Stop the presses!!!!!!

I was just finishing my latest post about our Peru trip, when I flipped over to facebook and saw this...



I will post about Peru tomorrow. I love you Greg, and am so proud of you!!!!!

B-a-n-a-n-a-s...

Want to see something neat?

This fortress was by the Inca's and overlooks Cusco. It's name is Sacsayhuman, pronounced sexy woman. Not only is the view amazing but the stones that the fortress was built from are H-U-G-E...don't believe me?





Not only are the stones H-U-G-E, but they were all cut, shaped and brought to their spots. I have decided that I am a big fan of the Incan's, they amaze me.

Aside from visiting ruins, Greg and I also went for a tour of the Sacred Valley and visited local markets.

Greg and Me on the bus to the Sacred Valley.

Outdoor market where...

Greg bought a hat.

Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Pisac market.

Dye for sale, at the Pisac market.

Fruit for sale at the Pisac market.

I am going to go eat a banana now...be on the look out for the conclusion to our Sacred Valley tour.

Around Cusco...

Before continuing with stories from our trip to Peru, there is a small amount of information that I feel I must give you so that you all can truly understand what the heck you are seeing in these pictures.

1. The Inca's were conquered by Spain.
2. They are referred to as the "Romans of South America."
3. When the Spanish conquered a town they would destroy the Incan buildings down to their foundations and then erect their own buildings on these foundations.
4. If a temple was found it was destroyed and a Catholic Church was built on it's foundation.
5. Preserved in Peru = Reconstructed in the United States...more on this later.

Okay that should be good for now...here is some more from our trip to Peru!

After our first night in Cusco, we had planned to take an eight hour bus ride to Puno. However, transit strikes prevented us from being able to leave the city.

The people on strike marching through the Plaza de Armas.

So with no chance of Greg and I getting out of the city we decided to make the best of it and set off to see all the wonderful sites that Cusco has to offer.

Our first Incan ruins...these are "preserved" ruins, complete with llamas and alpacas.

Convenento de Santo Domingo, Del Cusco

This Catholic Church was built on the Incan Sun Temple, luckily some of the interior Incan walls were left untouched...

The rooms inside the convent that were left from the Inca's, were used for various meetings.

After leaving the convent we set off walking around the city, here are some pictures from our day spent wondering around Cusco.

A typical Cusco street, extremely narrow...

This man was making guitars, and was kind enough to let us take a picture.

Police truck...FYI it is illegal to photograph police in Peru.

We learned very quickly that if you take a photo of someone in Peru you are expected to give a small tip. Greg got caught taking this woman's photo and she quickly ran up saying "¿Propinita? Cinco Sol's." (Tip? five Sol's.) To which Greg replied "Un foto, un Sol." (One picture, one Sol.) While not grammatically correct, she understood and happily accepted her one Sol.

A stray dog in Peru...

Most of the strays are small dogs. However, a stray in Peru becomes everyone's dog. People feed, brush and look out for the dogs. The entire time I was in Peru I never once saw a dog being mistreated.

Clearly this dog was not a stray, but he was HUGE...and I loved how he was just hanging out of the window!

This picture says a lot about Peru...if you ever go there DO NOT drink the water!

San Blas, this was one of the most beautiful churches I have ever been in.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside. The tour guide said that when Pope John Paul II visited Cusco he stated that San Blas was his favorite church. I can see why, I have never been in a church where I have felt such a strong sense of strength, love and community.

The view from San Blas.

Peru Part One

I decided that I would write a couple of blogs posts about our time in Peru, since 16 days packed into one post makes for a very looooooooong post. (To the family that have seen some of the 8,000 pictures we took, you can understand this. To those who have not seen the 8,000 pictures you are very welcome!)

If you have any questions or curiosities, just leave a comment and I will do my best to respond with an email!

Greg and I left for Peru on June 15th, one day after my last final of the Spring semester. We flew from Los Angeles to Miami, Miami to Lima, and Lima to Cusco. All together that equals 30 wonderful hours of travel time which included a two hour time change, that didn't seem like a lot until after the 30 hours of travel...then it seemed like a lot!

Greg and me waiting to catch our flight to Cusco, about 27 hours into our travel time.

Once we landed in Cusco, the fun started immediately. We got into a cab and lo and behold in Cusco, those lines they put on streets to tell you where to drive, are simply there for decoration! I have been to a few countries outside of the U.S. but I have never seen driving like this before! The word terrifying comes to mind! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this so you will just have to take my word for it.

While in Cusco we stayed at Piccola Locanda, a wonderful hostel that Greg and I lovingly refer to as our Cusco home. We miss it so much!

Our room at Piccola Locanda.
My feet + Bed = First nap in Peru!

View from our window... ¡Bienvenidos a Cusco!

We also enjoyed a lovely cup of Mate de Coca (Coca Tea) ...best tea I have ever had taste wise, and it really helped with the headaches we were experiencing from being at such high altitude. (Also just to ease all your worries a cup of this tea contains about 4.2 mg of cocaine, it would take 250 grams to make one gram of cocaine.)

Mate de Coca

After our tea and a nap, we went to run some errands and finished off the day with some Peruvian Pizza and Fanta from 1996.

¡Muy delicioso!

¡Buenas noches Cusco!

No Longer Fishing....

We are back! I am going to write a couple of posts on our amazing trip to Peru! One should be up later today!!!!!

~Janet

I'll post again in early July!

(Click the image for a hint as to where we are...)

Oh, Hello!

Did you miss me?

I know, it really has been way too long since I updated this blog. This last semester has been a real doozie. In the last few weeks I have slept an average of 2 hours a night, and have been sitting at a desk with way too many books in front of me. I never thought I would say this but...thank goodness it is finals week!!!!

In other news, since Greg and I were not busy (I know sarcasm is really not a nice quality, but sometimes it is just way to fitting), my little sister and her boyfriend Dustin decided to head over to California for a quick visit. They came by train which was a new adventure for them, but they really enjoyed it.

Anyway, they got here early last Friday morning (05/28/2010), Greg and I picked them up at Union Station and decided that Coffee Bean was needed for breakfast. Since Greg had to work, Bette, Dustin, and I spent the majority of the day with them swimming and me trying to finish homework.

Once Greg got home, we decided that we should try to find some stars (Hollywood that is...) and were lucky enough to find the following:










After paying our respects, we all went out to dinner and then to get ice cream. It was a pretty great day.

Dinner...YUM!

So, so, so delicious!

The next day we decided that a visit to Paramount Ranch was needed and then some time at the beach. Paramount Ranch is exactly what it sounds like...a massive ranch that is owned by Paramount and has been used on shows such as "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." Okay... it was actually pretty fun to see!

No beach pictures this time, but I promise you it was a super fun time!

Sunday, was the day that Greg, Bette, and Dustin had been waiting for... Flight of the Conchords concert at the Hollywood Bowl. I'll admit that I was not looking forward to it, but I ended up having a really good time.

Hollywood Bowl.

Bette and Dustin, showing off their souvenir.

Monday, was a laid back day complete with homemade pizza and swimming. Bette and Dustin took the train back to Flag. that night. It was nice to have a little break...

Now on to finals!!!