Exploring Cusco : Where Inca Meets Colonization

July 22, 2016

Cusco, the gateway to the Incan empire! I didn’t know much about Cusco before our trip there, only that it was the city you have to go through to get to Machu Picchu. And while yes, it’s the gateway to Machu Picchu for millions of tourist each year, it’s also a fantastic and beautiful city in its own right. I expected it to be touristy, but in fact, it’s the complete opposite. Cusco is a genuine and beautiful city, where Inca meets colonization. Some buildings still hold Incan stones used to build them thousands of years ago, while others bear the marks of colonization and Spanish architecture. We only had an afternoon in Cusco, but we were sorry we didn’t have longer. And while most people go through Cusco to see Machu Picchu, I’d go back just to spend time in this lovely city!

We happened to be there on a day that a festival was taking place and half the city had to be out in the streets celebrating. We were blow away by the crowds and the infectious atmosphere, which made for even more of a celebration for us to enjoy Cusco!

What to See and Do in Cusco

-Wander the cobblestone streets and pet llamas along the way.

-Explore the Plaza de Armas

-Wander the San Pedro Market (another whole post coming on this!)

Traveling to Peru?

See all my posts on Peru!

Everything You Need to Know before Visiting Peru

July 21, 2016

Peru was a fantastic destination and one I know we’ll for sure be returning to in the future, but it did also pull us outside our comfort zones a bit. I wasn’t sure what to expect before traveling to Peru and even though I did quite a bit of research, I didn’t find much to really prepare me for our time there. So if you’re thinking of heading to the land of the Incas, here’s everything you need to know before visiting Peru!

The Toilet Paper Issue

I read numerous posts and articles before leaving for Peru that mentioned over and over how you have to put your toilet paper in the garbage can everywhere. And yes, in almost all public places, even including airports, this is true. However, staying in higher-end hotels (which we did), they have their own piping systems and the rule doesn’t apply there. But just be careful with this as apparently paper can really clog up their piping and when in doubt, ask. Or a good note of reference is if the trash can has a lid, you probably will put it in there, if it doesn’t, you can probably flush it.

The people are the friendliest I’ve ever encountered (and so are the llamas).

I’m serious when I say this, the people in Peru are the kindest and most helpful we’ve ever encountered while traveling and we’ve traveled to a lot of places! Everywhere we went, they were lovely to deal with and beyond helpful.

And the llamas and alpacas, let’s be honest, this was the best part of our trip! Everywhere we went there were these lovely creatures and they were so friendly. Our doctor told us not to pet them before we left, but seriously, how could I not do that!? The best thing though is to make sure and have some hand sanitizer because no matter how lovely, they are dirty too. But pet as many llamas as you want and just wash your hands after.

Outlets

I had a hard time finding much on what type of outlets Peru would have before we left and none of our adaptors said they worked in South America. Every place we stayed though, had both American type outlets as well as European style outlets so bring your European adaptors, but most hotels will also have US Style outlets.

Don’t drink the tap water.

This is an important one and one you’ll regret if you don’t follow. Don’t use the tap water in Peru, even to brush your teeth. All hotels will supply bottled water for this purpose, but also be careful not to swallow any in the shower. And finally, ask for no ice when eating out at restaurants.

Traveling to Peru?

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How I Planned my Trip to Peru – A Timeline to Follow

July 20, 2016

When we were traveling through Peru, I had numerous questions come in from readers and on Instagram of how exactly I had planned our trip. A lot of people mentioned that they have heard it’s a lot of work to plan a trip to Peru, particularly to visit Machu Picchu and I won’t lie, it was. This 5 day trip through Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu perhaps took the most planning of any trip we’ve ever done, but I will say this, it was beyond worth it in the end. If you’re thinking of traveling to Peru and Machu Picchu, it’s a lot of work to plan, but you won’t be sorry. And to make it even easier, here is exactly how I planned my trip to Peru!

6+ Months Before

Book Your Flights

We flew LAX to Lima on LATAM airlines and were pleasantly surprised by the service and food we had on our flights. Flights can be pretty expensive from the US so you’ll want to book well ahead of your trip and watch for good fares.

For intra-Peru flights, we flew Star Peru from Lima to Cusco and back again. We didn’t have the greatest luck with them (they canceled our flight on the way back to Lima and messed up our schedule without notice) but at the time of booking, they were the cheapest.) If I did it again, I’d probably just fly everything through LATAM.

Book Your Hotels

Because Peru and Machu Picchu are such huge tourist attractions, you want to book your hotels in Cusco and Machu Picchu well in advance. Also keep in mind a ton of people travel in tour groups through these 2 spots so hotels book up really quickly with huge groups.

We stayed at the JW Marriott El Convento Cusco and the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge – both of which I’d highly recommend.

1+ Month Before

Buy your train tickets to Machu Picchu

We traveled by train on Peru Rail from Cusco (Poroy Station) to Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes Station). The website was a little difficult to maneuver if you don’t know any Spanish and their English section was a little hard to use, but overall, I was able to buy our tickets online.

However, when we arrived at Poroy Station (which is a solid 35 minute drive from Cusco be aware), to pick up our tickets, we were informed that it is required you pick them up at least 4 hours prior to the train, meaning we should have done it the previous day but didn’t know. We had to end up buying new tickets for the one way to Machu Picchu which was kind of a hassle. So long story short, once you arrive in Peru, make sure you pick up your tickets at any Peru Rail kiosk throughout the major cities.

Buy your Machu Picchu Tickets

One thing that’s really important to note, you CANNOT buy tickets to Machu Picchu at Machu Picchu. They must be bought in advance and they only sell so many per day. I bought ours through our hotel concierge over email so that we were sure to have them beforehand.

Arrange airport/train station transfers through your hotel

It was a huge help to have pick ups arranged through our hotel for both the airport and the train stations throughout our trip and didn’t cost very much. It was so much easier than having to figure out taxis and speak in Spanish to get places. I would highly recommend arranging these through your hotels before you leave on your trip.

1 Week Before

Buy your Travel Insurance package

We don’t always buy travel insurance but I did for this trip and I’m so glad I did. We ended up having to add an extra day to the trip based on our flight out of Cusco being changed without our knowledge. And our travel insurance covered our extra expenses. We buy ours through World Nomads.

Go through your packing checklist and confirm you have everything you need

There was a lot of extra stuff that we needed to bring for Peru and Machu Picchu in particular, which I’ll cover in depth in another post. But things like sunscreen, chapstick, bug spray, hiking gear – make sure whatever you need, you make a detailed list and then check it off and make sure it’s ready to pack.

2 Days Before

Print off all your booking references and information

I do this for every trip, but because there were so many individual bookings for this particular trip, it helped even more to have everything printed off and ready to go.

Confirm all flights

This is also a great time to confirm your seats and loyalties with all your flights as well as adding all the flight information into your phone to track your flights.

Check the weather forecast and confirm you have everything you need

While you’ll have a good idea of weather about 10 days out, it’s important to check again within the 2-3 days before you leave. It actually ended up being a little cooler than it had looked for us, so I added in an extra scarf and coat before leaving.

1 Day Before

Confirm all tickets

Make sure you have any tickets necessary printed out like your train tickets and any boarding passes for flights.

Get Excited!

You’re heading to Peru! You’ll have the trip of a lifetime, so now, just be ready to explore!

Traveling to Peru?

See all my posts on Peru!

How Peru Made Me Fall in Love

July 19, 2016

Back in May, Nick and I ventured out on a trip of a lifetime, or so I thought. For an early birthday trip (Nick turned 30 in June), I booked us a trip to Peru through Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu. When booking it and when telling people about it, I kept saying, “it’s one of those once in a lifetime trips.” For some reason, and I don’t really even know why, I didn’t think I’d enjoy South America as much as I enjoy some of the other continents. For some reason, I kept thinking, we wouldn’t do this trip again or see much more of the country. For some reason, I felt like we just wouldn’t have any desire to go back. And wow, could I have been more wrong.

Our trip to Peru was life-changing. And I don’t say that lightly. I’ve seen a lot of the world, I’ve stepped foot on 6 continents and visited 30+ countries and countless cities. I’ve lived abroad and fallen in love with so many places around the globe, but Peru was different. Maybe it was my attitude going into it. I felt myself feeling differently on our way to Peru. I was giddy with excitement, a feeling that while still makes appearances when traveling, has somewhat lessened over the years of constant travel. I was apprehensive, a feeling that I think actually is good for a traveler. It means we still have more to learn, we still have more to absorb. And I think those feelings, that’s how Peru made me fall in love.

South America for me had always been a destination never high on my list. It scared me a little, so outside of our comfort zone, so different than we are used to. It made me apprehensive to plan a trip to my neighbor continent, it seemed difficult. And to be honest with you, this trip did take more planning than perhaps any trip I’ve ever planned. It was a long process and there were a lot of steps, particularly for Machu Picchu. But on the other side of our experience in Peru, I will say with 100% certainty and honesty, every moment planning and every dollar spent is far beyond worth what your experience will be in this amazing country.

There were moments on our trip to Peru that were some of our best ever while traveling, and coming from me, that means a great deal. I held a baby alpaca, spent mornings with wandering llamas, sat in awe at Machu Picchu, breathed in the thinnest air we’ve ever experienced at 11,000 feet in Cusco, ate incredible food, wandered local markets, spoke broken Spanish with locals and fell completely head over heels in love with Peru.

This trip completely changed my opinion of South America. It made me want to travel more in that region, to take in the absurd beauty that South American landscapes are, to meet more locals throughout the region, to better my Spanish, to find out more about countries that I really don’t know that much about. Peru made me fall in love not only with the regions within its own borders, but with an entire continent and I’m not sure I can say that about any other country I’ve ever visited. Peru changed me, it brought back that sense of new-ness that sometimes gets lost after traveling as much I have. It brought back that awe, it inspired me.

And while I had been telling everyone before hand about our “once in a lifetime trip to Peru,” I know better now. I hope to visit Peru many times in my lifetime. I hope I get to visit Machu Picchu over and over, at different times of year, at different points in my life. I hope that I explore all over South America and I hope that with each time I visit, I find myself going back to all that Peru gave us on our first trip there and the dreams that it inspired.

Traveling to Peru?

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Favorite Moments in Peru

July 18, 2016

Our trip to Peru in May was an epic one and not only because it was in celebration of Nick’s 30th birthday and we stepped foot on our 6th continent to date, but because we fell deeply in love with the country. We had so many amazing experiences during our 5 days in Peru, but here were my favorites:

Flying into Cusco over the Andes

We were exhausted the morning we flew to Cusco, arriving in Lima late the previous night, and my intention had been to sleep on the hour long plane ride that day. But as soon as we got airborne and I looked out the window, I was hooked! The views over the Andes on that plane ride were truly spectacular!

Exploring Cusco

If we had one regret on our trip to Peru, it was that we wished we would have spent at least another day in Cusco. We fell hard for this amazing city and our one afternoon here wasn’t enough! We spent the day wandering local markets, taking in local festivals and wandering the ancient cobblestone streets.

Holding a Baby Alpaca

After leaving our hotel in Cusco to head out and explore, we were immediately greeted on the street by 2 local Andean women with baby alpacas. They handed me one of them (so we’d give them money), but I didn’t even care. It was probably the highlight of my life and the furry little creature just laid in my arms while I was grinning ear to ear.

Machu Picchu in the Late Afternoon

After arriving at our hotel at Machu Picchu around Noon, we grabbed lunch at the hotel restaurant and then settled into our room. We waited until 3pm to head over to Machu Picchu, as we’d heard that’s when the crowds start to disperse and it gets really quiet. And since we stayed right at Machu Picchu, it was so nice to be able to just wander over. We weren’t disappointed! It was one of those crazy feelings walking into such a famous place, unsure of where to start, unsure of what we were even looking at. I found a spot along the tiered steps and just had to sit to take it all in. It was a moment I’ll never forget.

Machu Picchu in the Morning in the Fog

The following morning, we walked out of our hotel and were in line at the gates of Machu Picchu at 5:40am waiting for them to open at 6am. Immediately after we got in the gates, we headed up to the Guard’s House, which is where that typical famous photo of the sanctuary is taken. It was dense fog the whole hike up (which is not easy by the way) but once we got up to the top, set up for photos and waited a bit, around 6:45am, the fog started to lift and break apart, showing an incredible view. We were lucky to get that view though, as within 15 minutes it was blanketed with dense fog once again. I’ll never forget that view though, looking out over such a famous monument as the fog rolled in and out, imagining what it must have been like for the people that lived there all those years ago, seeing the same thing. There are some places in the world that you truly just have to be there to understand what it feels like, Machu Picchu is one of those places and trust me, I was blown away by those views and all the thoughts that go with them in a place like this.

Traveling to Peru?

See all my posts on Peru!

10 Perfect Honeymoon Locations

July 13, 2016

With the Summer upon us and many weddings ahead this season, there will be lots of newlyweds traveling soon. If you’re headed that direction or you just want a romantic holiday regardless, here are 10 perfect honeymoon locations around the world to head to for that romantic escape!

1. Paris

Is any place more romantic than Paris? The French capitol is perfect for long strolls with that person you love, lingering lunches over amazing food and accordion players on street corners.

Stay here: Hotel Le Notre Dame

2. London

While the hustle and bustle of London might not seem romantic, try escaping to quiet neighborhoods like Chelsea and South Kensington, where the pace is slower, the buildings beautiful and you can take long walks with the person you love through Hyde Park.

Stay here: The Ampersand

3. Hawaii

Looking for beaches, culture and somewhere in the US? Hawaii is a popular spot for honeymoons considering it’s laid back vibe, romantic sunsets and long walks on the beach.

4. Udaipur, India

While this might not seem like a common choice, Udaipur is one of the most romantic cities I’ve ever been to. It’s lake location, palaces that are straight out of fairy tales and a slower pace of life, this city would make for a fantastic honeymoon destination.

Stay here: Oberoi Udaivillas

5. Sedona

Northern Arizona and specifically Sedona would make for a lovely honeymoon if you’re into exploring the outdoors. The romantic red rocks of this area would be perfect to explore with someone you love!

Stay here: Kimpton Amara Resort and Spa

6. Napa

The famous wine country of California is perfect for a romantic escape. From amazing wine to great restaurants and lovely hotels, this area is perfect for honeymooners.

7. Amsterdam

This ancient city is a beauty and perfect to walk hand in hand with someone you love next to the endless canals eating waffle cookies.

Stay here: Sir Albert Hotel

8. Santorini

This famous Greek isle is picture perfect for a honeymoon. From the views out over the ocean to the famous sunsets to the long lingering days next to the pool… this island is perfect for a romantic island escape.

9. Vienna

Easily one of the most romantic cities in Europe in my opinion, the architecture and the cobblestone streets of Vienna lend itself perfectly to a romantic escape. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to indulge in some Viennese chocolate cake and apple streudel!

Stay here: Hotel Topazz

10. Tuscany

Perhaps the most romantic region of Italy, Tuscany would be perfect for a honeymoon. From the hilltop towns to the endless green rolling hills, an escape here would be more than surreal.

Stay here: Poggio Piglia

Travel Tips : How to Get Around London

July 12, 2016

London is an amazing city full of culture, shopping, amazing architecture and great food. But it’s also a huge metropolis and spans miles in each direction, so how is the best way to traverse this old and historic city? Actually it’s not that difficult and here is how to get around London and what your options are for transportation in the British capital.

From the Airport:

Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express

Perhaps some of the easiest and most efficient ways of getting from the airport to any big city, London has 2 great options in the Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express, arriving at Paddington and Victoria Stations respectively. Both trains drop you directly from the airport to the train stations as mentioned quickly and easily and from there it’s easy to connect to the Tube or grab a cab to get to your final destination. However, they aren’t super cheap, but time-wise, they are worth it to get to London’s city center.

Heathrow Connect/Tube

From Heathrow, you can also choose the cheaper and slower option of the Heathrow Connect and then subsequently taking the Tube, though while it’s a little cheaper, it does take longer and you have to do more work by connecting, but another great option as well.

Around the City:

Cabs

London is world famous for their taxi cabs and it’s well worth the experience of using them while in the city. For certain destinations they are often the easiest and most efficient option.

Tube

The Tube is what locals call the Subway in London. We’ve always found it a little bit more confusing than other main cities like NYC and Paris, but a good option nonetheless. Check the Tube maps to see if it’s the best option for your transport in the city.

Walking

My favorite way to get around London? Walking! There is so much to see around London that you often miss that in the Tube or in a car. And while London is big, it’s also really walkable with lots to see along the way.

Bus

And how we could we forget London’s famous double decker buses? You can get all around the city on these with great views of the surrounding areas.

Trains

If you’re heading out of London anywhere, trains are your best best! Traffic is bad on the highways so opt for the train instead of driving.

Headed to London?

Check out our London Travel Guide in the Land of Marvels Shop for only $5!

A Few Hours in London : South Kensington + Hyde Park

July 7, 2016

On our way back from Europe, we originally had booked to fly direct from Athens to the US, but when American Air called me a few weeks prior to our trip to tell me that that flight have been totally removed from their routes, we had to rebook through London and add a night to our trip. All in all, we didn’t mind too much as we love London and we know the city well, so it’s easy for us to stop over there.

London is one of those cities that I love stopping through, it has amazing energy, gorgeous architecture, amazing food and lovely people. This particular stop through saw us arriving around 1pm and leaving the next morning around 10am so we booked our favorite hotel for the night, The Ampersand, in South Kensington and spent the afternoon and the following morning wandering some of our favorite areas which included South Kensington and Chelsea and Hyde Park.

As luck would have it, I also ran into Selena from Oh, the Places We Will Go totally randomly at a pub that night and enjoyed meeting and getting to know her and her husband. So all in all, it was a wonderful few hours in London before heading home from Europe!

Headed to London?

Check out our London Travel Guide in the Land of Marvels Shop for only $5!

What to Wear in Santorini in April

July 6, 2016

Outfit Details:

Madewell Tee Shirt | Old Navy maxi skirt (similar) | Kate Spade pink cross body purse (similar) |

J Crew linen scarf (similar) | Gladiator Sandals (similar)

When we knew we’d be heading to Santorini for the last few days of our trip through Europe in April, I knew immediately what I’d pack! Maxi dresses and skirts in exotic patterns along with bright linen scarves and of course my Lumix camera. The weather was pleasant in April, warm during the day but cool in the evenings, so the scarves were the perfect addition to dresses during our time in famous Santorini!

More What to Wear posts for more destinations here!

What I Wore:

Outfit Details:

Madewell Tee Shirt | Old Navy maxi skirt (similar) | Kate Spade pink cross body purse (similar) |

J Crew linen scarf (similar) | Gladiator Sandals (similar) | Lumix Camera| Madewell Sunglasses

Outfit Details:

Old Navy Maxi Dress (similar ) | Madewell Tee Shirt | Navy Linen Scarf |

Blue Cross Body Purse | Gladiator Sandals (similar) | Lumix Camera | Madewell Sunglasses

Traveling to Greece?

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Exploring Oia : Famous Views + Hillsides

July 5, 2016

Our second day in Santorini, we wanted to explore more of the island and so we had our hotel call us a taxi to head into Oia. This famous spot on the island is where all of the typical Santorini photos are taken and we wanted to see it for ourselves. This area was completely different than Imerovigli and Fira, with a more upscale feel, more shops and restaurants and a cleaner feel over all. If I ever went back to Santorini, which I’m not sure I would, I think I’d opt to stay in Oia, as long as you’re traveling in off season. During peak season, I can’t even imagine how crazy this town is, but in April, it was still quiet.

We wandered through the little streets and hillsides of Oia all afternoon, looking for those famous views and enjoying the colors of the town. All in all, this was my favorite area of Santorini and it also had a ton of great restaurants and cafes to stop at all along the main roads.