Burn Baby Burn

Hi everyone

There is all sorts of interesting street traffic here in Egypt. Try to imagine cars, public buses, greyhound-style buses, motorcycles (never helmets), donkeys pulling carts, people riding donkeys, people riding camels, bicycles made into flatbed carts, horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians, beggars... all swarming the street at once. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to anything, and yet there is. Most of the time it seems to work. Although, while in Cairo we DID see a pretty bad car crash, and when our taxi took us to our hotel he nonchalantly smashed off someone's side mirror (obviously it was their own fault since everyone else on that extremely narrow street had their mirrors pulled in).

Everyone here is driven by money, money, money. The tourist industry is big and everyone's in on it. When we have long bus rides we make occasional stops at public washrooms and coffee shops to give everyone a break, and there are always beggars, toilet attendants, and sometimes there's even entertainment - like the muslim women who paraded around donkeys with baby goats balancing on their backs (I didn't pay to take a photo of that, but if it was a goat on a donkey on a CAMEL then that I would have paid to see!) or the guy who um, shall we say, kinda made all kissy-face with his camel. Ew. Still trying to forget about that one - maybe passing it on to you will help. :P

I kind of think it's a shame that many Arab men can be a little smarmy. While I generally just (inwardly or outwardly) roll my eyes, when you are by yourself or clearly outnumbed it can feel a little uncomfortable. We have gotten a few offers of marriage and some have loudly declared their single status in order to lure us away to their den of Egyptian love. A guy got right in my face and asked, "how many goats for you?" As usual, you pretty much don't react, pretend you don't understand them, and don't make eye contact. Our tour leader Mudi is very helpful and he tells them all to back off if they give us any hassle, but that's only if they don't realize that he's with us; they don't mess with their own. Anyways, I think it's kind of a shame because it makes me reluctant to have real conversations with the people here, even when in totally different, friendly and respectful settings because I start worrying about what their motives are or what they are thinking. I don't really feel free to be myself.

Anyways. Our last night in Luxor we had a tour of the city in horse-drawn carriages and we ended up at the Luxor Temple which looks amazing all lit up at night. Posted a photo of it on FB so you can see. It is an amazing place and I can't really describe the feeling that you get from being there -- I want to touch everything (but I don't) with wonderment and I can't believe that kings and queens walked there and people 5000 years ago carved those stones and made those monuments. What are people going to be looking at 5000 years from now?

There is precious little to do in Hurghadab, unless you want to PAY to go to the beach. That's right, all the beachfront belongs to hotels, and our hotel was not on the beach. The Egypt guidebook describes Hurghadab as a tourist-mess, and that's about right. It was not terribly impressive. We only had one night there, so we just did some walking around, relaxed, recharged and spent a night out at the local bar. It was pretty fun - great live band, good company and amusing cheesy ninja show with a dude walking on glass and stepping on knives, etc.

Upon our arrival in Dahab, we were taken to a resort village (called the "Happy Life Village") which for most people is basically an all-inclusive getup with awesome beachfront, 3 pools, swim-up bars, several restaurants (our breakfast was eaten in one that was built like a boat) and desert mountain views all around. It definitely feels a little luxurious; we're not complaining.

Yesterday evening we went out on the town and went ATVing/Quad-ing in the desert hills. It was awesome! I had the luck and misfortune of being the leader of our little pack; lucky because I had very little dirt and dust in my face like everyone behind me did, and misfortunate because the ATV leader-guy was sitting behind me yapping in my ear the whole time so I knew where to go. And he kept telling me to slow down so that we didn't lose the others in the group -- sheesh! I got up to 90km on the road but only 50km on the sand & rocks. It was SO MUCH FUN.

After that we went to an amazing seafood restaurant right on the water (they are all right on the water in Dahab) and they had these things called Mango Thickshakes - I drank all of mine before my meal ever arrived. Yum yum! We got to bed pretty late and were up again this morning to go snorkeling. We snorkeled around an amazing coral reef just off the coast - it was filled with life and colour, totally amazing. Purple fishes, orange fishes, striped fishes, mini jellyfishes, corals and rocks and life teeming everywhere- if only I had an underwater camera. Oh, and despite my best intentions and preparations, I burnt myself quite nicely today - all over my back. I guess it was only a matter of time.

For those that asked, yes I am feeling a little homesick. We are lucky to be busy most of the time though, so I am trying not to dwell on it.

The next few days we are off to climb Mount Sinai and I think I will be off the internet-radar again for a few days (okay, Mom??) but hopefully I will have lots to tell you when I get back online. Soon we will be back in Cairo to finish up our tour and shortly after we'll be heading to Morocco!

Hope all is well and you guys are surviving the heat!
xo
Elaan

Water Water Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink

Hi all

So no risk of dehydration really, cause we are drinking bottled water like crazy. I can barely get down half of the H2O I need at home, but here it is a total necessity. You are basically thirsty all the time - and we all carry 2L water jugs with us everywhere. We buy them cheap but will pay whatever we have to if we need. And they are best cold (of course) but they don't stay that way for long - so another reason to drink lots, and to drink often.

No recycling here. Garbage is a problem, too. A couple in our tour group watched as the waiter at our last hotel threw their empty pop cans into the Nile. THE NILE. What the heck?? People swim in there! And drink the water in there! I bet the sewage goes in there. It goes without saying that when offered a chance to refresh with a quick dip in the river, we all declined.

No real risk of sunburn either. Sounds strange, given that we are in such a hot place. And we do get up each morning, shower, and put sunscreen on... but truthfully we are pretty much covered up all the time. I am always wearing at least capri-length bottoms, and always have sleeves of some sort on top. So we just need to apply suncreen to ankles, arms and be careful about face & back of the neck, etc. If we are out in the direct sunlight we usually wear out hats, too. I fear that I will come home as white as I left, but with really tanned/burned forearms (should look great for your wedding Yuuko, ha!).

The tourist police are everywhere we go - all the sights and even parts of the city. They wear white uniforms and carry machine guns. They look rather imposing but some of them will offer to take a photo of you standing next to whatever, which is great. But then they want money. And they have a gun, so... ha, no it isn't as bad as all that, but yeah, this is a tipping culture and everybody wants a piece.

The public washrooms are pay, too. Technically they can't stop you from using it if you have no money, but they will not give you any toilet paper if you don't pay. I have all my own toilet paper with me, but I tip them anyways because many of the attendants seem to be poor and/or kids. It's only 1 Egyptian pound anyways - like 20 cents. I bet they make more money than we think!

We went to a restaurant a few days back that was like being on a farm. An area for cooking/eating, and an area for animals. There were camels, goats, birds, ponies, cats... etc. And you could take pictures of them if you wanted to pay. There are lots of cats that run around the streets here too, staying under your feet while you eat in hopes of getting some scraps. They are cute but not so cuddly... and no, I didn't try to cuddle them - you can just tell that they are not the snuggly kind!

This is a primarily Muslim country, so there is a call to prayer five times a day and unless you are working, you are supposed to face Mecca and do your thing. Sometimes it's a little distracting, especially when you are trying to sleep. Even when we were on the river in the felucca, it kept us awake from the city. They pretty much broadcast it everywhere. There is some Christianity here too - at our last hotel the Internet Cafe was adorned with Jesus everywhere. Seemed a bit out of place, actually.

Today we rode donkeys on our way to the Valley of the Kings. My donkey's name was Ali Baba and man, was he a stubborn ass! No but seriously, he would not do a darn thing that I told it to. I tried yanking on the rope, steering it, kicking it, yelling at it, making the requisite sound effects at it, but it still wanted to walk in the middle of the road where the oncoming traffic was approaching. I don't think he liked me. Or maybe he had given up on life. Or maybe he was kamikaze-donkey. Who knows...

After the Valley of the Kings (which was basically the desert with a bunch of tombs that were elaborately deisgned & decorated beneath the sand), we went to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut - the only woman to have ever ruled Egypt. By that point it was SO hot that we were in and out of there like a flash. You get really efficient with your time and your camera when you have to be.

Tomorrow it's the Karnak Temple and the Luxor temple light show. Then the day after we move on to Hurghadab to do some beaching/frolicking/sunning. Relaxation, basically. I hope.

Thanks for listening to my latest update... :P Be good!
xo
Elaan

Walk Like An Egyptian

Hello everyone!

What I should say is, SWEAT like an Egyptian. Except that sweating doesn't seem to phase them much here, while I remain in a constant state of discomfort. Everyone sweats so much that I don't even really smell anyone. So, either I have gotten so used to the B.O. smell that I don't even notice, or perspiration actually recycles itself so often that it doesn't have time to stink. Like Tracy says, you should listen to anybody that tells you to avoid this place in July/August! I actually think this place would be a lot more paradise-like in December or March.

So we started our Egyptian tour a few days ago. The way that tours work is that they not only take you to the most popular tourist locations, but they also try to expose you to snippets of the culture, and arrange for you to have typical tourist experiences but under the safety and guidance of a group leader. Our group leader's name is Mudi, and he speaks English quite well and has a Masters degree in Egyptian History & Culture, which comes in handy.

Amidst seeing the pyramids and museums and temples, he also has arrangements with certain places that sell tourist souvenirs. For example, yesterday we went to a papyrus shop. They did a demo and explanation and then they try to sell you stuff. It can seem a bit annoying to have someone give you a sales pitch, but it's actually really informative and you know that the stuff is good quality and you aren't getting ripped off. Having said that, I haven't bought anything yet - my bag is heavy enough as it is!

One of the first activities we did with our group was to have an authentic Egyptian dinner called a Koshary - I think it literally means "mixture" - which is what it is, a mixture of stuff. Pasta, meat, lentils, chick peas, tomatoes... and you mix it all up with garlic sauce. It was YUM. I Loved it. It was awesome. And tasty. And flavourful. And... I woke the next morning sick to my stomach. And so begins my love/hate relationship with Egyptian food. It's REALLY good - but I try to mix it with a fair amount of bland stuff (breads, buns, rice, plain pasta, french fries etc.) so that I am not upsetting my delicate system too much, hehe! It's been 5 days in Egypt and everybody in our group except 2 have been less than 100% at one point or another.

On our 2nd day of the tour we went to the Egyptian Museum (got to see mummies, King Tut's stuff,and about a million/billion other mind-boggling pieces) and the pyramids at Giza. Oh, it was amazing there! Talk about fulfilling a dream. We rode camels down closer to the pyramids, and that was really really cool - definitely a highlight for me so far. LOVED the camels. You gotta lean back when they stand up/sit down though, cause otherwise you will flip right off of them. :P We also got to go right inside a pyramid, which was awesome - how many people can say they have been inside a pyramid?? And the sphynx too - was very impressive.

That night we went straight to an overnight train, which was kinda awful because we had been up since 6am or something and sweat all day. Then we get on the train and Mudi says to make sure we use bug spray. So now we are covered in greasy sunscreen, oily sweat, and sticky putrid bug spray. There was a train attendant who was the Egyptian-equivalent of Mr. Bean - except that he was creepy, too. And just for future reference... train food = bad. And then we had to try to sleep on the train. It was... bleh.

So we arrived in Aswan the next morning and we went straight to our hotel to shower. Tracy & I discovered that the A/C in our room was leaking through the ceiling. We told them, they said they would fix it. We had some lunch, and then met our group for a Felucca ride down the Nile. Very majestic. We stopped at a Nubian village for lunch (again, it was very yummy but...) and we got henna tattoos from a local artisan. Then we went back to our hotel and we noticed that our A/C was still leaking so they came to fix it again. Then we spent the evening at the pool. It's less hot when the sun goes down, but doesn't cool off as much as you hope.

While at the pool we chatted a bit about the blue fluorescent lights they had up, that zap the mosquitoes when they land on them; we have them at home too. A few minutes later, we noticed that there was smoke and flames coming from somewhere across the Nile. The quiet order of the night erupted into frantic shoutings and boats going back and forth to put the fire out. It was quite the scene. Amidst all this, I became distracted by the noise of the mosquito-killing-machine, and muttered, "those little buggers can fry!". Uhhhhhhhh, that was an untimely remark. Luckily Tracy figured out that I wasn't talking about the Egyptian people in the burning building, and cleared it up quickly. For a minute though, the people in my tour group were probably wondering, though. We all had a very big laugh at that one. After that, we watched some Egyptian National Soccer (thanks to you Ted I knew more of what was actually going on!) and went to bed.

Day 4 of the tour we went to Abu Simbel, which is this huge, amazing temple that is basically built into the side of mountain. It was optional, but everyone in our group went. Most people had heard of it or had it recommended to them by someone. In order to go, though, we had to wake up at 2am, and be on the bus by 3am. You cannot go to Abu Simbel on your own; you must be part of a convoy, and there are only 2 convoys a day - 330am and 4am. You basically drive 3 hours, spend 2 hours at the temple, and drive 3 hours back. The temple is fantastic - and totally worth seeing, but holy crow that was a tough day. No sleeping on the bus for me and we were all crammed in there and the only thing to drink is pop.

On our way back from Abu Simbel we were taken to an aromatherapy shop and given lunch. Of course, after lunch we got a sales pitch about the aromatherapy oils and essences (not to be confused with perfumes) and given free 5 min massages. I didn't buy anything. When we got back to our hotel, the A/C was STILL LEAKING. By that point we didn't care and were totally used to dodging the 2 buckets that we had to have at the foot of our beds. We went to sleep for the rest of the afternoon (had to use earplugs at this point to block out sound of dripping).

That night we had Shawarma for dinner (kinda like a donair) at the Aswan markets. The markets are crazy, they remind me of HK - people yell all sorts of things at you to try to get your attention. We heard, "hello lady," "g'day mate," "hola!," "moins chere," and our personal favourite, "everything free! everything for nothing!". They also jump right in front of you and follow you around. Mudi says that sometimes they can be very touchy too, but I haven't experienced that yet. Perhaps it was because he was with us. Basically you just avoid eye contact and ignore them and they give up.

Yesterday (Day 5) we checked out of our hotel, and went on a Felucca again... this time all the way down the Nile on our way to Luxor. We stayed overnight on the Felucca, which was another special brand of Egyptian torture. It wasn't too bad when we were moving, but when we stopped (for Lunch, Dinner, or Breakfast this morning) it was a dead heat and totally awful. The worst was at night, because it didn't cool down at all like we expected. There were 12 of us all sleeping together on this big boat, 10 out of 12 of us were sick in one way or another (and some in our group are really, really sick), and the food wasn't exactly... well, as Tracy puts it, they probably don't have Foodsafe standards to live up to. The toilets overflowed, the sinks didn't work, and most people didn't sleep at all. I chose to stay up all night (wasn't sleeping anyways) with 2 of the sickest girls - keep them company, brought them tissues, bottled water, sympathized through their dashes to the toilet or barfing over the edge. I am not feeling well, but I am nowhere near that bad; somehow I manage to stop feeling sorry for myself when I see that others are suffering worse than I am. Despite that, it was lovely to see the stars overhead and besides, how many people can say that they have slept on the Nile? (At least it wasn't IN the Nile!)

This morning we woke up, had Breakfast on the Felucca (ick) and took a 3 hour bus ride to complete our journey to Luxor. We stopped at a public toilet halfway there, and all I can say is, have you seen that movie Trainspotting? 'Nuff said.

Upon arrival, all of us headed straight to our hotel rooms. We showered and went to bed and aren't meeting up again until dinner tonight. So, Tracy and I had a nap and decided to catch up on some emails! So that's the update on Egypt. It has been amazing, fabulous, once-of-a-lifetime, breathtaking experience so far. But there have understandably been some very trying days. Still, we have a really great group and we are having fun and staying positive despite the heat and the food, hehe. :)

When the days are tough it's really nice to hear from home so feel free to send me a message when you get a chance. :) I have posted 4 photos on my Facebook account so you can see a few highlights. As expected, we haven't had regular access to the Internet, so sorry that this message was SO long! Hope all is well with you!

Cheers,
xo
Elaan

The Journey to Cairo: Trials & Tribulations (and a few bits of Awesomeness!)

Oh, the trials and tribulations of travel...

When we got to the airport in Milan, we couldn't find our flight to Cairo on the departures list. Turns out it had left that morning - we had the wrong time written on our itinerary (who made our itinerary? I DID!!). There's a small chance that it might be Expedia's fault, cause there are a few things that don't quite add up, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it might just have been my own error. @#$%!! Very pricey mistake.

So, we had 2 choices; take the next flight to Cairo with Alitalia (Italian Air) which left the next day or take the next flight to Cairo with Egyptair which left in a couple of hours. We chose Egyptair - we'd keep our hotel booking in Cairo, we would only be an hour behind schedule, we were already at the airport... although truthfully, we didn't much want to be flying with them. I think we were quite comfortable in our little Italian bubble and weren't quite ready to be gawked at by the Arab men. Turns out the Arab men gawked no more or less than the Italian men did. :P

While waiting in the very long line to check-in for Egyptair, we got pulled out and told to go stand in the Business Class lineup. A bit strange, we thought - kinda like reverse discrimination. All went smoothly though. When we got on the plane we realized that we were assigned 2 of the best seats in Economy - lots of legroom and space. And, to our mild surprise, the flight was actually enjoyable - as far as flights ever are, that is. We were feeling very lucky.

Going through security, I set off the alarm (of course). I kept taking things off - my watch, my ring, my sunglasses - but was still getting the alarm. It was my hair clip that was causing all the commotion, but we only discovered that after the female security officer gave me a few raised eyebrows and vigorous pat downs. Sheeeeesh.

Upon getting off the flight in Cairo there were many, many checkpoints, the first of which was a health check. I didn't say anything about my sore throat - in fact, it seems to have completely subsided. We had to buy a Visa, go through immigration, get our photo taken, passport check, luggage area and final secuity check. They're nothing if not thorough!

As soon as we go through all that, we got accosted by a young man who wanted to drive us to the hotel. Tracy tried unsuccessfully to bargain him down from his seemingly ridiculous price. We went with him anyways, and when we got to the parking lot we realized that it was just some guy with his car... not a taxi like we had thought. He seemed like a nice enough guy though so we went with him anyways. As soon as we got to an airport checkpoint (kinda like a toll booth-ish place), he wanted more money. I was choked, but I didn't know what to do since we were stuck in this guy's car! Tracy was much more straightforward and pleasant with him than I was - at least at first.

It all worked out ok, actually. The drive to our hotel was worth the seemingly ridiculous price (given that it was an hour and a half), and even though that extra $$ at the checkpoint was definitely a scam, we didn't care - he was pleasant, cheerful and really personable. He chatted with us and pointed out landmarks, practiced his English and played the popular local music (he kept turning it up and saying "now, practice listening" - it was cute). He was only a kid, about 25 years old, and there was nothing creepy or smarmy about him. He called Tracy "Treezee" and he called me "Chicken." Perhaps it was because I sat in the front and had a much-too-close view of the style of traffic here. As he said, there's "no system" - cars wedge themselves anywhere - drive centimeters apart - don't generally heed pedestrians (and pedestrians don't heed them) - people use the horn as a reminder instead of a warning - it's total insanity. We passed by numerous breakdowns and accidents, and it was a miracle that we didn't hit anybody on the street.

But, we made it to the hotel unscathed, at about midnight. We got told that there was good news and bad news. The bad news is that our room only had one King bed. The good news is that it was one of the Royal Suites on the top floor - and once we got up there we saw why it was Royal. We shrieked and danced around and high-fived each other and lamented that we were only staying one night. It's a huge suite, with a living area, kitchen, patio, bathroom - and we had a view of THREE PYRAMIDS right outside!! I still can't believe it. We got up early this morning just to take photos. It's amazing. Seeing those pyramids in person has been a life goal for as long as I can remember. I am excited to start our tour tomorrow so I can see them more up close.

Today, we go to our new hotel and meet up with our tour group. Emails from me will likely be more sparse from now on (I know this will be a relief for some of you) since we'll be on tour and there are several points where I am fairly certain that there will be no internet available (like when we stay overnight on a felucca!). The tour starts in its entirety tomorrow. Yay, Egypt!! :)

Hope all is well, miss you guys.
Elaan

Milano to Cairo

Buon Giorno!

Killing time at our hotel in Milan because we are a bit ahead of schedule - Tracy is uber-organized and it means that we have time to relax, check messages, enjoy non-rushed meals, take lotsa photos.. and we don't feel like we are missing out on anything. I like it!

When we arrived at the hotel yesterday I noticed a card in our room that read, "so that you can plan your day tomorrow, we have included the weather forecast for you" and it listed highs of 32, lows of 26. It also marked sun\cloud and an X next to a picture of what looked like lightning. I thought to myself, "what a waste of paper if they print this out every day for every room!"

After we checked in, we quickly headed out again to get the most out of Milan while we were here. We went to the world-famous Duomo (3rd largest church in the world!), a huge Castello (medieval castle), navigated the subway and ate baaaaad food for dinner (which was oh so good at the time). A great evening, in our estimation, given that we only had a few hours.

When we got back to the hotel we relaxed a bit, checked messages, and treated ourselves to hot chocolate and fresh fruit in the hotel lounge. The hot chocolate was the thickest richest drink I have ever had in my life! Seriously, we were dipping our fruit in it like our very own personal fondue.

We went to bed early last night - today is another heavy travel day - and planned to be up fairly early this morning. I woke at about 3am, a little disoriented and having dreams about nightclubs, strobe lights and Spanish children (who knows... dreams are crazy). It wasn't a strobe light though, it was a lightning storm! The rain was SO loud it woke us up, and the lightening was flashing over and over into our hotel room. I have never seen a storm like that before; no thunder really, but lightning every 1 or 2 seconds. Torrential rain - the streets were flooded. There was so much lightning that I was able to get a photo of it after only a few tries (albeit not a very good one since I was not willing to open the window)!

Anyways, we got back to sleep and this morning it looks as if nothing ever happened. Go figure.

On the health front, I have had a bit of a sore throat for about a week now and yesterday it got particularly bad. Strange thing is, it's only on one side of my throat! And I don't feel sick in any other way. Online-diagnosis, anyone? I was thinking that maybe it was just the pollution or something, but it's really been persisting. I do NOT want to have to see a doctor in Egypt. Hopefully we can find some lozenges today before we leave Italy and that will do the trick. Now I know why I have been drinking so much pop!

We are flying into Cairo this afternoon. Going to spend time getting to know our hotel. Take a crack at the pool, maybe (ack! bathing suits!). We meet up with our tour group tomorrow night so we don't want to do a bunch of sightseeing that we will end up repeating with them, anyways.

Hope y'all are well,
Elaan

Viva Venezia!

Hello everyone!

Tracy & I are in Venice and soaking up Italian life. I have been living on a diet consisting of mainly gelato & pop - I might be diabetic when I return home. We did manage to squeeze in some bona fide pizza and spaghetti, but really they are just accompaniments to our gelato-diet.

It is hot here- apparently they are having a heat wave and this coming week will be even hotter. We keep telling ourselves that it's just preparation for Egypt & Morocco. Truthfully, we've been surviving by frequently returning to our hotel to refresh and recharge. We're located right in the heart of Venice, so it's quite convenient, especially since the public washrooms charge a fee!

Nighttime here is the best; it cools down, the daytripping tourists disappear, and the ambiance comes out full force. Quite lovely- and very romantic! We've done our share of sightseeing too: St. Mark's Square, Doge's Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, Rialto Bridge... and boy, is it ever ornate and picturesque.

I have taken 456 photos so far, and I am six days in to my 34 day trip (but don't worry, I have lotsa memory card space and I still have yet to change my batteries!). It's difficult to post pictures while I am travelling because they are quite huge files and I need to carry my cords with me, etc. I can write a quick email in about 10 minutes and don't really have the time to spend an hour or more uploading photos. Hopefully my descriptions are imagery enough for now!

Tomorrow Tracy & I are going to Milan. We take a public boat (like a bus but there are no cars in Venice) to the train station and it'll be about 3 hours on the train to Milan. We'll have one night there before we fly to Cairo!! Holy crow I'm going to Africa -- isn't that crazy?! :P

Hope all is well at home. Even though I don't have time to respond to all your messages, I sure love getting them - makes me considerably less homesick. So keep 'em coming if you have time.

Cheers,
Elaan

The Last of London

Heya peeps,

I know, I know.. emails from me every day. Don't worry, once we hit Egypt I think we will be severely limited as to when we can access the internet. So it may be Elaan-overload NOW, but... bear with me. :P

Today Tracy and I went to Leicester Square to try and get half-price tix to a musical... no go. It was cold & rainy and the lineup was long. So we decided to pass. Then we went to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, down to the Tower Bridge and Tower of London, Hyde Park, Harrods, Picadilly Circus and we are soon meeting up with Frank to have dinner.

- the weather here is totally schizophrenic. Seriously, it changes every ten minutes: cold, rainy, windy, cloudy, sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy, sunny... kinda makes it hard to dress yourself properly. I made the mistake yesterday of underestimating the nice weather, and yes.. got sunburned. I shrieked when I saw myself in the mirror; Tracy thought there was a spider in the bathroom.

- officially I have almost gotten shmucked by vehicles twice. Looking the wrong way for traffic is a bad pedestrian mistake to make. They even write directions on the road for you, i.e. "LOOK RIGHT -->" so now I am pretty savvy.

- I am disappointed at the lack of recycling facilities here.

- except for missing out on home-cooked meals, I could eat at Marks & Spencer and Pret A Manger every single day. One thing I have noticed here is that there is 2 prices on foodstuffs - a higher price if you are going to eat "IN" and a cheaper price if you are "TAKE AWAY". Interesting.

- crowds of people make me homicidal. Guess I'd better get over that. It is sooooo crowded here. Much reminds me of Hong Kong, like the subway, and the crowds, and the pollution.

- Harrods is pretentious and the changing of the guard was boring. Eep! I really do love it though. The theatre district is really nice - might like to live here.

- an incredible city for people-watching. People have their own personal sense of style & behaviour. Sometimes it's _very_ odd. Like the guy on the subway who listened to his iPod and sang out loud, the women with spiked hair and the many buskers in the stations.

- tomorrow morning we fly to Venice! Romantic city, woooo! :)

Hope all is well, thanks for all the messages.
xo
Elaan

Shakespeare & Tate

Hi all

Just wanted to send another short message!

We started the day with the London Eye and 360 degree views of the city. Nice! Saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, went to the Tate Modern Gallery, had a tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (woo!!), went to St. Paul's, and then went back to the Globe to watch a show.

Here's the short sheet:

- My back aches and my feet hurt. Walk, walk, walk!
- It's been windy but it did NOT rain on us today. Thanks heavens! :)
- The Underground is awesome. And humid and sticky and crammed full of sticky people.
- The Tate Modern art gallery had lots of nudity in it and reaffirmed for me that men are not pretty naked (sorry guys).
- Shakespeare's Globe is AWESOME. Tour was totally worth it.
- St. Paul's had amazing architcture and sculpture.
- As You Like It at the Globe was AWESOME. A little uncomfortable, but still awesome. Now I am officially complete (and Shakespeare-d OUT - I've had enough to last me... well... until next year).

Tomorrow we are gonna try to get half-price tix to a musical, see the changing of the guard, go to Piccadilly circus, London Tower, Harrods... and meet up with Mark nd possibly Frank. We leave Wed morning!

Thanks for all the messages. Love you guys!
Cheers
E!

The Eagle Has Landed

Hi all

Just a quick note to let you know that I am in London! This place is crazy, busy, filled with a million people and there are a million things to do. Too bad I only have a few days here. :)

I didn't sleep on my flight, so I am pretty much a zombie - but it didn't stop me & Tracy from making sure we got some sights in! We have already seen Buckingham Palace, the Institute of Contemporary Art (should have been Institute of Confusing Art, but perhaps I not cultured enough.), had a picnic in the park, went to a pub for drinks, went to the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square.

Tomorrow we are going to see the changing of the guard, the London Eye, and watch As You Like It in Shakespeare's very own Globe Theatre!
Woo! Which reminds me, when I was packing, I ignored all references to rain gear since 31 of 34 of my days are in a very hot/dry climate.
But guess what - those three days? Yep, the forecast is RAIN. Not quite sure what I am going to do about that. Suffer, maybe. :)

Have overheard the locals complain about Americans a couple of times, so I make sure that if I must speak - Canada gets mentioned in there.
Yeesh, those Yanks giving us Nucks a hard time on our travels!

Anyways, there's not much more to say except that we are already having fun and having some laughs. More to come...

Hope y'all are well!
xo
Elaan