Blog Like an Egyptian

I’ve been a bad blogger this week, and for that, I apologize.  There have been car troubles (three times this week), health troubles, a final to study for and a cold I’m fighting off.  With everything that’s been thrown at me this week, blogging hasn’t been at the front of my mind.

Yet I come to you today with what’s likely the most interesting of my pre-trip blog entries: the itinerary!

Let’s get started.

I’m meeting the rest of Team Egypt at 1 p.m. June 30 for our 4:10 p.m. flight to Amsterdam.  We will arrive in Amsterdam at 11 a.m. July 1.  We depart for Cairo at 8:45 p.m. July 1, and we will arrive at 2 a.m. July 2 .  if you’re following, that’s 1.5 days of travel, and the fun stuff hasn’t even begun at this point!

The fun begins on July 3.  We meet at 6 p.m. that night to discuss the trip.  Then, on July 4, we visit the Giza Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Egyptian Museum.

On July 5, a bus takes us to Alexandria, where we’ll take in the sights and sounds of the city. That afternoon, we board a train for a 14-hour trip to Aswan.

On July 7, we are in Aswan, where we will visit its market and visit the Nubian Museum.  That afternoon, we will take a felucca ride (that’s a traditional Nile River sailboat).

On July 8, we will take a one-hour flight to Abu Simbel, which was a temple built by Ramses II to say, “Hey, everyone who’s not Egyptian!  See this temple?  Pretty amazing, isn’t it?  Don’t step, sucka.”

On July 9, we hop on a felucca once again and cruise up the Nile River.  Along the way, we’ll visit Luxor (the city, not the casino) and Karnak, the biggest and most important ancient Egyptian temple.Then we’ll spend the night on the felucca, cruising the Nile.

On July 11, we’ll take a mini van through Thebes and to the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Valley of the Kings.  There are plenty of other fun things to do, so we’ll be here July 11-13.

On July 14, we’ll take a 1.5-hour flight from Luxor to Cairo.  We’ll go to the Khan al-Khalili market that afternoon, and that evening, we’ll celebrate the tour.  The next day, the tour ends.

But at that point, the trip is far from over.  I will save that for Part 2, though.  Provided I can get my car fixed, this cold kicked and my other health issues resolved, Part 2 should be up before I actually leave!