Pandemic Posts 2020

#TrumpPandemic 2020 I have become far too fond of Gov. Cuomo.  I've watched way too many talented people sing, dance, and flip pancakes while doing flips. I've read 22 books. Exercise classes now live on the computer. I've designed and knitted a large Aran cape/wrap. I've baked 3 loaves of no-knead bread. I've finished the first section of DuoLingo's Beginner Spanish. I have heartily applauded moms teaching fractions by gulping wine, moms who day drink and paint, moms who drink while teaching kids to ride bikes, and moms who have decided to do interpretive dances to ringtones. I've cheered for kids who 3-D print masks for medicos and Captains who protect their sailors over their own careers. I've virtually volunteered for the Eliot Engel and Joe Biden campaigns. I've learned about a new type of Zoom. I've had far too many cocktails. I've mourned many too many musicians. I've watched Tiger King for godssakes! I have been home and social distancing since March 1. This is certain to go on through May, maybe longer. I am tired. In addition to the laugh/cry memes, the news articles and opinions proving and decrying the lack of brains and interest from the marmalade menace's admin, the following is a selection of my social media posts from this unprecedented weirdness.

4/6
I have spent the whole frigging day hand sewing masks out of old flannel PJs and baking bread and I am so OVER this Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie fantasy. I want to go out in a slinky dress and heels in NYC and drink martinis! Hell, I just want to go out!

4/5
So fucking tired. day 36 of social distancing, and none of it means anything if other people won't too. If you could play Russian Roulette with only your life I'd call you an idiot, but you are playing with mine too.

4/2 JHROLLERSKATINGFC - JARED KUSHNER???????? FFS

4/1 Joe Exotic being on COVID-19 watch in jail is pretty much proof that this simulation is breaking down.

also 4/1

just so you all know - April Fool's Day has been cancelled this year.

3/31 Tuesday March 31, 2020 A typical day in our atypical new normal. Get up, feed dog, use clorox wipes on anything that might have been touched in the downstairs yesterday. Wash hands. Take vitamins. Have coffee, read facebook. Take the dog to the park. It's 9AM.  

My plans for the rest of the day are, take an online yoga class with Bill at noon. Drop off a packet of yeast (I scored at WF last week!) in a friend's mailbox. Do some data entry stuff for the Engel campaign. Sew pockets onto the shawl/poncho I designed and knitted. Read (I think I'm up to about a book, book and a half a day). Attempt no-knead bread in the dutch oven. Talk to friends and family on facebook. Make trouble on twitter. Scroll through Instagram. Make dinner. Drink wine. Sleep.

3/30 I have adopted an emotional support demon named tequila. 

3/28

3/20 So, anyone else moved their upstairs tiara to downstairs for Skype calls? 

3/19 today, just exhausted. overwhelmed and exhausted. no real treatment, no real cure, and the knowledge that if I get this, I don't have great odds to survive it. and I've been yelling at everyone to stay home for almost a month now to try and save my own life, and so few people seem to care. I'm tired.

3/18 

3/15 We are exactly where Italy was 10 days ago. We can choose to stay home or face the same fate. #whichofyourneighborsareyouwillingtokill?

3/14 2020 has been an exhausting year so far. I feel like I have been a Cassandra on so many fronts. I am overwhelmed.

3/13 Please call Governor Cuomo’s office to close all NYS schools for a minimum of two weeks (the incubation period of the Corona Virus is 14 days) to contain the virus and protect public health! (518)474-8390 - Option 2

3/12 I have to say, as a Kindergarten teacher and Jewish Mother, I'm both appalled and baffled that you all didn't wash your hands properly or have a month's worth of food in the house before now.

3/11 As someone with asthma, I'm gonna have to say, I'm disappointed in a whole lot of you people. You may never have struggled to breathe, never felt like you were drowning while out of the water, never given up on the medicine working and just accepted you were going to die. All of the minimizing of the severity of this virus tells your friends with lung disease, heart disease, immune systems compromised by cancer treatments, (not to mention you grandparents) and all the other high risk folks, that you don't care if we die. And I have to say, that kind of sucks.

3/10 without immediate aggressive social distancing, the US infection rate will look like Italy's in under 2 weeks. (and it may already be too late) We don't have enough ventilators for the people who will need them. this isn't hyperbole. it's just fact. also fact, those of us in high risk categories can hear you when you say it isn't a big deal.

3/7 OK, I admit it, I did not have pandemic taking out *POTUS and *VPOTUS because of CPAC, as how Nancy Pelosi Gets to be President on my BINGO card.

3/5 dear lord

3/4 Wash your hands like you've got a club stamp you don't want your mom to see

3/3 From a friend who works at a large firm in NYC . New guidelines. "You should not book venues for large events until further notice. Where a large event (over 20 people) has already been booked but the invitations have not yet been sent, you should seek to postpone the booking. Small events (under 20 people) which involve no international travel may go ahead as normal, subject to any further developments. If an invitation has already been sent for an event then we should continue to progress as planned but while keeping the event under careful review."

3/2 Every week this year has been a very long year.

and finally

My Love Letter to NYC

I love cities. I always have. I find them energizing and inspiring. New York most of all. Over the years, I have been lucky enough to see quite a few cities around the world, and while they all have their charms, Paris is perfect in the springtime, Madrid magical in winter, and Sydney's summertime can't be beat, there is nothing in the world like New York City in the fall.

It always brings me a thrill, to be part of the ballet of bodies criss-crossing the busy sidewalks, weaving in perfect syncopation. New Yorkers pass each other like swifts, with just the bare minimum and precise amount of room necessary to avoid a crash. It is glorious. I'm attune to the sights, the tourists, the shop windows, a photographer trying to get a shot of her model from across the street, as cars and trucks force her to be momentarily unseen. I adore the sounds as well, people speaking languages I can't identify, birds chirping, horns honking, the slap sound of paper pulled off a stack and thrust at you, and yes, even the scents, leaves underfoot, roasting chestnuts, fancy lady perfume, all mixed in with exhaust fumes. I love it all. I stop thinking, I just breathe and live in the moment. It is a type of meditation in motion.

I had my perfect day in NYC yesterday. My morning was spent at the glorious Sisley Spa at The Carlyle Hotel on 76th near Madison. The combination of old world elegance and modern spa treatments make me so happy. An elevator operator! And their glass of champagne is served in crystal, and it isn't plonk! Heaven. After being steamed and kneaded into feeling like Wagu beef, I took a great walk back to Grand Central. The weather was my absolute favorite, sunny, with just enough of a crisp breeze to make walking a non-sweaty joy. I windowed shopped at every jeweler between The Carlyle and the train. I rescued a pack of lost German tourists, and got them pointed towards the right subway. I ate a dirty water dog with sauerkraut and mustard. I got to be a New Yorker again for a few hours. That's as close as I get to Nirvana.

L'Shana Tovah

First of all, and most importantly. L'Shana Tovah to all, I hope you are inscribed in the Book of Life and have a happy, healthy, and sweet New Year. To anyone I accidentally wronged this year, I'm sorry and I will try to do better next year, to anyone I purposely wronged, I am very sorry and will try to be a better person next year.

The Jewish holidays inevitably make me miss my mom. The same way the first Pats game of the season makes me miss my dad.  If we are lucky, only the good memories stay present after our parents are long. I am very lucky.

Thinking about my mom and the High Holidays inevitably leads me to thinking about my mom's jewelry. She loved jewelry, and all things sparkly. My mom grew up in a working class neighborhood in a  working class town, her father was a tailor, but died when she was in High School. I have the last present he ever gave her, for her sixteenth birthday, a moonstone ring, saved for my daughter.  I love it, but I can't wear it, because she wore it every day of her life, so it seems too much like her for me to put on. My daughter was only three when my mom died, so she will be able to wear it someday without the pain of the loss.

My grandmother was an immigrant who never learned to speak English all that well. Money was tight after my grandfather died. My grandmother had some money from my grandfather's social security.  My Uncle Sam was ten years older than my mom and was already established working a factory job, so he helped support his mom and baby sister. After High School my mom got a job as a Secretary in that factory and helped support the family as well. She worked there even after she and my dad got married, while they waited to have children, and then later, while they waited to adopt. She loved pretty things, but mostly sparkly things. Jewelry was an outward expression to the world that she was taken care of, that she was safe. The cultural history of the Jews and portable wealth is well documented, and that was part of her feelings of safety as well.  "If it all goes down the tubes, we can run for the boarder with all the jewelry sewn into the hems of our clothes."  I never understood her, never thought I could feel that way, we were Americans, but here we are, America 2019, and I understand her now.

Some time after my mom and dad got married, they started a small business, and moved from working class to middle class. Although I don't think either of them ever felt secure there. But my mom was always striving to be appropriate to her station, and wore her nice quality, solid, one-carat engagement ring, alongside her wedding band, pretty much every day (except in summer, when she had a special white, enameled, summer band that took the place of both). But for the holidays the big guns came out and she would wear her twenty-fifth anniversary diamond to shul. Rosh Hashanah services were interminable for me as a child (because they ARE!) and my reward for good behavior was getting to play with my mom's rings, moving them back and forth on her finger to catch the ceiling lights in the Synagogue and sometimes even catching the lights from the Bimah.  I could feel the waves of contentment coming off of her as she watched her little girl as entranced by her jewelry as she was. I sometimes find myself playing with my own rings like that now. Even without the synagogue lights.

I am not an observant Jew. I don't believe in God, or that organized religion is a good thing. But I am a fervent believer in cultural traditions. So for Rosh Hashanah although I don't go to shul, I do make a brisket the size of a Buick, apples and honey, and cheat and buy the tzimmetzes already cooked from Whole Foods. I very much like the idea of taking a couple days to reflect on the past year and apologize for my mistakes.  I miss my mom, and I am glad that I can look back to the last conversation we ever had. It was about a fifth anniversary ring Peter was getting me. Because I know that conversation made her feel at peace, knowing I was taken care of and safe. We sad our "I love yous" at the end of the phone call, not knowing we wouldn't have another chance. She had not been written into the Book of Life for another year. But we got to say it.

My New Years wish for all of you is that you are able to say your "I love yous" hoping you have more time, but making it count if you don't.

Like many spouses (oh who am I kidding, husbands), my spouse can be difficult to buy presents for. He either has everything he wants, or when he sees something he wants, he buys it for himself (usually the week of his birthday, our anniversary, or Christmas, but that’s another story). Last year I discovered something he really wanted, and though I was able to buy part of it (thank you Rye Historical Society for your historic house marker program! https://www.ryehistory.org/give/#anchor-link-marker) the part he really wanted was the history of the house, not just the date it was built, even if it was presented on a lovely house plaque.

The conversation in my head was the usual one, I went to Sarah Lawrence, I’m good at research. I’ll just do it myself. How hard could it be to find the history of a house? It’s a piece of land, so it will be neatly organized by block in a government folder somewhere. Probably in the building department downtown. Shouldn’t take more than a few hours. And the result was also the usual one, famous last words.

As it turns out, the records in our fair city are somewhat limited and you have to go to the Westchester Land Records Department to get a complete listing of all the housing transactions for historic homes. And you have to switch from looking for Rye City transactions to Rye Town transactions in the 1940s once the incorporation changed. And they aren’t actually organized by block after all, but instead alphabetically by last name of buyer to seller, and seller to buyer. And not completely alphabetically as we commonly know it, but by a system invented in the 1600s which is alphabetical by first consonant and first vowel, then chronologically within the year, backwards. And turn of the previous century handwriting, while elegant, isn’t always all that easy to decipher. I also found out that there are some very wonderful people who work at the Westchester Land Records Department who will take time out of their day and take pity upon newbie researchers to help them find the missing link, because they know to check if a page was alphabetized badly so the D E page somehow got stuck in the wrong place, before the D A page.  

If you want historic maps, to go along with the project, then you have to go to the Rye Historical Society, the Westchester Historical Society, the Town of Rye records room and back to the Rye Historical Society. My "shouldn’t take more than a few hours" project stretched to about six weeks. Then there was the subterfuge involved with typing and organizing the project in a small house with a husband who works at home and who will exhibit curiosity  “Hey, what are you working on?” at the worst possible times. But, once done, I got to present him with a folder of maps and information about our house, our neighborhood, and our City’s growth, as well as the aforementioned lovely plaque for our historic home. He loved it. And I loved doing the research. It was like being on a treasure hunt.

I found a great deal of information, but there are a few more mysteries yet to be solved, so if anyone knows how young New York City widow, Jennie Starke suddenly got involved in a beach real estate development deal with Urwin Magill of Yonkers, or why Magill acquired the land from the Halsteds’ company, then turned around and sold a half interest to Starke the same day, and how she ended up marrying the notary from that deal, please get in touch, I am dying to know! 

THE HISTORY OF A HOUSE

1907-2019

The Halsted family has had a long history in Rye, Ezekiel was the first one to move to Rye in 1746, from Huntington, LI, buying the Knapp Estate on the road to the beach. His family flourished in the area, with his two sons, Ezekiel and Philomen, producing many heirs, mostly named Ezekiel and Philomen, for a few generations, after which they switched to naming many of them Henry. (You can visit many of their graves in the historic Milton Cemetery on Milton Road.) By the beginning of the 19th century the Halsted family (sometimes styled Halstead) owned much of Milton Point, along with holdings all over Westchester. In the early 20th century, Ezekiel’s descendants were starting to develop large pieces of family lands, forming The Oakland Beach Realty Company in 1909.

Rye became a village in 1904, and people from New York City were eager to buy beach cottages in newly developed areas. The Oakland Beach Realty Company (President, Augustus Halsted (b. November 22,1836 d. September 14, 1912), steamship company owner, author, publisher, and farmer who invented the incubator and patented it in 1882 and Secretary, his son,J. Henry Halsted (b. October 7,1868 d.September 22,1950) operator of a ferry from Rye to Sea Cliff, owner of the Milton Boatyard and Rye Garage, Village Trustee and Rye School Board member) was formed to sell off tracts of Halstead lands to developers. Oakland Beach Park was the first large subdivision of Oakland Beach Realty, running from Forest Ave to Milton Road, and from Rye Beach Ave to Dearborn. J. Henry rented the land from Dearborn to the water from his father Augustus on March 29th 1907, for $1,200 per year, for a term of 5 years, perhaps to prepare it for sale, or perhaps to see the difference in revenue there was between sales and rental properties. The locals were eager to have proper houses near the beach, housing proper people, rather than visitors who were seen as quite a rowdy bunch. One of the provisions of the rental agreement was that the party of the second part (J. Henry) would not sell or permit the sale of intoxicating liquors on the premises. Another was that bathhouses were allowed to be built and removed yearly.

 Augustus 

The area that was to become Oakland Gardens was sold to Urwin J. Magill of Yonkers NY, in July of 1911 by The Oakland Beach Realty Company. Oakland Gardens covers Garden Drive, Orchard Drive, the adjacent east side of Milton Rd and the south side of Dearborn. The deed specifies that no building other than private residences are allowed, only one private garage or stable per resident, and that “no swine, or any vicious, dangerous, destructive, or offensive animals will be permitted to be kept,” and again, no selling intoxicating liquors. By August, Mr. Magill and his wife Mary had moved from Yonkers to Rye and entered into a partnership with Jennie L.J. Starke from New York City, allowing her to buy an undivided one half interest in the property. The agreement with the Westchester Lighting Company in October of 1911 allowed for telephone, lighting and gas lines to be brought in, even in areas not yet recognized as streets by the village of Rye. On October 9, 1911 the map (made by M. Lorini, C.E. certified September 22,1911) of Oakland Gardens, Oakland Beach, Rye was filed in the office of the Register of Westchester County as the property of Mrs. Mrs. Jennie L. J. Starke and Urwin J. Magill. Her name comes first on all the paperwork thence forward.

Our lots were sold to C. Herbert MacKay of Hamilton, Canada by Mrs. Starke (now living in Oscawana and Mrs. Starke-Belknap) and Mr. & Mrs. Magill of Rye in 1915. He was deeded the right to the land and to build one private house, with restrictions, that included no flat roof, no outside privies, no tents, and no house that cost less than $1,000 be allowed to sully the neighborhood. There was a $6 yearly fee for the Oakland Gardens Association which was supposed to maintain a park like condition of the areas gardens and trees.

Mr. MacKay back in Hamilton, Canada, along with his wife Irene, sold the property and house he'd built on it to Celia Hanson of the Bronx after having owned it for 6 years. The deed includes lots, parcels of land, buildings and improvements and “rights, title and interest in and to Garden Drive and Orchard Walk in front of and adjacent to said premises, to the centre lines thereof respectively.” One of the restrictions in their contract was that the buyer “shall quietly enjoy said premises.” No mention of any Oakland Gardens Association or fees by in this deed.

Celia Hanson then sold the property to George L. Marinor, Jr. who was living in Harrison (and thus was forced to root for the Huskies before moving to Rye, GO GARNETS!) in 1939 after just under 18 years of ownership.

George L. Marinor, sold the house to Charles and Mary Petti of Port Chester in 1942. He owned the property for a little under 3 years. It’s possible that it was a rental property during that time, as his address was listed as Harrison on all the paperwork.

The Pettis lived on Milton Road, Rye at the time they sold our property, listed for the first time with a street address of Oakland Gardens, to Thomas and Helen de Petra (who were probably renters of the property before, as it is listed as their address) in 1944. The Pettis ownership was just over 2 years, and it is a reasonable assumption that they bought it as a rental property since they lived around the corner.

The de Petras sold the property to Frank and Lucky DeBease of 18 Oakland Gardens (a smaller lot) in 1947, after having owned the house for just under 3 years.

The DeBeases (still with the property listed as having an Oakland Gardens address), sold to James N. Seaman, Jr. and his wife, Genevieve C. Seaman in 1957. The DeBeases have the first building card on file with the City of Rye (from the 1940s) and lived in the house for just under 10 years.

James N. Seaman, Jr. deeded over half the house to his second wife Jean C. Seaman after Genevieve passed away. The address for the first time listed as the current one, with all the language from previous deeds, and finally identified with the lot and block numbers on the assessment map in 1975.

The Seamans sold to William Garvey and his wife Tamara Eberlein, in 1985. The Seaman Family had the longest tenancy of the property to this date, having owned it for 28 years and 10 months.

In April 1994, we bought the home on the little footpath to the beach from the Garvey/Eberliens, and have lived there happily ever after since. We will be the longest owners of the house in February of 2023. We've raised two wonderful children here and several very good dogs. 

Fashion notes on a sporting event

Yesterday was the 151st running of the Belmont Stakes, we've gone for the last several years, and this was a particularly fun day (would have been a MORE fun day if I had just put down $2 on a long shot who's name I liked, because then I would have made several thousand dollars, but that's just horse racing). 

I am glad to report that over the last few years the post-frat crowd of NYC millennials has started treating it as more of an NYC late spring festival, and less of an ersatz Kentucky Derby event. The guys have moved to a proper preppy style, blue blazers and seersucker pants or chinos, and away from the "crazy" suits of years gone by including the proper implementation of white bucks. Fedoras and boaters are still en vogue as are the ubiquitous "this is my first cigar and I might barf" for both boys and girls.

Women's fashion is closer to festival style than Derby style (plenty of fascinators still, but they are on the wane) festival with a preppy NYC edge, more Lilly than Anthropology.  Best look is floppy sun hat, good shades, nice clutch, and cute sundress or romper and shoes you can (mostly) walk in, especially on grass. The midriff trend has moved to a thin line, just below where an Empire waist would hit. It looks great on nearly everyone.


My best advice would be to skip the long dresses and totally flat sandals, because some of the millennials new to Belmont  have not yet learned to pace themselves, and aren't well acquainted enough with the effects of day drinking bourbon. Have fun, don't bet what you can't afford to lose, and then you can consider all wagers as entertainment budget - cheaper than a day at Yankee Stadium and you don't have to watch baseball.

Peru in 8 days

For our 25th anniversary we decided on a trip to Machu Picchu. Neither of us had ever been to South America, and what could be more romantic than touching down on a whole new continent together? And since this was to be a big trip, we decided to do it up right, with a travel agent and guides etc....especially as neither of us really speaks Spanish past the point of "buenos dias and vino tinto, por favor, gracias."Most people spoke English, and were very kind and patient with out attempts at Spanish, and it helped us that Peruvian Spanish is closer to Castilian than to Central American Spanish. Having knowledgable guides was really the best plan. We saw so much more and understood so much more of what we were seeing than even my impressive and compulsive trip planning skills could muster. Tourism is a large part of the economy and the guides are professionals who really consider your interests and fitness levels before putting together plans. Traffic is bananas even by Boston girl standards so I would not recommend renting a car and trying to get around on your own. We used Elli travel and it was well worth it! They handled everything. https://www.ellitravel.com

The parts of Peru we were in were pretty touristy and pretty casual as far as dressing goes. Even the fanciest restaurants we went to had plenty of people in jeans, lots of men without jackets, no ties anywhere. Outside of Lima, hiking and backpacking attire was common everywhere. Athleisure wear is the norm. Layers are key, definitely include a down vest. Our trip was in early September, so their late-winter, almost spring. Pretty temperate conditions, but cold (mid-30s at night in the mountains). I brought 2 pairs of leggings and some tights to wear under dresses, skirts and tunics, but I should have brought 3 pairs of leggings, another tunic and no skirt. All the nice hiking hotels have beautiful pools and hot tubs, so a bathing suit or 2 is a must. Amazingly beautiful textiles are also a part of the culture. You can buy all sorts of gorgeous alpaca and baby alpaca sweaters if you aren't allergic like I turned out to be. I highly recommend asking your doctor for the altitude pills. Coca leaf tea is fun and all, but meds AND coca leaf tea are better than either one alone. Once outside of Lima the altitude took some major adjusting to, even with the coca leaf tea and the altitude pills. It's very hard to find direct flights that don't involve going one way on a red eye - we opted to arrive in Lima at 10PM and save our red eye for our return home. I'd rather get to a new city and be able to enjoy and just be tired once I got back, but that's just my way - if you can sleep on planes, good for you! Non-stop is about 8 hours Newark to Lima.

Some highlights of our trip
We arrived in Lima about 9:30PM and were met by a guide and driver to take us to our hotel in the Barranco district of Lima. Cabs were readily available. Barranco is always referred to as the "bohemian" district, lots of art, bars, and nightlife. Our hotel was the Villa Barranco, a spectacularly charming former mansion turned into a boutique hotel, run by lovely people. We let them know this was our 25th anniversary trip and by the time we got back from grabbing a light dinner & drinks - mostly we wanted to walk around the neighborhood in the Lima mist and uncork from being trapped in plane for 8 hours - they had a lovely piece of cake on hand for us to enjoy in the garden space adjacent to our room.  They seemed a little disappointed we were too full, but asked if we would have cake tomorrow and we promised to save room. The only problem with the food in Peru is that it is delicious and there is always too much of it. People say American portions are large, but every meal here was three courses and huge! We found a great neighborhood place with a tapas (but giant sized)


menu, live music and pisco sours.Posada de Angel.

Villa Barranco
at night. Just a short block from the Pacific Ocean. Full (really full) breakfast, but a city hotel, so no pool, hot tub, spa, or other amenities. OK sized rooms, super comfy bed, rain shower with nice toiletries and an outdoor sitting area. http://www.ananay-hotels.com/branches/villa-barranco/

Day 2 was a full day exploring Lima
We got off to a slow start because as soon as we got into the Historic Center and the Plaza Mayor, there was a festival going on and we had to stop and watch all the dancers, musicians and costumes,  because these were some of the costumes!!!!!!!

It was a beautiful celebration and a wonderful welcome to the culture even though we didn't know what was going on. (A Colonial era virgin doing miracles and being claimed by both Andean and
Amazon cultures was about as close as we got.) The joy this clearly brought to all involved was magnificent and radiated out into the streets, especially since they kept being closed off for parade purposes.

The rest of the historic tour was fun, but more usual, Cathedral, catacombs, colonial mansion....Must see, but similar to other cities all over the world. Then we drove to the Museo Larco which was amazing!!!!!!!! Spectacular collection of pre-Columbian art, textiles, pottery and history of the people who lived there before Pizarro showed up in 1532.  Don't miss! http://www.museolarco.org

Then it was lunch at the gorgeous Cala on the Pacific in the Miraflores district. I ate myself silly. The ceviche was out of this world delicious! The menu was broad and creative and the decor elegant. Again, highly recommend!!!!! http://calarestaurante.com

After that we went back to Barranco to wander around, people watch and take in the feel of the city. Interesting place to buy trinkets if you want, nice walk by the water and obligatory "Bridge of Sighs."  Then off to the MATE museum which hosts the largest collection of Mario Testino's work. The Peruvians are rightly very proud of their native son, but as I'd seen all these shots in the magazines when they came out, I found this museum less interesting. His photos of Andean people in their local costumes were really interesting though, especially after the festival we encountered that morning.  

We were supposed to have dinner at Tragaluz which is one of the great restaurants in the great Lima foodie scene, but we were still too full from lunch. So back to Posada de Angel for tapas and pisco sours. 

Day 3 was up at 4:40AM for a 5:00 pick-up for our flight to Cusco. As I mentioned - traffic is nuts, and the Lima airport is not big enough to handle all the people who want to come visit, so 2 hours is recommended before domestic flights, and at least 3 before international (although we had way, way, way more than enough time in every case). We landed and were immediately whisked to Sacsayhuaman, an Incan military site that hosted a major battle with the Spanish in 1536, and who's massive stones were used in the building of the Cathedral after the Spanish victory. Cusco is super high and we felt it immediately, even though we had started taking the altitude pills 24 hours in advance as directed. This site sits above the city. Even a short hike at 12,142 feet is taxing.

for scale - he's 6'5" and I am not. Then it was off to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Valley being slightly misleading as it is at 9,420 feet elevation.

After that we got to go to one of the highlights of the trip. After a terrifying trip up dirt roads, straight up a damn mountain, we we brought to have lunch in a family home in an Amaru village. We learned about and ate their traditional foods (yes, we ate guinea pig, we were guests!) and how they card, spin & dye the beautiful yarns they use to make their spectacular textiles. 

The Pisac market was fun if you like that sort of souk (I do, him, not so much). We bought a few gifts and I discovered that I am massively allergic to alpaca wool.

Our hotel in Urubamba was the unbelievably gorgeous Sol y Luna. I can't possibly recommend this place more highly. Unwordly setting, surrounded by mountains, gorgeous rooms, lovely helpful staff, pool, hot tub, spa, horses, great restaurants, cool art (all by one local artist), even the stars seemed to celebrate us being there. It was dark enough to see the Milky Way. I never wanted to leave.

https://www.relaischateaux.com/us/peru/solyluna-cusco-urubamba

and all the places we visited in the Sacred Valley were otherworldly cool from the circular terrace food research labs of the Incans at Moray,

to the saltpans of Maras (where the ancient sea bed was pushed up over 11,000 feet by the rising Andes Mountains),

 to the glorious drive through the pampas with the snow capped glaciers in the distance.

But the absolute coolest part was taking part in a ceremony of healing with a shaman from the indigenous people of the Andes.  No pictures. Just trust me, if you have the opportunity to participate, do it. Even if you think it might be corny, it's really cool. 

Next was the trip to Machu Picchu itself. We started the day by driving to Ollantaytambo and hiking around its Incan fortress before getting the Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu and going up for our first day of hiking with our guide. I thought the Vistadome was well worth it, you can go cheaper on the regular train without the skylights or lots more expensive on the Hiram Bingham if you are into eating off china on a train, but the middle ground was the right choice for us.

Machu Picchu is one of those places that all the photos in the world can't prepare you for, but everybody tries. 

It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site for good reason. It is literally and figuratively breathtaking. The hiking is challenging even though it's "only" at 8,000 feet. The first day we went in the afternoon session and hiked the ruins and learned more of the history of the site.  Tourists are allowed up in two different daily sessions. Morning or afternoon (of course you can stay all day if you have a morning pass, but since there are no bathrooms or food or water available inside the site  most people don't stay all day). This picture was taken just after we got there and I stopped shaking from the bus ride up the mountain.

This is the road up to Machu Picchu. The only way up is tourist bus or hiking. I didn't hike it, so I can't say which is worse.

It's a 20 minute bus ride.

Then, at the end of the day, you have to take the bus back down!!!! I did not take the return trip well. It's possible it involved hysterical laughter when we had to BACK UP on the narrow road on the cliff face because another bus was coming, and a death grip on his arm, and burying my face, so I couldn't see off the edges and down to certain death.  That they have only lost one bus ever was not as comforting as he seemed to think it would be.

Fortunately there are also llamas wandering around as lawnmowers.

And this was our hotel pool after hiking. 

The Inkaterra is a magnificent place. And the hot pools were a thing of joy after a morning hike, a 90 train ride, an afternoon hike & 2 20 minute bus rides https://www.inkaterra.com/inkaterra/inkaterra-machu-picchu-pueblo-hotel/the-experience/

The next day we were back again. We took an 8AM bus, because we aren't really sunrise people. And the early buses have very long lines. The mountain was much more crowded in the morning session. I can understand why the government is trying so hard to balance the amount of tourists (they really need the money) allowed in, with the amount the place can hold. Currently they allow in 2,500 tourists per day. We had tickets to climb Huayna Picchu, which is limited to only 400 people per day, but after looking at the steepness of the climb and the openness of the trail, we decided I was too chickenshit. I really was. Those terraces at the top are part of the trail.

So we climbed up to the Sun Gate instead. It is a very challenging trail, but not as open as Huayna Picchu. It's about a 2.5 mile hike and goes up about 1,000 feet. It's uneven, sometimes steps, sometimes rocks and sometimes loose.

about half way up there is an (actual!!!) Incan trail rest stop with amazing views,

and tired hikers that think they are there, but not as tired as they will be when they finally get to the Sun Gate and need to sit down for a bit.

more Machu Picchu means more llamas!!!!! this time a Mama LLAMA and a Baby LLAMA.

the final part of our trip was Cusco, a beautiful colonial city built on top of an Incan one, high up in the mountains and surrounded by even higher peaks. At just over 11,000 feet, and with insanely steep streets (I still can't believe are two-way!) even walking around town is challenging. The Cathedral with its Cusco School of Art works, and the Temple of Gold are not to be missed.

View down towards the city center from our hotel

and a two way street

We stayed at the Palacio Manco Capac and old palace high above the town. It was very beautiful, but my least favorite of the places we stayed. But boy did they try.....

a happy 25th anniversary tribute in towels.

They just didn't seem to have it together in the way that all the other places did - the room was lovely and well-appointed, but they couldn't provide us with change for large bills for the taxi into town, they didn't call the restaurant we had reservations at to cancel but instead assured me that the restaurant would just cancel it if we didn't show up after 15 minutes. And worst of all, we both got sick after eating breakfast there on on second to last day. (I can't 100% say it was from the food there, but it was the only food we had that day.) We had to cancel our final day of touring outside the city to wait for the antibiotics to kick in (which they did before our flight home). So that was a drag, but at least it happened at the end of the trip and not the beginning.  But before that happened, Cusco treated us to one more festival.....

It was a wonderful trip to an incredibly diverse and charming country and we barely scratched the surface. We'll have to return someday, to see the Amazon, Nazca, and Lake Titicaca, and spend more time immersed in such a warm and welcoming culture.