The Valley of the Kings

After leaving Cairo we took a train up the river Nile to the town of Luxor in Middle Egypt. The town was much smaller than Cairo, and as tourist season isn't yet in full swing we found the town to me a welcome quiet. We walked the few blocks from the train station to our hotel where we were greeted by the owners like family. We were exhausted from the overnight journey and they insisted that we join them for an Egyptian breakfast before heading to our room for a nap. That evening our hosts arranged for us a felucca ride down the Nile and a visit to the local banana plantion. We walked around to see the banana trees and then ate fresh bananas. The next day we walked through town to Karnak Temple. Other than that Pyramids at Giza it is the largest monument in Egypt. The temple itself was awe inspiring. We arrived at the Temple around noon, which as it turns out was perfect timing. Most of the large tour groups were at lunch and we had the temple almost completely to ourselves. Our only real company was a group of Egyptian school children, who were more excited to see us than the temple. They followed us around asking us questions and taking pictures of us. Now I know how Brad Pitt must feel. :)

Our last day in Luxor, we rented bikes and took the ferry boat across the Nile to the Valley of the Queens. Outwardly less impressive than the pyramids at Giza, the interior of the pyramids here were beautiful. It’s amazing to think that the artwork within the tombs has survived so many thousands of years. We left that evening to head toward the coastal town of Hurghada and our final destination in Egypt, Dahab.

From Luxor

Welcome to Cairo!

We arrived in Cairo late in the evening and weren't really sure what to expect. Our neighbor on the plane was an Egyptian and he pointed out the Nile and the Pyramids to us from the plane as we landed. We got off the plane, purchased our visas and went through customs with no problems. Fortunately, we had arranged for a pick-up from the airport by our hotel, and our driver was waiting for us at baggage claim; as were the tourist police, with their crisp white uniforms and huge guns. They check the drivers to make sure that the trip was pre-arranged and that he wasn't taking advantage of us. The drive to the hotel was crazy. There are lanes, but people completely disregard them. Cars weave in and out of lanes, dodging other cars, pedestrians, and food carts. The hotel was small and quaint, and located on a busy street. We settled into our room and spent the first day relaxing. The second day, we headed out to the pyramids at Giza. It was an experience. Our hotel had arranged for a driver for the day to drive us out the the pyramid sights. Little did we know, that the pyramids would be one of many stops. It is common practice here for drivers to make unscheduled stops and shops around town. They will tell you, that they want to show you the local crafts and then leave you at a shop while the owner of the store provides you a free tour and then tries to sell you whatever they can. Meanwhile, your driver has wandered off and you are stuck. Trying to limit the stops doesn't really work since you don't know where you're going, and since it was our first day out and we didn't want to appear rude, we didn't think to just refuse to get out of the car. We also discovered later that if you do buy anything, the driver makes a commission for bringing you into the shop (which is usually factored into your price). After an exhausting day of sightseeing, and feeling taken advantage of, we were a little disillusioned with the city. We took a day off to relax, and then tried again the next day with a journey to the American University and Coptic Cairo. Walking down the street is an adventure in itself. I mentioned earlier the traffic, and walking offers you no protection from the cars. There are very few street lights, and the ones that exist are mostly ignored. There are also no crosswalks, so to cross the street, you just have to step out into traffic and hope that no one hits you. The drivers will honk and yell at you for making them slow down, and for the first few days we would use the locals as human sheilds, following them closely at intersections. There is also the sheer volume of people to contend with. Cairo is home to more than 20 million resident, almost double that of New York City. There are crowds round the clock. As foreigners with light skin and hair we were easily idetifiable as tourists. People would shout out to us as we walked past, "Where you from?" and "Welcome to Cairo!" Vendors will try and tempt you to enter their shops, "I give you good price, you know how much?" And then there was the constant staring. Children and adults alike will stare at you as you walk past, or point. The men will whistle or cat call. After our first experience in Giza, we were wary of people offering to help us, as any help, whether solicited of not was only to recieve baksheesh (a tip for service). At the end of a few days we were ready to leave Cairo and move on, but unfortunately, Leon had come down with food poisoning, and the 15 hour train ride to Aswan wasn't an option. We decided to stay in Cairo a few extra days while he recovered. While the extra days weren't planned, they did offer me a chance to see a different side of the city. Whilw many people were looking to make any money they could from the tourists, some people that we met were genuinely kind. With Leon sick I ventured out on my own to find us food and supplies. I was having a hard time finding what I was looking for, and a man that we had met a few days before saw and asked if I needed help. I asked him to point me in the direction of a restaurant with broth. He insisted on taking me there himself, helping me place the order, making sure that they wrapped it well and made sure I arrived home. When I offered to pay him, he kindly refused, and said for me to bring Leon to his shop again when he was better and he would have us over for tea. Another time we met a girl in the subway who was studying English. She was only in her first year of study, but she asked us as many questions as she could think of on the short walk to the train, and when we hopped on board she shouted to us, "I love you! Egypt loves you!" After nine days in the "Mother of All Cities" we boarded a train for Luxor. We were excited to explore a new part of the country, a quieter part of the country but we also left feeling that we had seen some of the sweetest people that Cairo had to offer.

Cairo

Living Life to the Fullest

Though we only spent a short time in Spain, we got a feel for the pace of life there; and life is good. It is all about enjoyment. They sleep late, take long lunches, siesta, and party til the sun comes up. It seems like all we did in Spain was eat and drink. First there was the long lunch (unlike the Spaniards we can't stay up all night and then be bright-eyed and bushy tailed for breakfast). For lunch, the locals normally eat the "Menu del Dia." You choose a first course, second course, dessert, drink and coffee for around $10. After lunch we would wander the streets, exploring the city before enjoying a brief nap before dinner at around 10. Many Spanish restaurants don't even open their doors for dinner until 9 and it's not uncommon to see people heading out to their evening meal at 11:30 or later. Since our first night in Spain was election night in the US, this scheduled worked out perfectly for us. We found a restaurant near our hotel that was hosting an election night bash. They had two set meal options for dinner, the Obama meal (which was a hamburger and fries) and the McCain meal (which was a steak and salad). The place was decorated with red, white, and blue streamers, and they had CNN on the big screen televisions. The place was packed with both natives and Americans waiting for the results to come in. At about 3 am we gave in to fatigue and called it a night, but the party at the restaurant went all night. Our other big night on the town in Spain was our last night in Madrid. There we went to see a flamenco show at a club down the street. It was fabulous. The music and the dance were so filled with fire and passion that it brought tears to my eyes. I wish we had been able to spend more time there because I could easily live off of paella, sangria, and tapas and I would have loved to take flameno lessons, but we were also ready to explore other regions of the globe and experience life outside of the western world.

Our Roman Holiday

Rome truly is the eternal city. It is amazing that new buildings stand only feet away from the Coluseum, which is 10 times older than our country. We arrived in Rome exhausted, but were refreshed by the feeling of awe at seeing so many amazing sights in one city. After checking in at our hotel, we went straight to the Coluseum, only to find that it had already closed for the day. We were disappointed, but only for a moment, as we found a cafe directly across the street which offered spetacular food and an unbeatable view. The next morning we woke up early and headed to St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. St. Peter's was crowded with throngs of tourists, but the lines moved quickly and we found it to be well worth the short wait. After that we toured the Vatican Museum and the Sistene Chapel. We were surprised to find that the Sistene Chapel isn't a separate church, but rather one of the many rooms on display in the Vatican museum. In fact, I didn't realize that I was in it until I saw the sign on the wall. I was expecting a traditional church with pews, a pulpit, and a giant painting of the final judgment. Instead, the Sistene Chapel is one of many rooms that are on display in the vatican. It is incredibly opulanet, and every surface of the wall and ceiling are covered with paintings by Michaelangelo. The Final Judgement is only a small part of the entire room, and though not what I expected, it was more impressive as a part of a whole than alone. We then wandered across the Tiber River to see the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and my favorite, the Trivi Fountain. We threw our coins into the fountain to ensure a return trip to this beautiful city. (Actually we threw in two. The first time we just threw them in and since you are supposed to do it over your shoulder we threw in a second coin each just to be sure.) We finished off the evening with some gelato and walk through the city at night. Our last day we went back to the Coluseum and the ruins of the Roman Forum for a look at ancient Rome. All in all we spent four nights in the city, more than we spent anywhere else, and yet it wasn't enough. The feeling of the city is infectious. I even convinced Leon to watch the old movie Roman Holiday with me. :)

Rome

Palermo

Unlike Venice, everyone in Palermo has a car; and they know how to use the horn. The streets are narrow and the sidewalks are even more narrow, so foot traffic and auto traffic fight for space, and it is not uncommon to see people walking down the street because the sidewalks are overcrowded, or to see cars parked on the sidewalk, forcing more people to walk on the street. Crossing the street is like playing frogger on your last life. It's noisy, it's crowded, and it's filled with boistrous smiling people. The restaurants are filled with traditional Sicilian sea-food dishes and a tortellini soup that they assure you will cure any ailment. The architecture is a mix of Italian, Spanish, and North African influences and makes for an ecclectic view. The mountains that seem to rise directly out of the ocean make a fantastic setting. Our time here was brief, and it rained most of the time, so we didn't see as much as we would have liked, but we found it an interesting contrast to Venice, and the train ride from Palermo to Rome was spectacular! We rode along the Italian coast, only a few meters from the shore, watching the waves crash along the beach and the sun set over the crystal clear water. Since we were coming from an island to the main land via train, they actually drove the train onto a boat to cross the water and then back on the tracks and onto to Rome...

Palermo