Cuzco

Cuzco is great. The main square almost reminds me of something from Europe as opposed to SA. Please feel free to agree or disagree all of you who´ve been here. We had a snack and sipped pisco sours on a balcony overlooking the Plaza and walked around the city.






We then went to the San Blas neighborhood and had a great dinner. For the record Alpaca fur is much softer than Alpaca meat. I decided to try the ham, cheese and currants wrapped in Alpaca and then cooked. Ann had her favorite Peruvian meal - steak with the veggies, fries and rice.

It is now Sunday morning and after breakfast we are off to Pisac for the markets and some ruins and then we are going to see where the day takes us. Then tomorrow is our 6:20am meeting with this woman to get us to the train for Aguas Calientes.

More soon! Happy Mother´s Day!!!

Airport Security

Lima has a shockingly efficient airport. It is clean, there are shops, there is food, the lines make sense and everything goes very fast. Highlights of the Lima airport include the restaurant "Manos Morenas" or brown hands. The symbol is a black woman from slave times... It is Chinese food. Hmmm....




Security in Lima was also really good. While they weren´t looking for shoe bombs, they did make sure to confiscate all hacksaws, box cutters, knives, etc and display them in a clear box. Whew!



The flight was great and then we landed in Cusco where I manaaged to misplace my luggage ticket so that was drama. Then we started talking to our taxi driver who was going to take us to the hotel. We had reservations at Ninos 2 not Ninos 1, which is the nicer one. He told us the hotel was really dangerous so we listened and chose a new hotel. So while I am contemplating where we are going to stay, he and Ann are chatting and we end up at a travel agency. I guess everything in Cusco is closed on Sunday so we had to get all of our tickets. Whether or not we got taken is tbd, but we did end up with train and bus tickets to Aguas Calientes (town near Macchu Picchu) a hotel, entrance fees and a sunrise tour of it. We also got a room for the entire time we are in Cusco at a brand new hotel that is decent, the right price, in a great area and clean. Although we realized last night as we didn´t sleep that it is noisy...

Driver in Lima

Roberto picked us up promptly at 10am to get to the Lima airport. He was´t as chatty as the night before...could this be why?





After finding it in the back seat by my feet, we politely declined using him at the end of our trip :-)

Lima for 12 hours

We spent some time in the Evil Empire of Canada and survived on Tim Hortons. Let me tell you those tidbits are tasty. What is a tidbit? It is the Canadian version of donut holes. For the record, yes there were Indians working there and they had no idea what I asked for when I ordered 4 donut holes for Ann and me. I was corrected and told they were called Tidbits in Canada

Kate, you would love Air Canada. It is nonstop Celine Dion and eh? all around. Ann sat next to some lovely ladies who ended each sentence in eh and I sat next to a French Canadian who was on his way to visit his Peruvian wife. He was very Fox River Grove as his favorite place was TGI FRidays and wished Canada had one. Score one for the USA. Then the Canadian couple in front of us had 7+ bottles of wine each and made friends with the creepy Canadian hippy who found true Peruvian love (mail order bride) on the Internet...

Our driver Ricardo was great and had a sign wiht our name spelled right and then forced us to practice Spanish with him. Ann told him Madonna was 15 in Spanish. We have a lot of practicing to do. Although his taste in music is great - Spice girls, Madonna, etc.

After good nights sleep and a major fascination with watching people catch buses we are ready for Cusco. Oh and the buses don´t stop. You watch for the man holding a sign out the door and if that is your bus they slow down and the man snatches you and pulls you in. Ann is already writing her letter to the CTA to bring this practice to the 22.

Hopped up on the most amazing coffee now and we have to check out and get to the airport. More from Cusco and pics will be uploaded.

Twas the night before vacation...

I finally finished all of my work, got through my list, programmed the Tivo, and now it's just packing, laundry and cleaning!

I hope you enjoy my new FB profile pic courtesy of Sara. If you aren't on FB, then here it is!

Peru - Here I Come! Now - What to Pack

Ann and I are off to Peru. However, we are going to Peru by way of Canada. Don't ask. We are going to mainly be in Cusco with a few days reserved for Lima and the outlying areas.

Now the big questions are:
What to Pack?
Where to stay?

Pack
I know I am going to need some kind of rain gear and I am back to scouring the LL Bean Site. Who knew that 14 years after the high school backpack, I'd be back wanting something from LL Bean. But I think I found the raincoat.

Sarah just got back and told me to bring a hat. Ugh - that is one accessory I don't do well with. Oh well. Any suggestions I am always open to them.

Finally I want to only carry on and I think that means a backpack... Now where to get one of those...

Stay

With a month left, we have to find a place to stay in Cusco. Any recommendations are very welcome.

Long time, no Blog

Unfortunately there were no big international trips in 2008. However, 2008 saw my first time to Nebraska and a lovely time in Sea Grove with my family. I hadn't been there in ages.

2008 marked the beginning of a new job where I am traveling a lot for work. I've been able to get back to Amish country, see the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, make it back to Cincinnati and get out to San Diego a lot. So I am earning those miles and waiting to cash them in for the next big trip.

I was able to take a mini-break and get to Cabo. I've been there before and it is still gorgeous with perfect weather. I can see why celebrities always go there. One of the fun adventures was Deep Sea fishing.I never thought I'd go deep sea fishing, but there I was and I caught a marlin and a red snapper. It was amazing.



Next up - in about a month heading to Peru. Looking forward to it.