Egyptian Treasures

{Ankh silver medal, Ankh = the mirror of life/the cross of life, one of the most well known hieroglyphs} 

I almost forgot to post about my new treasures found in Egypt. In the last few years I have developed a habit of buying jewelry wherever I'm traveling... (remember this?) I think they are the perfect souvenir and I'm extra excited for my trips knowing that I'll come back a few sterling heavier.... :) you know some like fridge magnets, some like silver :D In addition to two new pieces I have also indulged in this amazing leather jewelry box this time. 

Do you collect souvenir pieces from you travels? I'd love to hear what they are! ;)

Cruising with Dolphins

Egypt is not only famous for it's magnificient history but also for it's stunning coral reefs. More and more people visit to just relax and enjoy the under water beauties of the Red Sea. Unfortunately with all the trips we did I did not get a chance to go diving but we did go on a full-day snorkeling trip and boy was it amazing! You don't need to be a diver to see huge fish in all the colors of the rainbow swimming around beautiful water "flowers" and corals, you can do it easily by snorkeling in Egypt. I never thought that we would see so much, I was very pleasantly surprised. I could say it was amazing again, but there are really no words for how beautiful it was. (underwater photos coming as soon as I get the film developed). We even met the cutest dolphin family on the way! Pure bliss!

Luxor

Luxor is often called the world's greatest open air museum. Indeed, it was one of the very first tourist destinations in the world, as even in ancient times Greeks and Romans visited this glorious city. In the golden Egyptian days Luxor was the capital of upper Egypt and the preferred burial destination for the pharaos. The city has been in the limelight since the amazing dicovery of the Tutankhamon tomb (who by the was was an insignificant little pharao who died at the age of 18.... can't even imagine all the treasures that the "important" pharaous were buried with) and attracts more and more tourists. I must say that even though you have to visit the pyramids while you're in Egypt you'd probably be able to absorb more of the "real" ancient Egyptian culture in Luxor. We have visited the King's Valley (unfortunately we were not allowed to take any pics), several "small" temples and the famous and amazing Karnak Temple. It was well worth the 6 hour trip from Hurghada.

The other side of Cairo

There are the Pyramids and than there is that side of Cairo which is not mentioned by the guidebooks. Despite hosting one of the world's biggest tourist attraction and accomodating millions and millions of tourists each year Cairo is one of the filthiest cities I've ever been too. Unfortunately I did not take enough pictures but at some parts of the city all you can see is garbage everywhere. Even if you look at the Nile... the first thing you notice is not the 2nd biggest and most culture rich river of the world but that you need to look very hard to see where the river is below all that junk. Very disappointing. After seeing all the filth I was not even surprised to see sheeps and goats in the middle of one of the busiest street of the city (just next to Four Seasons actually!!!). A cultural experience for sure.

The Pyramids

The highlight of the Egyptian vacation was definitely the visit to the Pyramids and the Sphinx. It has been on my wishlist for years and it finally did happen. To be honest they were smaller than I have imagined and the visit was somewhat ruined by overly agressive vendors and camel riders, but what the heck, I saw the only remaining wonder of the world (out of the original 7 wonders)! We even went inside.... correction crawled inside the pyramid to see the place where Kheops Pharao was buried. We only had one hour and we were running around in 40+C degrees but who cares... these are some of those photos that I will keep on my nightstand and show to my grand grand children one day! No matter what, it is a must see for everyone!

Egyptian Diaries

 After one week in Egypt I'm back home full of memories and stories to tell. I spent the best part of the weekend looking through all the pics (more than 3000), sorting, making a best of folder then making a best of the best folder. I decided that there is no way I can squeeze everything into one little post so get ready for Egyptian week on Gypsy*Diaries! :)

 

I traveled with my mum and sis this time. We stayed in the Sunrise Le Jardin in Hurghada (one of the 2 main resort areas of Egypt, the other one being Sharm El Sheikh), I'm not gonna start moaning but I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. It looks great on pics, but in reality it was dirty, the food was awful, you had to stand in line for everything... (not to mention that there was no internet!!!) overall I was not impressed. The hotel had a nice garden and an OK beach, but the best part was definitely the amazing coral reef in front of the hotel with all kinds of beautiful colorful fish (some of them bigger than me! :) But more on diving and snorkeling in another post later this week!! (I bought an under water camera :)

The problem with North Africa is that your lodging options are very limited. Most people (like us) stay in these monstrous 500+ room, overcrowded hotels full of drunk tourists getting high on the all inclusive fun... but did I not say I will not moan??? 

Overall it was a fantastic vacation and I can't wait to show you all the pics I made in Cairo, Luxor and all the amazing places we have visited. Now sitting at my desk looking at the rain outside I can't even believe anymore that a few days ago I was lying on the beach... huh.... here are some of the beach fun pics we took, I hope you'll get more sunshine today than I do! :)

To be continued...

Gypsy*Friday - Hurghada*Egypt

Vacation!!!!!!!!! By the time you're reading this, I'll be landing in Hurghada Egypt, where I'll spend the next 8 days relaxing on the beach, drinking cocktails in the pool bar and reading books under a palm tree. Mom and sis are coming with me and we are in some girl fun this time. We'll also be visiting Cairo and the famous pyramids and I'm planning to go on a dive to see some of the best coral reefs of the world. (Glad I did my diving license in Zanzibar). I'll try my best to keep you jealous and post regularily :), but not quite sure yet if I'll be able to. In the meantime be sure to follow me on twitter as I'll be regularily updating over there! Sunfilled kisses babes! I'm off to vacation!