Vacation Part Due: Welcome to Tuscany

I only have 9 minutes left on my internet card! Time to type quickly while I sit here at the InternetTrain net cafe in Florence. Two days ago we took an Alitalia flight from Cairo to Milano and made our way without too much hassle on either continent. We had time before our flight from Cairo, so we were able to stop and buy some stuff camels as presents. We were honestly relieved to be leaving Egypt, it is an exhausting country when you visit as a tourist. But one you must see to believe and experience - just let me give you a few hundred tips we learned the hard way before you go!

The first night back in Italy we picked up our rental car and headed for the coast. We picked a random hotel right on the sea in Massa, a little Italian village. Our room, while very basic, was in a very hold house and had windows that opened up to a clear view of the Medditereanean, which was only about 100 feet away. Yesterday we jumped in the car and headed for our Villa, just outside of Greve in Chianti. As we entered the region, the natural scenic beauty hits you immediately - it really is just as perfect looking as every movie you have ever seen that takes place here. I am taking tons and tons of pictures, but I fear no amount of photography could do this place justice. Just make sure you add Tuscany to your must visit list as well.

Today we have walked all over Florence and stopped for an hour to sip a glass of wine beside an old palace just over the river. We climbed the bell tower at Il Duomo, which exhausted us and took every ounce of energy we had, but was well worth the amazing views and hopefully incredible pictures that came out of it.

Well I have one minute left and the lights are flashing at me, so I have to go! Will post more soon. Caio! (Enjoy this snap I took while we were enjoying a glass of vino!)

Real Egypt at Last?

I think we may have finally busted free of tourist hell, at least for a little bit. We've tried to stroll around the towns as much as possible to seek out restaurants and shops the toursits don't frequent, but its been very hard. I think we have finally acheived that. I'm sitting in an internet cafe called "Spider Net" just across the street from the koshari joint we just ate at. Koshari is a very common food in Egypt, but I'm pretty sure, like most great food, it is associated most commonly with the lower class or poorer people. I had read about it before coming and wanted to make sure to try it, so I had it the first night we were in Cairo. We happened to be in a relatively fancy restaurant and it was half the price of everything else on the menu at 25 LE. About 5 bucks. You can imagine the huge smile that I was overcome by when I asked the helpful guy who ran the little street side "restaurant" how much it was - he replied "4 LE" or about 80 cents. Success.

In my own uneducated description, koshari is kind of like a mix between chick peas, spaghetti, macaroni with a semi-spicy red sauce on top, and then topped off with all kinds of little crunchy things. In other words, it is awesome.

We both had koshari and drinks and the total was 15LE. About three dollars. Um...heaven, is that you? If you know me, you know I LOVE local food from around the world. And if you know me well, you know I LOVE getting a deal on anything. Food is so much better when it is cheap. (Same definitely goes for beer too, but that is much harder to come by in a Muslim country). Combine cheap and incredibly tasty food with a seat in the open air shop overlooking the street that has spontaneously turned into a street party with strobe lights, a DJ spinning dance music and people jumping around in costumes celebrating god knows what (maybe still May Day?) and you have - well, a happy me. This is culture - not the kind you pay ridiculous hotel restaurant prices for or the kind you get when walking streets lined with overly-aggressive shop hagglers. This is the kind you get when you finally escape to the real Egypt. Me like. Me like much more.

This little experience from the last few hours (it is pushing midnight here) has overshadowed our packed day of tomb and temple seeing on this blog post so far, so let me jump right into that. Today we hired our taxi driver last night to be our driver for the day today and a guide to take us around the West Bank, as well as to see Karnak and a few other local sights. Hiring a car (taxi) and a guide for the day is around $50. Well worth it if you want to cram a lot into one day and you want to actually be able to understand what you are looking at when you get to the places. Nothing is labeled anywhere and nothing has signage as to what you are looking at. Unfortunately all of the temples kind of start to blend together and you get a bit of temple fatigue. The highlights of today included being able to climb into a few pharoh's tombs, including peeking into King Tut's, in the Valley of the King's, as well as walking around the massiveness of Karnak. Lot's of photos to share, as always. Today felt like 10,000 degrees out and the hot, hot, hot Egyptian sun shined as brightly as it possibly could on us all day as we hiked around the ancient ruins. Needless to say, this kind of sightseeing is exhausting. Thank god we happened to have booked an amazing hotel on the banks of the Nile with a very inviting pool. Thanks to Sheraton points (thanks Maria!).

Tomorrow we fly from Luxor back to Cairo for one last night in Egypt. No plans yet, but I'm sure we will find something exciting. Then...off to Milan to rent a car and drive to Tuscany for 4 or 5 days! Egypt has been great and amazing, as well as frustrating and awful, but as is with any country - it is what you make of it. And I definitely know enough now to make of Egypt a very exciting and unforgettable experience.

Oh...and I've picked up some more Arabic. I'm kinda a pro now.