Saturday, June 22, 2013

Tall Glass of U

After arriving home safe to Ohio after our month in SA, we were ready for some R&R. 

I went down to Canfield and stayed at my mom and Greg's while Ryan hung with his parents. He came down one night for Kaleigh's commencement and Graduation dinner. 

My mom and I enjoyed doing a little shopping and visiting with my grandparents. We went out to lunch a few times, and got gluten free biar hill pizzas one night. We ran "up and back" on the Mill Creek trail 3 times. 

I drove up to Cleveland Thursday afternoon to go to Gates-Mills for an early  Friday start out to Utah. My mom and Greg flew out Friday morning and saw a little of SLC until we got there Saturday night. 

The drive was loooong. Ryan drove most of the way, I probably drove about 7 or 8 hours total of the two days. We stopped a night in Lincoln, Nebraska. It felt good to be done and sleep in the nice condo of a friend of Ryan's family. 

My mom and Greg joined us the next morning. We rode up to Brighton area and hiked up to a couple small pretty lakes. We went on to Park City for lunch and some walking around. 

Being Sunday, a lot of places were closed. We ended up eating some prepared foods and salads from Whole Foods for dinner. They were really good!

Monday morning we were at the leasing office at 9am only to realize they don't open til 10. We unloaded the cars to the front door, and my mom and I went on a coffee run to sunset coffee shop nearby. 

At 10 Ryan and I signed the lease and got our keys. The move was underway. The ABF pods with all our stuff were delivered soon after. We got some cafe rio for lunch after the pods were emptied. 

All the help was invaluable. Greg unloaded the pods, Ryan and his dad brought everything upstairs, and the women organized and unpacked. We were ready for our Thai dinner by the time we were done for the day. 

Tuesday we finished up the move. My mom, Greg and I stopped at a couple of fish stores while the Williams were at Lowes. We picked up lunch from Cafe Zupas. 

We celebrated being in Salt Lake with a bottle if Dom Perignon that his parents brought along and some fresh watermelon. Fun was had by all. 

We had a delicious meal at Mazzah in Sugarhouse area for dinner. 

Wednesday morning we had breakfast with everyone at a Belgian Waffle House nearby. We drove up to Wasatch National Forest for a fun hike to Donut falls. Really pretty spot. We had some iced teas at Silver Fork Lodge on the way back. It was here that my mom and Greg  had to leave to catch their flight home. Lots of hugs and a few tears later they were on their way back to Ohio. 

We walked around the University with Ryans Parents and saw the Creek City Center shopping area. Ryan forgot his suit in Ohio, so bought a shirt and pants to wear to a dinner we have on Wednesday. We had dinner with the remainin parents at Vertical Diner. Great vegan fare. 

Thursday morning we enjoyed breakfast at Blue Lemon before splitting off. Ryan, his mom and I went to SugarHouse while his dad spent some time at the genealogy library downtown. 

After a tasty dinner at Neopolitan pizzeria we met back up and rested a bit before heading up to Sundance. 

We had time before dinner to ride a lift up a ski slope and get nice mountain views. This was followed by dinner at The Foundry. Delicious wine and roasted portobello mushrooms!  It's a really beautiful resort. 

Friday morning we woke up and decided to do our first load of laundry. 

Our washer began violently and loudy shaking during the agitation and spin cycle. We thought maybe something broke during the move. After racking our brains and Ryan's parents' brains, we called a repair man. 

50 bucks later we find that it's not the washing machine but the unstable flooring under it. There's some kind of pan under the washer where the floor should be. 

We were off to Lowe's to buy a piece of wood to put underneath. We also picked up a bird feeder. 

Success! The board worked!  Thanks Ryan and Pop Williams for screwin it in!  

This ate up a big chunk of our morning. We had lunch at Cafe Zupas and went on a hike along the pipeline trail in Mill Creek canyon. 

We enjoyed dinner at Asian Star restaurant with a nice view if the mountains. 

The next morning we had Blue Lemin for breakfast again and enjoyed a short hike in Snkwbird ski area before heading to the airport. More tearful goodbyes.  

It felt weird driving back to the apartment knowing both sets of parents had gone. So we threw a big keg party. Just kidding. 

Really, it was a strane feeling being "alone" in the city. It really felt like we are far away. 

Happy to report that cell phones and Skype and Internet in general have help us to keep in touch just like it was before. 

A HUGE thanks to our parents for coming all the way across the country just to help us. The amount of effort you put in to making sure Ryan and I are settled and comfortable in our new place...well we could never ask for more. From driving and flying out, unpacking us, organizing us, treating us to countless meals, running to the store for another odd or end, and of course the love and support. THANK YOU!!! We love u 


Donut Falls

Huge dandilions in Mill Creek Canyon


Our mantle area above the fireplace. 

On the ski lift!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Cusco to Lima to Home

We woke up around 5:30am to get some breakfast before getting a cab to the airport. The kid that told us he would make breakfast for us at 6:30 apparently slept in. We got our own tea with jam and bread (like the Sound if Music!) and ate a passion fruit and a banana that we had with us. 

The kid (I say kid because he looked like a teenager) was sleeping in the reception area and woke up in time to call our taxi. 

We arrived at the airport around 7:20. They told us out flight was delayed until 9:30...then 10:15.  We had some coffee and Ryan got eggs at a little airport cafe. There is a store in here that sells really beautiful and expensive retablos. I keep thinking about ours in my bag with a piece rolling around inside. I'm going to open it as soon as we get home. 

The flight went smooth and our driver was waiting for us with a sign when we walked out if baggage claim. We decided to splurge on our last night in Peru. Our driver took us to Hotel Runcu in the Miraflores district of Lima. It's a nice area of town and the hotel is a hotel - not a hostel. 

We stored our luggage there since our room wasn't ready and walked around Lima. We were starving and were growing increasingly grouchy as we tried to find a place for lunch. It was almost 3:30 by the time we ate our sandwiches at a cafe by Parque Kennedy (named for JFK!). We had a strawberry juice toothat we sucked down in about 2 minutes. 

We stopped at a Dunkin Donuts afterward on our way to the handicraft market. It was all the same stuff we'd been seeing. Ryan wanted alpaca slippers but his feet are too big to fit in any if them. 

The highlight of Lima was walking upon some fruit stands and buying the most delicious oranges we'd ever had. I also bought 2 passion fruit- my new favorite treat. We bought one other green fruit that we don't know the name of, but it was really good. 

Back at our hotel we enjoyed nice hot showers before having dinner in the hotel restaurant. The ceviche was really flavorful, our first time having fish ceviche (we had shrimp cheviche in Ecuador). My veggie Tacu Tacu was tasty, as was Ryan's aji de gallina. We went to bed after packing some pb an banana sandwiches for our flight in the morning. 

We woke up at 3:30 to leave at 4:30 for the airport with our boxed breakfasts. We are now in the Miami airport delayed at least one hour d/t weather. 

At least we are in the US of A!  The customs official let out a big yawn when we held up my passport and compared it to my face. I said "Wow, am I really that beautiful?"  He laughed.  Then he made some joke about Ryan and a Snickers commercial and we didn't really get it but laughed anyway. When someone is holding your passports, you laugh at their jokes. 
Miami airport
Eating our sammies
A treat from the hotel in Lima


Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Last day in Cusco

We began our last day in Cusco with breakfast in the hostel, this time with the other half of our avocado from last nights dinner added in.  After breakfast we went back to the San Pedro market for some mango orange juice.

We wanted to buy a thermos like the ones we'd been seeing all over South America.  They are glass inside and plastic outside and they keep things hot or cold for a really long time.  The thermos vendor wasnt open yet, their stuff was still covered by a tarp.

 We walked up to the San Blas area to look at a restaurant Joe had suggested for dinner.  It had high reviews,  but was a little pricey.  We walked back to the market, had 2 more juices (carrot mix for Ryan and Mango mix for me), and by that time the thermos lady was open.  We bought a 1.8 liter vacuum thermos, dropped it off at the hostel, and ate our left over dinner for lunch.

After lunch we met for a free walking tour of the city at one of the Plazas.  There was a really large group.  We walked through some of the streets to lookouts, tasted alpaca filet, chicha drink, and sampled chocolate tea at a chocolate museum, and learned a little about how silver jewelry is made.

We met Joe at 3 at the Plaza de Armas.  We sat in Starbucks for a while and talked before going to look at a large fancy hotel with a church connected that dates back to incan times.  We saw an art gallery that had painting by a man from whom Joe commissioned a paiting.  Lastly  we headed in to Jack's cafe for dinner.  Just outside the door a young kid with paintings to sell was telling me he knew Barak Obama and cornering me into promising to buy a painting on the way out.

Joe ordered a strawberry juice and Ryan and I ordered lemonade with mint.  WOW did this lemoade have a strong minty flavor!  It was the best lemonade we've ever had.  I could have drank another glass.  Ryan and I split a huevos rancheros and a veggie burger, Joe ordered mango pancakes that looked more like a decadent dessert.

We talked a while, Joe ordered a lemonade for himself, and we split a piece of the best carrott cake ever.  So good.  Luckily Obama's friend was gone when we came out.

We snapped a picture of us in front of the plaza, then Ryan and I headed back to the hostel to pack for our flight tomorrow morning.  Next stop - Lima!

juice area of market

incan bricks

ryan ponders the inca

like a puzzle

san blas plaza


overlooking cusco

with joe in the plaza de armas

Monday, June 3, 2013

Cusco

We woke up to our last morning at Sacred Valley.  We were up early but stayed in bed a while because breakfast wasn't til 9 (thats at least 9:15 or 9:30 Sacred Valley time.)  The owners had some children over from a local orphanage to help with their pending move to another town.  They were all friendly and the two girls gave Ryan and I a hug when they came in the dining room.

After breakfast we walked to Urubamba, about  a 45 minute walk, to the "eco-ferrria."  There were several booths set up selling natural foods and goods.  We bought a little jar or peanut butter (to make sandwiches for the way home), a large green smoothie, a brownie, Ryan had a piece of pizza, and we bought 2 clay bowls and 2 clay mugs.  We had cafe con leches and a fruit salad at the same bakery from our first day.

We took a mototaxi back, said our goodbyes, grabbed our stuff and took another moto back to Urubamba to catch a bus to Cusco.

Cusco is about an hour away.  By the time we arrived, Ryan said his stomach was starting to be bothered by the windey, bumpy roads.

We took a taxi to our hostel once we arrived in Cusco.  The hostel was pretty empty, I think we were the only guests.  Its a very old building and the lock on the door is "a joke" in Ryan's words.

Its pretty drafty and a little run down, but hey, it will be fine.  The staff only speaks Spanish, but we're getting by.

After we dropped off our things we walked around a little, found the Plaza de Armas, and picked a spot for dinner once we were tired wandering.  Ryan got veggie kabobs, I got aan undercooked burger.  His stomach was still on the outs so we came back and went to bed.

This morning we were both feeling well, and we had breakfast in the hostel.  I went to reception to tell them we were ready, and a guy came and made us each a scramblend  egg which we had with bread, jam, fresh squeezed oj, and coffee or tea.  Not bad.

After breakfast we walked to the San Pedro market.  It's mostly food and local goods, but there are a few souvenier booths.  We had some mango juice and a snack of rice, avocado, egg, and fried all on a plate.  Pretty good!

We spent the rest of the day shopping around for friends and family.  We found a cute baby alpaca sweater set for Ryan's friend who is a new father to a baby girl.  I got Baba a read Peru t-shirt per her request.  I also got something small for each of my cousins, and a pendant for my grandma Pannunzio.

We had lunch at Jack's cafe near the plaza.  i had chicken and veggie soup, Ryan had muesli and yogurt.  We went back to the market and bought a clay pot and wooden ladle that we can cook with at home.  We saw that they used one in Sacred Valley.  The issue now is how to get all this stuff home in one piece.  I already hear something rolling around in the retablo, which is all wrapped up in newspapers and taped.  I think the girl shoved the newspaper into the inside of it too hard and probably broke a piece that I'll have to glue when I get home.

We cooked out own dinner with the lentils and quinoa that we still had left, and some veggies picked up from the market.  We talked with the owner of the hostel for a while (spanish practice).  We are now trying to figure out how to pack everything up for our flight to lima and our flights home.  Wish us luck.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Pisac

Ryan blogging:

We woke up refreshed after a busy day at Machu Picchu.  I went for a short run and Steph worked on the blog.  I ran through a farm trail and passed several sheep and a few cows, one of which was blocking the path.  When I got back we had a leisurely breakfast outside in the garden.  Avashi had shown us some clay pots that he uses for cooking so we decided to go to the village of Pisaq and buy one.  Our directions for getting to Pisaq were "just grab any vehicle going in your direction and ask them to take you there".

We began flagging down vans and buses, none of which seemed to be going to Pisac.  After 20-30 minutes of walking we realized that we would have to take one of the buses to the village of Calca and then get another bus from Calca to Pisaq.  We hopped on a small crowded bus and began our journey.  The bus was crammed with locals one of which had an infant in her arms and sitting behind her was a women with a live chicken in a bag.  Towards the front of the bus sat a guy with a kitchen sink wrapped in plastic.  Only in South America do you see everything including the kitchen sink in a bus.  We arrived in Calca and hopped on another bus and eventually made it to Pisaq.  This whole process took some time but only cost us $4.50.

We quickly found the market and bought a few souvenirs for family and friends.  We had a delicious vegetarian lunch and looked around town for the clay pots.  All of the stores were closed, but Steph did manage to find a beautiful handmade Retablo.  She has been hunting one down ever since we landed in Santiago.  We walked back to the street where the bus dropped us off and got our series of buses back to town.  The second bus was so full that we had to stand up in the aisle for half the drive.

We arrived to the retreat, had another healthy delicious dinner and went to bed.

Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu

The next morning we woke up and got ready to be led on a "Meditation Walk" by Avashai's friend Avery.  We were joined by Daniella who we think is Avery's girlfriend/wife/daughter/we'renotsure.  We set out and right away he let us know "this might be weird."

We started walking backwards up the trail, then went through "excercises" to explore our senses.  We closed our eyes and listened, we tasted alfalfa, smelled some herbs growing around us, touched the rocks and water.

Next we were told to walk with one arm over our heads, then do the next.  I'm not totally sure what this was supposed to illustrate.

Finally after walking backwards a little more, we had a "ceremony" on a small bridge over the stream.

Now, Ryan is a no-nonsense kind of guy, so I could only imagine what he has been thinking this whole time.  At one point after walking with one hand over his head the leader asked him "what did you feel during that?" And Ryan replied "nothing."

Anyway here we are standing on this bridge and we have to make a wooshing sound as we cast off negative things like fear, doubt, etc.  Ryan actually did it 2 times while everyone else was.  What choice did he have?  Haha!  Then we faced the oncoming water and opened ourselves to accept positive things like contentment, happiness, etc.

This concluded our walk and we went back to the retreat to enjoy a great breakfast.  Avocado, eggs, bread, honey, butter, brown rice with mike and potatoes, apples.  It was really good.

After breakfast Daniella joined us for the Moray Incan ruins and for the Salt Mines.  I thought the salt mines were really neat.  You'd think we'd have seen enough salt by now, but it was a lot different looking than the Salt Flats.  The terraces at Moray were cool as well, such perfect circles dug into the mountain.  We bought a small weaving from the tables outside the ruins.

We were dropped back off in Urubamba were we bought some pastries, had some papaya juice, and bought a few things at the market for snacks the next day.

We were back in time to enjoy another delicious dinner of leftover soup, 2 kinds of salad, olives, bread and crackers, and avocado.  We are loving the food here.

We went to bed and woke up at 4:15 to have some breakfast at 5 and head to Machu Picchu.  Avashai made us some quinoa porridge and gave us fresh yogurt and honey with it.  He even let us use some of his peanut butter that Avery brought him from the states for our sandwiches for the day.

We were out waiting for our cab at 5:30.  At 5:45 he picked us up, dropped us at the train station at Ollentaytambo and he were off.  We grabbed 2 cafe americanos to go and got on the train.  The train was pretty comfortable and they passed out drinks for us half way through.  We each had the manzanilla tea with sugar.  In about 90 minutes, we were dropped at Aguas Calientes where we would meet our guide.  Or so we thought...

We were told that someone would be standing there with a sign with our names on it.  There were several guides, but none of them were for us.  We waited and waited, even walking down to the bus station to see if the guide was down there.  Negative.

We asked a different guide if he could help us.  I dug up Avahai's cell number from an old saved email.  There was no answer, but he did call back a few minutes later, and said he would call the guy and send him.

After a grand total of about 40 minutes waiting a guy named Raul walks up.  He takes us to buy our tickets and says "the tour starts at 11."  It's 9am!

We explain to him that we came in on the 6:40 train so why on earth does the tour start at 11?He tells us we can go into the park ourselves, but some back out and meet Patrick, the guide with a white flag, at 11.

Fine, whatever.  We go in, see the beautiful ruins while very irritated at the entire tour situation.  We roamed around for about an hour or so before going back out front to find this Patrick character and his white flag (bandera blanca).  From 10:50 to 11:25 we waited.  No Patrick, no white flag.

It was comical at this point.   We decided to just go with it and try to have a good day.  We went back in and gave ourselves our own tour which consisted of us wandering around the ruins and taking a million pictures from every angle.  We walked up a long trail to a lookout point and had some passion fruit that we bought at the market the day before.

After a lot of sitting and walking all over the ruins we headed out to get the bus back to Aguas Calientes.  We had dinner at a good yet overpriced restaurant in the tourist down. Walked around the souvenir shops, and had coffee and hot chocolate at a cafe before getting our train back to Ollentaytambo.

We made it back in time to catch the tail end of a Shabbat celebration at our retreat.  We had some tea, discussed an interesting Incan water jug, briefly told Avashai the tour was a bust, and went to bed.







waiting and searching for our guide

the stones fit together like a puzzle



there were so many terraces


Moray


salt mines

salt mines