I Lived to See the Seven Wonders.
This goal was big. So big, that my husband and I only really talked about it with each other until we had successfully seen 5 of them. We wanted to see the Seven Wonders of the World and wanted to do it before we turned 35.
Wonders in Order
(newest to oldest)
✝️ Christ the Redeemer ✝️
BRAZIL: Iconic 1920’s art deco statue of Jesus in Rio. We visit the 1st of November 2017 — 86 years after it was built. The statue was completed in 1931 AD.
🕌 Taj Mahal 🕌
INDIA: Stunning white marble mausoleum in Agra. We visit the 24th of March 2024 — 371 years after its completion in 1653 AD.
🏔️ Machu Picchu 🏔️
PERU: Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains. We visit the 7th of November 2017 — 567 years after it was built. Machu Picchu was constructed around 1450 AD.
🏺 Chichen Itza 🏺
MEXICO: Large archaeological site built by the Mayan people. We visit the 14th of August 2019 — 1,119 years after its peak construction. Chichen Itza was primarily built around 900 AD.
🏟️ Roman Colosseum
ITALY: Ancient amphitheater in the center of Rome. We visit the 28th of May 2016 — 1,936 years after it was built. The Roman Colosseum was completed in 80 AD.
🏜️ Petra 🏜️
JORDAN: Archaeological city famous for its rock-cut architecture. We visit the 1st of November 2021 — 2,333 years after initial significant development. Petra was developed significantly by around 312 BC.
🏯 Great Wall of China 🏯
CHINA: Immense defense across northern China. We visit the 22nd of March 2024 — 2,724 years after initial construction began around 700 BC or 380 years after major reconstruction during the Ming Dynasty was completed in 1644 putting it just above the Taj. ^
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ITALY: I was 27 and had just booked a trip to Italy with my long-distance boyfriend (now, husband). Actually, it would be more fair to say he booked it. The trip started in Venice, and we wound our way around the Boot on boats, trains, vans, through Florence (our favorite), Siena, other quaint Tuscan towns, and finally ending in Rome.
I wanted Hepburn’s Rome from Roman Holiday and I guess I kinda got that—though thankfully we didn’t have to sleep on a park bench. We got scammed on the hotel and were walked a mile to a smaller, less convenient one (never got a refund—please join me in bogarting Booking-dot-com in solidarity!!). The Spanish Steps were closed for renovation. The tour of the Vatican was cool but also a bit soul-crushing to see so much Ecclesiastical wealth piled into one building. Sidenote: we both agree, Rome needs a do-over! and not just because we didn’t take any decent photos. BUT we got to see The Colosseum at night, our first World Wonder.
The Colosseum
28th of May 2016
BRAZIL: I’m 28. There’s a tradition in my family where the groom plans the honeymoon as a complete surprise. (If you are not married, I highly recommend tucking away this idea for future use!) So while I was busy with seating charts and place settings, Dantan was working on a trip of two lifetimes—a honeymoon to see 2 Wonders. Imagine my surprise on my wedding day when he tells me: we’re leaving for Rio de Janeiro in less than 24 hours! In some ways, this may have been our most difficult country to visit. He sent our passports to DC via courier (it was actually his friend—thanks again, Ashlea!) to be dropped off at the Brazilian Embassy where they affixed visas and mailed them back to him. This process has become easier in recent years but word on the street is that it will go back to a more difficult process; head to Brazil now!
We stayed right on Ipanema Beach (Sofitel Rio de Janeiro Ipanema slated to reopen in 2024), basked in the sun & sand, lunched at the restaurant where the ‘Girl from Ipanema’ was written, went up in cable cars to see Sugarloaf Mountain, drank too many caipirinhas, ate our fill at a true Brazilian steakhouse, and took an early morning bus up to the Christ the Redeemer Statue, our Wonder #2. On Ipanema Beach, while we were saying “yes, please!” to freshly grilled prawns and “no, thank you!” to coke—or wait did you mean Coke? oh, no, no, no thank you—to the various vendors bringing wares to our chairs, Dantan leans over and reveals our next destination. This is quite possibly the closest I’ll get to competing on the Amazing Race and it was the coolest feeling ever. We’re off the next day to Peru.
Christ the Redeemer Statue
1st of November 2017
PERU: A short layover in Lima and we land in Cusco. While settling into our gorgeous room—what is still perhaps our favorite Marriott hotel—at the JW Marriott El Convento, I’m grateful for the oxygen pumped into the room to help alleviate my altitude sickness. Now remember, I had no idea where we were going when I packed for this trip, so I show up ready to hike the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu in a bronze colored dress, red lipstick, and Teva sandals. I got looks and heard numerous comments about my choice of footwear. I mean, most of the people there were in full-on hiking gear, but this was my honeymoon! We were definitely the best dressed on the train and possibly the whole of the Andes Mountains that day.
Machu Picchu is not the easiest to reach. The hardcore way is to hike 4 days on the Inca Trail while tent camping. Thankfully, Dantan did not even consider this method with me in tow, but he would love to do it with someone else. Any takers? Caleb? We went with the ‘easy’ route which was: fly to Cusco (1.5 hours from Lima), Uber to the train station (30 minutes), board the Hiram Bingham (3.5 hours) which is responsible for a lifelong love affair between us and trains, reach the town of Aguas Calientes and board a bus (30 minutes) to reach the entrance gates where the real hiking begins. Were it at sea level, it would not be so difficult, but navigating the tiny stair-steps and uphill climbs for 3 hours really takes your breath away—but also in, like, the gasping/wheezing way. Then it’s 4.5 hours doing the whole thing in reverse back to the hotel. Needless to say, we were exhausted and cancelled the next day’s activities to rest, but it was so worth it.
Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu
7th of November 2017
MEXICO: It’s 2019 and we’ve been married for 2 years. Looking for a relaxing vacation, we picked an all-inclusive in the Cancun area and once there, booked a super-early morning tour to see Chichén Itzá, our fourth Wonder. If you don’t count the 5:30 AM wake-up, we both agree it was the easiest wonder to see. We arrived right as the gates open, beating the sweltering heat and the massive crowd while making our photos look fantastic (Yes, wearing the same Teva sandals, buy them here).
The vendors got mouthy as the masses trickled in and the punishing sun was enough to send us back to the bus in the early afternoon where cold towels and drinks were waiting for us with sandwiches. The 3 hour drive back to the resort in the air conditioned van flew by and we were back by 3:00 PM to enjoy the pool, the beach, or the spa, or the cafe, or or! our balcony bathtub, or the buffet, or… ok full disclosure, we went back to this resort in 2020 and now I want to go back again. UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya
Chichén Itzá
14th of August 2019
JORDAN: In many ways, our trip to Jordan is the one that completely changed our lives. Like I say in my blog post about it: This was the first trip where we packed COO (carry-on only) which was itself life-changing. Top that with the warm friendliness of the Jordanian people, DELICIOUS food, and unforgettable locations. In one week you can hike Petra, scuba in the Red Sea, stargaze in the desert, stand where Moses saw the Promised Land, float in the Dead Sea, plus so much more—a trip to Jordan has it all. In November of 2021 when most of the world was still hunkered down and waiting for the pandemic to be over... we packed a tiny carry-on chock full of covid tests and set off for the Middle East. We saw Petra without the crowds—our #5. It was amazing. Part of what made this trip to special was the Jordanian government’s commitment to reopening tourism and, despite the pandemic, they streamlined our ability to show our negative test/vaccine records and enter the country. We still have the giant VACCINATED! stickers on the back of our passports, and because we did apply online in advance, we sailed past a line of people waiting at the airport upon arrival.
Captioning these photos is the first time I realized we saw 2 of our wonders on November 1st! It sounds like a crazy coincidence, but we like to take vacation around our anniversary. This has led to a number things nearly each year since we were married. We tend to vote on the day we leave for a trip or the day we get back. We tend to combine extreme jet lag with daylight savings’ “fall back” an hour for a really trippy time experience upon return. And maybe the most important: by determining when we like to travel instead of focusing on the “best month to visit…” we have been blessed to find some really lovely off-season experiences.
Petra
1st of November 2021
[Station Break]
EGYPT: So the Great Pyramid of Giza isn’t one of the NEW Seven World Wonders… BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY SURVIVING ANCIENT WORLD WONDER. 🤯 We were well on our way to our goal, but when your best friend throws out the idea of an Egypt trip, you say yes! Yes! YES!! We sent our passports to the embassy with a photograph and a complete application. They were returned with a visa page affixed.
I wrote about the trip in a bunch of posts you can see here and still have stories to share if only I had the time. We brought with us this photo journal. All four of us wrote in it and we added photos after the trip. We asked our dahabeya crew to sign their names in Arabic & English. We traced the unique hotel room keys. It’s just the most treasured souvenir. ♥️ The icing on top was seeing this wonder on Andrea’s birthday!
Great Pyramid of Giza
11th of May 2022
CHINA: I hate to keep referring to previous blog posts, but I think my writeup (written while still on the trip) perfectly encapsulates my thoughts: read here. We saw the Great Wall of China, only one wonder to go!
China may have been our second-most difficult after Brazil. The process itself was easy: buy a plane ticket to Beijing and hope they let us in the country. It worked! It’s called a Transit Visa and they can be issued for 24 to 144 hours depending on your departure day and time. You do have to make sure to book things correctly:
You must arrive FROM and depart TOWARD unique cities/countries. This is a transit visa, if you pop into Beijing and go right back from whence you came, you are not transiting through an area… you are just a tourist.
Do not fill out anything labeled for tourists… you are in transit to another country, but the flights worked out that you have a very long layover and want permission to go into the city.
You must have your departure flight booked and, if possible, printed out. You need to show the confirmation of your departure ticked upon arrival—possibly even before departure. You won’t have access to all of the internet—Google/Gmail, for example, is blocked once you land in China.
If you have time, research the laws so if a worker stops you at any point in the process, you can politely explain exactly what you are doing and, if necessary, ask to speak with someone who will know the current policy. We didn’t need this one, but it’s part of our “plan for the worst, hope for the best” travel policy.
That’s it! A friend has done this more than once successfully and we had no issues either. The nerves were the ‘hardest’ part. After all, that plane ticket wasn’t free so it was a big gamble.
Great Wall of China
22nd of March 2024
INDIA: For India, we used the eVisa system. The hardest part was remembering every country we visited in the last 10 years (we actually grabbed our passports, our phones, and opened a bottle of wine — this was a fun date-night activity 😂) and figuring our our “identifiable visual markings” which are scars or tattoos that could prove your identity. If you don’t know India dislikes Pakistan before, you will certainly get the picture after applying for the eVisa… the Indian governement wanted to know if any of our grandparents had ever visited Pakistan!
Swarms of us are vying for that perfect photo of the Taj Mahal in the blasting heat. Our last wonder. For us, the end of a long goal has come to fruition. For me, there were both happy and sad tears. Seeing the wonders was never about the destinations—only ever the journey. And, as always, the best is yet to come.
Taj Mahal
24th of March 2024
THOUGHTS AFTER: I am still amazed when I remember we did it! I lived to see the Seven Wonders… Perhaps I'll never live to match the beauty again. 🌈
The week we got back, I turned 35 and we celebrated with a small open house gathering at the house my husband is flipping with his father. The kitchen was done and we were excited to show off the design and progress. That said, I didn’t completely realize when I suggested the location there wasn’t a working toilet yet… sorry fam! 😬