The Widow and the Spinster: The Search for Adventure, Enlightenment, and the Quest for Forbidden food - Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, and New TR Link! 5/23

[franandaj]

I understand that.
And you have a few things that you need to be kept up to speed on too.

Yeah, I've had tenants who need plumbers or other repairs while I'm away, so I have to stay in the loop. It's easier when I'm actually in the US though.

Sorry! And if you don't believe that, you're in.... Africa!

Well, technically yes......

It looks a lot bigger on the inside than I thought it would be, from the outside photos.

It was actually a pretty spacious ship. I enjoyed it, but there's something that I definitely didn't like. You'll see it in a couple more updates.

Looks pretty nice! I love the teak floor in the bathroom.

Most people commented on the mirrored walls.

Another way of saying... "I know the word for 'green' and 'vegetable' and that's as close as I can get."

There was definitely a language barrier of sorts.

I would've had none. Nope!

There were some that it was clear there was coconut sprinkled on top, but there were others that it was clear that they didn't have any.

Ah! One must be accurate with your Mice.

Evidently.

Glad you did that. I'd hate for you to have another episode while on vacation.

Especially there! And with so many more hours to go!

That must've been quite a sight. Actually... can you imagine what the complex must have looked like when it was completed and intact?

I can't even. But it must have been incredible!

Moving that must've been.... incredible to see, let alone do.

Aliens....

So........ has Jill had better luck than you since then???

Well, she is now permanently working from home, so there is that.....

I get that, sort of.
My dad, who worked in construction all his life, would drink hot coffee on his break, regardless of how hot it was. I could never understand it. He claimed that drinking something hot, made your body cool. Don't see how, myself.

I don't know, sometimes in the morning when I drink coffee, I get the sweats, or maybe that was just hot flashes.

 

[franandaj]

Pretty! I learned later in your pics that this was the normal paint/colour set up

Yes, they like things colorful in Egypt (in some places, Cairo was very drab).

I guess it was so early, no one was dining yet?

The sun had barely come up. I think these places did mostly lunch and sunset dining.

Whoa! that is surprising!

Looks like a homeless encampment in Los Angeles.

Lots up already it seems!

Those were the 3AM pick ups!

These are really neat, would be interesting to know if anyone lived there as you say

You never know.....

Weird- glad you had no issues

Me too!

So old! Roads around all these historic sites

Life kept going on and people need to get around.

wow pretty, and so green! what a contrast!

There is a lot of lush farmland right adjacent to the Nile.

that is different! hey there buddy!

As soon as he saw me pick up my phone he waved!

How was it?

Weird. It was sweet but very stringy.

whoa she sure was! was the crepe good?

It was delicious, another reason to come back to this resort!

Glad you found a shirt you liked!

I still have yet to wear it!

 

[franandaj]

Karnak was very impressive but HUGE! Our guide was a let down after Achmed in Cairo. He was gave us info and then went and sat down.

He certainly was a let down after Ahmed. He was my least favorite of all the guides. And had even more of his own agenda.

I wasn't super happy about others joining us as the tour had been booked as private guides and transportation but the others were nice enough.

Yeah, I wasn't either.....

A super nice couple from Australia (firefighter and Qantas Flight Attendant!)

How did I not know he was a firefighter. I guess in the next update I'll cover how I missed that.

a family from Croatia and the mom's university friend from Greece. The family had two smaller children that were pretty well behaved but got hot and bored as kids do. The friend was that "one" on the tour...we were always waiting for him.

For the most part they were well behaved.

It was so much warmer in Luxor and those dang Ancient Egyptians didn't install fans or A/C. (Guess the aliens didn't share that technology)

Darn Aliens!!!!!

I was worried about Alison but she rallied after drinking more water. It had been a long day already with the early wake up and travel day the day before.

 

[franandaj]

Was it sweet? Flowerly?

It wasn't overly sweet or flowery at all. I can't describe it, but it was good. I wonder if we have it in the states. It was a little grapey, but different.

Some of the furniture is kinda...unique? it's not your super boring hotel type, more interesting

Yeah, the furnishings were very hip and modern.

Did they leave you a little treat on the side table by the lamp?

No, but speaking of "treats" I'll have to include a picture in a later update.

Funn, from the picture earlier, it still looked like a veranda

It had a metal grate across the window to simulate one, but you couldn't walk out the window at all.

were these chairs uncomfortable?

I don't know. I never sat in them. In a couple updates you'll see the bench seat where I always sat.

Well that's certainly not enough

No, but I got better as the cruise went on.

This looks tasty! Was it well seasoned?

It was adequate. Only the local food had lots of spices, and they were middle eastern spices. The European style food, was less seasoned, but it still tasted good.

Well at least the kids had good taste

I think the parents bought them for them.

Atta girl! roud:

He looks happy, like he's smiling

Very impressive indeed, so the colour is old as well?

Yes, the color is original. There are all kinds of things you can read about how they got the colors and what they signified.

Thanks, that was useful!


Another great update!

Thanks! Another one coming right up!

 

[franandaj]

When we got to the Luxor Temple it was full dark but people were still streaming in. The buses were pulling up and people were unloading in a constant flow. We got out of our van (all 9 of us) and waited outside the entrance. Fayed went up to the ticket window to get our tickets and there was some kind of issue. Not exactly sure what the problem was but something about his credit card needing more money, the agency was going to add more money, but we stood around for about 45 minutes waiting while hundreds of other tourists snaked past us. I sat on a curb because my legs had already turned to noodles. Jill got to know our other tour mates a lot better as they all stood around in a circle talking.

The family (husband, wife, a girl and a boy) was from Croatia. George, from Greece now living in Germany was an exchange student with MariAnn (the wife) in Cairo back in college and they were having a somewhat reunion (and built in baby sitter). It was an interesting family dynamic between the husband and George, although both Jill and I got very gay vibes from him, though he certainly didn't recognize it.

The other part of the group were a couple from Sydney. They had no children and seemed to be very well traveled all over the world. All of them were very nice. And we made the best of things, but it wasn't exactly what we signed up for when Jill booked Private guides.

Finally we went in around 10 to 6PM. I seem to have lost the ticket from Luxor Temple, so I can’t post a picture of it. Much like Karnak Temple, this Temple is a mixture of construction. To the rear of the temple are chapels built by Amenhotep III of the 18th Dynasty, and Alexander The Great. Other parts of the temple were built by Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. During the Roman era, the temple and its surroundings were a legionary fortress and the home of the Roman government in the area. During the Roman period a chapel inside the Luxor Temple originally dedicated to the goddess Mut was transformed into a Tetrarchy cult chapel and later into a church.

This is the front of the Temple. All of these statues are versions of Ramses. There used to be two Obelisks here, but the French traded the Egyptians a clock for one of them. And the clock doesn't even work.

Here’s where my memory gets really fuzzy. All week we had been bombarded with information. We spent about 90 minutes at Karnak Temple. We stood around waiting to enter Luxor Temple for almost an hour. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, and I don’t remember much about what our guide said about these pillars or statues.

I do remember that this was the part of the temple that the Romans usurped and added onto.

Regular picture.

Panorama Picture

Finally Fayed told us to go see Alexander the Great somewhere inside the temple in the back of the complex. In the above pictures, the temple was in the middle of the columns. Once we did that he told us to meet him back at the Ave of the Sphinxes.

Jill and I couldn't find Alexander so we gave up and walked back to the front of the monument.

We did find the Avenue of the Sphinxes, also known as Rams Road, a 2.7 km (1.7 mi) long avenue which connects Karnak Temple with Luxor Temple. It was uncovered in the ancient city of Thebes (modern Luxor), with sphinxes and ram-headed statues lined up on both flanks.

We found our guide, and visited the potty while waiting for the rest of our group, and finally exited the monument. Now everyone else in our group was on a different ship, so we dropped them off first. Our guide made sure that we tipped the driver. I think he had everyone pitch in 50LE (about $1.70), and we dropped off the rest of the group at their ship. In the morning, Fayed would pick us up at our boat around 7:15AM, after retrieving the other folks.

Since we had finished our travels for the day, here is our Google timeline.

We got back to the ship with just enough time to freshen up and go to dinner. I took a shower and was pleasantly surprised that the water was very hot. After I got dressed, we were both exhausted and really wanted some alcohol. It was time for dinner so we both decided that we would just get a bottle of wine with dinner. There was a language barrier with the staff and eventually we just took the bottle they were offering us. It wasn't the one we wanted, but it did the job. We were trying to let it breathe and the guy tried to put the top back on, but we objected.

I thought the dining room was dressed up very nicely. This was the area at the entrance.

Here’s the beverage list. Unlike Disney Cruises, no beverages were included on this cruise, except tea and coffee at breakfast, and some juices. You had to pay for water, soda, wine….I don’t think we drank anything else.

We received a nice assortment of breads.

We both started off with a Caesar Salad. I was so tired that I didn’t even notice the little weird pink and blue thing at the top of the plate, however, it would continue to appear.

Our next course was soup. Jill chose the Consomme.

While I chose the Cream of Mushroom. They were very tasty. We would figure out that soup was the best thing that the kitchen produced here.

We both ordered the Beef Tournedos sauce poivre. Now I looked up the definition of this cut of meat and it read: small round pieces of beef cut from the end portion of beef tenderloin, often cooked with bacon or lard. However, the meat was so tough, that I’m pretty sure that it did NOT come from the tenderloin. I ate one of the pieces of beef, I think all of the rice and potatoes, and none of the green beans, they were way over cooked, and may have come from a can.

Dinner was OK. Every time they placed our courses down in front of us, the waiters said, "Bon Appetit." As well as when they picked up our empty (or sometimes, still full) plates.

For dessert they had the same (pretty much) dessert bar as at lunch. I was trying to avoid cakes that may have been topped with coconut, so not much to show.

Jill was a little more adventurous than I.

Dessert was Meh. We went to bed cause we had to be up early, again.

Up Next: Sweating to the Oldies

 

[jedijill]

It was an interesting family dynamic between the husband and George, although both Jill and I got very gay vibes from him, though he certainly didn't recognize it.

George was defs giving off "guncle" vibes but the husband seemed quite jealous. It didn't help that the husband/father was constantly on kid duty while George and the wife were off touring. It was odd!

One note about the river boat....Egypt requires all crew to be Egyptian instead of the various nationalities you would find other places. As such, the level of English spoken was lower than in other places but the crew all bent over backwards to be very nice and helpful....the misplaced "Bon Appetit" became a running joke with Alison and I through the rest of the trip!

Jill in CO

 

[pkondz]

Yeah, I've had tenants who need plumbers or other repairs while I'm away, so I have to stay in the loop. It's easier when I'm actually in the US though.

I get that.

Well, technically yes......

I did think of that when I wrote that.

It was actually a pretty spacious ship. I enjoyed it, but there's something that I definitely didn't like. You'll see it in a couple more updates.

Aliens....

I don't know, sometimes in the morning when I drink coffee, I get the sweats, or maybe that was just hot flashes.

 

[pkondz]

When we got to the Luxor Temple it was full dark but people were still streaming in.

Ten to six and dark already!

the agency was going to add more money, but we stood around for about 45 minutes waiting while hundreds of other tourists snaked past us.

both Jill and I got very gay vibes from him, though he certainly didn't recognize it.

Presumably the husband didn’t recognize it you mean.

we made the best of things, but it wasn't exactly what we signed up for when Jill booked Private guides

Much like Karnak Temple, this Temple is a mixture of construction.

So many different hands! Incredible.

There used to be two Obelisks here, but the French traded the Egyptians a clock for one of them

I’ve seen the other one. Place de la Concorde in Paris.

And the clock doesn't even work.

I think I know who got the better deal.

We spent about 90 minutes at Karnak Temple. We stood around waiting to enter Luxor Temple for almost an hour. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, and I don’t remember much about what our guide said about these pillars or statues.

I’m surprised you were even still functioning.

Panorama Picture

Big!

Finally Fayed told us to go see Alexander the Great somewhere inside the temple in the back of the complex.

He didn’t accompany you because…?

In the morning, Fayed would pick us up at our boat around 7:15AM, after retrieving the other folks.

Another “private” tour?

I took a shower and was pleasantly surprised that the water was very hot.

Yusssss

We were trying to let it breathe and the guy tried to put the top back on, but we objected.

Interesting. You’d think he’d be familiar with that. Maybe he was fairly new.

I thought the dining room was dressed up very nicely.

Not bad.

Here’s the beverage list.

When you couldn’t get what you wanted, even pointing at it on the menu didn’t work??

I was so tired that I didn’t even notice the little weird pink and blue thing at the top of the plate, however, it would continue to appear.

Pretty… but a bit odd.

We would figure out that soup was the best thing that the kitchen produced here.

Oh dear…

However, the meat was so tough, that I’m pretty sure that it did NOT come from the tenderloin. I ate one of the pieces of beef, I think all of the rice and potatoes, and none of the green beans, they were way over cooked, and may have come from a can.

Oy… not exactly fine dining.

the waiters said, "Bon Appetit." As well as when they picked up our empty (or sometimes, still full) plates.

We went to bed cause we had to be up early, again.

And you were exhausted I’d suspect.

George was defs giving off "guncle" vibes

Guncle… that’s a new one for me.

It didn't help that the husband/father was constantly on kid duty while George and the wife were off touring. It was odd!

That’s… weird.

One note about the river boat....Egypt requires all crew to be Egyptian instead of the various nationalities you would find other places. As such, the level of English spoken was lower than in other places

Ah! Thanks for the clarification.

the misplaced "Bon Appetit" became a running joke with Alison and I through the rest of the trip!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Wow at the corkage fees being the same as buying the bottle of wine. I think I would just buy their bottles at that point.

That beef dish looks nasty - I'm not surprised you didn't eat much of the meat.

The Luxor Temple is beautiful! Hopefully going at dark meant it was a little less boiling hot but that was a very long day for you two.

 

[franandaj]

George was defs giving off "guncle" vibes but the husband seemed quite jealous. It didn't help that the husband/father was constantly on kid duty while George and the wife were off touring. It was odd!

She was completely oblivious to the jealousy going on. It was definitely odd.

One note about the river boat....Egypt requires all crew to be Egyptian instead of the various nationalities you would find other places. As such, the level of English spoken was lower than in other places but the crew all bent over backwards to be very nice and helpful....the misplaced "Bon Appetit" became a running joke with Alison and I through the rest of the trip!

Huh. I did not know that little factoid.

 

[franandaj]

Ten to six and dark already!

Yeah, the sun went down super early there, usually between 4:30 - 5PM.

Presumably the husband didn’t recognize it you mean.

The husband or George, neither of them.

I’ve seen the other one. Place de la Concorde in Paris.

So you're familiar!

I’m surprised you were even still functioning.

Me too! Pretty soon we start to get to the point that we are looking forward to sleeping in our own beds.....but not quite yet!

He didn’t accompany you because…?

Because he was a jerk? That was our question too. As Jill said, he was somewhat of a let down after Ahmed.

Another “private” tour?

Not on Fayed's watch.....

Interesting. You’d think he’d be familiar with that. Maybe he was fairly new.

Good question......

When you couldn’t get what you wanted, even pointing at it on the menu didn’t work??

Well that picture of the drink menu was taken in the bar several days later. There wasn't a drink menu on the table in the dining room.

Pretty… but a bit odd.

Yeah, I was so exhausted that I didn't even notice it until several days later.

Oy… not exactly fine dining.

They were trying......

And you were exhausted I’d suspect.

I'm pretty sure that I was......

Guncle… that’s a new one for me.

You run in different circles than Jill and I.

That’s… weird.

Yeah, as I said, she was completely oblivious to this dynamic.

Ah! Thanks for the clarification.

Yes, I was unaware of this as well.

 

[franandaj]

Wow at the corkage fees being the same as buying the bottle of wine. I think I would just buy their bottles at that point.

Yeah, I'm wondering who even tries to bring their own bottles of wine?

That beef dish looks nasty - I'm not surprised you didn't eat much of the meat.

It wasn't great, but I was pretty hungry from all the touring we did, so I tried to eat it, but it was just so tough.

The Luxor Temple is beautiful! Hopefully going at dark meant it was a little less boiling hot but that was a very long day for you two.

Yeah, that's true. It was definitely cooler than had we been there in the heat of the day. We would like to go back some day and spend more time in Luxor. There is so much that we didn't get to see or do.

 

[franandaj]

We woke up around 5:45. We had set an alarm but we were up anyways. We did all of our normal morning stuff (get dressed, brush teeth, etc…) and were just about to leave the room for breakfast when the room phone rang. It was a wake up call. Evidently our guide had called it in for us. Clearly he doesn't know how much time we need. But luckily we were just leaving the room and heading down to breakfast.

The waffles here are much better than the ones at the Ramses Hilton. They were far too sweet there. These are nice, but I now realize I like the "malted" ones that many places in the US serve. And I actually just went out for breakfast last Sunday and had one.

They had the chicken sausage. Still no pork products. I'm beginning to believe that we will not see them again until either London or maybe even Denver.

For some protein I got this Disney 100 cheese. I chose one of the chipmunks, but there was Mickey, Minnie, Donald, or Pluto available too. I also got some yogurt and mixed it with my peaches. I'm having to be very creative about my protein here without any viable breakfast meat products. I've tried the chicken and the beef sausages and neither are very tasty.

When the server removed my empty plate, he said "Bon Apetit". Jill and kind of looked at each other curiously.

Coffee was also hit and miss. My first cup was nice and strong. The second was awful and weak. The head waiter came around because we were having a language barrier with the other servers. He offered me some Turkish coffee. That put some hair on your chest! I liked it!

Jill got a traditional tea.

Here’s a shot looking back at the dining room. Evidently all the other cruisers were already on their way to or at the Valley of the Kings. We pretty much had the place to ourselves.

And then here is a random shot of the lounge on the third floor of the ship. Our room was on the 4th floor where the bar/lounge was located. You board on the 2nd floor and the dining room was on the 1st floor.

Then we left to meet our guide. They wouldn't let us off the ship until he came to get us. He was a little irritated by that. I think someone in the group (who were all on a different ship) was late. They were supposed to be at our ship at 7:15 and they didn't make it until about 7:25. When leaving the ship, they gave us little cards when we left the ship and we turned them in when we got back.

Then we were on our way to the Valley of the Kings. Instead of a boat ride to cross the Nile, our ship was very close to the bridge that crosses the river. We were on the West Bank in no time.

Our driver was speeding his way to our destination when we heard a call from the back of the van. "Does anyone have a plastic bag?" Evidently the five year old girl was having a situation. One was procured from the front of the car and passed back. "Can the driver slow down a little bit? I think that's what's making her ill." Now I don't want to downplay this little girl's sickness. I'm sure it was real and it was bad. But this is exactly why we booked Private tours and not a group.

On the way we stopped for traffic…..Google says that these are sheep.

We arrived at VotK and the guide went to purchase our tickets. Jill had to accompany him because she wanted to see King Tut's tomb and his tomb had an extra fee of around $10US. Turns out the Croatian family also wanted to see it as well. They paid Jill in US cash and some Egyptian pounds and she put it on her Visa. We were slightly starting to run low on cash in various forms. There weren't ATMs readily available like the ones in the lobby of our hotel in Cairo.

They had golf carts to take people from the exit of the ticket center to the actual entrance to where the tombs were located. It’s all the way up there at the top of the hill.

It’s only 8:30 in the morning and look at that sun.

They dropped us off as close to the tombs as they could and we walked into the Valley.

Oh look, everyone else is already here!

Fayed took us to a shaded area and explained some things about the tombs, and the wall paintings/carvings. He mentioned that the sun god RA was present at the opening of the tombs which seemed to be the case in the two we visited. And some other stuff I promptly forgot. Did I mention that it was already blazing hot?

The rulers who are buried in the Valley of the Kings reigned in the 18th, 19th, & 20th Dynasties from 1580 to 1085BC. Contrary to the practice of the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom, who raised pyramidal structures, these tombs were cut deep into the living rock and closed up after the mummy had been laid to rest.

Our general admission ticket included three tombs, your choice of the six tombs that were open to ticket holders. Several tombs including Seti I ($1000LE), Ramses V & VI ($300LE), and King Tut ($300LE) had additional fees.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

We visited Ramses IV first, and then Ramses IX. Our tour guide said he would meet us in the Cafe when we had finished touring the tombs. Getting into the tomb meant waiting in a queue like this.

Many people didn't think that the line applied to them, and it appeared that most of them were French. While everyone else stood nicely in the queue, these folks would saunter past as if they were holding a golden fast pass, and generally the language that they were speaking was French.

So the insides of the tombs were packed full of tourists. You had to wait to get through the tomb. Luckily there was interesting carvings on the walls as you went through the various chambers. But with all the people there, warm breath was warming up the inside of the tomb, causing it to be very stuffy and warmer than the normal ambient temperature.

Even the ceilings have artwork.

Ramses IV inherited the throne from his father Ramses III, who was murdered through the treason of one of his lesser wives.

Architecturally the tomb is different from those of his predecessors in that it is much shorter with wider galleries. The tomb was used as a temporary residence by 19th century excavators such as Champollion, Rossellini, Theodore Davis and others. It contains various Greek, Roman and Christian graffiti. However, we didn’t really notice any.

The corridor leading to the Burial Chamber is decorated with scenes from the “Book of Caverns” and the “Book of the Earth. You see the Sun God Ra pictured here at the entrance.

The Antechamber is decorated with scenes of Chapter 125 from the Book of the Dead. The granite sarcophagus is proportionally very large in comparison to the Burial Chamber. The walls are decorated with the Second, Third and Forth hours from the “Book of Gates”.

There was a guy down in the tombs who offered to take our picture. As I handed him the phone, I realized "Oh this is going to cost me." Then I handed him 10 Egyptian pounds and remembered it's only 30 cents.

The flat ceiling has two astronomical figures of the goddess Nut. She s the sky goddess, who swallowed the setting sun in the evening and the following morning gave birth to it again. The representation of the goddess Nut is semi-circular to express the idea of the vault of the heavens. Her body is completely covered with stars; Nut was in face, the embodiment of the sky.

A small Room lies beyond the burial chamber; it is decorated with scenes from the ‘Book of Caverns’, This room lead to two other smaller chambers where the shawabti figures were placed. Obviously we couldn’t go back there.

More shots from the burial chamber.

Ramses II’s tomb wasn’t open for touring, but I couldn’t resist taking a picture of it.

Next we chose Ramses IX's tomb because the tour guide said it was easy.

Yet another long line in a stifling stuffy tomb.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

More drawings of people on their boats heading to the afterlife.

Kind of funny that an easy tomb involved a ramp/staircase such as this.

We had to wait, push and shove, to get a glimpse of this room, which I believe is the burial chamber without the sarcophagus.

And then we made it out of there. It was so hot and so stuffy in there. We decided to do King Tut next. This one was a little crazy. Because he died so young he didn't have much of a walkway to his tomb, he also didn't have the carved reliefs that you saw in the previous two tombs.

There were a ton of people inside to get to the front of areas where you could take pictures. You just had to kind of wait and push yourself to the front. Once you got there you still weren't guaranteed a relatively good view. I like how the sign a few pictures back says that only 10 persons are allowed in the tomb at one time. No one was enforcing that.

Standing up against the railing, this was my view on the right.

I took the pictures above. As I tried to take the next picture, there was a man standing to the left of me who was taking the same pictures as me, except he was doing it in reverse order. When he turned towards the wall (which was my first picture) his wife reached out and pushed my hands holding the phone camera down. I turned to her and gave her the stare of death. The husband said something in a foreign language, but I did recognize the word "no". I think I gave him an understanding smile, and he took his picture and then he motioned for me to take my picture. One need not be rude to accomplish goals, just understanding.

And a shot of the entire burial area.

On the opposite side of the room is King Tut’s mummy. You had to do the same song and dance waiting as the crowds filtered out to get to the front and get a decent picture.

Here is a picture from that same book of mummies that I showed you earlier when we visited the Museum of Egyptian Civilisation.

And back to the tomb.

Then Jill got a brilliant idea! She gave the attendant some baksheesh, I think it was only 10LE (about 30 cents USD) and he took some pictures with her phone. This is my picture of him taking the pictures for her.

And he got one of Jill waiting to get her phone/camera back.

Look at the excitement on Jill’s face after having viewed King Tut’s mummy!

Once we finished with King Tut, we were fine with that. We really didn't need to see the one last tomb that was included in our admission. Had it just been the two of us, we might have done it, or maybe not. We had seen what Jill really came here to see, and I was happy as well.

Our guide had told us the day before that there really wasn't much to see inside the tomb, but we both felt differently. We were really glad to have paid the extra fee and got to see the tomb and the mummy. After all he was the only mummy of whom we were able to take pictures!

Next Up: You can't smile without your crocodile!

 

[pkondz]

The husband or George, neither of them.

Nor the wife, apparently.

So you're familiar!

Because he was a jerk? That was our question too. As Jill said, he was somewhat of a let down after Ahmed.

So I see.

Not on Fayed's watch.....

Well that picture of the drink menu was taken in the bar several days later. There wasn't a drink menu on the table in the dining room.

Ohhhh…

You run in different circles than Jill and I.

 

[pkondz]

We did all of our normal morning stuff (get dressed, brush teeth, etc…)

Do magic tricks, sacrifice a small beetle to the gods, levitate, etc…

It was a wake up call. Evidently our guide had called it in for us. Clearly he doesn't know how much time we need.

No man does.

These are nice, but I now realize I like the "malted" ones that many places in the US serve.

Malted?

For some protein I got this Disney 100 cheese.

Hmmm… are you familiar with “La Vache qui rit” cheese? It looks like that. But… since cows are sacred…

When the server removed my empty plate, he said "Bon Apetit".

Here we go again.

He offered me some Turkish coffee. That put some hair on your chest! I liked it!

There ya go!

They wouldn't let us off the ship until he came to get us.

Really? That’s… odd.

They were supposed to be at our ship at 7:15 and they didn't make it until about 7:25.

Not too bad.

Our driver was speeding his way to our destination when we heard a call from the back of the van. "Does anyone have a plastic bag?" Evidently the five year old girl was having a situation.

Oh dear.

Now I don't want to downplay this little girl's sickness. I'm sure it was real and it was bad. But this is exactly why we booked Private tours and not a group.

Good point.

On the way we stopped for traffic…..Google says that these are sheep.

Looks like sheep to me. Different from over on this side of the pond, but…

They had golf carts to take people from the exit of the ticket center to the actual entrance to where the tombs were located. It’s all the way up there at the top of the hill.

Quite the trek!

Oh look, everyone else is already here!

Did I mention that it was already blazing hot?

Getting into the tomb meant waiting in a queue like this.

Oy. But I see some shade. And it looks like you’re not in it.

Many people didn't think that the line applied to them, and it appeared that most of them were French. While everyone else stood nicely in the queue, these folks would saunter past as if they were holding a golden fast pass, and generally the language that they were speaking was French.

But with all the people there, warm breath was warming up the inside of the tomb, causing it to be very stuffy and warmer than the normal ambient temperature.

Ew

There was a guy down in the tombs who offered to take our picture. As I handed him the phone, I realized "Oh this is going to cost me." Then I handed him 10 Egyptian pounds and remembered it's only 30 cents.

Big spender!
Still… good to keep in mind.

The flat ceiling has two astronomical figures of the goddess Nut. She s the sky goddess, who swallowed the setting sun in the evening and the following morning gave birth to it again.

I like that!

More drawings of people on their boats heading to the afterlife.

“Bye! Have a nice trip! Bon voyage!”

Kind of funny that an easy tomb involved a ramp/staircase such as this.

Define “easy” I guess?
Or do you think he just was mistaken?

There were a ton of people inside to get to the front of areas where you could take pictures.

Packed. Ugh.

I like how the sign a few pictures back says that only 10 persons are allowed in the tomb at one time. No one was enforcing that.

As I tried to take the next picture, there was a man standing to the left of me who was taking the same pictures as me, except he was doing it in reverse order. When he turned towards the wall (which was my first picture) his wife reached out and pushed my hands holding the phone camera down. I turned to her and gave her the stare of death. The husband said something in a foreign language, but I did recognize the word "no". I think I gave him an understanding smile, and he took his picture and then he motioned for me to take my picture. One need not be rude to accomplish goals, just understanding.

That’s a good way to get a punch in the snoot. She may try that once too often with the wrong person.

Here is a picture from that same book of mummies that I showed you earlier when we visited the Museum of Egyptian Civilisation.

He seems small. I wonder if that’s more a function of his age or the general size of people back then.

Look at the excitement on Jill’s face after having viewed King Tut’s mummy!

 

[DnA2010]

. Not exactly sure what the problem was but something about his credit card needing more money, the agency was going to add more money, but we stood around for about 45 minutes waiting while hundreds of other tourists snaked past us.

that's annoying indeed

Panorama Picture

Wow nice shot! It doesn't even look like people are there!

It was uncovered in the ancient city of Thebes (modern Luxor), with sphinxes and ram-headed statues lined up on both flanks.

Still a nice find!

Now everyone else in our group was on a different ship, so we dropped them off first.

As in they were all on one ship, and you on another, or did you have to stop a few ships?

After I got dressed, we were both exhausted and really wanted some alcohol.

One of the reasons I really like you hehe priorities straight
No judging on the consumption from you

We were trying to let it breathe and the guy tried to put the top back on, but we objected.

Like dude, we are drinking this whole bottle and we want air!

Very nice indeed!

Awww a "Fran" section!

We received a nice assortment of breads.

Again Egypt coming in hot with the bread selection!

I was so tired that I didn’t even notice the little weird pink and blue thing at the top of the plate, however, it would continue to appear.

Assuming it was sweet?

However, the meat was so tough, that I’m pretty sure that it did NOT come from the tenderloin.

That does NOT look like yummy yummy tenderloin!

Every time they placed our courses down in front of us, the waiters said, "Bon Appetit." As well as when they picked up our empty (or sometimes, still full) plates.

Well I guess they tried would be a bit odd.


Onwards!

 

[DnA2010]

These are nice, but I now realize I like the "malted" ones that many places in the US serve.

So just like not sweet or ?

They had the chicken sausage. Still no pork products. I'm beginning to believe that we will not see them again until either London or maybe even Denver.

... the suspense!

For some protein I got this Disney 100 cheese. I chose one of the chipmunks, but there was Mickey, Minnie, Donald, or Pluto available too.

Laughing Cow! Glad they threw in some Disney for you two!

I've tried the chicken and the beef sausages and neither are very tasty.

I don't mind chicken if they have some seasoning, but beef are generally dry and bland IMO

Coffee was also hit and miss. My first cup was nice and strong. The second was awful and weak.

Kinda like my coffee and D's coffee

He offered me some Turkish coffee. That put some hair on your chest! I liked it!

Yum! Inlaw's had a Turkish tea/coffee set and BIL used to bring home the coffee and make it for us, hair on chest indeed!!

Then we left to meet our guide. They wouldn't let us off the ship until he came to get us. He was a little irritated by that.

Agree, annoying!

we stopped for traffic…..Google says that these are sheep.

Different sort of traffic than you are used to!

They had golf carts to take people from the exit of the ticket center to the actual entrance to where the tombs were located. It’s all the way up there at the top of the hill.

Thank goodness, that's a long way!

Oh look, everyone else is already here!

again

Many people didn't think that the line applied to them, and it appeared that most of them were French. While everyone else stood nicely in the queue, these folks would saunter past as if they were holding a golden fast pass, and generally the language that they were speaking was French.

I've noticed this before as well...

Yet another long line in a stifling stuffy tomb.

Was it kinda moving?

More drawings of people on their boats heading to the afterlife.

party on the boats indeed!

that girl needs some cheeseburgers...

I think I gave him an understanding smile, and he took his picture and then he motioned for me to take my picture. One need not be rude to accomplish goals, just understanding.

Nice, I'm glad there was a decent person to balance off the not so niceness

Very colourful!

Then Jill got a brilliant idea! She gave the attendant some baksheesh, I think it was only 10LE (about 30 cents USD) and he took some pictures with her phone. This is my picture of him taking the pictures for her.

That Jill! Clever gal!

Nice shot buddy!

Look at the excitement on Jill’s face after having viewed King Tut’s mummy!

You did it @jedijill !!

Our guide had told us the day before that there really wasn't much to see inside the tomb, but we both felt differently. We were really glad to have paid the extra fee and got to see the tomb and the mummy. After all he was the only mummy of whom we were able to take pictures!

Ummm there was loads! I'm glad you paid the extra fee too!

 

[franandaj]

Do magic tricks, sacrifice a small beetle to the gods, levitate, etc…

Oh yes, we do that every morning...

No man does.

Malted?

Yes! I thought I was crazy when you asked me that, but then Allyson did too. It might not be common in Canada, but here's a bit about it.

The yeast, along with malt, gives the waffle a deeper flavor but also a lighter texture. Crispy on the outside, but custard-like in the center, the Belgian Waffle is light and airy. Traditional waffles tend to be quite heavy, often made with traditional pancake batter thrown into a waffle iron.​

​

​

But there are other methods to getting it like make the batter the night before and let the yeast rise. It's just a waffle with "a kick", but not in the spicy flavor, just kind of nutty, but doesn't taste like nuts. I can't describe it, but I like it.

Hmmm… are you familiar with “La Vache qui rit” cheese? It looks like that. But… since cows are sacred…

No, I'm not familiar, and that's India where cows are sacred. They eat them all the time in Egypt.

Here we go again.

Yeah, I don't think they quite knew the meaning.

Really? That’s… odd.

I think they feel liable for their passengers and don't want them to go wandering off without guides.

Looks like sheep to me. Different from over on this side of the pond, but…

I had to ask Jill and she googled to get the answer.

Quite the trek!

Yeah, there was A LOT of walking involved here.

Oy. But I see some shade. And it looks like you’re not in it.

And even then, it wasn't very cool shade.

Big spender!
Still… good to keep in mind.

Baksheesh gets you a lot of things in Egypt!

Define “easy” I guess?
Or do you think he just was mistaken?

No, it's entirely possible that the other tombs may have been even steeper.

That’s a good way to get a punch in the snoot. She may try that once too often with the wrong person.

Yeah, she was lucky I was nice and only gave her stink eye.

He seems small. I wonder if that’s more a function of his age or the general size of people back then.

The other mummies we saw were very similar in size. I think it was just people were smaller then.