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We arrived early at our inn, as expected, though they did have one room ready for us. Room 14 on the first floor. We booked two double superior. Room 14 overlooks the canal named di Toletta. Small shower but large comfortable room. We left our luggage there and headed out to see sights in the area. First stop, the Accademia museum. They are currently refurbishing and art was not where I expected it to be (following tour on Rick Steves). But, it has the most important art in Venice, and we stayed awhile. Worth seeing. First on list? Not unless you arrive day one and are staying nearby. Americans do not have the full historical background for this art. I have seen much ancient Italian art and appreciate this museum, but Americans will be more impressed ... read more

I know this entry gets a lot of hits from the general public. If readers are trying to determine whether Abu Simbel is worth the trip, I would say it depends on your time in Egypt. We got stuck in the Aswan airport on our return and that fact alone ruined this side trip. I had little time in Egypt and had not planned to spend five hours in the airport getting back to Cairo. These temples though are amazing historical, architectural, and now engineering feats; the best of the ancient world and the modern world. Take the trip, just make sure you are on the next flight to Cairo and not stuck in the Aswan airport. We flew from Aswan to Abu Simbel to see the famous temple of Ramses II carved right in the ... read more

Got off the boat at 8 am to take a horse buggy ride to the Temple of Knum. Not a pleasant experience. The horses are not treated well and the drivers are very aggressive asking for tips. We were crammed 4 to a small buggy designed for 2. A minibus would have been preferable. This Temple is very interesting because it was only discovered in 1860 by a French archeologist and it took 4 years to uncover. It sits 30 feet below the town. You can still see where some of the houses and shops are located on top of the old ruins. In the afternoon our boat moved to Edfu and we were first in, so first off. We went to the Temple of Horus which has the excellent statues of Horus (falcons) erected in ... read more

Early pick up at hotel for flight from Cairo to Luxor. The airport was a madhouse and we had an agent getting our boarding passes. Then hundreds of people pushed their way through the single security line to the waiting room. We were supposed to “listen” for our flight to be called and it was really just the guy at the door saying flight numbers. You had to be standing there to hear him. Buses to the plane then off to Luxor. Picked up and taken to the Ti-Yi. Many more tips along the way. It was still early and we did not have a cabin. We met our local guide, George, and he was not very helpful. All of a sudden he announced he was taking us to our first excursion to the Valley of ... read more

On to see Old Cairo. This was a part of Cairo I especially wanted to see. Old Cairo is a walled city in Cairo and was the heart of the original city. There are about 300 Christian, Jewish, and Muslim families who peacefully co-exist here. Their homes are inherited and very hard to come by. We walked through the original city gate, still intact, and through the walkways of the city. We saw the city’s oldest coptic (Christian) church, the Church of St. Sergius, which is reported to be built near the place where Mary and Joseph took shelter on their way to Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus. The church is believed to have been built in the 5th century. I was shocked at the treasures in this small old church, unknown to many Westerners. ... read more