Egypt Day 2 - Cairo

Today we spent time with Sahar Haney. Once again we had a private guide to take us through Cairo. It was a long day starting at 9 am and we didn't get home until almost 11 after dinner on the Nile.

It was truly the day of Too Many and we saw too much according to our guide. This was definitely a statement lost in translation. I believe her too much and too manys were suppose to mean there were a lot of things to see and we were going to see many of them. Which we did.

First stop were the Pyramids at Giza. It was absolute chaos. There we buses everywhere and there were even more people wandering around stunned at the sights that we were seeing. Over looking all of this were tourism police on camels making sure everyone behaved themselves.



At the second pyramid Allyson and I were able to go inside to see the tomb located deep inside the center. Before we went off to do this adventure our guide told us to leave everything in the van because no cameras were allowed in the tomb. We happily obliged listened to her directions and walked off. As we stood in line we both looked at each other realizing our parents would completely cringe if they knew that we had left everything from our wallets, cameras, and backpacks with a driver and guide we had only met a few hours earlier. The whole time we were in the tomb there was a slight pit in my stomach with concern that we may have made a huge mistake. Luckily that was not the case.

As we entered the tomb we had to bend low, as the square hole we had to walk through was only about a meter high. About half way down the first tunnel Allyson turned to me and said it was her own personal hell, she has a slight case of claustrophobia.




After the tomb we wandered around taking pictures of us climbing on the pyramids and getting heckled by camel drivers to take their pictures or get on the camels. However that was to come when we went to the panorama view and took my first and most likely my last camel ride.






Of course the two teachers are the lucky ones getting a ten year old boy to lead us through the desert on a camel. We should have known it was going to be an adventure when the men where helping Allyson get on her camel and they left me alone only for my camel to stand up and start walking off. Then I felt a sharp pain in my foot because i had just been whipped by the stick that was thrown at my camel to try and make him stop. The rest of the ride was just as eventful.

At one point Muhammed took Allyson's camera to take our picture. He took a couple of pictures of us withe the desert behind. Then he got all artistic and had us raise our hands above our heads. I don't think Allyson really wanted to let go but she did for a brief moment.

Once he got it he was intrigued and handed over the reins to Allyson only for her to start using her teacher voice and reprimand him asking him if he thought it was a good idea. He responded with Don't worry lady, it will be fine. On our way back up to the camels resting spot all the people heading into the desert commented on our ease of riding. If they had only known what we had gone through during our ride they would completely understand.



After the pyramids we went to see the sphinx and then to a papyrus store, a bazaar and lunch. Nothing to eventful. After lunch we made a stop at an Essence shop, which are highly valued in Egypt.



We entered the shop and were directed to a cushioned seat along a wall where a gentleman brought over various bottles of oils for us to smell. They were all beautiful and the experience was the most interesting part. The whole trip so far we have been doted on and waited on. This was also the case at this shop. Here both Allyson and I purchased Jasmine and Papyrus Plant.

After the essences we went to another Bazaar. This one was a little different in that it was a street market. It was a true experience of being heckled and men coming out blocking our path asking us to go into their shops. Allyson and I basically ran through the three streets listening to the cat calls, some of which were humorous and some just vulgar. One that was the best was to Allyson as she walked by. "For you I kill my wife" His friend decided to one up him and responded "For you I kill my family". The only fun thing I got was "Are you from Australia? Spice Girl?" We really didn't purchase anything because it was extremely overwhelming and at times slightly scary.

Then we were off to the Cairo Museum to see King Tut's belongings from his tomb. His mummy was no longer in the museum as they had returned it to the Valley of the Kings. Our guide took us through the highlights of the treasures pointing out many interesting things, including his underwear which looked like a giant diaper and she was full of history. In the middle of one of her long and tedious explanations out of the blue she points to one box and says "And this is King Tut's condom" both Allyson and I looked at each other wondering if we had heard her correctly. As a matter of fact we did and were slightly shocked that it had been so well preserved.

That evening we were handed off once more to Ramez who took us to a Nile River cruise for dinner. The dinner was alright but the shows were the most interesting.
First there was a man who was basically a spinning top with many skirts on him. Then there was a belly dancer.



The highlight of course was watching Allyson get hit on once again by the waiter who told her that she could sail with him 24/7 and told her that if she wanted he would take her anywhere. Little did I know this was going to be the story of the week. It has become quite comical.

Egypt Day 1 - Milan to Cairo

Jen Blum drove us to the train station and that was the most relaxing part of our day. It was definitely a day to test our patience. Once we were in Milan we found our check-in stand along with an abundance of Egyptians who had about 4 bags per person, including stereos, air conditioners, and children bikes. Besides the luggage there were about 2 men to every four women and eight children. Allyson and I maneuvered through the people and what we thought was going to be the shortest line. It wasn't. About 20 minutes later and with everyone else and their bags gone we got a little closer but not much.

Once we checked in we went to McDonalds and the same thing happened again. We choose the wrong line and waited forever. We didn't know that this was going to be the case throughout the entire trip.

The plane ride was comical. No one ever sat in their seat. The children were running up and down the aisles throughout the entire flight and I believe that everyone on the flight was friends. There was constant conversation and wandering. The most shocking was the spontaneous clapping when we landed celebrating almost as if it was a victory. And then when we landed and the plane was still taxiing to the gate, many passengers jumped up and began to unload all their belongings. Then as the gate opened one man pushed his way from the back to us where he was stopped by three men who were in just as much of a hurry.

At the airport we successfully found our guy who got us through customs and got our visas. At the baggage claim he handed us off to another man who helped us push and paw our way to the belt. Again we had to wait. Alyson's bag didn't come for a long time. But it allowed us to stand and watch people push and then get hit by bags falling off the belt because they had been propped up against other bags.

When we got outside we were handed off once again to Ramez our guide for Cairo. He is a very nice guy who is very energetic and wants to share everything about Cairo's history. Allyson and I listened very carefully trying to grasp as much history as possible as our van sped through traffic constantly flashing brights at cars driving in the middle of the two lanes. Lane lines are merely a suggestion but not a rule.

Our hotel is the Cataract Resort. Ramex checked us in and got us taken to our room. The first thing we noticed was a can of Raid for flying insects on the vanity, but other then that the room wasn't all that bad. Our wake up call was for 6 am the next morning. We didn't do much else but sleep.

Bellinzona Saturday

March 7, 2008 Sam, Lizzie and I were a little restless and needed some entertainment. It was a beautiful day and we wanted to be outside, so off we went to Bellinzona to see the castles and play just a little. I was the fortunate one who was in charge of the driving and navigating to the middle castle. Which ended up being my absolute favorite. We pulled draw bridges down, we scaled walls, and we often spent time with our special friend.



Sam and I tried to pull the draw bridge down. We didn't have so much luck, I don't think the thing even budged.






Lizzie put us in the dungeon then stood guard from above.



We needed to scale the walls to walk along the towers and take pictures of the landscape as well as try out my self timer. I swear if you lean to the right it will work. It only too three times for me to finally figure it out.






I found my throne inside the castle wall. No one else was brave enough to sit upon it.



There's a gator in that moat.



Watch out Sam!

Off to the second castle. I was feeling very adventurous and decided to go for a climbed up the rocks. The other side wasn't that impressive so we will just keep that portion a secret.




My special friend Lizzie. She had a difficult time climbing up the wall while Sam asked a nice old lady who was passing by if she could take our picture. I think we may have smelled or something because she stood the farthest away from us as possible to take our picture.





Sam and I got in a little fight. He was not being nice or something.



My special friend Sam



Just taking a nap on the castle wall.





We found many places to climb, pose and just have so much fun.

Monte Boglia

March 2, 2008 was the first sign of spring. The day before we had tried to go skiing but the mountain was closed due to poor conditions. So we went back to Lugano to put on shorts and play a little ultimate Frisbee. Saturday was a gorgeous day and we really didn't think it could get any better. We were wrong. The next day was beautiful, so we took a hike up Monte Boglio.

Sam, Allie, Kara and David Fontes, Shannon, Garret, and I drove up Monte Bre through winding roads, often fearing for our lives as we looked out our windows of the van. I have to say though, David did an amazing job and I wouldn't have asked for a better driver.



The beginning of the walk into the trees. Everything was brown and covered from the fall. There were often leaves that would come up to our ankles as we stepped.





The ladies of the hike





The first real point to view the lake and the surrounding mountains.Allie took the picture of me looking out and I have to say that I really like it.



At the top the temperature dropped and we had to bundle up before eating the feast that Shannon had put together for us and carried to the top. Actually I think Garrett carried it the majority of the way but we will give her some credit.



On the far side of the mountain where the sun didn't hit, it was completely snow covered. The golden was so hot when he reached the top he curled up in the snow to cool down. I had the thought as well.




The decenst and the Von trap Family portrait.





Shannon, Sam and I as we entered the last part of our hike through a cute rustic town.



When we finally entered back into the little town we had to walk through our hands were completely swollen. It was difficult to bend our fingers and make a fist so Sam had the brillant idea to wave them above our heads to let the blood run down. Again Allie was on top of it and captured the spectacle on film.

It was a fantastic day and such a great experience. The group was great, the weather was amazing and the view was fantastic. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Andermatt Ski Trip

On Sunday afternoon Allie, Sam, Carla, Matteo and I checked out a van and drove to Andermatt to go skiing. The drive was about 2 hours and we were all slightly hung over from an evening at the IP the night before. However, there was an energy in the van with music coming from Allie's speakers and the knowledge that we were going to have a beautiful day of skiing.

As we entered the Gottard tunnel which is 17 km long we all held our breath that there would be sun on the other side, when we saw natural light again. Luck was on our side because there was sun and it was about 40 degrees that day. We all definitely over dressed.



This was my first time going on a ski trip besides my trip to Cran. Its the alps and I always pictured all the mountains to be as big as Cran with as many chairs and slopes. Just like it is in the States. That is definitely not the case. Andermatt is very small. There is on Gondola up to the top to the slopes from a very small quaint town, where we rented all of our equipment. Once we were up at the runs we had the choice of about three chairs and one more gondola that took 20 minutes to wait for and another 20 to ride. However, even with all of the waiting for chairs and runs it was beautiful. The snow was great and the sun was shining down on us.



At first we started skiing as a whole pack, with a variety of abilities. There was a lot of waiting around and sitting in the snow playing while the others were coming. At times Sam and I became slightly childish building snow men and stomping on them and laying on the snow so that it looked like we had collided into each other. It did pass the time away.





When we finally did split up Allie, Sam and I decided to try the T-bar. This wasn't a brilliant choice. I hate T-bars they scare me and about half way up the ride we found out that Allie doesn't know how to ride one. It was like watching slow motion. I was behind Allie when she slowly began to lean to her left. We were on a very narrow path and to the left was a huge drop off over a ledge. As she fell I saw the worst, she tumbled over the edge causing one ski to pop off and stick straight up in the snow. Then she continued to tumble ski over head until she stopped because her other ski that was still attached went perpendicular into the mountain. At this point the T-bar stopped and Allie yells up "Did they stop because of me?" I don't think they did but it allowed Sam and I to get a full view of the situation and yell words of wisdom to Allie, like you are going to have to walk up, pop off your skis and we will find you eventually, as the T-bar started up again and we watched her struggle over our shoulder. We were nice however and skied down to where she would come out and delayered due to the heat and waited for her to join us.



At this point we were ready for some lunch and met back up with Carla and Matteo at a restaurant over looking the mountains. I sat and sunned myself for about an hour, finally getting some color in my face. We also dined on traditional sausage in onion sauce and rosti, very tasty hash browns.

After lunch we only got a few more runs in, taking Carla and Matteo on the T-bar to show them the sight of our the fateful fall only to have Carla do the exact same thing. Matteo however was much nicer and did not go all the way to the top of the bar but rather stopped at the next peak to wait for her to climb over the ledge again. Her ascent was a little easier because she had a snowboard and just less equipment to relocated and navigate.




We skied till 4 and caught the last gondola down. It was a great day!