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

[disneyAndi14]

Hi there!
I am catching up. I love the report. I feel like I am traveling with you two!
I’m reading each day on my lunch break at work! I’m on my phone so it is harder to multi quote!
Just know I am here and really enjoying it all

I love the camel rides, drama with the guide, all the different food items, the mummy history, artifacts, and the night market omg I would have been just like you!

 

[franandaj]

Always exciting for me

I know! With my pass on my phone, I don't get to play the ticket game anymore!

This one is more of a classic shot!

These 2 pics really put the size of the blocks in perspective for me!

I know! They're Huge!

hehe these were good ones!

Thanks!

I was waiting for this when I was following alone live!

You and everyone else!

Good facilities near pyramids, noted!

That seems reasonable to be honest

We thought so too.

Hey bird! What would he be comparable in size to?

It was about the size of a crow. I found another picture (that I didn't post) where there was a whole flock of these birds sitting relatively near where the camels were waiting.

These came up and I was like what the?!!

Yeah, I don't remember what Ahmed was doing to make the camel make funny faces, but he was either making noises or doing something with his hands to get them to open their mouths and move their heads. He took like a dozen pictures of each of us. I picked the best two.

Yeehawww!!

beauty shot!
Classic shot, but a good one!

He did like to do these type of shots hehe

Once again, these ones came up and I was like "what the?!"

Yeah, these were the work of the "camel guide". Ahmed was back sitting in the van, probably talking on the phone.

Did you try it?

No, we just ran into the Papyrus store and picked out a birthday papyrus for Jill, got back in the van and headed over to our hotel. She was probably 3-4 car lengths away if not more. Plus I only have coffee at breakfast in the morning, otherwise I lie awake in bed.

Whoa! that's very cheap indeed!

Yeah, Jill wanted me to point that out, how affordable it was to Uber around.

Nice view! Glad you got a window for the birthday meal!

This would be what D ordered...
This would be what I ordered

I know I'd probably totally forget also, I'm so not used to smoking anymore

Yeah, this was the last time that we forgot, although there was only a couple other times that it would have been an issue. Luckily we were in a lot of non-smoking places for the last part of the trip.

I totally laughed out loud at this!

It is pretty funny!

I would love to regularly get over 7 hours of sleep...le sigh...too many years of early mornings and not getting to bed till late

I seem to do it a lot, except for the last three nights. Rehearsals 3 nights in a row is killing me. I hope I get used to is soon!

Yum, looks like a nice, fresh looking breakfast!

I am very glad you did not do the walk!!

Me too!

I do get his point, but infrastructure like bridges is so necessary...
although maybe it's a bit big?

I think he said it cost 2 Billion USD

his tail looks lonnnnngggg from this angle!

I think it's an optical illusion.

aww man, the closer one is sooo skinny!

I didn't notice since I'm not very tuned into farm animals, but a lot of people have commented on how skinny a lot of the animals are in my pictures.

Lots of the little satellite dishes!

I know! I noticed that too. I also thought, I'm not sure I'd let my building look like that!

I have been enjoying all the ticket pictures!

Good! I thought they were nice too!

I'm sure you took these pics for me right?

I'm pretty sure I was thinking about you when he said "horses".

Only one in it's original spot hey? that is cool!

I know that's sort of mind boggling, but I guess Alexandria has had it's power struggles.

This guy looks Egyptian to me!

Yes I think so, although I never actually saw anyone buying anything

I see I still have lots to look at, plus videos to watch!

You're getting close to being caught up! The spicy market was just "yesterday" in the timeline. But I need to get another update in today.

 

[DnA2010]

Immediately we noticed that this hotel seemed A LOT nicer than the one where we were staying.

Well dang hey! Was your hotel part of the "package" then?

Wow this is so cute!

Both of us received fantastic massages and we chilled out in this hot tub for about half an hour after we were finished. During my massage, I swear I heard Fran say in my head, "I'm so glad you're getting to do the things you want." It made me tear up a little bit.

Sounds like a lovely time

When we went to check out, we asked about leaving tips for our therapists. Evidently this is not common. What kind of place is this where you have to tip someone to get toilet paper in the restroom, but folks don’t tip their massage therapist?

Ok this seems like madness

When she finally understood I was giving her a tip, she was overwhelmed. It came to about $3.50US, but she was so happy

Awww that's great, what a nice moment

He even got fancy with the wine glasses we had in the room!

We came back to our room at the hotel after that to find these towel animals.

Imagine if you'd have know to tip the other days!

They started us off with a bread service.

They seem to do pretty nice bread services in the restaurants there!

Jill got the Caesar salad, she had to order without tomatoes, and mushrooms.

Tomatoes and mushrooms in a ceasar salad?

We sparked up a conversation and had a good time talking to them for most of the night.

I like it when this happens, we've had some nice cruise neighbours for example

to everything that they offered the woman said “no.”

Oh boy, as Jill said, what a Karen...

I got the Tiramisu (also not a huge surprise).

what is the thing beside it?

No wounded soldiers on my watch!

atta girl!

I'd MUCH rather stay there next trip!

ohhh next trip?

 

[franandaj]

If Ahmed had walked in, would he have fainted?

Depends if he'd ever seen two women over 50 sitting in their PJs playing on their phones.

I don't know how you do that. When I'm on vacation, I'm basically off the boards (and everything else) until I get back.

I had to bring a computer because there were certain banking transactions that I needed to take care of. I couldn't do it in advance because I had to wait for money to come in. I've got one tenant who pays rent via Venmo every two weeks. I think I needed his payment to pay off one of the credit cards and it didn't come in until we got to Cairo. Besides, we had a bit of time sitting around in the room towards the middle of the trip.

In Jordan we were go go go, and the first few days of Cairo were the same, but by the 5th and 6th days we had more leisure time, so I decided why not? Now next weekend when I'm out at Disney with my girlfriends, I probably will be off the grid except for posting on Insta and FB cause we are going to have a blast!

Really! I wonder if there's just a few that serve one area or something.

Well we were only like 5 minutes from the original drop off, so he was probably just hanging out in the area waiting for another call.

I don't think I've ever had that. The only times I've come close is when it's mixed in with something else. Strawberry banana... or Strawberry mango... like that.

Yeah, I'd never had it until this trip. Essentially it was just strawberry puree. I'm not sure that they actually added anything.

Bet that felt good after all the touring you did up to that point!

It did! And it was a great massage. Perfect pressure and she hit all the sore spots.

That's... very strange. I mean... you'd just assume??

I learned on this trip, you can't assume anything.

Little things... sometimes are big things, you know?

"Do extra! These rich Americans even tip massage therapists and lavatory attendants. Just think how much they'll tip us!!"

Well we messed up for the first couple days when we didn't tip him. No towel animals for you!

That's... different. Never heard of a Caesar with tomatoes and/or mushrooms.

Yeah, me neither, but I would have been happy to eat them if it were my salad.

Nice that you'd meet up with some fellow country folk.
But... these aren't the same people as the complaining ones from New York, are they?

Yes, they were fine until they got all complainy.

Um... I see ravioli... I see tomatoes... Not sure about the basil, though.

Well she basically asked them to make her something special that wasn't on the menu. She didn't want what I had, she wanted to start creating her own dishes. Between that and the language barrier it was a recipe for disaster.

I might be a little bit more miffed with this one... but like him, would probably have just shrugged and eaten it.

Yeah, I'm not one to complain and send food back. That can never end well.

I'll go with Jill on this one. Yum!

Fine!

I had been thinking for a while now that you (both) had sure been doing a lot!

We sure were!

I was surprised to see that, actually. Did you know it was going to be there?

Yes, it said on the menu that it came with Beef Bacon.

 

[franandaj]

The "closed" ones don't look very secure to be honest!

I'm not sure they have the same rate of theft as we have here.

We actually have one (smaller than these) from when D's brother was living in turkey- not sure if it was out when you visited, or if it's in a box somewhere

I didn't see one, then again I wasn't really looking either.

Yes, that's for sure! Are there belts on that rack?

That's funny the different things people notice. It sure looks like it, but I was focused on the man with the large barrels on the dolly.

Without going back, are all the tickets the same picture?

Most of the tickets had the same picture, the collage of various sites, but some had specialized images to that particular site.

quite a colour difference- did I miss why?

I didn't say anything about it, but they were two completely different structures. The white bricks were a school. The red bricks were the baths.

Wow I can't believe how nice this looks still!

Yeah, I missed that.

I feel like my mind would be doing the same!

Yeah, I was definitely freaking out.

Hehe I laughed at this, and also the fact that I'm the same with horses

Yeah, Jill posted that in our chat.

I immediately saw the broken leaves and thought, ohh I wonder if someone will be excited for them, or if someone (like the guy who was transporting lots) goes up for them

Good question. I'd already forgotten about all the people transporting palm fronds in the countryside. I wonder if they just discard them in the city.

I really liked the colour pallet in this picture!

I should print my pictures and put them up on the wall.

Very cool, thanks for sharing the pics and info!

You're welcome!

Oh well, I guess this one of those examples of "you win some, you lose some" ?

I guess so.

I immediately thought, look at all those fish with their heads sticking out!

Yeah, I actually took that after lunch. Before lunch I was too concerned with getting to the restroom.

Very nice, are those people in the water?

I don't think so.

I'd probably do the same!!

Ok, unofficial poll now says 3 offended by the fish looking at you, 2 no.

I would not have liked all the bones!

Yes, they were quite pesky.

Awww nice pic of you guys!

Thanks!

Disney is always with you!

That might be the last....not sure.

I think this one is in England as a norm!

Our Austrian friends bring them to me.

Mmm glass bottle coke- I always like Mexican coke in a glass bottle

I don't drink soda enough to know the taste difference.

Yuck- those wings do not look appealing here at all!

No, they were actually pretty gross.

Sounds like a great way, and wow what a write up, thank you!!!!

Thanks! I stole a lot of it from Wikipedia, but I did figure out which parts to include!

Not like there's any bacon for the protein front

Nope. Nada.

Sorry, is that his actual skin or coverings?

I believe that it is some sort of covering.

Are those his actual eyelashes?!

No idea.....

He looks happy here!

Thank you for including these, it made it so real to me!

I was bummed that there was no pictures, but I was so happy that I found that book with the pictures. I looked all over online and couldn't find any!

Sure looks the same!

And tasted pretty much the same, except that it was hot.

Hehe "Drinkies" cracks me up! the name that is

I know! I liked the name too!

Ahhh-ohhh- I enjoyed your summation of where he was.

It's all speculation, but it was our best guess!

So classic! I feel like you saw this before?

Maybe, I didn't have a picture of it in my pics from the exhibit though......

Nice, were their faces similar?

Its colors have not faded over three thousand years, which serves as a testament to the high skill of the ancient Egyptian craftsmen.
Apparently I didn't put the picture in, but sure is a testament, how well done!

I didn't look at the faces....we didn't know what to look for, those pictures were from before Ahmed showed up.

Ahh the people, an old building and no AC- yikes!

Yeah, it was icky hot.

I can't get over the craftsmanship, wow, just wow!

The handiwork was amazing!

Beds, I don't think I've seen these before!

They're called funerary cots, most tombs had them as the spirit needed to rest.

Wow, massive updates! I need to go through this all again I think!

Well not that you're caught up you have the time!

 

[franandaj]

Rude lady at the table next to you notwithstanding, sounds like a great chill/down day

It was, and we definitely needed it after the last week of running around.

 

[franandaj]

Sometimes I swear people don't think.

No, they don't, for the most part.

Getting Italian Cuisine in Egypt isn't going to be like getting Italian Cuisine when you are from New York. Level set your expectations people!

Yeah, plus she was asking them to create something just for her that wasn't on the menu. It may seem simple, but there's a reason for the menu, and not a "build your own pasta" section.

Also, you can never make some people happy.

She was definitely one of those!

When we were in Italy this summer with Tauck - some people in our group were like that and its just like ugh. Shaun and I had fun communicating with our eyes in those situations though.

That's one reason I don't want to do tours with a group like that. I remember your trip report from France and there was that one couple who was always late for everything. Both Jill and I like to be on time.

Overall, seems like a nice relaxing day before cruise!

And we get one more, well except for the airplane flight.

The spa seems like it was lovely. Did they do the European thing where they massage your front side as well? When I had my massage in Florence and then in Rome - I had a bit of shock when they just pulled down my top sheet to massage my stomach.

Yes they did, but they put a towel over my top half before they pulled the sheet down. I love when they massage my tummy too!

 

[franandaj]

I am way far behind on your posts since November and got time to read and enjoy your adventures.

Yeah, there's lots to catch up on! I'm posting at a very rapid pace, so that I can finish by my trip to WDW!

 

[franandaj]

:Tightensseatbelt:

Yup!

Yum! Sounds like it was a decent success and the gloves were interesting (and logical it seems!)

I guess so. Our meals were not that messy

You got used to it, wow...

Well maybe not used to it, but it didn't startle me anymore. The first guy I saw on the street in Jordan with an assault rifle really made me , but I remember when they were taking us to the airport to fly back to Cairo, we went through a security check and there were a bunch of guys with those kind of guns and I just was kind of like, "yup that's what security check points look like."

He doesn't look like a particularly big guy, but not having eaten all day...

His eyes were bigger than his stomach.

:jawdrop:

Laughed out loud at this! both your mentioning to him, and the driver laughing, seems he did know a bit as you say!

Yeah, that was one of the funny moments I remember.

F no, hate it, so much. I think Dorian has told you his "Hey Mister" story about all-inclusive resorts

I don't think I've heard that one.....

"Let's get this overwith"

Legit one of my fav pictures

Why? Cause neither of us look particularly pleased?

Thank you for your suffering to bring these pics to the report, I'm really enjoying them!

I'm glad you are. It was weird living it, but kind of glad I got to see it, just didn't enjoy doing it when we did.

- fair bud, fair.

Yeah, if the market were the only way, I'd hire a personal shopper.

Thanks Jill, these pics really showed the extent!

Wowzas! Given the context of everything, I think you two did amazing!!

 

[franandaj]

Hi there!
I am catching up. I love the report. I feel like I am traveling with you two!

Glad you're still following along, lots more to come!

I’m reading each day on my lunch break at work! I’m on my phone so it is harder to multi quote!

I totally get that! I'm caught up on your TR, but haven't commented due to the phone.

Just know I am here and really enjoying it all

I love the camel rides, drama with the guide, all the different food items, the mummy history, artifacts, and the night market omg I would have been just like you!

It was all a definite experience. While it may not have all been pleasant, it was an adventure!

 

[franandaj]

Well dang hey! Was your hotel part of the "package" then?

The package covered just about everything but a few lunches, dinner, and International airfare.

Sounds like a lovely time

It was a great break from the go go go.

Ok this seems like madness

I know right?

Awww that's great, what a nice moment

Next time, I'm going to plan for more baksheesh for those who don't normally get it.

Imagine if you'd have know to tip the other days!

We would have had more towel animals!

They seem to do pretty nice bread services in the restaurants there!

Yes! The bread service was always quite varied.

Tomatoes and mushrooms in a ceasar salad?

I know that's what I said! Jill and Pkondz as well!

I like it when this happens, we've had some nice cruise neighbours for example

It's nice until.....

Oh boy, as Jill said, what a Karen...

this happens.

what is the thing beside it?

I think it was edible gold foil.....

atta girl!

That one was for you!

ohhh next trip?

Well since the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) hasn't opened yet, we need to go back to see the rest of the King Tut paraphernalia.

 

[franandaj]

I think this was the first night I slept almost all the way through until 4:40AM when I gave up on sleep and got up to work on the TR.

We went down to breakfast around 7:30AM and were done by 8AM.

They had the turkey lunch meat again, so I did a sandwich and wedge fries for breakfast.

And a cinnamon roll. Not sure why I didn’t have a slice or two of my favorite cake.

We didn't have to meet anyone until 10:30AM when a different guide and driver were coming to pick us up to go to the airport.

While we were sitting in the room chilling, Jill got a WhatsApp from the balloon company asking if we wanted a 3:20AM pick up or a 5AM pick up. They way they described it we were thinking "who would take a 3AM pickup?" In hindsight I would have taken the 3AM pick up because we would have seen the sunrise from the balloon. Oh well. Next time.

Jill read up on FB and other social media while I worked on the TR. Finally at 10:10 we grabbed our bags and headed downstairs. They were early, there by 10:20. We got our luggage loaded and we were on the way to the airport.

We were there quickly and I wasn't so thrilled with their service, but I guess they can't get past the security measures. Instead of accompanying us to the ticket counter like the guide in Jordan, they just dropped us off at the curb of the airport. They told us where to go and how to check in. It appears that at airports in this part of the world there are two security checks. You have to do one just to enter the airport, and another one later. We put all our bags through, but we had bottles of water. As we were trying to figure out how to dispose of them, the guy at baggage quietly said "baksheesh".

I grabbed a 10LE note from my mini purse and handed it to him. The water went through in Jill's bag without a problem.

Another guy on the other side of security saw that we had quite a few bags and grabbed a luggage cart and put the bags on it. We could have managed our own bags, but we didn't argue. The guy has to make a living.

He took us over to the baggage check and ticket counter, and we tipped him the equivalent of $1.50. The girl at the ticket counter basically reprimanded us for having two checked bags. She made sure to mention that in the country of Egypt you were only allowed one checked bag for free. It was about US$30 per bag, so I just paid it.

Then we were on our way to the gate. We still hadn't gone through a second security screening. We found the gate, but we still had 2 hours until the plane took off. There was almost nothing food wise near the gate, just a tiny coffee stand with some pre-made sandwiches that sounded disgusting. So we went back to the main area of the domestic departures. It wasn't much better, but at least they had some fairly fresh pastries.

I got a bag of Cheetos, a cookie and an Americano, plus a bottle of water. Healthy lunch eh? I don’t remember what Jill got, but I believe that it was equally nutritious.

We saw on the monitor that the gates were listed in order of departure time. At some point the words "Gate Open" would appear by the flight. We didn't understand what that meant until we got to our gate.

All the gates were located on the upper level of the concourse, but to get to the actual point where you board the plane you had to go downstairs. That's where the second security screening was. Just before you get to your gate. They had two lines. One for men and one for women. After you walked through the metal detector you got a full pat down by someone of the same sex, like a "you should have bought me dinner before that", kind of pat down.

Then we found some seats and just waited. As we looked around the waiting area, it looked like it was definitely going to be a full flight. And every single person looked like a tourist. We must all be boarding cruise ships.

The boarding went quite smoothly. Jill and I were at the front of the area, and when they said. "OK we're boarding!" We were the second and third down the jetway. We took our seats and it was in fact a full flight.

It was a quick one and pretty soon we were down the stairs and onto another bus. Our guide was right there inside the terminal waiting for us holding a sign with the tour company's name on it. He helped us get our bags off the carousel and then we were in the van on the way to the hotel.

We got all checked in, but as they were taking us to our room, they had given us one king bed instead of two beds. We sat around forever while the guy helping with the luggage went down to get new keys for the new room next door which was two beds.

Finally Jill went downstairs to see what the hold up was, and no one was working on our room change. So she took care of it, got new keys, and we saved on the tip. Once we were settled, we wondered why we didn’t choose to have our extra free day in Luxor instead of Cairo, but when we made that decision we didn’t know which hotels we would be staying at. This one was seriously nicer than our Cairo hotel.

Jill read that there was happy hour at the Oasis bar from 5-6PM so we headed down to locate it. The first place we found was the outside restaurant by the pool. We scanned the QR code for the menu and it was pretty good. We also checked out the bar menu for Happy Hour. Drinks made from local spirits were less than $10

The time was 4:30 and no one was there yet so we decided to checkout one of the other restaurants. It was an Asian fusion restaurant, but the problem was is that it was right next to the VIP lounge for Hilton Gold and Platinum members, and full of Cigarette smoke. The menu was OK, the smell was not.

We went back up.to the room so I could change into a tank top and sandals, it was really hot in Luxor.

When we came back down it was time for happy hour. This was the view from our table.

I started off with a Planter’s punch and Jill got a Pina Colada.

While we were sipping our drinks, the bartender brought us a bowl of chips. Unfortunately there was some little extra protein in there. We took them back to the bar immediately.

Then we switched to Daquiris. We struck up a conversation with a woman from Adelaide, Australia.

While I was sitting at the table the bartender asked me how I was doing. He told me that “Kullu Tamam” means everything's OK. He also brought us some peanuts, and the only protein in these was inside the nuts.

When Happy Hour was over, we decided to go to the outdoor restaurant called Olives for dinner.

We had a nice bread service.

Jill got the Fish and Chips. This was tasty, I had part of one of the pieces of fish and it was nice and fresh and the chips were crispy too.

I got the Beef Stroganoff. I have to say that this was one of the standout dishes that I had on the trip. The pasta was made fresh and you could totally tell. It was super tasty and the sauce and everything else was really good.

It was way too much food and we fed a kitty cat who came begging at our table.

We had to get up early so we went to bed by 8PM.

Here’s our Google Timeline for the day.

Up next: Up, Up and Away Take 2

 

[rentayenta]

Now we're talking! Joshua's friend Youseff says the only thing he misses about Egypt are the beaches. Just lovely! Ugh on the ants in the chips.

 

[franandaj]

Now we're talking! Joshua's friend Youseff says the only thing he misses about Egypt are the beaches.

Where did he come from? Certainly not Cairo. I don't think they really had beaches there. Alexandria? I mean technically this was a riverbank.

Just lovely! Ugh on the ants in the chips.

Yeah, that was kind of a random surprise.

 

[pkondz]

Depends if he'd ever seen two women over 50 sitting in their PJs playing on their phones.

Oh, sure. All the time.

I had to bring a computer because there were certain banking transactions that I needed to take care of.

I get that; done it myself. But I like to be more in the moment and less in the virtual world when I'm on vacation, I guess?
Hmmm... that's not true, either. I will watch a movie during down-time, so... I guess it's just doing what you want to or feel like doing.

In Jordan we were go go go, and the first few days of Cairo were the same, but by the 5th and 6th days we had more leisure time, so I decided why not?

Sure!

Now next weekend when I'm out at Disney with my girlfriends, I probably will be off the grid except for posting on Insta and FB cause we are going to have a blast!

I hope you do! (Have a blast, I mean.)

Well we were only like 5 minutes from the original drop off, so he was probably just hanging out in the area waiting for another call.

Yeah, I'd never had it until this trip. Essentially it was just strawberry puree. I'm not sure that they actually added anything.

Hmmm... Not sure if I'd like that or not.

It did! And it was a great massage. Perfect pressure and she hit all the sore spots.

Perfect.
I've had... some not so great massages. At least one. Pretty sure I wrote about it in a TR somewhere.
(No. Not going to look.)

I learned on this trip, you can't assume anything.

I'm seeing that!

Well we messed up for the first couple days when we didn't tip him. No towel animals for you!

Yes, they were fine until they got all complainy.

Ugh. That's too bad. Hero to zero.

Well she basically asked them to make her something special that wasn't on the menu. She didn't want what I had, she wanted to start creating her own dishes. Between that and the language barrier it was a recipe for disaster.

I see what you did there!

Fine!

 

[pkondz]

I think this was the first night I slept almost all the way through until 4:40AM when I gave up on sleep and got up to work on the TR.

We went down to breakfast around 7:30AM and were done by 8AM.

Quick-ish.

And a cinnamon roll. Not sure why I didn’t have a slice or two of my favorite cake.

We are all soooo disappointed in you!

While we were sitting in the room chilling, Jill got a WhatsApp from the balloon company asking if we wanted a 3:20AM pick up or a 5AM pick up. They way they described it we were thinking "who would take a 3AM pickup?" In hindsight I would have taken the 3AM pick up because we would have seen the sunrise from the balloon. Oh well. Next time.

Heh. If you had taken the 3am slot... it would've been too cloudy to see the sunrise.

We were there quickly and I wasn't so thrilled with their service, but I guess they can't get past the security measures. Instead of accompanying us to the ticket counter like the guide in Jordan, they just dropped us off at the curb of the airport. They told us where to go and how to check in. It appears that at airports in this part of the world there are two security checks. You have to do one just to enter the airport, and another one later.

I guess it's not great, but... not much you can do about it, I suppose.

As we were trying to figure out how to dispose of them, the guy at baggage quietly said "baksheesh".

Uhhhh...

I grabbed a 10LE note from my mini purse and handed it to him. The water went through in Jill's bag without a problem.

I wonder how much an incendiary or explosive item would cost???

Another guy on the other side of security saw that we had quite a few bags and grabbed a luggage cart and put the bags on it. We could have managed our own bags, but we didn't argue. The guy has to make a living.

Plus.... it was basically free.

The girl at the ticket counter basically reprimanded us for having two checked bags. She made sure to mention that in the country of Egypt you were only allowed one checked bag for free. It was about US$30 per bag, so I just paid it.

I take it she'd just about had her fill of tourists for that day.

some pre-made sandwiches that sounded disgusting.

Nothing worse than a sandwich with an offensive vocabulary

to get to the actual point where you board the plane you had to go downstairs. That's where the second security screening was.

ohhh...

After you walked through the metal detector you got a full pat down by someone of the same sex, like a "you should have bought me dinner before that", kind of pat down.

Whee!!!


No?

Our guide was right there inside the terminal waiting for us holding a sign with the tour company's name on it.

That's better.

Nice!

Finally Jill went downstairs to see what the hold up was, and no one was working on our room change.

This one was seriously nicer than our Cairo hotel.

Sure looks it.

Oh! And right on the river, too. Very nice.

the problem was is that it was right next to the VIP lounge for Hilton Gold and Platinum members, and full of Cigarette smoke.

Ugh. Yuck. Nope!

This was the view from our table.

Pretty.

I started off with a Planter’s punch and Jill got a Pina Colada.


Then we switched to Daquiris.

nooooooo.... too much rum!

While we were sipping our drinks, the bartender brought us a bowl of chips. Unfortunately there was some little extra protein in there. We took them back to the bar immediately.

More tourists!
Teeny tiny ones...

He also brought us some peanuts, and the only protein in these was inside the

I got the Beef Stroganoff. I have to say that this was one of the standout dishes that I had on the trip.

Really! Was not expecting that.

It was way too much food and we fed a kitty cat who came begging at our table.

Of course you did.

 

[DnA2010]

Turkey, lettuce and cheese, perfect!

Was this in a little dish? Also doesn't look very "cinnamon-y" ?

As we were trying to figure out how to dispose of them, the guy at baggage quietly said "baksheesh".

I grabbed a 10LE note from my mini purse and handed it to him. The water went through in Jill's bag without a problem.

She made sure to mention that in the country of Egypt you were only allowed one checked bag for free. It was about US$30 per bag, so I just paid it.

Sometimes you have to just go with it hey

but I believe that it was equally nutritious.

Just one of those meals, hopefully you made it without feeling crappy later

One for men and one for women. After you walked through the metal detector you got a full pat down by someone of the same sex, like a "you should have bought me dinner before that", kind of pat down.

Ahh, as in everyone got the pat down?

Paper boarding pass?!

Our guide was right there inside the terminal waiting for us holding a sign with the tour company's name on it.

Nice, good to hear they were on it with the next guide!

Wow, pretty, def looking like a step up!

Very nice!

Jill read that there was happy hour at the Oasis bar from 5-6PM so we headed down to locate it.

I always like and respect people that know where free drinks are/when happy hours are on

Wow beautiful!!

This looks like a great view- a bar, water and sunset!

Unfortunately there was some little extra protein in there. We took them back to the bar immediately.

Whoa!! yuck!

We had a nice bread service.

Again hey! They def did not disappoint here!

The pasta was made fresh and you could totally tell.

Yum! I have not had fresh pasta in a long time...might have to remedy that!


I think I'm caught up!

 

[jedijill]

I grabbed a 10LE note from my mini purse and handed it to him. The water went through in Jill's bag without a problem.

Another guy on the other side of security saw that we had quite a few bags and grabbed a luggage cart and put the bags on it. We could have managed our own bags, but we didn't argue. The guy has to make a living.

He took us over to the baggage check and ticket counter, and we tipped him the equivalent of $1.50. The girl at the ticket counter basically reprimanded us for having two checked bags. She made sure to mention that in the country of Egypt you were only allowed one checked bag for free. It was about US$30 per bag, so I just paid it.

I didn't mind tipping the workers but I was irritated that they just started grabbing our stuff while we were still trying to get through the checkpoint. I was very nervous as my money and passport were on the belt and they were grabbing it before I could get to it. The airline check in agent was super rude about the extra bag. We had asked our tour guy who assured us it would be fine to have 2 bags but something must have gotten lost in translation....it was fine for international but we only got 1 bag with domestic. It wasn't a big deal to pay but she decided to pretty much yell at us about it.

It was a quick one and pretty soon we were down the stairs and onto another bus. Our guide was right there inside the terminal waiting for us holding a sign with the tour company's name on it. He helped us get our bags off the carousel and then we were in the van on the way to the hotel.

It was also at least 10 degrees warmer in Luxor than Cairo. I really liked the guide that picked us up. He was local and really nice and helpful.

Jill read that there was happy hour at the Oasis bar from 5-6PM so we headed down to locate it. The first place we found was the outside restaurant by the pool. We scanned the QR code for the menu and it was pretty good. We also checked out the bar menu for Happy Hour. Drinks made from local spirits were less than $10

The resort was right on the bank of the Nile. Those little tables and couches were for a special dinner you could book. Alison didn't mention all the bugs! They were awful and chased us inside at some point. The drinks were great and strong! We didn't stay out too late as we had a really really really early wake up call the next day.

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

Oh, sure. All the time.

I get that; done it myself. But I like to be more in the moment and less in the virtual world when I'm on vacation, I guess?

I actually kind of look at it more a slight connection to the real world. Communicating with folks back home and knowing that things are still continuing as normal even though I'm not there.

Hmmm... that's not true, either. I will watch a movie during down-time, so... I guess it's just doing what you want to or feel like doing.

In one of the next updates I will be watching a movie while working on the TR!

I hope you do! (Have a blast, I mean.)

I can't wait! Jill gets here in about 54 hours and once she gets here it's around 12-15 hours til Disney. Depending on how early we want to get up and drive over there.

Hmmm... Not sure if I'd like that or not.

I thought it was pretty good, but not sure if they added anything to it.

Perfect.
I've had... some not so great massages. At least one. Pretty sure I wrote about it in a TR somewhere.
(No. Not going to look.)

I don't remember reading it, so it was pretty far back.

Ugh. That's too bad. Hero to zero.

I see what you did there!

I didn't even mean to do that! I guess my unconscious mind was being witty!

Heh. If you had taken the 3am slot... it would've been too cloudy to see the sunrise.

Well, no because we have some (albeit hazy) good pictures of the sunrise.

I guess it's not great, but... not much you can do about it, I suppose.

Pretty much this was a roll with the flow sort of trip, except one point, which is still about 8 or 9 updates away.

I wonder how much an incendiary or explosive item would cost???

I had a very similar thought.

I take it she'd just about had her fill of tourists for that day.

Probably for her life.

Nothing worse than a sandwich with an offensive vocabulary

Nice one!

Whee!!!


No?

well maybe?

nooooooo.... too much rum!

They had drinks with local Tequila, and Vodka too, we just went with the rum.

More tourists!
Teeny tiny ones...

Really! Was not expecting that.

Neither was I! I didn't expect handmade pasta, it was so tasty!

Of course you did.

 

[franandaj]

Turkey, lettuce and cheese, perfect!

At least I knew I was getting some protein!

Was this in a little dish? Also doesn't look very "cinnamon-y" ?

Most of them aren't very cimmamon-y, but no this was just a single bun on a plate.

Sometimes you have to just go with it hey

What were we going to do, get rid of one of the suitcases?

Just one of those meals, hopefully you made it without feeling crappy later

Well we started drinking rum, so that helped!

Ahh, as in everyone got the pat down?

Well yes, everyone got the pat down, but they patted you everywhere.

Paper boarding pass?!

All of our boarding passes were paper, for all the flights. No scan on the phone.

Nice, good to hear they were on it with the next guide!

There weren't any other guide mess ups, only guides messing up.

Wow, pretty, def looking like a step up!

Yeah and this one even had a working onsite spa. Had we known that, we would have taken our extra day here.

I always like and respect people that know where free drinks are/when happy hours are on

She read the literature from the front desk!

Wow beautiful!!

This looks like a great view- a bar, water and sunset!

We didn't actually sit at the bar, we were at a table just to the right of that picture, but we still had the great view.

Again hey! They def did not disappoint here!

You're really enjoying our bread services!

Yum! I have not had fresh pasta in a long time...might have to remedy that!

You can have it Sunday night!

I think I'm caught up!

Yes you are! Until I post another update!