Day 10 - 11

Cusco, Peru:

Here we are in Cusco still... As we posted previously, Brandy and I are engaged. She actually said yes! I´m as shocked as you!!! For the details, I´ll let her tell you that right now:

We were in Cusco, Peru on a romatic christmas eve. The city was one huge party with fireworks, people crowding the streets and peruvian christmas music in the background. Amazingly, we found my favorite food, an Indian restaurant with one balcony that over looked the huge street party. We sat and talked about what an incredible this trip has been and how spending christmas in an exotic place was so very "us." We also talked what amazing 5 years it has been together and how lucky we are to have found each other. A bottle of wine promptly arrived at the table and we enjoyed our wine while watching fireworks over the city. I said "this couldn´t be a more perfect moment." Paulie then said was now ready to hear the answer to the question he had been waiting to ask. I started shaking and my face as Paulie describes was "in shock." He got down on one knee and asked me if I would do him the honor in becoming his wife. I fell to the floor with him and said "YES!!!!" I, of course cried, and we cried together. He is so amzaing and I am the luckest girl ever. It was the most fantastic amazing night of my life!

Ok, now that the mushy stuff is out of the way, The next morning We took off on the LONG journey to Machupichu. Unfortunately, there were no spaces left to to the two or four day hikes to machupichu, so we took a train straight there. check out this racket!!! So we bought train tickets (sold in dollars) to get there. Once there we had to buy bus tickets to get up the mountain (also sold in dollars). Once up there we thought we were in the clear... nope! We had to pay for entrance to machupichu (guess what... also sold in dollars!!!). That´s ok, at least we can now go into the park in peace... nope!!! I had to check my backpack because it was "too big," and had to check my tripod because that would constitute me being a professional photographer and would entail me paying another $70!!! I didn´t know tripods were the defining peice of equipment for professional photographers. :) O´h well. After I was done being bent out of shape, I gathered myself and we entered the park. Machupichu is as beautiful as you would imagine it would be! The one thing you don´t expect is just how enormous it is. We stayed for a few hours and made the 5 hour journey back to Cusco.

Today, we are taking the city tour of cusco and then probably going out. How interesting the next posting will be depends completely on how entoxicated we get tonight. :)

Crazy scarry looking dolls being sold:

Random Shots of Cusco:

Xmas Eve Church and giant baby Jesus:

Train to Machupichu:

If I have to explain, read a book: