Today we are up and checked out of our room by 6:20a. We had a quick breakfast and we waited in the lobby for our transfer to Ben Gurion Airport. Pini our driver was early so off we went. There was very little traffic and we were all happy about that! Pini is from Iran, 66 years old but looks younger. He came to Israel in 1980. He cannot go back to Iran to even visit his family there because he is now an Israeli citizen. I felt I could see sorrow in his eyes when he said this. We don't fully appreciate all the freedoms we have being in the USA all of our lives. He visited Israel after his military service and met this lovely woman he could not resist so he moved here and has 3 children with her. How many Pini's are there in the world who will never have the opportunity to see their birth country again?
Moving on we had a nice drive to the airport. I heard so much about the rigorous security at the airport, needing 3 hours, etc. I was wondering what it would be like. I warned John not to question anything, but do what we were told. Sometimes he is just curious but it can be taken the wrong way! So we were questioned, normal questions (who packed your luggage, etc) and looked at with glasses on and off. We had a photo taken. Other than that, which was quick, we were on our way! We had 2 hours to wait but there was a nice place to sit and I got some food for the plane. Soon we were boarding our Air Sinai/Egypt Air flight to Egypt. The plane was not full and the flight was almost uneventful. I felt very bad for the people in front of us who had a darling little baby who diligently drank his bottle and then projectile vomited it into the isle just before landing... He missed us, that we were grateful for. Thankfully we had eaten our sandwich before that and it wasn't so bad (for us). After we had eaten our sandwich they brought around a simple meal!!! We didn't expect that! I might add the food and drink served were reusable plastic and some of it was cracked. Clearly Egypt Air, or at least our short flight, is not "rich" in the market.
Magued the Ya'lla person in Egypt was holding a sign with our name even before we got to baggage claim. He was happily surprised we had no checked luggage. He was super efficent and put our visa in our passport, had us through customs, through passport check, and heading to his van in about 10 minutes or less! I was amazed. What a nice man he is. He will not be our guide but our drive is Osama for the entire time we are in Cairo and Giza touring. Cairo is the second largest city in Africa and 20 million people live here.
Magued got us all checked in and headed toward our room with the bellman. He then called after we were in our room to be sure we were satisfied - we were.
The Lobby
Our View
It was good to relax though we have done little today. We turned on the TV and found NCIS reruns to John's delight. About 5:30p we went down to the lobby to purchase internet for our room. It is only US$5 per day and something that helps me out a lot. We then looked at the various restaurants to decide where to eat dinner. We were undecided but had a glass of wine in the bar area. US$1 = EGP$16. I feel very sorry for these people with such a low value to their pound. Our glass of wine was US$3.75, served with some highly salted nuts.
After our wine we decided to explore the outside area by the pool. The weather is lovely with a slight breeze. John saw a restaurant by the pool and we opted to eat there. It was so refreshing as the pool surrounded the eating area. There was a grill and other options. I was hungry for a change smelling the food cook! I had the hummus appetizer and John had some sort of cottage cheese with herbs. (US$1 each!) John has veal kabobs and I had the veal chops for our main meal - Delicious!
Grill Master!
Veal Chops
Veal Kabobs
Now John is sound asleep. I shall hope to post this and be on my way to sleep very soon. Missing my family tonight as many of them are heading over to Morro Strand for a long weekend. Thanking God today for all HE has provided - Thanking our Veterans - Thinking of my MOM who served in WWII, also my uncle. Thinking of my husband and sons Jeff and Steven who have served and grateful for them all. We are only free because of the brave men and women of our country. Thank YOU ALL!!!
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