The Widow and the Spinster: The Search for Adventure, Enlightenment, and the Quest for Forbidden food - Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, and New TR Link! 4/2

[pkondz]

Well if you saw the other meats, they were kinda scary looking.

oooohhh... Where's Jamie Lee Curtis when you need her?

A lot of the animals looked like that.

I was afraid you'd say that.

I went back and forth, "Do I write Sarcophagi? Will anyone know what that means, will it sound stupid?" I guess it sounded stupid not to write it properly.

Nah. I'm probably the only one who noticed... or was too rude to mention it.

Except it was for dead bodies.

Meh. Haul 'em out, fill with hot water and hop in!


No?

When you're rich.

She was complaining about all the butt pictures.

OK, I'm getting old and can't remember.

Remember what?

Actually, I find you remember more than I do.

Well a lot of stuff was damaged in wars and floods.

Lots of time for anything and everything to happen.

 

[franandaj]

I can see why you got obsessed, I think I would be too!

They were so fascinating!

Wow! I wonder what they were being used for?

Pkondz did a quick google search

I did a quick Google search.
Palm thatch roofs
Long-wearing mulch
Hugelkultur Bulk (I didn't get what this was)
Filling swales paths
Biodegradable shade cloth
Garden fencing
Windbreaks
Woven crafts
Garden stakes
Fuel for fire

Produce looks nice!

It did look fairly fresh from what I could see from afar.

Ahh yes, this was in Cuba as well when we got a private car/guide to take us to Havana

Seems like being a driver is something folks can do for tourism without having to pursue a ton of schooling.

Wow this picture made it so real for me!

Interesting.

Awww puppers..although they don't look too skinny at least

They seemed to be able to scrounge for food.

Just sitting there with the sellers

Actually I think the sellers are sitting there with the artifacts, hoping to drum up business!

This was very interesting to see them just all around

I know!

Whoa! I would guess you buy a cut, but who knows!

Just seems a bit weird to me......

Lovely carpets but I would imagine pricey? We have a small handmade carpet that D bought from Turkey when he visited his brother who lived there for a while

Definitely pricey. A small one they showed us was over $100USD

Interesting kidss area!

Funny that Mickey represents kids play even outside the US.

Lol I laughed at this, but totally true in your case!

Well yeah, not that the kitties pee all over the place, but you know if I spent big $$$'s on a carpet they surely would!

Nice picture!

Thanks!

Nice, this showed it well, and the close up pic of course

I tried to represent.

this really puts the size in perspective

I know! Crazy big these things are.

Aww little guy- he doesn't look in too bad of shape to be honest

He certainly had plenty to graze on.....

Whoa! these photos really show that pollution

Yeah, it was bad.

Nice looking indeed!

They took us to some very decent places!

Can't say I've had fresh strawberry juice but it looks refreshing!

I had never had it before either and it was really good.

This looks tasty, fries look common over there hey!

They had a lot of food available that we find common in the Americas.

Lots of cake for dessert!

Some places.....but cakes are easy to make and most people like them.

I did notice in the first pic, and then you mentioned- that's very different!

So different than what we are used to.

This is such an interesting picture!
The goats
The guy on the chair
The guy on the phone
The potholes
The buildings in the background

Yeah, that was one of Jill's, she really captured all the stuff in that one.

Yikes, someone there is making money

Yes, didn't sound like much, no larger meat is strage

I was not impressed.

More cakes!
And more cake lol!

That was one thing about the buffet in our hotel, even at breakfast there was cake.

I'm glad you didn't experience much else for negativity on this trip

Most everyone was super nice and helpful. I think this was the only guy who showed us any weirdness.

I enjoy these pictures that have loads going on in them, lots of different things to check out

And most of them I was taking for one purpose and ending up catching so much else without meaning to.

The blue one stood out, then I started noticing the other paint colours

I didn't notice the other colors until you said something.

LOL! I'm sure Jill puts her money on the Chiefs! We aren't used to people actually talking on the phone as much I think, with texting and such

He was definitely on the phone a lot.

I would assume the lines are for people to line up?

I have no idea. I didn't even think about it.

I'm glad they kept returning! The carpets in all the pictures def reflect the lack of shoes!

Yes, the carpets were definitely in good shape.

Cuties! I wonder if they are brothers/sisters?

I'm sure they're all litter mates.

Wow! I will have to show Dorian, he probably knows the story, I haven't showed him any for a bit, my bad

Yes, he's missing out!

I got caught up in how different the walls are!

I didn't even notice that. But it was obvious that they just kept building stuff wherever they could put it with no consideration of space.

Wow already framed, looks great!
I like that too!

Thanks! I like and it makes me happy every time that I see it.

This looks like a horse to me

You're the expert!

Come on Jenny, I could have seen you giving this a jingle!

We'll fix your car, pick out a goat while you wait!

That's a slogan for you!

I noticed fruit stands set up outside DL in August in front of the main gates

The guys with the carts that have the fruit on ice and slice it up for you?

This one looks like a horse as well

There were a lot of horses in addition to the donkeys.

ohhh I love this picture as well, the buildings in this picture, the palm in front...so cool!

That was just a lucky shot.

Mmm Orzo...I quite like it as the noodle option in chicken noodle soup, might just have to make some

Yeah, that does sound good.

Is the orange one cheese? or spices?

I don't know. I think I only ate the pita. There was just so much food I couldn't taste it all.

Noted! I can't say I really know the taste of either- I'm not a huge hummus person- not sure why...not something I seek out

It's a big thing in So Cal. Just about every "plate" you order at a Mediterranean restaurant gives you a scoop of it. And it always shows up at potluck events that I attend.

Does not seem like a soup to me, but rather a drizzle

Same.

Wowzas that was all so much food!
I wonder if the workers keep the leftovers

Ahmed took them and he was going to give them to someone on the street who appeared to need it. Or maybe it was just going to be his dinner.

Those look like kids in this photo?

They allow kids in restaurants there.....I was just snapping a random shot of the restaurant. I couldn't help that they allow rug rats inside!

No cake?!

This place had only Middle Eastern style sweets. A lot of them were coated with coconut which is why I only got a couple kinds.

I'm getting caught up, wooohooo!

Yes you are, but I've got another update coming, probably later today.

 

[franandaj]

oooohhh... Where's Jamie Lee Curtis when you need her?

I'm guessing you said that because she starred in Halloween movies? If I ever saw one it was the first, and none else. I don't think I ever saw the first. If I did, I blacked it out. I left the room when people were watching Nightmare on Elm Street.

I was afraid you'd say that.

It was actually people on FB who noticed. One woman commented that you could see the ribs of one of the donkeys.

Nah. I'm probably the only one who noticed... or was too rude to mention it.

Meh. Haul 'em out, fill with hot water and hop in!


No?

You can.....

Remember what?

Actually, I find you remember more than I do.

Yay me!

Lots of time for anything and everything to happen.

Millenia.....

As a Latin word, the plural of millennium is rendered as millennia. However, since millennium is now an appropriated English word, it is also correct to render the plural form as millenniums.

 

[franandaj]

We drove through the heart of the city. And the guide pointed out that just like in Cairo all the similar shops were in the same part of the city. As we left the Pillar of Pompey we drove down a street that was lined with stalls for little shops. Most of them were closed but a few were open.

This guy was preparing his hookah bar for business.

This was the part of the city where you could get any kind of car part that you needed. Want a front end? We got it! Want a hub cap? We got it! You name it! We got it!

Just a glimpse into driving along an average street.

Then we got to the sausage section of the city.

The sausage section of the city transitioned into the herring section.

Here are a few more unique sights that I don’t think we would see in this part of the world.

Our next stop was the Roman Amphitheatre and the Baths. Here’s a look at the street where our driver dropped us off just outside the entrance to the Monument.

Here’s Jill and Ahmed purchasing our entrance tickets.

This shot is looking out over the entire area. You can see the amphitheater in the foreground of the picture. In the middle there is a school, and the red brick structures that you see in the back of the shot are the ruins of the baths. Ahmed told us that when he was first training to be a guide, that this entire area was all dirt and they were just beginning the excavation. He’s been a guide for about 30 years.

Here’s a zoomed in shot with a better view of the ruins of the school and the baths.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Here’s Jill and Ahmed in the theater. This structure is designed so that someone can be standing at the center, and their voice will be heard in the highest seats even if they just whisper.

Ahmed let us explore the rest of the ruins on our own. Here we are on the way to the baths.

This is looking back on the ruins of the school. The reason I know this is because there were signs describing the various areas in this monument. What I didn’t see about the signs was that there was a map of the whole area, showing the circle of the tour.

And moving on to the area of the baths.

This is the last I saw of Jill for a while…..

I started getting all artsy fartsy with my shots here, and went down into the tunnels that you saw in the previous pictures.

This is where I was poking around in those last few pictures. When I came up from down there, Jill was nowhere in sight. Evidently there was a path that continued along a loop, but to me it looked like the baths were the end of the tour. I didn’t see a path to continue, and as I said, on the signs describing the features, I did not “get” that there was a loop.

So I turned around and walked back to the beginning via this path from where I came.

Meanwhile, Jill took all these pictures in the areas that I didn’t know existed.

I was kind of freaking out at this point. Jill had basically disappeared as far as I could tell. I was standing at the top of the overlook and was almost ready to go back and start looking for her, when all of a sudden she just comes strolling along the walkway, completely oblivious to my concern!

Ahmed was over somewhere on the other side of the walkway.

On his phone.

Again.

He told us to look at some other artifacts that were off to another side. I gave them a quick look, but by this point, I’d seen lots of half of statues, sarcophagi, and other such things. Without any frame of reference as to what made them special, they were just more chunks of statues and stuff. So I amused myself with these kitties. They looked better cared for than the ones that were out in the streets.

When he realized that we were done at this monument, Ahmed ended his phone call and called the driver to come pick us up.

Let’s wrap this up here and continue in a bit.

Next Up: Food that watches you

 

[pkondz]

I'm guessing you said that because she starred in Halloween movies? If I ever saw one it was the first, and none else. I don't think I ever saw the first. If I did, I blacked it out. I left the room when people were watching Nightmare on Elm Street.

Correct.
And... Not a fan of horror movies? Me neither.

You can.....

Yay! Rub a dub dub, three dead bodies in a tub...

Millenia.....

As a Latin word, the plural of millennium is rendered as millennia. However, since millennium is now an appropriated English word, it is also correct to render the plural form as millenniums.

That sounds like something a millennial would say.


Aaaannndd... I'm at work so can't see your photos, so I'll have to come back later to read the update.

 

[jedijill]

Jill had the Filet with Beef Jus with cracked pepper sauce. She also chose the same sides.

It was delicious and a wonderful way to mark my 29th birthday, again!

We descended this staircase. Evidently the wood flooring was new. It sure made it easier than if it had been stone steps.

Still had the new wood smell! Much nicer than the uneven worn steps that many places have.

Here’s another butt shot of Jill! I keep capturing those, probably because I kept lagging behind….

Thank goodness I lost some weight because the butt shots used to be much worse!

And then we climbed back up the stairs to the surface. When we reached our van, our driver had some Alexandrian falafels for us. Epic fail, I forgot to take a picture! They were very tasty. We were informed that Alexandria is known for a spicy version of the Egyptian falafel. I don’t remember if I mentioned that they make theirs with Fava beans, not Garbanzo beans. I really liked the Egyptian falafels and this one from a street vendor in Alexandria was especially tasty!

OMG, those falafel were life changing! I'm not usually a falafel fan but these were hot, crispy, with just enough spice. I could have eaten them all day. I'm so glad I had this "snack" because lunch was an experience! Cue foreshadowing.

What I didn’t see about the signs was that there was a map of the whole area, showing the circle of the tour.

Foreshadowing! I didn't go down into the tunnels but I followed the signs to the mosaics. They were beautiful. I just figured Alison was behind me....she did miss a really cool cat in the mosaic building. LOL

Next Up: Food that watches you

More foreshadowing!


Jill in CO

 

[pkondz]

It was delicious and a wonderful way to mark my 29th birthday, again!

Still had the new wood smell! Much nicer than the uneven worn steps that many places have.

How dare a several thousands of years old installation have worn steps!

 

[pkondz]

As we left the Pillar of Pompey we drove down a street that was lined with stalls for little shops. Most of them were closed but a few were open.

Did you ever see any that you considered stopping at to either look more closely or purchase something?

This was the part of the city where you could get any kind of car part that you needed. Want a front end? We got it! Want a hub cap? We got it! You name it! We got it!

And they come pre-dented and scraped for your convenience!

Just a glimpse into driving along an average street.

Then we got to the sausage section of the city.

Men only, huh?

The sausage section of the city transitioned into the herring section.

Looks kinda fishy to me.

Here are a few more unique sights that I don’t think we would see in this part of the world.

I'm so glad you took those photos (among others).
Really shows what it's like outside of the manicured tourist spots.

Here’s a look at the street where our driver dropped us off just outside the entrance to the Monument.

Jarring difference.

Here’s Jill and Ahmed purchasing our entrance tickets.

Smart!
"Okay, Alison, time to pony up and pay for tickets."
"Oh, you go ahead, I'm going to take some pictures."

<later>

"Oh, you paid for mine? What a surprise!"

Ahmed told us that when he was first training to be a guide, that this entire area was all dirt and they were just beginning the excavation. He’s been a guide for about 30 years.

Wow!

This structure is designed so that someone can be standing at the center, and their voice will be heard in the highest seats even if they just whisper.

Did you try that?

Just looking at those pillar bases... it must have been beautiful.

This is the last I saw of Jill for a while…..

Bye Jill! Thanks for paying for the ticket!

I really like this shot.

Whoa! Look at those mosaics!

I was kind of freaking out at this point. Jill had basically disappeared as far as I could tell. I was standing at the top of the overlook and was almost ready to go back and start looking for her, when all of a sudden she just comes strolling along the walkway, completely oblivious to my concern!

Ahmed was over somewhere on the other side of the walkway.

On his phone.

Again.

they were just more chunks of statues and stuff. So I amused myself with these kitties.

"And here before you lies the cradle of mankind in all it's glo... Alison? Alison?? AGAIN WITH THE CATS???"

 

[franandaj]

Correct.
And... Not a fan of horror movies? Me neither.

Nope. Comedies, Animated, Action, and potentially some dramas. I'm very limited in my movie choices.

Yay! Rub a dub dub, three dead bodies in a tub...

That sounds like something a millennial would say.

Aaaannndd... I'm at work so can't see your photos, so I'll have to come back later to read the update.

 

[franandaj]

It was delicious and a wonderful way to mark my 29th birthday, again!

Still had the new wood smell! Much nicer than the uneven worn steps that many places have.

Yeah, I almost fell on my face quite a few times......

Thank goodness I lost some weight because the butt shots used to be much worse!

OMG, those falafel were life changing! I'm not usually a falafel fan but these were hot, crispy, with just enough spice. I could have eaten them all day. I'm so glad I had this "snack" because lunch was an experience! Cue foreshadowing.

I was so full from breakfast that I only ate half at first, but then I ate the other half after our next stop because I was hungry again. Lunch was pretty late that day.

Foreshadowing! I didn't go down into the tunnels but I followed the signs to the mosaics. They were beautiful. I just figured Alison was behind me....she did miss a really cool cat in the mosaic building. LOL

More foreshadowing!

 

[franandaj]

How dare a several thousands of years old installation have worn steps!

The nerve of them!

Did you ever see any that you considered stopping at to either look more closely or purchase something?

Never, with how pushy these people at the stalls were, I tried to avoid eye contact when I was walking through them. They all had basically the same stuff and none of it was really of any quality like the papyrus or my pin that I showed earlier. I pretty much went into the trip saying all I wanted to get was the pin. But then expanded it to Dead Sea Salts (all gone now), the Papyrus, the Bastet Statue, and later I find a T-shirt. Hmmm.....I need to wear it and take a picture before I post that update.

And they come pre-dented and scraped for your convenience!

Really!

Men only, huh?

Groan.....

Looks kinda fishy to me.

Even more groan....

I'm so glad you took those photos (among others).
Really shows what it's like outside of the manicured tourist spots.

Yes, the daily life in the street there is just so different.

Jarring difference.

Smart!
"Okay, Alison, time to pony up and pay for tickets."
"Oh, you go ahead, I'm going to take some pictures."

<later>

"Oh, you paid for mine? What a surprise!"

Well technically all our admissions were included in the price we paid for the tour. Jill just

Did you try that?

I think climbing the monuments was frowned upon......

Just looking at those pillar bases... it must have been beautiful.

I'm sure it was!

Bye Jill! Thanks for paying for the ticket!

I really like this shot.

Thanks! I told you I was being artsy fartsy

Whoa! Look at those mosaics!

I wish I could have seen them.

"And here before you lies the cradle of mankind in all it's glo... Alison? Alison?? AGAIN WITH THE CATS???"

So funny, this morning Jill posted this to our chat with Jenny.

 

[pkondz]

Nope. Comedies, Animated, Action, and potentially some dramas. I'm very limited in my movie choices.

Recommend:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Also recommend:
All the Light We Cannot See

Never, with how pushy these people at the stalls were, I tried to avoid eye contact when I was walking through them. They all had basically the same stuff and none of it was really of any quality like the papyrus or my pin that I showed earlier.

Too bad. I'd hoped that maybe someone, somewhere was selling something worthwhile.

Groan.....

Even more groan....

Well technically all our admissions were included in the price we paid for the tour.

Nah. I like my version better.

I think climbing the monuments was frowned upon......

D'oh! Of course. Stupid of me.

I wish I could have seen them.

Next time keep up with the tour guide (aka: Jill)

So funny, this morning Jill posted this to our chat with Jenny.

 

[franandaj]

Recommend:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Also recommend:
All the Light We Cannot See

These are movies?

Too bad. I'd hoped that maybe someone, somewhere was selling something worthwhile.

I'm sure there were plenty of folks who were, but the majority of sellers just had touristy crap.

D'oh! Of course. Stupid of me.

Next time keep up with the tour guide (aka: Jill)

If I'd known she was just walking ahead not checking on me I might have paid more attention!

 

[franandaj]

So I know it’s the holiday season and folks are busy with all their family gatherings and such, but I hate to say it people, I’ve got a schedule to keep! If I’m going to finish this Trip Report before I leave for Disney World, I need to post updates every three days. I just scheduled it out and counted some with the update on the third day, some with the update having three days between updates. With a combination of updating at that pace, I will post the final update about three days before my next WDW trip. I told you at the beginning:

“Buckle your seatbelts, return your tray table and seat back to the upright and locked position. This is going to be one long journey!” What I failed to include is that it might be slightly bumpy ride!

Back to our scheduled programming!

We were visiting Alexandria today. We had visited the Catacombs, and I got lost in the ruins of the Roman Baths. Then we headed towards the ocean. Alexandria is known for its beautiful sea vistas, and walkways along the coast.

First we passed this tribute to the Unknown Soldier. It was built to honour the sailors who lost their lives in the Battle of Navarino, fought on 20 October (O. S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea.

We stopped to take pictures on the ocean before heading to the Fort.

See, there’s the Fort where we are headed next.

You can see the library of Alexandria in this picture of the coastline.

If you couldn’t pick it out in the previous picture, he’s a zoomed in one.

Then it was off to the Fort. Ahmed pretty much just pointed us in the direction of the entrance and said, “See ya in a few minutes.” I think he gave us like 20 or 30 minutes.

The Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria is considered one of the most important defensive strongholds, not only in Egypt, but also along the Mediterranean Sea coast. It formulated an important part of the fortification system of Alexandria in the 15th century AD. The fort was built on the exact location of the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.

Now Ahmed had told us that there really wasn’t much to see inside the fort, so we should just wander the grounds for a bit. I have to wonder in hindsight if he was just trying to rush us through the day. We did have a three hour drive back to Cairo once we were done.

After the Fort we went to the Library of Alexandria. The new Library was built on the exact location of the Great Library of Alexandria, another of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient world. It was burned by Caesar in 48 BC.

I kind of thought this was a waste of time. We spent less than 10 minutes here. Not that I wouldn’t have minded spending a little more time and checking out what there was to see here, but I got the idea that Ahmed didn’t find it interesting so he didn’t make it a point to show us much about it.

Then we went outside to look at the exterior of the structure.

In the background you can see the Sea Bride Statue of Alexandria.
Also known as the Mermaid Monument, it is built in front of the Library of Alexandria (Bibliotheca Alexandria). It is a symbol of modern Alexandria.

This picture shows the coastline of Alexandria and the place we will be having lunch. There is a building far off in the picture that is somewhat over the water and we are headed there for lunch.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

The restaurant was called Branzino. Again, Ahmed pre-ordered for us, and perhaps he did not choose wisely. This is the counter that you see upon entering the restaurant. Those plates that you see in the foreground might give you the false security that we would be eating a traditional meal. Then again perhaps it is traditional, just not for most Americans.

I think we missed the lunch crowd. It was fairly late for lunch even for Egyptians.

I had a nice view of the coast.

The table was set with these appetizers. From 12:00 going clockwise we have mashed potatoes, super sour pickles, tomato hummus (I think), pickled eggplant, tahini, and obviously green salad in the middle and pita bread on the left.

The potatoes were good, I believe that we got a second plate of those, and the salad wasn’t bad. I ate one pickle and that was all I could handle. The bread was good dipped in the tahini. Oh look! Ahmed has disappeared again on his phone….

Then they set down the plate with our main dish. Jill was horrified and disgusted by the plate of fish that was staring at her. She turned around her plate as soon as it was served saying, “Stop looking at me!”

I left mine staring at me throughout lunch.

Needless to say she did not eat her fish. I ate quite a bit of mine, but it was full of tiny bones which were annoying to say the least. There wasn’t a ton of meat on the fish and it was difficult to eat, but believe it or not, I’m not squeamish about eating fish with the head on. I’ve even eaten amaebi (Japanese tempura battered shrimp heads, they are quite delicious!) I did take the heads off the shrimps on my plate before eating their little bodies.

The view again…

After lunch our guide suggested that we take a walk down the walkway along the ocean. We weren’t quite sure what was up, but as events unfolded later that evening we deduced that the guide and the driver were arguing over how he had rearranged our plans for the week.

I also shot this video of the traffic as we walked along the seawall.

We also saw this mural on our little walk.

Eventually they picked us up and the drive back to Cairo was uneventful. Just another one of those things you see on the highways in Egypt.

We stopped at a roadside stand that had a mosque so that they could perform their afternoon prayers. Jill and I found a candy shop that had candy of every flavor. They had a ton of US candies, but I went for the Milka! You can’t get that easily in the US.

And here was are back in Cairo, crossing that bridge our guide complained about the cost of that morning.

Everything was cool until we got back to town. I asked the guide about how most people did laundry in the country since self service laundry wasn’t a thing, and I saw so much laundry drying on balconies. I explained the laundromats we have in the US and there is definitely nothing like that in Egypt. Somehow that laundry discussion launched us into him pointing out where his apartment was located as we drove past. Then he began oversharing about divorce, child custody, and just some other things that were probably not appropriate to be bringing us into his confidence.

Basically he married three different women, fathered children with each of them, and then each one promptly divorced him. The latest one was squatting in his apartment with his child and due to laws that the wife of President Mubarak had forced into law back in the early 2000s, wives have much more power than husbands. They can raise the children, receive child support, and the husbands have just a few rights to see the children. As Ahmed put it, “I do not have the ability to enjoy my children.”

Also Jill and I thought you have no responsibility beyond finances to raise them, but that’s an entirely different discussion. I’m sure we were getting a skewed version of the events, being that he was the jilted husband, but those mysterious phone discussions began to become more apparent. Luckily we got to the hotel and that ended the discussion.

On another difficulty, Jill had been hopping on one foot for the bathroom the last half an hour. We hastily said our goodbyes and dashed up to the room. I let her have first dibs on the bathroom. This time, it was Jill who wanted to shower off after feeling kind of icky. When she turned off the shower, she noticed a trickle of hot water coming out of the spigot.

Once she was dressed, we realized that the toilet which had been acting up that morning had not fixed itself, so we called maintenance. A guy came up promptly and fixed the toilet. I told him about how we couldn’t get hot water in the tub and he found the sweet spot where hot water comes out of the faucet and shower! Yay! Hot showers!

Then we went down to dinner. Since Jill’s tummy was a little wonky on the ride home, we decided just to have something at the Garden Court in our hotel. You know the place we poo-pooed earlier in the week.

I decided that I would be fine with chicken wings. They were actually pretty gross. That was barbeque sauce not Frank’s Red Hot.

Jill went with a pizza.

The funny thing was that my two glasses of wine, her coke, the wings and the pizza cost as much as my steak last night!

We paid the bill and went back to the room. I took a nice hot bath with my Dead Sea Salts. The odd thing was that while I was in the tub, we got a very strange voice message on WhatsApp from Ahmed telling us that the “Driver is not a nice person. He is a liar” and a bunch of other stuff about how we should “start the day at 3:00, and if the company calls, tell them this is how you want it….”

It was pretty odd and we realized that there must have definitely been some drama going on between Ahmed and the driver. We decided that we wanted to stay out of it, and just go to sleep.

I fell asleep almost as soon as I got into bed.

Here’s a map of our travels today.

Next up: The New Museum

 

[tiggrbaby]

The catacombs were really cool!
Must have been a bit scary to have lost Jill!
I can't stand seafood that stares at me either.

 

[jedijill]

ee, there’s the Fort where we are headed next.

The fort was built on the exact location of the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.

can see the library of Alexandria in this picture of the coastline.

After the Fort we went to the Library of Alexandria.

The new Library was built on the exact location of the Great Library of Alexandria, another of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient world. It was burned by Caesar in 48 BC.

[Continued from Previous Post]

The restaurant was called Branzino. Again, Ahmed pre-ordered for us, and perhaps he did not choose wisely. This is the counter that you see upon entering the restaurant. Those plates that you see in the foreground might give you the false security that we would be eating a traditional meal. Then again perhaps it is traditional, just not for most Americans.

I think we missed the lunch crowd. It was fairly late for lunch even for Egyptians.

I had a nice view of the coast.

The table was set with these appetizers. From 12:00 going clockwise we have mashed potatoes, super sour pickles, tomato hummus (I think), pickled eggplant, tahini, and obviously green salad in the middle and pita bread on the left.

The potatoes were good, I believe that we got a second plate of those, and the salad wasn’t bad. I ate one pickle and that was all I could handle. The bread was good dipped in the tahini. Oh look! Ahmed has disappeared again on his phone….

Then they set down the plate with our main dish. Jill was horrified and disgusted by the plate of fish that was staring at her. She turned around her plate as soon as it was served saying, “Stop looking at me!”

I left mine staring at me throughout lunch.

Needless to say she did not eat her fish. I ate quite a bit of mine, but it was full of tiny bones which were annoying to say the least. There wasn’t a ton of meat on the fish and it was difficult to eat, but believe it or not, I’m not squeamish about eating fish with the head on. I’ve even eaten amaebi (Japanese tempura battered shrimp heads, they are quite delicious!) I did take the heads off the shrimps on my plate before eating their little bodies.

The view again…

After lunch our guide suggested that we take a walk down the walkway along the ocean. We weren’t quite sure what was up, but as events unfolded later that evening we deduced that the guide and the driver were arguing over how he had rearranged our plans for the week.

I also shot this video of the traffic as we walked along the seawall.

We also saw this mural on our little walk.

Eventually they picked us up and the drive back to Cairo was uneventful. Just another one of those things you see on the highways in Egypt.

We stopped at a roadside stand that had a mosque so that they could perform their afternoon prayers. Jill and I found a candy shop that had candy of every flavor. They had a ton of US candies, but I went for the Milka! You can’t get that easily in the US.

And here was are back in Cairo, crossing that bridge our guide complained about the cost of that morning.

Everything was cool until we got back to town. I asked the guide about how most people did laundry in the country since self service laundry wasn’t a thing, and I saw so much laundry drying on balconies. I explained the laundromats we have in the US and there is definitely nothing like that in Egypt. Somehow that laundry discussion launched us into him pointing out where his apartment was located as we drove past. Then he began oversharing about divorce, child custody, and just some other things that were probably not appropriate to be bringing us into his confidence.

Basically he married three different women, fathered children with each of them, and then each one promptly divorced him. The latest one was squatting in his apartment with his child and due to laws that the wife of President Mubarak had forced into law back in the early 2000s, wives have much more power than husbands. They can raise the children, receive child support, and the husbands have just a few rights to see the children. As Ahmed put it, “I do not have the ability to enjoy my children.”

Also Jill and I thought you have no responsibility beyond finances to raise them, but that’s an entirely different discussion. I’m sure we were getting a skewed version of the events, being that he was the jilted husband, but those mysterious phone discussions began to become more apparent. Luckily we got to the hotel and that ended the discussion.

On another difficulty, Jill had been hopping on one foot for the bathroom the last half an hour. We hastily said our goodbyes and dashed up to the room. I let her have first dibs on the bathroom. This time, it was Jill who wanted to shower off after feeling kind of icky. When she turned off the shower, she noticed a trickle of hot water coming out of the spigot.

Once she was dressed, we realized that the toilet which had been acting up that morning had not fixed itself, so we called maintenance. A guy came up promptly and fixed the toilet. I told him about how we couldn’t get hot water in the tub and he found the sweet spot where hot water comes out of the faucet and shower! Yay! Hot showers!

Then we went down to dinner. Since Jill’s tummy was a little wonky on the ride home, we decided just to have something at the Garden Court in our hotel. You know the place we poo-pooed earlier in the week.

I decided that I would be fine with chicken wings. They were actually pretty gross. That was barbeque sauce not Frank’s Red Hot.

Jill went with a pizza.

The funny thing was that my two glasses of wine, her coke, the wings and the pizza cost as much as my steak last night!

We paid the bill and went back to the room. I took a nice hot bath with my Dead Sea Salts. The odd thing was that while I was in the tub, we got a very strange voice message on WhatsApp from Ahmed telling us that the “Driver is not a nice person. He is a liar” and a bunch of other stuff about how we should “start the day at 3:00, and if the company calls, tell them this is how you want it….”

It was pretty odd and we realized that there must have definitely been some drama going on between Ahmed and the driver. We decided that we wanted to stay out of it, and just go to sleep.

I fell asleep almost as soon as I got into bed.

Here’s a map of our travels today.



Next up: The New Museum

I wished the guide would have asked for input on what we wanted. I saw other diners with fried fish and other things that I would have eaten. I'm not a huge seafood fan but fried I can deal with it. He never asked us if we had any allergies or preferences the whole time.

he restaurant was called Branzino. Again, Ahmed pre-ordered for us, and perhaps he did not choose wisely. This is the counter that you see upon entering the restaurant. Those plates that you see in the foreground might give you the false security that we would be eating a traditional meal. Then again perhaps it is traditional, just not for most Americans.

The table was set with these appetizers. From 12:00 going clockwise we have mashed potatoes, super sour pickles, tomato hummus (I think), pickled eggplant, tahini, and obviously green salad in the middle and pita bread on the left.

Then they set down the plate with our main dish. Jill was horrified and disgusted by the plate of fish that was staring at her. She turned around her plate as soon as it was served saying, “Stop looking at me!”

Once she was dressed, we realized that the toilet which had been acting up that morning had not fixed itself, so we called maintenance. A guy came up promptly and fixed the toilet. I told him about how we couldn’t get hot water in the tub and he found the sweet spot where hot water comes out of the faucet and shower! Yay! Hot showers!

The hot water felt so good!!!!!

ill went with a pizza.

It wasn't the worst pizza I've ever eaten.....

We paid the bill and went back to the room. I took a nice hot bath with my Dead Sea Salts. The odd thing was that while I was in the tub, we got a very strange voice message on WhatsApp from Ahmed telling us that the “Driver is not a nice person. He is a liar” and a bunch of other stuff about how we should “start the day at 3:00, and if the company calls, tell them this is how you want it….”

It was pretty odd and we realized that there must have definitely been some drama going on between Ahmed and the driver. We decided that we wanted to stay out of it, and just go to sleep.

The drama got more uncomfortable after the VM that Alison got. It was very odd and added to the mystery of what Ahmed's deal was.


Jill in CO

 

[pkondz]

These are movies?

Yes. I think they're both on Netflix. Possibly Prime. They are also books.

If I'd known she was just walking ahead not checking on me I might have paid more attention!

So I know it’s the holiday season and folks are busy with all their family gatherings and such, but I hate to say it people, I’ve got a schedule to keep!

Go! Go! Go!

If I’m going to finish this Trip Report before I leave for Disney World, I need to post updates every three days.

The horror. Having to hurry writing about an amazing trip before your next trip to Disney... Awful!

First we passed this tribute to the Unknown Soldier

Big!

If it weren't for the condition of the buildings, I wouldn't be able, at first glance, to tell the difference between that and a California or Florida coast city scene.

Like this shot with the colourful boats.

You can see the library of Alexandria in this picture of the coastline.

Oh!! I had no idea it was "rebuilt".

The Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria is considered one of the most important defensive strongholds, not only in Egypt, but also along the Mediterranean Sea coast. It formulated an important part of the fortification system of Alexandria in the 15th century AD.

Huh. That's pretty interesting.

What an interesting sign! I had no idea what "AH" stood for. I also thought the plaque was indicating a date range, rather than the same date in two formats.

I have to wonder in hindsight if he was just trying to rush us through the day. We did have a three hour drive back to Cairo once we were done.

Plus calls to make.

Green! Wasn't expecting that.

I kind of thought this was a waste of time. We spent less than 10 minutes here. Not that I wouldn’t have minded spending a little more time and checking out what there was to see here, but I got the idea that Ahmed didn’t find it interesting so he didn’t make it a point to show us much about it.

Unfortunate. You should be able (within reasonable limits, perhaps) to dictate the pace of your own trip. You're not on a tour bus after all.

In the background you can see the Sea Bride Statue of Alexandria.

Took me a minute. At first I thought you were referring to the three spires.

The restaurant was called Branzino.

I only know what that is because I saw SpiderMan.

I had a nice view of the coast.

That's a really nice view, even better for dining.

super sour pickles,

ohhh... I'd be trying those first. Although from the sounds of it... I might not eat too many!

Oh look! Ahmed has disappeared again on his phone….

Jill was horrified and disgusted by the plate of fish that was staring at her.

She turned around her plate as soon as it was served saying, “Stop looking at me!”

Poor Jill

I ate quite a bit of mine, but it was full of tiny bones which were annoying to say the least.

That's too bad. It looked really good.

believe it or not, I’m not squeamish about eating fish with the head on.

I'm curious if most people are, or are not? I know I'm fine with it. Actually like it that way if the fish is cooked properly.

Nice shot of you two!

We also saw this mural on our little walk.

More Disney!
I'm sure it's been approved by them.

Jill and I found a candy shop that had candy of every flavor.

ooohhh... Do they have roast squirrel flavour?

They had a ton of US candies, but I went for the Milka! You can’t get that easily in the US.

Hmmm... I can't recall... I'm pretty sure I've had it? I mean... I must have? I just don't remember.

Then he began oversharing about divorce, child custody, and just some other things that were probably not appropriate to be bringing us into his confidence.

Ugh.
Very professional.

Basically he married three different women, fathered children with each of them, and then each one promptly divorced him.

As Ahmed put it, “I do not have the ability to enjoy my children.”

Poor guy.

Also Jill and I thought you have no responsibility beyond finances to raise them, but that’s an entirely different discussion.

Good point.

Jill had been hopping on one foot for the bathroom the last half an hour.

Her other leg must've been tired.

I told him about how we couldn’t get hot water in the tub and he found the sweet spot where hot water comes out of the faucet and shower! Yay! Hot showers!

Yuss!

Since Jill’s tummy was a little wonky on the ride home, we decided just to have something at the Garden Court in our hotel. You know the place we poo-pooed earlier in the week.

Heh. Wonky tummy and poo-pooed, huh?

Those wings look... wet.

Jill went with a pizza.

Actually, the pizza looks pretty good.

we got a very strange voice message on WhatsApp from Ahmed telling us that the “Driver is not a nice person. He is a liar” and a bunch of other stuff about how we should “start the day at 3:00, and if the company calls, tell them this is how you want it….”

Very professional... oy.

 

[suse66]

Finally here and ready to dive in!

If you’ve followed us, you know she had all sorts of medical issues, but she fought on and tried her best to enjoy life. So why don’t I have a bucket list? Since her passing last Spring, I’ve realized that I spent so many years making her dreams come true, I never really thought about my own. After Fran passed, Jill (@jedijill) asked me to join her on her (already planned) trip to Egypt, it didn’t take long for me to say, “yes”.

I am so happy that you are making plans for yourself as you explore this new chapter in your life.

Bastet was a fierce lioness goddess worshiped as early as the 2nd Dynasty (2890BC). She is my favorite goddess. As well as Hathor the goddess of music and pleasure.

The Royal Ontario museum in Toronto has an extensive Egyptian gallery that we always enjoy. I was mesmerized by the Egyptian gallery at the Met in NYC as well. Such a rich and complex culture!