Chile con Lisa » Travel

Joel and Cara take 2

Lisa — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:40:06 +0000

Joel and Cara arrived, albeit 2 days late (they were stuck in Peru), on Saturday morning. We left Sunday for a trip over the Paso Agua Negra into Argentina and on to the Termas Pismanta for a few days of much needed pampering. You may recall from our previous trip over the pass that we took with Steves parents that we got a flat tire at the top. I’m happy to say that we did not get 1 flat tire, but 2 this time!!!!!!! After waiting several ours for the gendarme to come get us, Cara, Steve and Joel, were lucky enough to ride in the back of an open army truck for 2 hours (yours truly had a cushy seat up front) with all of our luggage. Needless to say, by the time we reached the hotel the 3 of them and all our stuff was covered in a thick layer of dust. Thankfully the next day, we were able to relax in the thermal spas, enjoy good food, wine and company. Steve and I picked up our 2 tires from the gomeria, that luckily were able to get plugged and patched and then able to go get the car which was 30 km from the border. We left Argentina on Tuesday, and enjoyed a beautiful, breathtaking drive home. No problems to be had…

Second flat tire and our reactions

Gendarme to the rescue

Termas Pismanta

Pics from the drive

Lisa in Chile Sweet Pea in Argentina

San Pedro Day 1

Lisa — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:30:23 +0000

The Margheim’s are here visiting for 3 weeks for the holidays. At the beginning of their visit we took a trip up north to San Pedro. Here are some pictures from day 1…

Around town

Valley of the Moon

Stay tuned for Day 2…

Day 6- The final day

Lisa — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:38:22 +0000

Our last day of our trip we spent in Cusco and Lima. IN the morning, we got up and walked around town before our flight. Our flight from Lima to Santiago didn’t leave until 2 am, so we were able to explore a little more of Lima and went out to a terrific dinner. This trip was amazing, and I just wanted to thank my parents again for an amazing time. I had a wonderful visit with them, and can’t wait for the next.

Random pics of Cusco

In Lima we drove around Miraflores, went to some ruins and out for a fantastic seafood dinner

Day 5

Lisa — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:18:04 +0000

I figure I better finish this update before Karin gets here, which should be around 3. On Saturday Steve and I decided to get up to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu. Luckily, my dad was feeling much better and he and my mom decided that they would go to Machu Picchu a little later. Unfortuately, it was pretty cloudy, so we didn’t really get to see the sunrise. It did get us up there nice and early, and STeve and I were able to climb up Huayna Picchu. It was a tough climb but absolutely worth it. The view from the top was spectacular. We then climbed down the back of the mountain to see the caves. Total time was about 4 and a half hours. When we were done, we went back to Aguas Clientes explored the town some, and had a nice lunch,. Then met up with the rents after their Machu Picchu trip and headed back to the train station and back to Cusco. Saturday also was the day that the new seven wonders of the world was announced (Machu Picchu being one), so there was a big party going on in the Plaza de Armas in Cusco. We did get back to town to late to go, but STeve and I walked around the Plaza de Armas where they had constructed big statues to mark the occasion.

Steve and I before the hike

Still feeling good

Part of the trail

View from NOT the top

Are we almost there?

Getting closer…

WE MADE IT!!!!!!

Trail leading down to the Great Cavern also known as the Temple of the Moon

The Temple of the Moon

Us after the hike

Peruvian hairless dog

Aguas Calientes

The train ride back

Plaza de Armas in Cusco

Day 4- Machu Picchu

Lisa — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 04:10:59 +0000

Words cannot describe how amazing Machu Picchu was. I’ll let my pictures speak for themselves.

The Inca Bridge

Chinchilla

Human Sacrifice

Steve sitting on the royal throne at the house believed to have belonged to the Inca emperor Pachacuti

Day 3- Cusco

Lisa — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 02:20:40 +0000

On July 5, we left Lima to travel to Cusco. As soon as we got to our hotel, they had us sit in the reception area and drink coca tea to help ward off altitude sickness. We then decided to walk around town for a while, before our city tour. Cusco was absolutely beautiful. It’s how I actually thought Lima would be. After a nice leisurely stroll around town, we headed back to the hotel for our city tour. The city tour was fantastic. We learned a little bit about the history of Cusco and the Incas, drove all around Cusco and explored the ruins. We then had a nice light dinner at the hotel and off to bed. Our 4am wake-up call was going to be EARLY, but who cares, when you’re off to Machu Pichuu!

Hanging out at the hotel drinking coca tea

Mom interacting with a Peruvian mime

Pics of Cusco

The Inca Fountain of Youth

Day 2- The adventure continues…

Lisa — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:32:22 +0000

First of and foremost, I would like to wish my mom a happy birthday again. Her birthday was July 4, and we celebrated by flying over the Nazca lines. We got up early in the morning, went to the airport, flew to Ica which is a small town north of Lima. We saw a brief show about the Nazca lines, and then we boarded a TINY 8 person plane and started the 2 hour flight. It was amazing, flying over the desert and seeing the lines we saw..

a martian

a monkey

a dog

a spider

a condor

a hummingbird

a pair of hands

a tree

Misc pics

After the flight, we went to this great resort for lunch and live music.

After lunch, we went to an oasis. For me, this was probably my favorite part of the trip that I hadn’t planned on. I mean, Machu Pichuu was amazing, but I knew I was going there. The oasis was just part of our tour, and it was exactly how I have always imagined an oasis. Sand in every direction, hot blistering sun, and then palm trees, birds and water. While my parents walked around and enjoyed the oasis, Steve and I decided to go on a dune buggy ride. It was exhilarating, though we are still finding sand in our shoes! We went on an hour dune buggy ride and then went sand boarding. I’m not much of a snow boarder, and I didn’t want to injure myself before the trip was over, Steve and I decided to use the board more as a sled. It was so much fun, and the desert… What can I say, it was spectacular. I know I live in desert climate, but this was the first time that I have ever really been to the desert. The type that I saw in Lawrence of Arabia.

After a long and exhausting day, we flew back to Lima and had a nice birthday meal and cake at the hotel.

Come back and see what happens on day 3!!

Peru- Day 1

Lisa — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 22:07:26 +0000

My parents left last week, after a terrific visit. One of the highlights of their visit was our trip to Peru. I know that you have been eagerly awaiting an update, and i’m sorry it’s taken so long. I’ve decided to slowly post pictures from our trip, a day each day. We arrived in Lima at about midnight, and we’re picked up and whisked off to our hotel. We stayed at the Melia Lima hotel- which is now one of our favorite hotel chains. Steve and I stayed in a Melia Hotel in Portugal as well, and they were both amazing hotels. The next morning, we got up had an awesome breakfast- in Chile, they haven’t started the whole breakfast thing yet, so usually you only get bread and jam and some ham and cheese. This buffet was basically an american type buffet but better. Anyways, after breakfast, we went off shopping to the vendor district. There was everything imaginable there, and cheap. I was a little disheartened to find out that all the goodies i’ve been buying at La Recova heree in town, is actually, mostly all Peruvian items sold at about 3 times the cost. Needless to say, we were able to find everything we wanted and more. After shopping we came back to out hotel and waited for our city tour of Lima. OVerall Lima isn’t that impressive. I actually like Santiago better, though 1 thing Lima has going for it is that it is on the ocean. After the tour, we went out to dinner to a chifa restaurant- which is a chinese/peruvian fusion restaurant, and had a scrumptious meal. Unlike Santiago and Chile, Peru seemed to have a lot more international foods, and they used a lot more spices in the food.

My trip to Connecticut

Lisa — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 15:25:34 +0000

As many of you know, my dad brought me home for a surprise visit for mothers day, and for my sisters graduation from law school. I was home for almost 2 weeks and had a wonderful time seeing my family and friends. My sisters graduation went wonderfully, the smarty pants graduated cum laude! Karin and Adam have since then sold their house and are road tripping to Idaho to start their new life. I also got to see my friend Lauren and her new litle baby Ryan, my friend Ana and her new little baby Enrique, my friend Jaime and her 14 month old baby Julia, and my friend Janet and her 7 1/2 month old baby Ella. Cara, Joel, and I stopped in Philly for a short visit, and Janet and Alan had prepared an awesome picnic for all of us. It was fabulous seeing everyone, including my friends Laurie and John who were also there!! Some upcoming plans that Steve and I have are my parents are coming in a few weeks for a 3 week visit and my sister is coming in August for a visit as well. Here are some pics from the visit…

Mom surprised at seeing me

Hanging out at Grandmas with the family

Hanging out with Jill and the kids

My cousin Kim and her daughter Zoe and new baby Lily came for a visit and we went to Westmoor Park (which is a 4-H farm) and to the park to play

Graduation Weekend

Law School Reception

Fort McHenry and Baltimore waterfront

Baseball game, Nats lost to the Orioles

Graduation Day!!!

Philly Visit

I learned how to knit while I was home, and this is my first project. A blanket for sweet little Ryan!

A special thanks to my dad, who made this trip possible!!! It was his idea and I had a terrific time. Love you dad!!!!

Stop 6- Connecticut

Lisa — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 20:13:25 +0000

We went to CT in the beginning of October for a long weekend. We…

Saw the dogs and rebonded with IzzyBizzy (who loves my parents SO much and is very happy in CT)

I got to pick the last few tomatoes from my mom’s garden- which by the way are the BEST tomatoes EVER!!

Celebrate Karin and my birthday- along with our other family, the Grady’s!!

Reunited the Foley Family Players featuring- Bernadette on violin, Thomas on guitar, Karin on viola, Adam on guitar, Lisa on recorder and Steve on piano, playing “Ode to Joy”.

On Saturday, went to our friend Helen’s 30th bday bash, went to our 11th high school reunion, the mexican restaurant for drinks afterward, and back to our house to play games. Happy days, Cara and Joel also came home for the weekend to hang out.

Lastly, we went to a family reunion, and got to hang out with my grandma and family.