http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Mike and Sarah/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Mike and Sarah en-us Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:48:30 UTC Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:48:30 UTC We were unsure about doing an ldquoand finallyrdquo blog with our ldquobest bitsrdquo from the last year. Truth is we have had such an amazing time and really liked keeping our blog so wersquore going to continue writing it for all the new places we visit. Wersquoll start that in just a moment but first we just want to say thank you to all of you who have touched our lives in differe http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/Northern-Ireland/blog-338467.html So herersquos the deal wersquove made a list of things we wanted to tell you in this entry about San Francisco our last American city on this trip. It ended up being sixteen ldquopoints of interestrdquo normally there are around eight so not only has San Francisco been another fabulous time in our travelling lives but we have so much to share with you. Now do we let this become on http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/blog-319348.html Our welcome to British Columbia came from beautiful Vancouver Island a short hop on the ferry from Horseshoe Bay on the mainland. The island gave us not only great views but also a very friendly welcome. We want to share with you a few of our highlights from the island and Vancouver city our reasons to enjoy this wonderful part of the world.ON THE ISLAND Tofino Whale Watching We drove to http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-305434.html What do you think about when you imagine Canada For us it is mountains rivers bears maple leaves Well coming to Jasper and Banff National Parks certainly ticked all the boxes on our ideas of what Canada is like. Known as the Rockies they stretch over Alberta and British Columbia. To see them properly we decided to rent a car from Calgary and drive to the nearest mountain resort of Banff http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Alberta/Banff/blog-305406.html ldquoThe Greatest Outdoor Show on Earthrdquo Known as the Calgary Stampede is simply an excuse for cowboys to have a great party Nine days in July it culminates in 1.8 million prize money being given away for the best cowboys in various disciplines. Of course it is also a great opportunity for the people of Alberta and Calgary in particular to show off their own brand of lsquosomethin http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Alberta/Calgary/blog-300770.html And what a night it wasLeaving mum Carolyn Josh at Washington DC airport for their flight back to Dublin we had to take the Dodge V8 monster car back to Toronto. My plan has always been to visit New York with friends to enjoy all the girlie things I'd love like the Sex the City tour cocktails Plus I'd have a good budget instead of being in backpacker mode However being so close http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/blog-297740.html Itrsquos hard to know where to start with this entry for Washington DC. We seem to have done so much in this understated US capital city. We arrived pretty fresh considering the long drive from Niagara across the unfriendly lengthy checkpoint at the CanadaUS border crossing. Leaving Llanore Carolyn Josh at their hotel we went to check in at ours a ten minute walk away. Not for the fir http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/District-of-Columbia/Washington/blog-297738.html A very special meeting was taking place in Toronto My mum sister nephew were coming across from Belfast to spend some time with us in Canada the United States. I was very excited to be seeing my family after ten months of travelling. After a short wait at arrivals the three of them came through the shiny white doors of the gate at terminal one in Toronto International Airport and a pack http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Ontario/Niagara-Falls/blog-297736.html Well we had zero preconceptions about Chicago The reality of why we ended up in the windy city was because the flight from Dallas to Chicago was much cheaper than the one to Toronto so we decided to stopover for a couple of days and then get the bus to Toronto to meet my mum. On arrival in Chicago we had a minidrama when one of our bags wasn't delivered on the same flight. We were told it w http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Illinois/Chicago/blog-292561.html Well they say that everything is bigger in Texas but we are going to buck this trend and try to keep the text short. Austin is great for live music and bars. The capitol's moto is keep Austin weird we agree San Antonio The Alamo is worth the 2 hour trip from Austin though it is really hot. This is where Davie Crockett and others were killed. Google is very informative on this topic if y http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Texas/Austin/blog-290557.html The home of the biggest filming studio in the world and a designated city in itrsquos own right complete with Mayor Bill Cosby hospital post office and zip code Universal is quite unique. As we shared with you in our Los Angeles blog we had decided to see the studios in style with a VIP Experience pass. This involves a guided tour throughout the theme park and studios to include access t http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/California/Los-Angeles/Hollywood/blog-288524.html Los Angeles the City of Angels has been fabulous. We have squeezed so much into our five days this entry covers the first four. Our drive back from Vegas took us through the Mohabe desert. We started the road trip with the hood down but we had to pull over to put it up and put the air con on as the temperature was over 110F. Phew now that is hotLA conjures up images of Hollywood and the ric http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/California/Los-Angeles/blog-288505.html Arriving at LAX Los Angeles International Airport just after midnight we cleared immigration and customs alot quicker than we expected then went to get our hire car. It was about 2 am before we left Los Angeles for our drive through the night to Sin City Las Vegas We had been upgraded to a convertable car so we'd be able to have a few days of topless action in Nevada. It was daylight alrea http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Nevada/Las-Vegas/blog-288499.html We've arrived in Costa Rica an unscheduled pitstop on route from Peru to the United States. Our reason for being here was really a fluke as our plane had a scheduled stop and our agent asked us whether we wanted to get off and explore for a while. We said sure we'll take 4 or 5 days. What a find this little country has been the same size as our wee country of Northern Ireland. Costa Rica has http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-285235.html WOW Now this is Peru Colour religion festivals kids llamas cuye and ofcourse party party Cusco the oldest continually inhabited city in the Americas at an elevation of 3326 metres was a shock to our lungs arriving from the seaside city of Lima Cusco has developed to cater for the influx of international tourists all here to catch a glimpse of Machu Picchu. However it remains an http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Peru/Cusco/Cusco/Cusco/blog-281948.html Well holey moley we have arrived Seeing the sungate along with the other hikers at around 6.30am we caught our first panoramic views of the lost city of the Incas. It had taken 4 days and alot of determination but we had arrived......almostWe walked slowly down the valley from the sungate watched as the suns rays stretched over Machu Picchu. Unlike the sunrise we had been imagined the l http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Peru/Cusco/Machu-Picchu/blog-281919.html Both of us would tackle the same Inca Trail and both have our own challenges in doing so. It seems only fair that both of us should outline these personal challenges and highlights to you. Before we do this we will give you an overview of our route and some of the things we saw along the way.We left our hotel in Ollyantambo at 7am after a light breakfast and our customary cup of coca tea. The http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Peru/Cusco/Inca-Trail/blog-281456.html Leaving our hotel in Cusco we headed off to the Sacred Valley. Thoughts of our four day hike on the Inca Trail were at the forefront of our minds as it would be the first time either of us had been hiking at a high altitude. The Sacred Valley is located about 10 miles from Cusco and is named after the Sacred River or Urubamba river that flows through it and eventually on to the Amazon Atlantic http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Peru/Cusco/Sacred-Valley/blog-281149.html Well after the partying in Buenos Aires we have arrived in Peru a little worse for wear. Lima is where we are joining our GAP adventure tour for the Inca trail to Macchu Picchu.Our brief for Lima was as follows..........Rest and get ready for the trek ahead. This is what we have done totally spending our first 2 days in the Radisson hotel in Miraflores district of Lima. Lima is a huge metro http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Peru/Lima/Lima/Miraflores/blog-278715.html In one word......................PASSIONATE This sums up the last week weve spent in Buenos Aires the capital of Argentina. From the fanatical football fans to the sultry tango dacing in the plazas we have completely fallen in love with this city. There have been so many highlights for us in Buenos Aires to stop this entry becoming a full chapter we want to share just a fewWe arrived fr http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-276984.html