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

Selling Jackson to the Gypsies

I have two cats.

Cami is 9 years old and most of the time, she is an angel. She doesn’t make a lot of noise, she waits patiently to be fed, likes to be near people and is even occasionally affectionate. The worst thing Cami ever does is urinate outside of the litter box if I have been significantly remiss in my duties – which is rare, and pretty much my own fault. She’s quite well-behaved and a very low-maintenance cat.

A few years back I had the bright idea to get another cat to keep her company. I felt guilty leaving her alone all day. In retrospect this seems rather silly since most cats sleep all day, and Cami is no exception. Since she was a girl, I figured that it would work best if her companion was a boy.

And along came Jackson. Jackson is about 4 years old now, but when I got him he was a tiny little adorable kitten. He purred a lot and loved attention. He was (and still is) my “baby.” He always had more energy than Cami, and at first I thought this was a good thing.

However, lately Jackson is driving me nutso. He runs around in the middle of the night and when he’s particularly determined to wake me up, he runs across the bed at various trajectories – usually it’s across my legs, but he’s also been known to run across my head (that’s the worst), torso, or other delicate bits. It’s most disconcerting to be woken up in such a fashion. 3 or 4am is not my idea of a great wake-up call.

It’s particularly bad when my boyfriend stays over. It’s completely endearing and charming that T loves cats despite being allergic to them; he always seeks out Cami and Jackson minutes after arriving, and interacts with them in a playful and loving way. He just takes care to wash his hands afterwards. He takes an allergy pill if he’s staying for a while, just to be sure.

Sleeping here is another matter. If I know that T is going to stay over, I do the best I can to prepare: I wash the sheets and pillowcases, vacuum, swiffer, and use the lint remover on anything that might retain errant cat hairs. All in all, we are both pretty good about controlling his allergy (still, I suspect he has serious misgivings about our moving in together – and rightly so – but that is fodder for another post).

Despite his allergy, T loves cats. But having a cat run across various parts of your body while trying to sleep is totally unacceptable. And when I am at home alone, I deal with it in various ways: I shut the bedroom door (Jackson meows louder and louder outside of it), I fill his food dish (sometimes this works), or I put a pillow over my head and arrange my body so that a cat-race around my bedroom will not cause significant discomfort (but will always inevitably wake me up).

Eventually Jackson calms down and lets me sleep. But when T is here I cannot “wait it out,” and am thus plagued by insomnia. I feel so guilty! I mean, T is extremely tolerant and understanding but when he comes over he already fights an allergy – the least I can do is try to ensure he has the best sleep possible (and I want nothing more than to escape into a peaceful slumber myself)!

Nights like this, when I am woken up over & over, feeling fatigued, stressed and guilty, are the nights that I get grumpy and tell Jackson that I am “selling him to the gypsies.” In the light of the day I try to find practical solutions (although I am not so productive on 3 or 4 hours sleep, ha!) but I feel defeated. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to get rid of Jackson, but I can’t imagine living the rest of my life like this.

And with that, I am off to attempt some slumber; maybe the answer will come to me in a dream!