This morning we headed out early to catch the tube from Pimlico to King’s Cross and then the train to Leeds. The train system is so easy to understand here. It makes traveling much less scary than in some countries (including the U.S!). We got to Leeds at 11::40am and my friend Mike (who I was meeting in person for the first time!) was there waiting to pick us up. There is nothing better than seeing a friendly face waiting for you at the station! He drove us to our hotel, the Cliff Lawn, where we dropped off our bags before [View Full Entry]

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Another big walking day in London. We took this morning from Pimlico to Victoria, then from Victoria to Notting Hill Gate and walked to Portobello Road for the antique market they have every Saturday. It was crazy! There were so many people there that it was difficult to look at the stalls, but it was fun nonetheless. I bought a little picture outside Alice’s and stopped to get some cupcakes at Hummingbird Bakery (Rose and Chocolate & Peanut Butter flavored…both the daily specials). We walked up one side of the street and back the other, and by the time we were [View Full Entry]

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This morning everyone was talking about the sudden death of Michael Jackson. It’s always seemed to me that he was better regarded over here than he was in the states (at least in recent years). I overheard some people comparing the magnitude of his death to that of Elvis., especially for my generation. He was scheduled to perform 50 sold-out concerts in London, and the London papers today are speculating that the stress from that is to blame. I was also sad to hear about Farrah Fawcett as well, although that was far less surprising. After breakfast this morning we walked [View Full Entry]

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Today was one of those days that needs to be written in bullet points. London is a BIG city, and good walking shoes or not, you will be exhausted at the end of the day, I guarantee it. Our day started with a walk to Westminster Abbey and a self-tour of the inside. There are SO many elaborate crypts and interesting people buried there, from k1ngs and queens to Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin. Definitely worth the 15 pound cost to go in. You can’t take pictures inside but there are postcards and you can purchase a guidebook with photos for [View Full Entry]

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We had a relatively uneventful flight from LAX to London Heathrow (and really, aren’t those the best kinds of flights? ). Aside from the typical screaming baby and the lady behind me kicking the back of my seat once an hour just to remind me not to try and get TOO much sleep during the flight, it was an easy 9 hours. We even departed an hour behind schedule and still arrived in London almost when we were supposed to. Not bad for an airline who just asked their staff to work for free for awhile.(I’m talking about you British Airways!). [View Full Entry]

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This morning we had the absolute WORST hotel breakfast EVER at the Las Dunas Resort in Ica. I think it's the first time I've ever opted for tea over coffee because the coffee was just THAT bad. Blech. Our pickup was at 6:45am and at 7:15am we were still sitting on the bus waiting for two people who never showed because they had overslept. Ah, the joys of traveling in a big group! Fortunately we still made it in time for our 8am boat departure to Ballestas Islands. Our guide warned us that the boats are not covered and that the [View Full Entry]

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Today was a LONG day, filled with bus rides and lots and lots of waiting. Fortunately the ending was well worth the wait. We arrived at the Cruz del Sur bus station VERY early for our 7am trip and were able to board the bus shortly after arriving. The bus was SO nice! Definately more comfortable than any other bus, train, or airplane I've ever been on, which was especially nice since the trip was going to be almost 5 hours. The entertainment was a bit weak (old movies...Chasing Liberty and Bloodwork), but I spent most of the trip alternating between [View Full Entry]

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Thursday we flew from Cusco airport to Puerto Maldonado for our three-day trip to the Amazon rainforest. The first thing that hit me when we got off the plane was the HEAT!!! Wow, what a change from the rain in Machu Picchu! A bus was waiting for us and took us to the Sandoval Lake Lodge office so we could drop off our big luggage and pack a smaller bag for the boat/hike/boat trip to the lodge. The bus then dropped us off for a 25-minute boat ride along the Madre de Dios River where we were served lunch along the [View Full Entry]

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After the non-stop rain yesterday, we were extremely lucky today to have relatively clear skies for our return to Machu Picchu. In fact, other than a few sprinkles when the bus first dropped us off, it was dry the entire time we were there. I am so happy that we waited until today to go back. Since we already walked around most of the area on Monday, today we decided to hike up to the Guardhouse, located at the highest point just inside the entrance (and up about 200 steps). You can see all of Machu Picchu from this point, and [View Full Entry]

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It´s been raining almost nonstop in Aguas Calientes (and Machu Picchu) since yesterday. It was nice at night when the sound of the raindrops lulled me to sleep, but not so nice when we had planned to return to Machu Picchu today. Since we also have tomorrow to go back, we decided to spend the day here in Aguas Calientes instead. The hotel we are at (Inkaterra) has its own gardens with a walking path, so we set out in the rain on a short nature hike. There are 18 species of hummingbird here at the hotel and we saw about [View Full Entry]

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