Egypt Travelogue: Cairo - 29 Sep 2006

As I re-post this Travelogue from 2006, note that my 2011 comments are in italics in each blog entry.

We arrived safely with no issues. We went out for a walk this morning alone the Nile.  It's so beautiful here. I'm in love. The hustle and bustle, the people are so nice, I could go on.  Our room was upgraded, so we have a corner suite - one way faces the Nile and the rest of Cairo, and the other corner, when I threw the

The Nile River, facing East

curtains open at first daylight today and looked southwest - I saw the Pyramids! A view from our room!!! I'm so glad I brought some binoculars, too. They're just beautiful. a few miles away, but still massive in stature.

When we landed in Cairo last night, as soon as we touched down on the
runway, I broke into crying sobs. I can't believe I'm here. Obviously, some things are very different. Different clothing, language, armed guards everywhere, but everyone seems so warm and nice, smiling, and
the hotel staff is amazingly nice.  I'm trying to use what little Arabic I know - enough for formalities and making change at the bank.

The Pyramids in the distance

I got a no-no finger way from the police when I tried to take a picture of a donkey cart when we were on a bridge. Note to self: no photo-taking of or on a bridge. The young women here wear blue jeans, or camo pants, cute tops, much like Americans, except maybe a long-sleeved fitted shirt beneath, and hijab.

Not quite as many beggars here as in Chicago. I've been pestered more in front of my own house than I have here! It's as clean as, well, maybe on the same level as NYC. But it's not nearly as dirty, crowded, or crazy

No-No picture from the bridge

as I had imagined. Maybe because we haven't been into central Cairo yet - we will tomorrow.  And was I wrong... central Cairo wasn't as pristine as where we stayed on the west bank of the Nile by the zoo.

The sun in shining, and frankly, it's been hotter in Chicago. It's pleasantly warm and comfortable.