11 September 2010

I sloped off for my Japanese class and Nick took Emily up to Kamezuka, though to my mind it was far too hot for a park outing without water play. Again, she did well and came back without any accidents. Unfortunately, once we were all at home at lunchtime it all went a bit haywire. Nick and I for some reason were bickering over nothing much, and Emily was due for a poo, which affected her behaviour. Finally, she ended up making a mess in her pants, and though she was sitting on the sofa, the specially bought bath mat came into its own and took some of the hit. The rest ended up in a pile on the floor, which she trod in. I think we did well as we didn't overreact and just went about cleaning it up while reassuring her. Later she also did a wee on the floor, but that is childs' play with laminate strips.

By mid afternoon it was still very hot, so I took Emily to Hon Shiba on my own while Nick studied. We spent an hour there and I had to play with her all the time, which was a little boring for me, though it was nice to cool off and to see her having fun. She used the loo there a couple of times - like many at playgrounds here it has a second inner lid especially for kids' small bottoms.

Once Emily was safely in the Land of Nod, Erna arrived and Nick and I went out for dinner. We had managed to regain equilibrium after our earlier wrangling and actually had a great time, though at one point I was on the verge of cancelling our reservation. Having felt a twinge of nostalgia recently for a certain potato dish we'd eaten in the Cordillera Blanca, I found on the internet a recommended Peruvian restaurant in Yotsuya. We enjoyed a couple of Pisco Sours, which were every bit as good as the cocktails we'd had in Huarez. As one would expect from the country from which the tuber originates, the potato dishes were really delicious and we also ordered a couple of fish dishes. The cebiche was unfortunately mainly squid and octopus so I didn't try much but what tai white fish there was, was very tender, after its marinade in lime juice, garlic and chilli. We both tucked into a yummy avocado and yuzu dish with gusto. We tried engaging the server in talk of our trip. It turned out he was Peruvian though we thought he was Japanese at first as he was so fluent. He professed to be impressed by our ascent of Pisco, but I doubt he had even heard of it, as it is dwarfed by the neighbouring higher and better known peaks.