This is the end, my friend...

Here we are, the final count down has started... and actually ended, since we are writing this last post from the Alps! Yes, we are back home. We'll be spending a few month up in the mountains (Les Carroz), since our house is still rented till end of June. We've seen worth situation since there is still a bunch of snow on the slopes and we're just back from our first runs of the season.

Anyhow, let's rewind for a while and come back to our final destination in Peru: Cusco. We scheduled a 5 days pit-stop; one day to Machu Picchu, and the rest to enjoy the atmosphere of the 'capital' of the Inca civilization.

The Plaza de Armas is quite amazing with TWO cathedrals (and more Iglesias), and a statue of a King Inca in the middle. We believe it represents Manco Capac, the first Inca king (son of the Sun God) who came out of lake Titicaca and walked all the way to Cusco to found the city of the Incas. Cusco in quechua means 'center of the world'.

Cathedral of Santa Domingo Cusco

Iglesia (but the size of a Cathedral) De La Compana de Jesus

Manco Capac

Cusco is one of the best cities in Peru for handcraft. After nearly 7 months of restrictions, since we could not afford to grow our luggages, we could finally acquire one or two more suitcase for our return trip, and start buying a few souvenirs...Yeah!

It felt nice to take it easy for a few days, without any travel. We had actually arranged to meet-up with Amelie and Antoine who were also in town before heading of to Bolivia... a coffee at Starbuck, a natural juice at Mama Olie (below), or a Pizza up in San Blas.

Odd enough, we actually stayed at La Morada, which is a fantastic hotel owned by an Auvergnat from the same small town in Auvergne (Aurillac) where our dads were raised! The hotel is located in San Blas, and has a great view on the city. The terrace was perfect for our home schooling sessions!

 The view from La Morada

Paul and Viviana invited us for an awesome lunch at their house. The kids, an especially Arthur enjoyed the company of their two girls Pauline and Amelie.

And finally, we made it to one of the 7th wonder of the world, the MACHU PICCHU!!! After a 3 hours train to Aguas Calientes and 30 minutes bus, we arrived on site. A bit raining at first, but this is part of the atmosphere, and happily enough the clouds went away after a few hours! The place is just amazing! See by yourself.

Before jumping on the train back, we enjoyed a few french bakeries at La Boulangerie de Paris in Aguas Calientes. A nice taste of our coming back.

    THE END

 BYE, BYE

Lima