Travel Tuesday Archives - Page 8 of 11 - Amy and the Great World

Imagine If I Lived Here, Part 2

July 1, 2014

Linking up with Bonnie, Kaelene, Van and Sammy for Travel Tuesday!

Once a month, Travel Tuesday, my favorite link-up, has a prompt (such as languages or three places or food). Since July has five weeks (thankfully!), there will be two prompts, one of them for today. Today’s prompt is what is your travel style?

Instead of discussing the intricacies of my travel style and my patterns (which, full disclosure, seem to change on every trip!) I decided to share another rendition of my favorite travel game: Imagine If I Lived Here.

Imagine If I Lived Here epitomizes my travel style. I put myself in the shoes of a native and try to see what it would be like to live like that. It helps me at least attempt to gain a new cultural perspective and appreciation for all different ways of life. This informs how I travel more than anything else, because this is the root of why I travel: to see and experience these new cultures, perspectives, views, food and languages. Not only is Imagine If I Lived Here informative, it’s really fun! I love picking out a stranger on the street and daydreaming about what their life might be like. Of course, these are simply daydreams, as I couldn’t really imagine what their life is like (at least until I talked to them), and sometimes it’s easier for me to imagine their lives (or romanticize them!).

I’ve imagined what it would be like to live in Iceland, surrounded by the wild landscape, in a country where a large part of the population can trace their roots back to the Viking settlers (including the resident horses!) and many of the Icelanders believe in elves:

I’ve dreamed of living in Victoria on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. There are whales that live nearby year-round, bunnies that fill the university campus, red phone booths, gardens galore and afternoon tea:

I’ve wondered what it would be like to live on the beach in Thailand, with those perfect water views, laid-back lifestyle and easy access to scuba diving:

I’ve placed myself in the Alps of Switzerland, in a green valley ringed by peaks and full of the ringing of cowbells:

I’ve seriously considered living on Orcas Island, Washington, where they have endless views of water and wood, adorable shops, and a shop dedicated to just pie:

p.s. One thing I know for sure about my travel style is that I love to plan! If you need helping planning your next vacation, be sure to check out my travel planning services!

Do you have a ritual or game every time you travel, or a specific travel style?

Peru

The Sacred Valley of the Incas {Peru}

June 10, 2014

Nearby the town of Cuzco is the Sacred Valley of the Incas, also known as the Urubamba River Valley. It’s a green valley, ringed by the tall Andes, and full of old Inca sites, including the most famous of all, Machu Picchu. My first visit to the Sacred Valley did not include Machu Picchu, however, but was a fantastic introduction to the area. It’s so gorgeous, and those mountains will take your breath away!

The first stop we made was C’orao, famous for its market (and also incidentally my very first introduction, ever, to hole-in-the-ground toilets). It was also here where I tested out my haggling Spanish.

We then went to Pisac, or Pisaqa by the locals, also famous for its market and this time, we visited ruins. The Pisaqa ruins were high up in those hills, and included quite a hike–worth it. The ruins include terraces, temple, and even Inca tombs. From Pisaqa, we went to Ollanaytambo (after a brief stop for two blown tires–welcome to Peru!) and ended the day in Chichero, famous for a church that was built up by the Spanish on an ancient Inca wall. That was a theme I found throughout Cuzco, too: the Spanish utilized the brilliant building of the Incas for their foundation. Today, the only structures undamaged by the unfortunately common earthquakes in the area are what is left of the Inca buildings.

Ollantaytambo features agricultural terraces used by the Incas, leading to the top of a mountain, where there is a giant rock in the shape of a puma (or mountain lion, sacred to the Incas) and several temples. At the bottom of this mountain, closer to the village, are old Inca aqueducts (which still successfully run water!), and a water temple. There was a tour guide for all of these sites, but unfortunately my Spanish was not stellar at this point, so I wasn’t able to get everything he said, but I think I got the gist.

(I guess I’ll never know, though, will I?).

In Chicero, I ended up getting lost, and missed a textile demonstration that the rest of the tour watched. I was happy to explore the little town, though, even with the constant dogging by cute little children trying to sell me finger puppets. I ended up caving and buying a small pescado (fish) puppet from an adorable little girl…one of the many times I would end up caving. What was I going to do with a fish finger puppet? Or, a finger puppet at all?

Due to our small tire mishap earlier, we ended up back in Cuzco a few hours later than planned, but I didn’t mind. It was my first weekend in Peru, and I couldn’t wait to explore more.

^my first view of the Sacred Valley, along with a local selling handiwork.^my Dalmatian sunglasses are a real fashion statement, I know. This was a few years ago, and I’ve matured, don’t worry!^ the C’orao market, complete with alpacas, because it’s the Andes, of course.^I couldn’t resist this little baby! ^the Pisaqa ruins and a huge dork.^overlooking the town of Pisac.^the bustling market at Pisac. Can you believe that view?^hiking along the Andes. ^more views of the Pisaqa ruins. ^my travel buddy, Linda, and I. ^my other travel buddy, a tiny pink Buddha for luck. ^Ollantaytambo!

^a close-up view of the incredible Inca skills. Look at those crafted rocks! Oh, and I’m there, too.^the water temple near Ollantaytambo. ^the Andes at sunset. Wow!^Chichero. ^the sunset over Chicero and the Andes.

Linking up again for Travel Tuesday with Bonnie, Sammy, Kaelene and Van! A few days late but better late than never, right?

Scotland

Stirling {Scotland}

June 3, 2014

Once again joining Bonnie, Kaelene, Sammy and Van for Travel Tuesday!

Not too far outside of both Glasgow and Edinburgh lies the charming, historic town of Stirling. Since it’s Scotland, it certainly wouldn’t be quite as charming if there wasn’t a castle to go along with it.

And some castle it was! The views from Stirling Castle were some of the best in Scotland, probably (although this is only my second castle so don’t hold me to that!). It was green, green, everywhere, which is one of my very favorite things.

We could see the castle way off in the distance–it sort of pops out of the green landscape.

Stirling is also famous because it’s the location of William Wallace’s famous Battle for Stirling Bridge during the Wars for Scottish Independence in the 1300s (think Braveheart and Mel Gibson). There is a present-day Stirling Bridge although unfortunately it’s not the exact same one.

We were lucky with the weather. Although it was a little cloudy, cool and windy, the gray colors just made it greener.

Since it was a quick stop, we only explored the castle and the grounds, including a cemetery nearby. Tell me somebody else loves cemeteries? Maybe that’s a little creepy, but they’re calm, quiet, and pretty, and I love finding ancient ones, like the one near Stirling Castle. The rest of the town looks really cute, too, and I think it would make a great day trip. Since I love little towns like this, I would probably want to stay another night or two and wander the adorable little alleys. It’s definitely worth a visit if you make it.

^I snapped a photo with my phone as we arrived. You can see this castle from everywhere!