In preparation for the wedding fiesta I got off DIAMOX. It worked out well, so far so good. We started off our day with some good, healthy desayuno at the hotel. My friend's MIL had a day planned for us in downtown La Paz. So basically the entire out of state contingency which included my friend's in laws, fiancé, finance's brother, MIL's friend and her son apart from us of course. We commandeered three taxis for the day which drove us to places, waited while we did our business and picked us up. Pretty neat and pretty cheap!
We drove to downtown La Paz which is actually at a higher altitude than the burbs( where we we pre staying) and made our way to the Witch's market. It's basically rows and rows of stalls that sell pretty much the same stuff: dried llama fetuses, dolls, alpaca sweaters and other clothes, llama sweaters and other clothes, shoes, hats, guitars, guitar cases, earrings you name it! Suffice to say I was like a kid in a candy store! So much to buy and so little time. Nevertheless I put my two hours of shopping time to good use. The boys were pretty bored I think, but that's just the way it is.
After the mini shopping spree we decided to check out their cable car. This is a new tourist feature in La Paz. The view was amazing. Honestly you had to be there but the pictures will have to do. After walking around for a little while longer, we made our way back to the hotel for a late lunch.
With about 3 hrs to the wedding, the girls decided we wanted to get our hair done. So we headed on to my friend's recommended salon where we actually ran into her. ( FYI she had been there for the last 4 hrs getting a dresses). Communicating our exact hairstyle preference was tricky but the end effects were amazing!
The church ceremony was elegant and more importantly short. The whole thing was in Spanish but we followed along with our printed English translations. Something about weddings make people tear up and tear up we did. The bride, my friend looked stunning in her strapless wedding dress and the two of them made a lovely couple. But the real fun started at the reception.
Let me just say, bolivianos know how to party! They started with champagne, progressed to wine with dinner and it quickly escalated to whisky rounds! My friend's parents had arranged for a show of sorts showcasing the traditional Bolivian dances( something one only gets to see at a parade). Each dance had its own costume, theme, and storyline. Some used hankies to do a flirtatious dance, others used hats and some others were based on the spaniards invading Bolivia. Invigorated by the awesome performance, we took to the dance floor where the DJ was now spinning the popular Bolivian songs. But wait, did I also mention that the wedding is Star Wars themed? That's right, my friend, the bride also happens to be a Star Wars geek. At some point we were handed light sabers to dance around with. Other highlights: 1. The groom is Jewish and so they did the picking up of the bride and groom 2. Throwing of the bouquet that I did my best to avoid 3. The cake was a traditional Bolivian rum cake. We closed down the place at 1am like one should. Job well done!
One of the best weddings I've been to for sure! Tomorrow should be interesting waking up and such.
No comments:
Post a Comment