Peru was Amazing!!

 At the beginning of this month, we had the wonderful opportunity to take my Daughter (Jessica) and her Husband (Treyson) back to Peru.  You might recall, Jessica served her mission in Peru, and we were excited to go back and see the country she spent so much time in.  We spent 10 days in this beautiful country and traveled by plane, bus, and train across 3 cities and enjoyed so much amazing nature, culture, and food!! What an amazing trip!!  

We started our trip visiting Machu Picchu.  Well, I say started, it took two days to get here, but ya know, that's all part of the fun :)   The weather was perfect for our visit, and made for some stunning views of this amazing Inca Citadel.  And just look at all of that green, everything was just gorgeous up here!! 

And when I say "up here" I really did mean it!!   The Machu Picchu "circuit" we choose was Machu Picchu mountain.  That is 1600-1800 Inca steps carved from Granite to get to the top where you can overlook Machu Picchu.  And it was so cool to watch the clouds roll in and out over this amazing wonder of the world.  It was quite the hike, but totally worth it for the view!!   (but ya, I should be pointing a little more to the right :) 

We spent the next day of our trip in Aguas Calientes.  This was a day of mostly recovering our legs so we enjoyed strolling around town and along the river.  It is such a sweet little town just bursting with so many people.  Just incredible.  And we finished the day off at some Hot Springs, which was again, a lovely way to rejuvenate and rest after our previous days hike ;) 

Then we traveled to Cusco.  And wow, this was an amazing city, and can I just say, I am so glad I did not have to do any driving while I was there.  They are crazy and amazing drivers all at the same time.  We enjoyed a lot of shopping in Cusco, visited some gorgeous churches (first picture) and enjoyed some amazing meals, including my first taste of alpaca.  Pretty good I might add!  This is a city bursting with life and color, and I just loved being a part of it for a few days!!  

Then it was back on a plane to return to our original arrival city of Lima.  Lima is huge!!!   And again, I was so grateful for amazing uber drivers, because other wise, there was no way we were getting to our hotel.  Which happened to be along the coast.  We spent two lovely days walking along the coast enjoying the salty breeze.  And then above the coast (yes, more stairs to get up there) were walkways filled with lots of beautiful parks.  We also had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Lima Peru Temple and go to church in Lima where I understood about 5 words, but was so happy to share in the spirit of all of the lovely people there.  Peruvians are just so welcoming and kind!!  

All in all, it was just an absolutely amazing trip!!   I am so grateful we had this wonderful opportunity, and we just were so happy to get to share it with Jessi and Trey!!  Oh, and of course, you know I have a whole ton quilt design inspiration pictures.   It was just everywhere ;)  This was one of my favorites, I see 3 different quilts in this photo from one of the cathedrals we visited in Cusco.   And doesn't it just look so warm and inviting.  It really is the perfect way to sum up the trip.  

And now, I have had a week to get "back to it" and am almost feeling all caught up.   I will say, it was awfully nice to come home to my sewing machine in my new sewing studio!!  Such a happy place!  Thanks Peru for so many wonderful experiences and memories, it was amazing!!