Day 6 - Lucca Day 3: Well, we ended up not going to Florence, but found out later, when we went to check on the next train trip to Cinque Terre, that the price for the train to Florence wasn't as much as we'd thought, which was one of the factors we used in deciding not to go to Florence. Trenitalia, for some reason, charged us about 15 Euros from Florence to Lucca, but we saw that we could have gone to Florence from Lucca for only 5.20 Euros, a big difference! Oh well, live and learn. Still haven't figured out why the price difference. Anyways, we decided to make a late start and then rent bikes for a trip outside of Lucca to the place where we will have our Tuscan cooking class tomorrow. The ... read more

Day 4 - Lucca Day 1: We checked out of the hostel and headed to the Roma Termini to catch our train to Florence then Lucca. The first train from Rome to Florence was very nice, with comfortable seating, restrooms, and laptrays. The only problem that the train on the track we were supposed to leave from said "New Parmington" or some such, not Florence or Venice, which was supposed to be the end point. I guess we look confused, so a lady that I assumed was train staff asked to see our tickets and proceeded to help us get on the right car (carrozza), store our bags and lead us to our seats. I had already figured I should tip her, so I had 2 Euros out and hand. After I took my seat I ... read more

Rome - Day 2: We'd planned on getting up early to get to the Vatican City early, but it didn't work out that way. We finally got showered and dressed by 9am or so, but on the up side, the showers were almost constantly in use before that anyways. Walking the few blocks to the Roma Termini, we grabbed the Linea A metro to Octaviano station, the one nearest to the Vatican. It only cost a Euro each and walking would have taken a looong time. From the metro station to St. Peters Cathedral was a fairly short walk, but the crowds were growing rapidly. When we arrived at St. Peters Square, the line was almost daunting, but it seemed to be moving pretty quickly so we got in line. The staff didn't seem nearly as ... read more

AMAZON (MANU PARK) THOUGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Our trip to the Amazon (Manu Biosphere Reserve or Manu National Park) was a decent experience, but was somewhat lacking. We had a 4 day/3 night tour, but most of the first day and all of the last day was spent in a minivan travelling over some of the roughest and most perilous roads you can imagine. If we had it to do over again, or ever decide to visit the Amazon again, we would pay the considerable extra to fly in and out. Our driver was very professional and the expedition company, Expediciones Vilca, was very competent, but the experiences in the jungle were not worth the trip there and back. I can't compare Manu to the other jungle experiences such as Iquitos, Boca Manu, or Puerto Maldonado destinations. ... read more

AMAZON DAY 4 - Returning to Cusco Sunday, August 22nd We woke up very early to have breakfast and be ready for our return to Atalaya by boat, then to Cusco by minivan. Unfortunatley, the boat guys got their wires crossed and we didn't actually leave until after 8:30am. When we arrived in Atalaya, our trusty minivan driver was waiting for us and assured us we'd be back in Cusco by 5pm. He was right, but the ride was worse than it was on the way here, I think because he was trying to hurry, on those horrendous, scarey roads! We made a couple of "stretch your legs" stops, plus one for lunch where our "new" guide (Jamie stayed with a couple that arrived the day after us) fed us a delicious lunch of chicken, rice, ... read more