Just some notes I took while staring, sleep-deprived, out of the train windows at dawn... Land is shot through with green, the color of paradise indeed. Palm trees in fertile fields. Sunrise, dusty rose, at the horizon. small minarets - a village mosque. a mud-brick enclave painted blue, containing goats. The people are not yet awake, I suppose. The sun is beginning to cast its golden rays across the land, and the green is less intense now. You can see why the ancient Egyptians believed the sun was an aspect of God, and why the Nile with its floods has always [View Full Entry]

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Not one of my best days on the trip, as you'll read.... Overnight Train from Cairo to Luxor Our bedraggled group arrived by overnight train in Luxor very early. The train itself had been quite an experience. For example, the toilet lid flipped up rather like a movie theater seat. So, if you wanted to say, put down toilet paper on the lid, you had to hold it down with one knee, while applyign the protecting toilet paper, and then quickly flip over to sit on it before it flipped up. Also, you couldn't squat over the bowl because the lid [View Full Entry]

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When we arrived in Luxor, Big Mo informed us that a popular evening activity was to take a donkey, horse, or camel ride through the countryside and villages of the West Bank, before arriving at a local Egyptian restaurant for a meal. Not everyone in our group was up to ride anything, and in particular, my parents felt that they would be too large for a donkey. For me, the chance to ride a donkey - these sweet little creatures that are the backbone of Egyptian baladi life - was too great to pass up. We took the ferry to the [View Full Entry]

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Today was a long day. We began fairly early at the pyramids, and ended our day at the Egyptian museum. The pyramids are absolutely unreal! Until I walked up to the base stone of one of the pyramids, I didn't quite process I was there. Unfortunately we arrived too late to go inside the Great Pyramid, as only 150 people per day can do that. Instead, we went through the 2nd largest pyramid. Scott, Alli and me paid our 20LE to go inside. My mom stayed outside with our bags. You had to duck and walk in a squatting position to [View Full Entry]

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We took a poll of our fellow travellers while we were still in Cairo. I promised I would post the answers later. It was interesting to hear all the different points of view. Favorite Shopping Experience: 1.) "The Inflatable Boy King Blowup Doll" in the Egyptian museum gift shop - Alli 2.) Rugs - Scott & Tere 3.) Mahmoud's - Shannon Favorite Dining Experience: 1.) Fishawi's - Shannon, Scott, & Tere 2.) Felfela's (for their falafel) - Alli 3.) Pizza at La Pergola hotel restaurant - Will & the Twins Favorite Site to Visit (or part of site) 1.) Synagogu [View Full Entry]

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We met Susan and her roommate Nicky at breakfast, at the Grand Pyramids hotel. They are both very nice and I can tell this group is going to be fun-loving. We feel pretty lucky to have chosen to go on this tour. On our first full day with the Peregrine tour, we are going to Memphis and Sakkara. For me, Memphis was unimpressive. It's like an outdoor museum, but none of the items are in-situ. The city is completely gone. So it is more like the idea of Memphis, and various artifacts from it are on display, roped off, with signs. [View Full Entry]

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Assorted memories from my first day in Cairo... Nibal is the wonderful guide we have contracted to spend the first day with. She picked us up at the Grand Pyramids hotel and took us to the Citadel of Salah-al-Din by my request. I have just finished a book about the 3rd crusade and I am a great admirer of the man we call Saladin. We visited the Mohammed Ali mosque within, where Nibal briefed us on the 5 pillars of Islam. I knew them of course, but it is something else to hear them from a Muslimah, while standing in a [View Full Entry]

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Not my usual multi-entry travelogue, but here's what we did in Barcelona....This was a spur-of-the-moment trip that was easy to plan thanks to Travelocity. We flew Iberia, which is newly flying out of Boston, and stayed in the Hotel Inglaterra, a very friendly modern hotel near the Plaza Catalunya - very well-located. Thursday Arrived, checked into our hotel and after a nap, wandered down Las Ramblas and through the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter). Saw ancient Roman aqueducts that had been incorporated into the cathedral. Wandered around aimlessly, having lunch at El Gran Cafe. Took naps [View Full Entry]

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Well, we did get back to Lima on Wednesday afternoon (May 31st). Alli was still feeling not so great, so we had a low-key day. We had lunch at Canta Rana, a local's cebicheria in Barranco. Then we walked to Larcomar. Larcomar is the lovely little cliff-side mall complex in Miraflores. It has everything two exhausted people could want, including Starbucks. But actually we didn't go to Starbucks, and instead found a little cafe with seats outside looking at the ocean, and we watched surfers while we sipped our drinks (tea and capuccino) & shared a slice of cheesecake. The stores [View Full Entry]

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Well, last night I rearranged my whole trip. I went to the Lan offices here in the square and changed my flight from Chiclayo to Lima on Friday, to be from Trujillo to Lima this afternoon. Alli and I agreed that she would recover better in Lima, and there were many restaurants, nightlife, shopping, museums and other things to do there. We managed to get back into a smaller room at Second Home in Barranco. So last night, I want to say I did go for a walk around Trujillo and the center is very pretty. And furthermore, it seems prosperous [View Full Entry]

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