Cusco

I spent 3.5 days in Cusco, Peru, acclimating to its 11,000 feet of elevation in preparation for hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Supposedly Cusco used to be shaped like a Puma. Now it pretty much looks like a non-puma-shaped city.

I didn't get altitude sickness, but I did have to stop about every 5 feet to catch my breath while climbing stairs like these (the dog had to stop and rest as well).

The Incas left many ruins in the Andes. I guess they didn't leave them as ruins. And they actually look pretty nice. But they are called ruins. This is in the Sacred Valley, at Ollantaytambo.

Lots of terraces at Pisac, on which crops were grown. Our guide said that they acclimated the crops to the higher elevations by moving them up one terrace a year, but I'm not sure I believe that.

When the Spanish arrived, they tore down and built over the existing Inca sites that they found. Here they made a Catholic church in Chinchero.

The Spanish did a pretty good job converting the Incas, obviously, since everyone in Peru speaks Spanish. They left these ruins on the side of the church though. 

On the last day in Cusco I climbed up to Sacsayhuaman.

This statue (as seen in the background of the previous photo) overlooks the city. So do I. We shall rule it together.

Next stop: alpacas!

I got to hold a three-week-old baby animal. I was told it was a baby alpaca. But I'm not so sure... it could be anything, I suppose. Whatever it was, it was soft and cute!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

I have been waiting to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter since I read the first book, and conveniently Universal Studios Orlando created one such world. First stop, Hogwarts Castle! It's the first thing you see when you cross into Harry Potter World. Although I have watched the movies, it's totally different seeing it in person (and much better, of course).

The details in the whole park were great. They even have the hog gargoyles guarding the entrance to the castle. Thankfully they let me through.

The butterbeer tasted mostly like I imagined it would, but really sweet. Sadly I had to evanesco some of it.

After the Hogwarts Castle ride (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - awesome), I headed into Hogsmeade, the wizarding village which is just a short walk away.

I did some wizarding shopping and sightseeing (quite a bit, actually), and then the Hogwarts Express rolled into town. I didn't book a ride this time (why would I want to leave?) but I did get a chance to meet the conductor. He was a nice guy... which I discovered after I translated his English into American!

Walt Disney World

I arrived in Orlando at about 7pm on Sunday night. Magic Kingdom was open until 2am, so of course I had to go right away. One of the first rides I went on was "it's a small world". It was great, there were hardly any lines for any of the rides. (The song is in my head now, so I hope it is in your head too.)

 

After the first night which was windy and cold, the weather got pretty nice. (Still sweatshirts at night for me though, even though everyone else was fine in short sleeves.) Epcot was having its annual Flower and Garden Festival.

I'm not sure if these flowers were planted for the festival, but they were really bright and pretty.

After Chip and Dale tried to run off with Cookie Monster and BearDog, everyone calmed down and took a nice picture.

"Come on with the rain, I've a smile on my face..." Literally. If you zoom in you can actually see the raindrops. Clearly it doesn't rain enough at home so I must travel to find it.

I would like to install this lamppost in my house. I will have to decide which room will be best.

BearDog and Cookie Monster go to Disney World

BearDog and Cookie Monster were excited for their first visit to Walt Disney World. They were hoping to meet Chip and Dale.

Lucky for them, they found Chip and Dale at Epcot! At first Chip and Dale thought BearDog and Cookie Monster were so cute that they tried to run away with them. I chased them all down, rescued BearDog and Cookie Monster, and we took some photos.

At Animal Kingdom, BearDog and Cookie Monster went on safari.

BearDog and Cookie Monster rode the Star Tours ride five times. It's a good thing the ride is different every time.

They visited the Truffula Trees at Universal Studios! 

BearDog and Cookie Monster demonstrate what NOT to do at Disney World.

On their last day at Walt Disney World, BearDog and Cookie Monster tried to pull the sword out of the stone. I am not sure how they were planning to get it home if they had been successful.

Japan Map

Japan was a busy trip! (click on map to see larger version)

Tokyo

The last stop on the trip was Tokyo. Cookie Monster and BearDog drive a train.

At the Tokyo National Museum I tried to try on a samurai hat.

BearDog meets RacoonDog!

The Edo Tokyo Museum was not your typical boring museum. They had hands-on (climb-in) activities.

And little scale models of old villages.

And tatami rooms.

Also weird singing/dancing shows outside a model kabuki theater.

Cookie Monster and BearDog wrap up a good three week Japan vacation.

Nikko

The JR train station in Nikko was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

This is another famous bridge.

The fall colors were really nice in this garden.

Someone needs to let them know that drawing a picture on the building is cheating.

I guess the temple was under construction, no pictures allowed. Here's instructions for how to build a temple though, in case you're interested.

These are the famous hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil, see-no-evil monkeys.