucho pattern on it because it reminded me of Eric, which was very sweet and thoughtful of her. I put it on right away :)

By the time we returned to the house, I was exhausted. Ronnie was generous enough to share his dinner with several of us at the house, which topped of a great day. Everyone went out to play pool tonight, but I decided that tonight is a night for La Paz. When you're constantly around people, sometimes it is good to be alone awhile and enjoy the calm and quiet.

La Paz,
Thanks for sharing your peace with me today. Goodnight!