Egypt: Days Three and Four

We spent our second full day at the Mena House bumming around, relaxing, etc.  We had massages in the late afternoon, which I hoped would solve my mobility issue due to my pyramid legs.  The masseusse was VERY STRONG.  Sheer brute force.  I endured it, thinking that it must be what I need to release all my built-up tension.  I did feel better afterwards, but Sweetie later noticed that I was extensively bruised along my spine as a result!  It did look really bad.

Anyway, the night before we left for our Nile cruise, the pyramids were lit at night and it was very magical to see the Great Pyramid from our balcony, all lit up.  We had dinner at a fancy, grand old-style restaurant in the hotel.  There was a guy singing Lionel Richie, Eric Clapton, etc. covers (after a dismal pianist did a set where he was trying to play along with pre-recorded music.  It was very clear that he didn't have the faintest clue how to play the piano.  Bizarre.)  The food was not great for a vegetarian like myself, but I loved the free appetizer (this was very common at all the restaurants we ate at -- free suprise appetizers -- so it meant we were always eating more than we planned).  

The ride to the airport on Day Four was fine and I was glad we had Bales taking care of us, because I wouldn't have had the faintest clue what to do at the airport  (the x-ray machines for you and all your baggage are at the entrance to the airport).  While our Bales guide for the boat trip was checking us in for our flight to Luxor, a crying little boy walking past us and then proceded to puke all over the place.  We relocated to put some more distance between us and the puking boy.  I did notice, however, that the boy's mother and sister (?) were very diligent and wiped it all up off the airport floor and changed his clothes and tossed his clothes into a plastic bag.

The wait for our plane was AWFUL.  Some dude was chainsmoking near us.  And when we finally went to the gate, the air wasn't much better.  We were ravenous, but the cafes at the airport were a terrible ripoff.  Our plane was over one hour late, so we were waiting at the less-than-stellar Cairo airport domestic terminal for about 3 hours.  It felt like forever.

Needless to say, we were VERY excited to finally land in Luxor and hop on a minibus to a small boat which shuttled us over to our "dahabiyya" sailboat for the week.  The Nesma is a gorgeous sailboat, with six cabins and room for 12 guests.  Haras, one of the crew, was waiting for us with a tray of drinks.  They were apple juice, but I was so happy to finally be on the boat that I didn't care that they weren't alcoholic!

Lunch was served (it was 1730 by then!) and then we went back across the Nile to Luxor Temple on the opposite bank.  It was lit (it was dark by then) and very cool!  We saw great carvings -- it was all rather extensive.

Dinner was served in the elegant salon.  It was delicious!!  And I was not short-changed at all even though I was the only vegetarian.  The food was amazing!

Sweetie and I called it an early night as we had a 5AM wakeup the next day for our balloon ride over Luxor!

Egypt Days One and Two - Uncut!

Taken from my trip journal -- Day One:

Egypt! The great pyramid is before my eyes. What a mass of humanity we had to pass through to get here! We flew from Tel Aviv to Amman (Jordan) and there we were lucky enough to see our connecting gate immediately, but we had to loop around behind it and go through security again. I was directed to a female inspector for my requisite pat-down. She wore a veil and was seated in a box with curtains. She had a bit of BO, which wasn't suprising because it was really hot in the airport. No air circulating whatsoever.

I decided to check out the bathroom, and had to return to Sweetie in order to grab some tissues (they just use squat toilets and only water to rinse in Jordan...). I decided to avail myself of the only Western style toilet in the ladies' room.

We boarded in a slightly random fashion (no line, but also no overt pushing and shoving). The plane was great -- two seats on each side (Royal Jordanian Air). We flew over some of the most inhospitable-looking places I've ever seen. Complete and total mountainous desert.

The Bales Travel rep (we booked the trip through British company Bales Worldwide) was waiting for us immediately as we got into the airport in Cairo. He purchased our visas at the bank window (I never would have figured that out on my own) and we went through immigration after a short delay in which Sweetie's passport somehow left the immigration officer's cubicle, completely unbeknownst to us.

My bag was virtually the first to come out and Sweetie's was right behind, so needless to say, we were very happy (thinking back to my FIVE days without my suitcase in Sicily). We had an entire crew from Eastmar Travel (Bales's local travel company) there to usher us to our minibus. It took us 75 minutes to get to our hotel, the famous and historic Mena House at Giza. it was a very scary ride because traffic is just INSANE.

We took a nap and had a scrumptious dinner at the hotel's famous Moghul Indian restaurant (best Indian food in Egypt, apparently). We walked around the hotel grounds, which are really "Oriental" (that means "Middle Eastern" in the Middle East).

Day Two:
Today we saw the Bent Pyramid -- a pyramid that the ancient Egyptians sort of messed up on because they got the angles wrong and had to tighten the angles as the reached the top. Oops.

Then, I ventured into the Red Pyramid at Dashur, all by myself. In retrospect, it was completely insane for me to go in by myself, without a flashlight, and without anyone else inside the pyramid. But, anyway, I had to bend over while scuttling down the very steep staircase/ladder that descended into the pyramid (as the entrance is about 1/3 UP the side of the pyramid). It was not easy. Then, once in, there were three separate chambers. There wasn't really anything to see inside, except the architecture, which wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't expect the three independent chambers. Anyway, it smelled strongly of ammonia inside and I was slightly worried that I would pass out, and sort of neared a panic-state when I realized how far down I was and that I was entirely alone.

So, I did not linger long and made the hunched climb back out. I have to be honest and say that as a result of that little venture, I could barely walk for two days after that!! I work out regularly and lift weights, but walking into and out of a pyramid clearly uses different muscle fibers!

After that, we went on to Saqqara (with our guide and driver, whom I had hired for the day). There I made the very short descent into Titi's pyramid, which looks just like a mound now because all the outer granite was plundered. An old man escorted me with a flashlight. It was much more interesting inside because it had carvings of Titi's cartouche and one chamber had a ceiling carved with stars. It was truly spectacular and very magical. I also looked in the sarcophogus. It was amazing -- the fine detail of the carvings.

After that, we saw a tomb of a noble where our guide Mustafa showed us lots of pictures and hieroglyphics and carvings that still had the original color from 3000 years ago.

We ventured onward to Giza. The Great Pyramid (visable from our hotel room) was impressive. Massive. The Sphinx was actually shorted than I expected -- maybe this is because you view it not from the base of it, but from a platform off to the side that is much higher than the base of the Sphinx.

Our guide took us for kushari for lunch -- a very traditional Egyptian food. It has macaroni and linguini mixed with lentils, fried and dried onion, tomato and spices. YUMMY. And dirt cheap.

Back!

Merry Christmas to all!  Somewhat belatedly.  Sweetie and I did some traveling over the holidays -- so stay tuned to my trip report on EGYPT.  It was amazing and I saw so many things I never thought I would get a chance to see!  Here's a little preview photo (taken from the Temple of Philae).

Brief Hiatus

I'm taking a blog break over the holidays, so check back toward the end of the year.  My computer has been having some issues (not only that, but I also just discovered that my external hard drive is nearly full), so I'm going to try to get it repaired.  

In Praise of Israel

One very positive thing happened today -- I have been trying to track down a piece of mail I sent from an Israeli post office via registered mail to the US.  In desperation, yesterday I found a spot on the Israel Post website where I could send an email with my issue and someone 
was supposed to contact me.  And guess what, someone called me today!!  And she had tried 
tracking my item on the USPS website (I had tried yesterday to no avail) and she said that there was now a record of my item on the USPS website and that a delivery of it had been attempted.

HOORAY.   It was true and I called the recipient today and they confirmed receipt.  

Huge sigh of relief.  The envelope contained a check representing my entire savings, so it was rather important!

On the flipside, the USPS was also supposed to contact me regarding the same issue, and they haven't yet:-)

More of Cha-Chan Being Israeli

This evening I was waiting in line at the pharmacy.  I realize that "line" is a difficult concept for some people here.  And low and behold, a Russian couple comes in (they were most  likely immigrants) and this lady proceeds to walk up to the counter, which is occupied with a young woman trying to get her medications in some semblance of privacy, and shoves her paper there.  I immediately walk up to the counter (even though I had appropriately been waiting behind the
"privacy" line) and impose myself between the large Russian lady and the girl being served.  Then, when the girl being served left, Russian Lady put her paper back down yet again, but I swooped in and without making eye contact (very key), defiantly and with aplomb, put my paper down.  And got served. Hooray.  Take that, Russian Lady!

Cha-chan Being Israeli

First, let me begin with a list of my top ten gym pet peeves:

10) People who use their arms to hold themselves up on the stairstepper, rather than using it for its intended purpose in which you use your legs to support yourself.

9) Inappropriate gym wear.  This would include ladies with their pants falling down.  Ladies with their thong underwear sticking out of their pants (which may or may not be falling down).  Ladies who wear thin white stretchy pants.  Men who wear shorts that are entirely too tight (TMI).  

8) People who feel the need to stretch in a location that blocks traffic for everyone else.

7) People talking on their cellphones.

6) People who chat with others while sitting on (and not using) machines.

5) Posers who spend more time checking themselves out in the mirror than they do working out.

4) Guys who drop their weights with a massive crash or thud (I guess 'cuz they are too wimpy to set them down properly).

3) Trainers who would rather oogle at girls than actually help or watch for people potentially hurting themselves on equipment.

2) Trainers who actually watch people hurting themselves (bad squats, buckling knees on the leg press, nearly ripping their arms out of their sockets on the assisted pull-up, etc).

1) People who leave towels on machines to "reserve" them while they're off chatting, posing, strolling, talking on cell phone, or using the restroom.

And along the lines of #1, today I wanted to use the leg press.  There is only one leg press and I wanted to use it.  There was  a towel on it, but I had not actually seen anyone using the leg press for several minutes.  So I moved the towel and hopped on.  Shortly thereafter, some "Mr. Macho" returned.  I did not make eye contact and proceded to finish my set.  Then, I left and did other things.  He got back on and did a set.  Then, he disappeared again.  I was still occupied with other stuff, so he had about 4 minutes of putzing around elsewhere in the gym before he went back to do yet another set.  Then, after that set, he went off again, so I went back and moved his towel again and did a set.  No eye contact.  I went and did other stuff, he did a set and then disappeared.  So, I started going back to the machine and he was there, so I said I only had one more set, so he told me to go ahead.  Oh how generous of him.  

What is more lame than hogging a machine like that is the fact that this moron is resting about 4-5 minutes between sets!  What's the point of that?  No trainer has ever indicated that I might like to do a set and then go have a coffee, for example, before coming back to do another!

Anyway, it was all very Israeli of me to just barge in and move his towel.  So I was proud. 

Sunset Tonight

Where are my brilliant blog ideas?

I find that whenever I'm walking to the gym (or elsewhere), I think of all these witty, interesting, entertaining things to write in my blog, and then when I get home, I can't think of them. Very frustrating....

My New Camera
So, now I'm already fantasizing about buying a telephoto lens for the DSLR that Sweetie got me (and Mom delivered) for my birthday.  We're headed to Africa next Spring and I'm torn about the issue of Image Stabilization.  Some people say you need it, others say you just need to rest your hand somewhere when taking pictures.  All very confusing and I would like to sort it out seeing as how there is about a $1000 difference between the two.  Any camera gurus out there?

My New  Volunteering Adventure
I recently started doing some virtual volunteering for a non-profit called the National Political Do Not Contact Registry (www.StopPoliticalCalls.org).   You can register your home phone number for free and it will be included on do-not-call lists provided to politicians.  The idea is to help people eliminate irritating political robo calls and other unsolicited political phone calls.  The group is non-partisan and fills a hole left by the National Do Not Call Registry, which does not apply to politicians.   Though politicians aren't obligated to abide by the National Political Do Not Contact Registry, hopefully they will!  If they don't, you are always free to use your vote to express how you feel about their unsolicited campaign phone calls:-)

My Favorite Foods

I am obsessed with food. Sweetie gets really angry when I plan my vacation itineraries around meals at good restaurants. But, I think food should be appreciated. And here's my list of some of my favorite foods:

1) Strawberries
2) Grandma's apple pie
3) Grandma's chocolate oatmeal no-bake cookies
4) Fortnum and Mason's chocolate cake
5) Java House's carrot cake (Washington DC)
6) Candy corn and candy pumpkins
7) Johnny's Pastries maple cream sticks (Massillon, OH)
8) Oimatsu's nerikiri Japanese sweets (Kyoto)
9) Krispy Kreme glazed donuts HOT
10) I'm still thinking about #10....

Less White Space, Hooray

After an hour or two of fiddling and web-searching, I think I managed to significantly decrease the white space on the sides of my blog.  Hooray.

Today's repairs
It wouldn't be a real day at my house without some home repairs scheduled.  Today, I had two men come to check and clean the a/c filters and show me how to do it.  

Well, there was no filter to speak of in one of the units.  Slight oversight when they put the house together, it seems.

The bedroom filter was spic and span, but it certainly was not easy to access.  The repairman had to pull some Super Stretch moves in order to access it.  

The basement filters were a snap.  As long as you can balance yourself on top of a toilet without falling in.

But then they tackled the living room a/c.  After some very serious effort trying to remove the grate (in our house, all they did was whack a whole in the wall and put the grate on.  There's no frame for the grate to rest in, or anything handy like that) and after removing half the ceiling plaster in the process, they finally got the grate off.  Then, more acrobatics were involved in actually accessing the filter.  Then, the guy pulled out something that was straight out of Alien.  I was soooo utterly grossed out.  They immediately took it outside to hose off.  

It was pointed out to me that the filter should be blue. But it in no way resembled the color blue.  It had about two inches of disgusting alien life forms encrusted on it.  The repairman admitted he had never seen anything like it. He guessed it had never been cleaned since the house was built.

Anyway, as usual, right after he walked into the house, the repairman said, "This house is very clean." They always say clean! And he also commented that the a/c grates are all very streamlined and he said they clearly cost a lot of money. But, as usual, I was quick to point out the house's deficiencies. Like the fact that if one light bulb in our living room or bedroom goes out, all the lights in that room go out as well. Bad design.

What's With All This White Space

There is so much white space on either side of my blog and I can't figure out how to get rid of it!  It's driving me nuts.  My html knowledge isn't quite good enough to figure this one out.  Any tips out there??

お茶を日常生活で生かす

先日家でパーティをしました。料理はシェフに頼んで、20名の客が来ました。私にとって初めての外交官のパーティで、とてもいろいろなことを心配していました。だけど、シェフがとても早めに来てくれ、私たちは何にも心配しなくてもいいとずっと言ってくれていました。本当にその通りでした。大成功でした。

その若いシェフは何も茶道と関係ないですけど、彼の態度やお気遣いなどをとてもお茶の精神を表していました。

例えば、彼（名前はイタイです）が早く来てくれたこと。イスラエルの人たちは大体遅れてくることは当然ですが、彼は30分も早めに来てくれたのです。

そしてお料理についての態度。かれがわざわざ色々な素敵な手作りの焼き物のお皿を持ってきてくれました。とても焼き物が好きな私はとても喜んでいました。

季節の食材を使いました。メニューに載っていなかったチョウセンアザミなどをメニューに加えてくれました。

お客さんの中で一人は風邪を引いていて食事が出る前帰りました。彼女のため、お弁当をチェフに頼みましたが、彼女の旦那が帰る時にすっかりお弁当のことを忘れちゃいました。だけどイタイはキッチンから見ていてお弁当を渡してくれました。とても感心しました。

パーティーの前、私の旦那と色々お皿やクラスについて喧嘩していました。彼は私たちの素敵な磁器のお皿を使いたかったですが、私は皿洗いをしたくなくて、お皿を借りたかったのです。結局私たちのお皿を使いました。そしてイタイたちが全部洗ってくれました。また感心しまして。

終わったら、彼に色々ありがとうと言って、彼も嬉しかったみたいです。すべての人が彼がすることをちゃんと見て、感謝わけではないみたいです。

このお互いに感謝することもお茶ですね。

The Cleanest House

Today the repairman who was here said our house is very clean.  He said he sees lots of houses (he's been in every single house of our embassy) and he said ours is the cleanest.  

Yippee.  Anyone who  knows me well will be very surprised.  I am not known for being tidy.  I always WANT to be tidy, but never have before accomplished it.  But, it was a condition of Sweetie and I moving in together.  He said I had to keep all common areas clean.  And I do.  

I have to admit, I find this all MUCH easier when 1) I don't have a job 2) I have a humongous house so there's a place for everything and 3) We have someone cleaning the house twice a week (but I do most of the tidy-ing).  

Somebody Restrain Me

Please stop me before I run outside and go postal on the construction crew building a house adjacent to ours.

LOUD, NOISY, MESSY JERKS who don't know how to work their car alarms.

And due to an acoustic (and evil) act of nature, all their noise is funneled directly down into the room where my computer resides. It sounds like they've broken down the wall and are working on our house instead of the one under construction.

And not a one of them seems capable of opening his car door without setting off the car alarm (this is true for Israelis in general, but that's a completely separate diatribe I will indulge in some other day).

Looking at the glass half-full, I am very glad it's cool and cloudy outside because otherwise they'd be spoiling my pool time.

The latest house repair
I was playing host this morning to yet more fix-it guys -- this time to try to keep our guest shower from allowing GALLONS of water to leak out the door every time its used. The handymen told me there's nothing that can be done. It's a fundamental design flaw. Big surprise.

How is it that builders here can't figure out how to make a shower that doesn't leak?  In my US experience, the only way your shower can leak is if you forget to put the curtain in the tub.  Pretty simple.  And the Japanese just turn the whole bathroom into a shower, so there's really no problem there.

Time to relax
At least yesterday I indulged in a massage at the gym.  I only have one left now of a batch of 10 that I purchased before I quit my job.  Boohoo!  (I must say, I REALLY miss having huge amounts of disposable income from the days when I was working, but I wouldn't trade Sweetie for the world!).

I had a male masseuse, which was both good and bad.  The male masseuses at the gym are far superior to the women.  HOWEVER, I still am not comfortable with the whole overexposure issue with massages in Israel.  They are really just not that careful about not exposing your butt completely.  In the US or Japan, they are OH-SO-CAREFUL about tucking the sheet (not towel, like they use here) into your underwear so that you're not exposed.  But here, it's all very loosey goosey and I am just not a big fan of that aspect.

To anyone in the Tel Aviv area
I cannot say enough great things about the chef who catered our party last week.  He's fab.  His name is Etai and he works at a restaurant in Tel Aviv called Brasserie.  
We're going next week to  check it out.