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Published: January 11th 2009
Last Day in Alexandria
Friday, December 19th Still battling jetlag, we took a taxi to Montazah Palace, the former summer residence of the deposed Egyptian royal family, which was restored by President Sadat to a presidential residence. Royal palaces and assets, as well as property held in private hands were expropriated for the people during the Egyptian Revolution in 1952. We have spoken to many Egyptians who quietly express their disappointment with the promise that the Revolutionaries have not realized. Although the palace is not accessible to the public, the Montazah Gardens surrounding the palace offer 155 hectares (384 acres) of landscaped grounds, with flowers, palm trees, pines and lots of birds. We enjoyed wandering the gardens that overlook the sea and getting some fresh air!
As we approached the gate to exit the gardens, we were suddenly surrounded by school-aged children who wanted to know our names! We spent over a half hour with the children learning their names and practicing other English phrases they are learning at school. Despite the consternation of their Egyptian child minders, they asked us to take pictures with our digital cameras, which we shared with them to their amusement. They
were as thrilled to meet Mukluk as we were to meet them. With their warm smiles and kind words, we sadly had to say goodbye. We were only sorry that we left candy back at the hotel that we had brought to share with Egyptian children during our travels.
Since there are lovely views of the coastline of Alexandria, we decided to walk along the corniche towards the hotel. Although marine fog hung over the city for most of the day, we enjoyed walking for most of the way back to the hotel taking in the sights and sounds of life in Alexandria, including prayers on the holy day, honking cars, and fishermen with their boats on the shores.
Later, we had fun walking around the Stefano Grand Plaza with its large shopping mall, including a grocery store, food fair and Starbucks. With iPod in hand, Papa Canuck searched for hotspots. Since we arrived in Egypt, Internet access has either been non-existent, very expensive or sluggish! A blogger’s nightmare! We were able to find a weak unsecured link to check our email and send email to guides to share our Egyptian mobile number, but have been unable to
blog! Hopefully, we will get Internet access soon since we have lots of photographs to share!
Our last day in Alexandria was a very relaxing one after spending two days of sightseeing and feeling exhausted after not getting much sleep since we left Vancouver! Unfortunately, the Greco Roman Museum and Royal Jewelry Museum remain closed due to renovations for those planning a trip to Alexandria! Fortunately, the real treasures of Alexandria are its people and their children.
Staying in San Stefano
Although we have not recovered from our 24+ hour travel day and 10 hour time change, our 3.5 night stay at the Four Seasons Alexandria at San Stefano offered comfy bedding and beautiful surroundings. The level of service was amazing. The hotel staff never missed an opportunity to warmly greet us and offered exceptional personalized service. We enjoyed meals at the Four Seasons restaurants, Byblos, serving Lebanese fare in an elegant dining room and Fresca serving Italian fare in a casual setting. This hotel not only met our expectations, but exceeded them. When in Alexandria, we would highly recommend this special hotel!
Next destination, Siwa Oasis! Tomorrow, we are being picked up early Saturday morning to start our 10 hour journey along the Mediterranean coast until we arrive at Marsa Matrouh, when we take a turn to the south into the desert and arrive at the edge of the Great Sand Sea.
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