Lima, Peru

Hello from Lima, Peru! I kept saying Lima like the bean, and apparently that is incorrect.

First off, I will start with last night. At the pre-dinner cocktail party we got a chance to mingle with other people that are on the trip with us. That was interesting. So many people had been on 2, 3, 6 of the TCS trips before, so it was good to hear about their experiences. At the little social the waiters continued to fill our wine glasses up without our consent. As a result, I think we all drank a little too much.

Then we went in to the dinner. Now, we had already been eating appetizers at the cocktail party, so no one was really hungry. But, the salad, filet, and creme brule all got eaten somehow. Anyways, this is what we looked like post-dinner...

So, this morning I think Diana's alarm went off at 5:45 am. HELLO! Not that anyone could sleep due to all of the nerves and anticipation. We had breakfast and headed to the airport at 8:00. Everything was easy peasy one two threesy. The plane is so nice. Very spacious and the staff of the plane are all very nice and helpful. We had a 6 hour flight down to Lima, and let me tell you, it was a weird feeling when the pilot came on and said we had just crossed in to the southern hemisphere. We had a huge lunch on the plane and heard some lectures on earthquakes and on Lima itself. We landed about 3:20pm Lima time. So...we made it!

We went straight from the airport to the Larco Herrera Museum. The museum had alot of jewelry found in tombs, pottery from 200 BC, tapastries, ect. Here is a picture of solid gold jewelry found on a body in a tomb. The tombs were burried 12ft. underground, which has alot to do with why the jewelry was in such good condition.

Then we had a cocktail in the courtyard of the museum. I didn't get a picture of it, but I found a dog! Peruvian dogs have no hair, and it looked like a hyeina rat. I wanted to pet it but it was a stray. Oh well, at least I found a dog at our first stop! Here is a picture of Diana and Me at the cocktail.

Finally we got to the hotel Miraflores. It is beautiful, the ocean is right outside of my window. There are parks on the right side of the road and then steps going way down the cliffs to the ocean. It is unbelievable. We had dinner on the 11th floor observatory deck, which was outfitted with a heated pool, seen below (aka my mom wanted a picture with it! A lap pool!)

So, tomorrow we head to Cusco and then to Machu Pichu. The internet is not complementary anywhere, so I am taking donations. No i'm kidding, but it may be two days before the next post. Wish us luck with our trip to 10,000 ft. elevation!

Much love,

Marge & Di

Getting to Orlando...

So, this morning we left the house at approx. 7:45 am to go to the airport. Baggage check only cost us an extra $100. It would have cost another $50, however, I was able to remove a jacket and pair of rainbows in order to get my bag at 50 lbs. Thankfully Diana had extra room!

After boarding the plane to Charlotte we sat on the runway for 45 minutes, causing us to miss our connecting flight to Orlando....wonderful, huh? Anyways, it turned out to be a minor incident because another flight left at 1:00pm, landing at 2:30, and we ended up on the same flight as my Aunt and Uncle!

We made it to the hotel, and guess what, the lovely, wonderful, luxurious Ritz-Carlton does not have free wireless internet. GREAT. So, my 15 minutes (costing me $2.95) is almost up.

More tomorrow from Lima, Peru!

Say a prayer for our first trip out of the USA!

Peace, love, and jet setting rock-n-roll

Marge

Packing

How do you pack for a month?

Simple...neatly place everything you own in a huge suitcase.

Or, if you are my mom, go nuts...

Direct quote: "I'm done being crazy" - Cathy Williams. Liar

On the other hand, if you are Diana, you could just get stoned...

Any ways you do it, you are likely to loose a few years off your life in the process.

Oh well, I'm done packing! If only I could fit Reilly in my suitcase...

We are doing what?

Background: Our family is going on a month long trip around the world. My Grandfather decided this trip was something he wanted eveyone to go on. So, here we go. We both feel lucky to have this opportunity & are very excited.

In Attendance: Margaret, Diana, Cathy (our mom), Lonnie Jr. (our dad), Jan & Larry Murdoch (Dad's sister & her husband), Jan & Gary Williams (Dad's brother & his wife), Sam Williams (our cousin), Lonnie Sr. (Granddad), and Mr Lanier (Granddad's friend). Be prepared for some great stories...

Where we are going: We are pretty much going completely around the world. Here is a list of the places we are going in chronolgogical order: Cusco & Machu Picchu, Peru; Easter Island, Chile; Samoa; Great Barrier Reef, Australia; Papua New Guinea; Angkor Wat, Cambodia; Agra, India (Taj Mahal); Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Serengeti Plain, Tanzania; Marrakech, Morocco; and finally, London, England. Whew, that made to tired just to type out!

So, we will post on the blog about where we are, what we are doing, interesting things we see/learn, funny stories (especially concerning our mother), and of course, how many times Diana pukes on the plane. Ha!