Shopping in Cairo

On Wednesday morning, we decided to go to Khan El-Khalili, Islamic Cairo, for shopping at the souk. We thought we were in for a treat, since we enjoy shopping at the souks here in Doha. First, there was a little mix-up with the cab driver. After driving for a few minutes, he pulled over and said, "Welcome to the Egyptian museum." Oops. We said Khan El-Khalili. We decided to walk around first to get a feel for where things were and what was available. At one point we walked up an alleyway that didn't have any tourists (there weren't many tourists around anyway) and it started to get very, what's the word?, dirty? We saw a man serving coffee who had the pot and cups strapped to his body. When a customer finished a cup, he just rinsed it with water and put it back. Needless to say, we didn't sample his offerings. I saw a store with stacks of cages filled with chickens and rabbits. I was trying to get Nicky to look at them, but he was too interested in the mangy dog digging through the trash. It was at that moment that I told Bradley that we needed to turn around and head back to the tourist section. Along the way, I had seen a set of belly dancer zils (finger cymbals) that I wanted to get as a joke for Brad's boss. I figured they would cost about $5 (25 Egyptian Pounds). I was shocked, then, when the shopkeeper started our bargaining at 150 Pounds! I was ready to give up and walk away, but Brad didn't want to give up so easily. It took about 20 minutes to finally get the guy to sell us a set for 50 pounds. As we were walking away, he ran up to us and offered to sell us 4 more sets for 100 pounds total. So you mean that we could have gotten one set for 25 pounds like we wanted? Ugh. It just left us with a bad taste in our mouths. I don't mind bargaining so much, but I hate that the shopkeepers feel like we owe it to them to pay the "American" price because we can obviously afford it and we would be doing so much for them. The guilt trips get so frustrating. Not wanting to deal with it anymore, we hailed a cab and headed back to the hotel for a nap. When the babies woke up, we went to lunch at Omar's and then we did some shopping at the shops in the hotel. Since they had fixed prices, even though it might not have been the best prices possible, we probably got the best prices that we could get there. We were very happy with our purchases.

That night, we arranged for a babysitter with the hotel, and we went out to the sound and light show at the pyramids. It was very cheesy, but worth it for a chance to sit and look at the pyramids and sphinx without someone hassling us.

Here was the pre-show entertainment. How weird are the pharonic bagpipers?
The pyramids and Sphinx at sunset.
The end of the show.


Afterwards, we ate at JW's Steakhouse at the hotel. It was very, very nice and delicious.

Our first full day in Egypt

Our first full day in Egypt started bright and early. Catie decided to get up at 5 AM! Thankfully, that didn't happen for the rest of the trip. But, we got an early start after eating breakfast at the Marriott's buffet restaurant (Omar's), we headed to the Egyptian museum. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so here are a couple shots of the outside:

The museum was pretty overwhelming. It's amazing how many artifacts were there, and how many they have that aren't even on display. We ended up buying a video from the gift shop so that we could look at everything again. The display of King Tutankhamen's tomb artifacts was especially impressive. I stood for a few minutes just looking at the funeral mask. I've seen pictures of it a hundred times, but it was amazing seeing it in person. The babies didn't think it was that impressive; they fell asleep halfway through the museum.

After a rest and a quick lunch from the bakery, we went with a tour group to see the pyramids. Here we are:

And here is one of the guys that ruined the experience for us. Like I said before, everyone in Egypt is looking for a way to take your money. These guys just stand there and get in your photos and then expect you to give them a tip for their services. Being newbies, we had no idea what he was doing.

Here are the pyramids without us in the way:

Standing at the base of one of the pyramids looking up:

At the base of the pyramids there was another group of Bedouins trying to get your money by giving you headdresses and crappy postcards. They told Brad that he looked Egyptian because of his goatee. By the time we got back to the bus, he was ready to punch the guys who wouldn't take no for an answer, and thought that they deserved 200 Egyptian Pounds ($40) for their services.

This Bedouin boy offered 1000 camels to marry Catie. Yes, she is wearing a headdress, too.

When we got over to the Sphinx, Brad decided to stay in the van with the twins because we had such a bad experience at the pyramids and they were hot. Fortunately, they pretty much leave a woman by herself alone, so I was able to take lots of photos there.

After that, our tour took us to a papyrus factory where they showed us how papyrus paper is made. It was very interesting, and we ended up buying a papyrus with the tree of life painted on it.

It was a long, full day, and we were exhausted after the early morning wake-up, so we ordered room service for dinner and went to bed early! :)

Pharoah's Revenge

It all started Tuesday when we got back. We decided to go out for some normal food (aka McDonalds) and then grocery shopping to fill up the empty refrigerator. Halfway through the produce section I heard Nick cough and then sneeze. I looked down to say "bless you" and saw that he had thrown up all over himself. We cleaned him up as best we could and checked out. When we got back to the apartment parking garage, he threw up twice all over himself and his carseat. I ran up stairs with him and the entire carseat, started the bathwater, cleaned him up a little, took off his clothes and threw him in the bath. He threw up one more time that night in bed before Brad and I went to bed. Wednesday he seemed to be fine. Yesterday, Brad and I woke up with upset stomachs. We spent the whole day puking and sitting on the toilet. Catie joined us about halfway through the day. We had a horrible night last night, too. I think I was up about 5 times for one thing or another. This morning we all seem to be a little better. The kids are eating and our stomachs have settled.

Walk like an Egyptian

We didn't just fly first class, we stayed first class too. In Cairo we were able to use Brad's government employee status to get a very reasonable rate at the Marriott hotel in the center of the nicest part of Cairo. The hotel has 10 or 11 restaurants, which meant that we never had to eat at an off property restaurant. Here is a picture of the front of the hotel. Brad's next to the lion. :)

Catie, in particular, enjoyed the nice furniture.

Brad and I thought the bathroom was so lovely that we spent a whole afternoon in their while the babies took a nap. :) Actually, we spent quite a bit of time in hotel bathrooms this trip because the twins had trouble falling asleep while we were up and around in the same room.

On another note: We had a check-up for the twins today. They are both in the 25th percentile for height and weight. (Same as usual--gaining steadily.) She gave us a referral to another ENT for Nicky. We'll have his hearing checked this time, and if that's not a problem, then she'll refer him to a speech therapist. So, at least we have a plan now. Otherwise their vaccinations are now current and they're doing well. :)

More tomorrow on our trip. :)

pictures

I forgot to add the pictures that went with the last post. Just a couple snaps of the kids playing in the VIP lounge.

We're Back!

We're back from a wonderful trip to Egypt. :) I'm going to break up telling you about our trip into several posts because it's going to take a while. I'm planning to go fairly chronological, but knowing me I'll probably get lost down a few rabbit trails along the way. :)

Part of Brad's compensation package is 10 days paid vacation every 90 days with a roundtrip airfare to his point of destination (the US) or an equilvalent. Since flying to Egypt from Doha is a lot cheaper than flying to the US, the company paid for all of us to fly there. And, not only to fly there, but to fly business class. Let me tell you, that is the only way to fly! I've only flown business class once, on our honeymoon trip to England, and that was nice. Really nice. But you don't know the full benefit until you have two squirmy toddlers. Plenty of room to spread out. Attentive flight attendants. Yummy food. Comfy pillows and blankets. Chairs that recline to nearly horizontal. Heaven. And that was once we got on the plane. Before that, we started out in the VIP terminal with the first class lounge, which included a glassed-in play area for the twins and a delicious mid-morning snack.

The flight to Cairo was about 3 hours. Nick was sitting by me and fell asleep pretty soon after take-off and slept most of the flight. Catie was with her daddy and she was a little bundle of energy. A good girl, but not a sleeping one. She finally slept about 30 minutes before the plane landed.

Travel tips for Egypt:
1. When you get off the plane, you will not get your stroller until you reach baggage claim. It's a pain in the behind.
2. You will be expected to buy a visa with US dollars from one of the banks in front of the passport control, affix the visa stickers to a blank page in your passport with the serial number facing out, and fill out forms for everyone in your party all while holding two screaming toddlers who just want to run around after being in the plane for three hours. Did I mention it's incredibly crowded, poorly signed, and no one speaks English very well?
3. When you employ a porter, do not give him any money until he has loaded the bags into the cab. Brad kept thinking that the porter was leaving, so he ended up tipping him 3 times.
4. Everyone in Egypt is out to get your money. Ask the cab driver what your fare will cost before you get into the cab. Avoid taking help unless you are prepared to give a little baksheesh (tip.)
5. Driving in Doha is bad. Driving in Cairo is downright suicidal. Take a taxi, close your eyes if you must, and pretend you don't notice the near-misses and breakneck speeds. Horns are used to communicate everything, and lights aren't for seeing where you are going in the dark, they are for telling people to speed up or get over.

More later... :)

Over and under

Catie is a climber. If I take my eyes off her for a minute, she's suddenly on top of something. It started with the Elmo car, the one featured in one my recent scrapbook pages which is also very annoying for other reasons. (Elmo is cute, but you can have a little too much Elmo voice especially when he doesn't have volume control.) She would use the Elmo car to get up onto the couch. Now, she's allowed on the couch, but the problem comes in when she uses the couch to get to the "forbidden" things on the side table, like the remote and Mommy's book. Recently, she used the Elmo car to get onto an extra chair by the TV stand, and I found her happily swinging the lamp cord. Two days ago, she found a new use for the wet wipes box, which she used to give her a boost onto the coffee table. This is the same coffee table that you have to pick up in order to move because if you don't the legs end up crooked. I found her there, standing in the exact middle, looking pleased as could be. If I hadn't been so frightened and hadn't felt the need to impart to her the seriousness of what she had done, I would have taken a picture, but I will always remember the way she looked standing there so proud of herself.

Nick, on the other hand, is a tunneler. His new favorite pasttime is hiding under the dining room table. The table has a cross piece between the two legs which he likes to straddle. Maybe he's pretending to ride a horse. :) Wish I could get into that little brain of his. I snapped this picture yesterday when I found him underneath the arm chair, his other favorite spot.

I'm tempted to write a paragraph here about how their respective methods of playing reflect their emerging personalities, but I'll spare you. :)