Gunshots? A leisurely stroll through the sacred valley? Dessert in Cusco?

The answer to all these questions is pretty much NO! Here's a quick recap of our day: 

We woke at 430 to what we thought were gunshots. They continued in bursts of 2-3 until we woke up at 6.  Michael wanted to see the sunrise, so he ventured out. I told him to just stay on the  terrace of the hotel so he wouldn't get shot. He didn't listen. He said he peeked out and people were sweeping and going about their day, so he explored a bit and arrived back safely. 

It turns out these were not gunshots. Fireworks. To celebrate the 1st day of the month. 

Next up we were off to tour the sacred valley. It sounded like it'd be a lovely stroll through the surrounding area. NO! We climbed soooooooo many stairs and hiked all around these structures. It was tiring, but we loved it! Much more exciting than the day before. These structures were beautiful and had so many places to explore. We also had a new guide yesterday so that may have helped. We stopped at 3 sites total: Pisaq, Ollytantambo, and one other one that starts with a C. Great stuff! 

We also stopped for a nice buffet lunch and drove through a town known for their cuy (aka guinea pig). And to answer mom's question: these creatures don't live in the wild. They live in people's homes. They eat the veggie scraps thrown on the floor. Then when they're 1-2 years old they become dinner. 

After all that excitement, we stopped for a brief moment at the contemporary art museum in Cusco. Not great, but they had a beautiful fountain. We also found some bizarre floats in the main plaza. 

Then we went to Mueso de Pisco to do a Pisco tasting. Pisco is made from grapes like wine, but it's like 80 proof. More like a hard liquor. We tasted 4 piscos, like a wine tasting. This guy tried to get us to name the notes we tasted. We were horrible at that. It was interesting, but not our favorite part of the day. 

Then we had dinner at Bodega 132 so Michael could have some local craft beer. We also had a pizza with a couple of meats, local gooseberries, and rocket on top. Interesting. We were most exited about their Nutella cheesecake with Oreo crust. But, they were out. This began the great search for dessert in Cusco 2015. More on this later. 

In the meantime, we went shopping. I bought some earrings and we bought our first piece of art! We're super excited about it! It's fun and says Peru all over it but in a subtle way. It will go in our house one day. :) Oh...and just FYI: have cash to pay for your painting or you will run the city streets at night with an adorable Peruvian lady looking for an ATM or you can use your VISA and pay 15% more. 

Update on dessert: after looking at what seemed like every menu in town, we found what we thought would be a decent substitute for our Nutella cheesecake: Chocolate explosion. It was not a substitute. But we ate it and called it a night. 

Off to the jungle today. Hope to post photos soon, but not sure what the Internet will be like. Hope to see you all soon!