Happy doggies everywhere, people chatting, vendors at every corner and shows that entertain... Must be Woofstock.

Took the Whiskey to Woofstock today and he had a blast! Tons of vendors everywhere, freebies (you know how much I love freebies), dogs everywhere to meet. For a puppy this is huge! I loved the #purina experience, was really well put together. Loved the free goodies and toys, and everyone was so nice to Whiskey! #Petsmart was also giving out doggie ice cream with kibble sprinkles...too cute! Plus they had nice goodie bags. There was also a doggie fountain where all the dogs could splash around and get wet. Was great on a hot day! 

The highlight of the day though would of when we ran into one of his litter mates from the rescue, his sister!! Same rescue, litter, everything. Seeing them recognize each other was amazing! Immediately they knew and just jumped into playing. We all exchanged info and planning on doing some puppy time together two they keep in touch... And in a greater twist, turns out the puppy mom is actually one of my cousins best friends...small world! Looking forward to keeping in touch. 

When we got home from Woofstock, Whiskey had tons of goodies to go through he was actually overwhelmed. Now he's sleeping happily and just reflecting on a great day. 

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Such a big world, and such little time!

There's so many places in this world to check out its hard to figure out where to start. So how do you start to narrow down a destination? Here's a couple things to think about:

- What type of trip am I looking for? Do you want to lounge in the sun, climb mountains or check out historic sites?

- What's your budget? Determine a range of how much you're looking to spend, as that can effect whether you do a road trip or a trip to Bali.

- When are you going? A destination can be less desirable in rainy reason or hurricane season.

- Is it in my comfort zone? Some places might look amazing on paper, but might not be the safest or tourist friendly. For more information, you can check out the government travel advisory sites:

Canada: http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories
U.S.A: http://travel.state.gov/
England: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
Australia: http://smartraveller.gov.au/

These are just a couple of the things I think about. What do you think about when deciding where to vacation? Please comment below!

Happy Travelling!

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Went to TBEX today for the first time and learned a lot! 

Started with a session about Blogging, branding and dollars. Gave me a lot of insight into more ways to maybe get a few bucks from my blog, other then advertising. My eyes are wide open now. Any freebies send them my way? I love samples. 

Then checked out one about Facebook Contests and how to basically set one up easily on Facebook. I learned that Canadian legal around contests and privacy is a lot stricter then it is in the US. Great for the average Canadian, but maybe I need to read up a little more on this whole legal thing... 

Lunch was included = happy Christine 

Lastly checked out a session about twitter chat sessions...I never realized the potential of those until today...hmmmm who wants to twitter chat about travel? Anyone? 

Great session, lots of info, good times....tonight is definitely going to be a spinning my wheels on new ideas kinda night. 

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It's been a busy week and i'm very happy to announce that there is a new addition to the family... a puppy! As some of you may know, I lost my dog in November to a brain lesion. It was a hard time and a heart breaking experience, as anyone who has a lost a pet can understand. Its like losing a member of your family. It took me awhile to even think about another dog, and at the same time missed the companionship and unconditional love a dog brings.

And that is where Whiskey comes in.. I found him through a petfinder.com rescue. He is a beautiful 8 week old German Sheppard/ Lab mix rescue pup who just stole my heart. Some people pick your dog, but I think the dog picks you as well and that's what he did. We had a bond from the moment we met. And as I sit on my couch, with my little Whiskey beside me, he puts a smile on my face. Looking forward to a summer of new learnings and good times together. Welcome to the family Whiskey!

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The Gateway to Machu Picchu

If you are heading to Machu Picchu, chances are you will pass through Aqua Calientes. We stayed in this tourist town for a couple days, as we checked out the Machu Picchu Area. Its a vibrant city with lots of restaurants, stores and touristy things to do, plus the train station is right there so you can get to Sacred Valley, Cusco and Machu Picchu all from the same area.

The hotel we stayed at Taypikala was beautiful. Located on the top of the hill, you get a great view of the mountains and Aqua Calientes. The service was excellent, location great and the staff friendly. We weren't as happy with our room, and they upgraded us for free for no extra charge! They were even nice enough to give us food to take on our day trip to Machu Picchu. Very friendly and thoughtful staff.

You will find a lot to do in this city, especially when it comes to restaurants, tours and grabbing drinks. The area near the train station is really nice, a great view of the river and the mountains. Absolutely stunning. 

Tip: 

- When grabbing food in Aqua Calientes, be mindful of all the deals they offer you. Everywhere you will find 3 course meals for 15/20 soles. However sometimes the portions aren't what you expect and they will throw in a servico charge which is basically a high tip. You pretty much have to negotiate your meals. You will find that a lot on the main hill (which we nicknamed harassment hill based in being constantly harassed to come in to basically every restaurant).   

- prices fluctuate here so sometimes it's worth taking a bit of a walk around to find the best price on items 

- don't buy from the market here. It's way more expensive then the Pisac and cusco ones, which have the same things for one third the price. 

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An experiment in agriculture.

Moray is a place definitely worth a visit. In your trip to Peru, you will come across many ruins, however this place is very unique and sets itself apart from the rest. Moray was originally an experiment in agriculture and how crops respond to different conditions such as altitude. The Incas purposely tried different combinations to see which altitudes work for which crops. As a result they had more insight to help with their farming. This is brilliant especially for those times. While it no longer has the same function today, seeing the design on this area and knowing the history is really interesting and worth a trip. The area surrounding Moray is rich in agriculture and you can see lots of farming on your trek out there.

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Remnants of a fortress, with a bustling market.

No visit to Urubamba area is complete without visting Pisac. Home to a huge fortress, you can spend hours exploring this once strong fortress and taking in the gorgeous views.

We hired a cab that day to take us to the Pisac and the surrounding areas. We were so happy that we did because we could go at our own pace and it wasn't that expensive (we got a whole day from 9am-5pm for $120).

Pisac is a massive ruins. To be honest I didn't realize how big it was until we got there. Plus it's quite the workout. I didn't realize how out of shape I felt until I started walking around. Mind you it was day two and I was still adjusting to the altitude so every step required extra work on my end and I became out of breath very quickly. I would definitely recommend some level of training or a good fitness level to start exploring this area in depth.

After spending a couple hours there, we headed to Pisac city to the market. I'm not one usually into the markets, but I gotta say this one was great! There was tons of great stuff there from artisans and all these unique pieces. We ended up getting some jewellery and a chess set. The prices here were really good, as well as the quality and selection. Plus you can negotiate here as well. We ended up getting a chess set for 85 soles, when we later saw it at other markets for 150-250 soles!! Unbelievable. One thing to keep in mind is that the market doesn't run everyday. Only Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We also checked out a restaurant near the market where you can get a 3 course meal for $20. We weren't expecting much at first, just a snack. So imagine our surprise when heaping amounts of delicious food came out. It was soooo good and the portions very generous.

All in all, we really enjoyed Pisac and would recommend that you make some time to check it out. You can easily visit it from Ollantaytambo or Cusco, and it's definitely worth the trek.

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