Rome,Pisa, Sienna, Pompeii, Florence and Venice, Italy

We left Athens, and flew straight to Rome. After settling into the hostel, I went to pick Joe up from a different airport. I couldn’t have been happier to run into his outstretched arms after two months apart. He looked the same as usual, just ten+ pounds lighter. I cried with joy to be together again!

Our first day in Rome was spent on foot, exploring the city and seeing the sites. Firstly we visited the Coliseum, which was magnificent. So massive, and in rather good shape, considering. We began to understand the history behind the gladiators and their tragic ending. Suffice it to say, it was a pretty gruesome life. The barbaric nature of how people met their death and the spectators who watched it is just bizarro. Sometimes I wonder if society has really become more civilized. We saw the Unknown Soldier monument which is a very sacred place. If you tried to sit down on the steps the guards would whistle at you to get up. That was kind of funny to watch!

Next we went to the Trevi fountain, whereas most of you know by now, Joe got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Quite the romantic spot! We celebrated the upcoming marriage with gigantic cones of gelato! Which we did that evening and many other evenings during the following week! It is hard to describe the full flavored fruit or chocolate richness melting in your mouth: Goodbye Dairy Queen! I have never had anything like it. Next we strolled down the Spanish steps, where the local men go to pick up the ladies!! Then we walked down one of the most expensive streets in the world with the usual Gucci, Prada & Louis Vuitton. The Italians do make some fine merchandise although it isn’t really in our price range!

The second day started with St. Peter's Basilica, yet another wonder on our list. We climbed the tower of the duomo, where we had a stunning view of the city. Inside the duomo, were beautiful mosaics and a bird's eye view of the church below. It wasn't difficult to find the Vatican, as there were many nuns milling about. Inside the museum, we came upon one incredible room after another. The final room, the Sistine Chapel, was absolutely breathtaking. There are no pictures permitted in the room (so as to preserve the art), and silence is requested. Of course a few people tried to get their snaps in, and were yelled at. We sat on the seats around the room for about 15 minutes just trying to take in the great masterpiece created by Michelangelo and a few others between 1508 and 1512. It was not nearly enough time, but we had to go and catch our train for Venice.

We arrived on the ‘Island’ of Venice pretty late without a hostel booked, so we set out to find a place for the night. We soon discovered that it was extremely expensive, so we opted to get a hotel room and split it three ways, rather than trudging out to a hostel for nearly the same price. We were pleased to get a decent breakfast though finally, after the last place we were in. To me, a breakfast should consist of something other than white bread! So the scrambled eggs in Venice were a real treat. They were made for us by the hotel night man and Steve’s (Ora’s fiance’s) lookalike. I swear not only was he tall, had a goatee, but also talked our ear off in the most charming way. We just loved him! The city, although it was raining off and on for the next couple of days, was gorgeous. Once we got a hang of the map, it was easy to navigate ourselves around the canals. Well not exactly easy, but an adventure. The whole city was just adorable and very picturesque. I would say Venice and Prague have been the most unique European cities that we've seen. We visited St. Mark's Basilica, which was very nice. The floors were particularly interesting, as they were full of patterns and designs. Very colorful exterior. Instead of paying 120 Euros for a 45 minute gondola ride, we took the 45 second ride for 50 cents! It was just enough time to get on, take our picture, and say that we had made the trip across. Since we refused to pay the 8-14 euro for an hour of internet and we were starting to get withdrawals, we decided it was time to move on to Florence.

Another train later, and we had arrived. We started talking with a couple of locals who were trying to help us find a hostel for that night. One of the guys lived only a block away, so he offered to show us the way. The hostel was closed for renovations, so we accepted the Florentine’s offer for tea, and regrouped at his shoebox apartment. He was very sweet and offered to let us stay there for the night, but it was so grubby that we decided to look online for another hostel. We felt kind of bad for him because we could tell he was lonely and wanted to hang out. He even came across the street where we were checking the internet, and then walked us to the hostel. Our next hostel was a breath of fresh air with a big open room, satellite ENGLISH television and a decent kitchen to cook our meals. The hostel was situated not even a minute from the famous Old Florence bridge, Ponte Vecchio. It is the oldest of the six bridges, the only one to have survived WW II (because of its likeability), and is completely lined with shops selling mostly gold jewelry. It was originally lined with fruit and vegetables stands, but a snobby ruler of some sort opted to change it to jewelry. On a whim, Joe romantically bought me a beautiful bracelet from one of the shops for my 24th birthday!

The bridge was a convenient location because it was so close to the Uffizi gallery, one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. We saw Botticelli's "Birth of Venice" and "Primavera" paintings, as well as works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. A small museum that holds so much beauty and history. Next we visited the Academia gallery, where we marveled Michelangelo's 14 foot sculpture of David, sculpted from 1501-1504. One of his best works and it is not hard to see why. The details in the statue were incredible. Each muscle and vein was carved to perfection. We saw many other sculptures, but none even compared to the great masterpiece. The museum was actually built to house this beauty.

We made our way to Pisa, as a day trip to see the tower. After stepping off the train, we saw a sign stating that it was a criminal offence to purchase fake merchandise. We soon discovered why this sign was necessary, as there were rows and rows of what we presumed to be illegal immigrants from Africa selling knock-off Prada and Gucci purses. We even saw a few of them gather their loot in a haste to escape a fine from the police. As for the tower, basically we took our cheesy tourist photos, and went back to Florence. We passed on paying the ripoff 15 euros to climb to the top. Although it was a cute enough city, there really wasn't much else to see. Our last day in Florence, and my birthday, we took a day trip to Sienna. A really beautiful city and we lucked out with the weather as the sun was shining. The majority of our day was spent wandering around enjoying the shops with beautiful scarves, and of course checking out yet another church. To celebrate my special day, we bought the biggest gelato we've ever had! The presentation was really beautiful, with fresh pieces of fruits and nuts stuck into the heavenly ice cream. I wonder why my pants are getting tighter! The city was very beautiful and a lovely day trip from the hustle and bustle of the bigger city. After a great day, it was time to head back to the hostel and travel on to Rome, where we would finish our last days in Italy.

The hostel that we stayed at was not particularly special, but it was cheap and close to the sights so we could not complain too much. Nina roomed with an American fellow from Idaho, and we decided to invite him to my birthday dinner, as he was traveling alone. We ate at a cute Italian restaurant, where we had some not too great pasta and pizza. We are really surprised at the lack of good food that we've been finding. Perhaps it's because we're somewhat cheap, due to our shrinking budget. . . Still we are spending more than we usually would at home. It’s as though we have found the Ricky’s of Italian food.

Regardless of the food, we still had a nice time. Joe and Nin had bought some birthday candles earlier, which we arranged to have mounted on top of some chocolate cake. We sang happy birthday, and the large group of senior citizens beside us joined in the festivities. There were many cheers of salutations (all in Italian of course) and probably the cutest group of old ladies we have ever seen. Only moments after, a man playing an accordion came and sang to me! To top off the evening, we indulged in some more gelato. This seems to becoming a pattern! The following day, we took another day trip, this time to Pompeii. We got up so early to catch the train that we all took a 2 hour nap on the way there. We only awoke to some really loud Italians banging on our door to get up. The people here are so aggressive and loud. Always seem to be shouting about something. The men were definitely checking Nina out making comments, not shy I tell you!

Pompeii is the city that was covered in hot ash after the volcano behind it erupted in 79 AD. It is the only standing roman city, practically intact. We found a brothel with beds and pictures of sexual positions advertising each room, and a gigantic amphitheater for games of all kinds. They also had many bodies that were still frozen in horror, sandals intact and mouths open from fear; totally creepy. The city was so interesting with many beautiful mosaics and different houses and shops. It was so big; you can almost imagine it coming to life. We understood instantly why it was a wonder on our list.

After a lovely schwarma dinner we returned to the train station to catch our train home. Our newfound American friends (after they saw Joe’s Napa hat and knew we spoke English) informed us that the trains were on strike and it could take hours before they would run again. We passed the hour of confusion by getting to know Chip; Chandler and John from Mississippi. Chandler’s family are Bush supporters and we all had a laugh at his expense since he was the sweetest but also the most naïve of the bunch. They are all studying to be architects (on a school trip) and were very knowledgeable on the buildings as well as the art of Rome. They had done an overnight trip to Naples for the night and found the ongoing garbage strike there to be alarming. Apparently someone had lit a heap of garbage on fire!! Our long train ride back was spent getting to know them and our exchanging of traveler tips. We were surprised to hear that Chandler was coming to Vancouver soon for his honeymoon! Who would’ve thought?

Our last day in Rome would not have been complete without seeing the Pope before we left. Our American friends tipped us off to the political rally going on at the Vatican involving a local University snubbing the Pope. He was totally adorable addressing everyone in English, French and Italian. Everyone seemed to love and cheer for him. We were so pleased to be involved in the scene!

We spent the rest of the day perusing the Sunday flea market with more junk than anyone could want. We bought a few things, of course! Our last moments were spent enjoying gelato and culture at the Trevi fountain. I cooked us my own version of chicken risotto for our last night in Italy and we all slept till the early morning in anticipation of our early flight.

We left Rome Ciampino on our cheap flight to Madrid, hoping all would go well. We were not pleased to discover my sleeping bag had fallen off my pack and was MIA. The baggage people were rude and unhelpful, giving unwanted info instead of calling the other airport. I guess that´s what happens for paying $40 for your flight! Needless to say, it has not been returned :( Thankfully it had been used 25+ times on the journey already! We had a five hour layover in Madrid, before flying on so we took the metro into town and dined on paella, a cheeseburger and pizza. There was a sign in the restaurant warning that professional pick pockets worked there!! More than once, we've been told of the number of thieves in this city. Beautiful city though, which we hope to see more of in a few days!

Greece

We left the beautiful city of Istanbul for an overnight train to Thessonaliki, Greece (near the top). We paid second class fare and ended up with the cutest little cubby room with two beds in it. Hard to describe, but quite a step up from Egyptian first class! We arrived the next morning to snow and cold, so we decided to move on to a warmer part of Greece. While we waited in the only caffeteria-style place with seats, we were forced to inhale the cigarettes FROM EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the giant room for 2.5 hours. Either this or sit outside in the cold. Everyone here smokes, REALLY smokes. I have never seen anything like it, in any city that I have ever visited. Bizarre that a first world country would allow people to smoke indoors. Later on a six hour bus ride ended us in Delphi, a wonder on our list, and we found a perfect hotel for a reasonable price. We spent the evening relaxing and enjoying this little resort town that had the most beautiful mountains. It reminded us of home!

The next day we got up early and walked to the ruins. For four hours we hiked through the mountains to see an archaeological site on Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. "Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo. His sacred precinct in Delphi was a Panhellenic sanctuary, where every four years athletes from all over the Greek world competed in the Pythian Games." Really neat ruins and the surrounding areas were such a pleasure to walk through. Mountains galore! The weather was also a blessing, we had to carry our coats. Throughout our whole trip I think we have only had two or three days of rain! We finished off the sights with a trip to the museum to see the rest of the well preserved ruins. Took lots of great photographs. While we were there we attempted to find chicken souvlaki, but were dismayed (and not totally surprised) to discover that this platter does not exist. Someone told us to go to China if we wanted rice. I thought to suggest places he should go. We enjoyed rabbit and rice (finally) and the best Greek salad we have ever tasted. Not stingy on the Feta, let us tell you!

The next day we took a three hour bus ride to Athens and found the apartment of the girl we where staying with. We met many of her friends, some of who spoke English and some who didn't. We enjoyed their company (when they spoke to us) amidst the chain smoking in the apartment. One guy was even born in Calgary and lived there till he was five! They shared a cake with us that had a coin in it for one lucky person. It is considered a tradition here in Greece. We were very lucky to be staying downtown for free, as we are soon discovering that Europe is MUCH more expensive than the Middle East (not surprisingly). We talked with some of our host's friends who said that it is quite expensive to live in Athens now since they changed over to the Euro. Apparently all the prices are marked the same as before, except now they are in Euro's which is a much higher price than their previous currency. Everything has gone up except for their salaries, which have stayed the same! So going out for coffee, dinner or drinks can add up very quickly. Unfortunately we came at the wrong time of the year to go to the islands, so we decided to head to Kalambaka for a night. Aboard the train we met a really nice guy who told us all about Island living. Aparently people pay $15 per drink at a night club and it can be quite the party place to be. Greeks also do things differently from anyone else. Most don't eat dinner until 10pm at night. I told him we ate at 5:30 and he thought I was talking about a late lunch. Too funny! He said that Greeks are very stubborn and that is why many still smoke inside despite the laws!

Once off the train, we were greeted by a little old man on a scooter. He asked if we were looking for a place to stay, and we said yes. He instructed us to follow him to his hotel as he scooted on up the street. He took us up to what appeared to be his apartment converted into a hostel. He was trying to charge us far too much, and kept boasting about the hot water and heat, as though these were selling points. We told him we were going to look around, and at that point he took us to a sister hotel that was much nicer, and we negotiated the price to much less than he was asking for! The reason for coming to this town, was to go and see Meteora, several monasteries built into the mountains. We took a taxi up to the top, and started climbing. When we reached the monastery, we were instructed to put on skirts overtop of our jeans. Apparently men aren't permitted in shorts, and women are not permitted in pants (or pantaloons as they called them!). Very old fashioned, but of course we complied. The monastery was really fantastic and it is still being used to this day. So unique to be built right into the mountain! Really breathtaking views and a unique way to live. In the musueum was one of the original works of Plato!!! We decided to trek down the mountain on foot, so we could take in the beauty. After being in so many cities, we really cherish being in nature as much as possible. It only took us about two hours to return to the hotel!

Back in Athens, we made our way to the Acropolis and the Parthenon which is world famous. We walked around and took in the ruins, reading about Nike and the temple built for her. They are under construction currently redoing the last construction job from the late 1890's. Sometimes I wonder if they just left things alone for awhile...We enjoyed hunting down the rest of the ruins that surround the great Acropolis. It was very beautiful, but has deteriorated more than a little bit. Unfortunately the museum is currently closed and is under construction, like everything we visit! If you just close your eyes for a moment it is not hard to imagine an ancient people living life and enjoying this city. It is wierd to think of how long ago these ruins were built.

While making our way around the surrounding ruins we bumped into an adorable Asian mother and daughter traveling from L.A. for just three days in Athens (the mom is a flight attendant). We instantly bonded, and decided to wonder together for the rest of the day. We skimmed through the tourist area and the fancy shops: Gucci, Prada, Dior, etc. passing along the way the countless African immigrants selling the knockoffs outside the stores. We also visited the spice bizaar, and got some souvlaki kababs. It was really the cherry on our sundae, as this city has been a bit devoid of color. The Greek people have been very nice and friendly, on the whole, although the girl we are staying with is not. Her roomate, however, cooked a local dish of beans and carrots and offered to share it with us. So sweet. We have really enjoyed this beautiful country and hope to be back soon to visit the rest.

Turkey

We boarded the plane in Cairo, Christmas day, for Turkey. We got one of our last tastes of Egypt by having a women greet us at the door and asking if we were taking Egyptair. We said yes, and she proceeded to usher us to the baggage check amongst the crowd. We were hesitant to follow as we had no idea who she was or if she even worked there, but she kept on insisting that we follow her. When we got to the check-in her motives became clear as she asked us for "tip/money". I literally did not have any money on me, so she left disappointed. What a way to make a living!

I also bought an Ice Cream flurry from McDonalds from a girl named Rehab (seriously, it was on her nametag) and we both had a good laugh!! Although we didn't get a Turkey dinner exactly, we did end up getting a tasty meal on our two hour flight to Istanbul. It was sad to be away for the holidays, but since people here don't celebrate it, it was just like any other day. It was lovely to avoid the holidays! The coldness of winter has caught up to us though, as we left the 25 degree weather in Egypt to 8 degrees here. Boooo!

Upon arrival in Istanbul, we followed the instructions of our host that we were going to stay with through the HC club. To our relief, the transit system was quite easy to navigate, and we were not getting nearly as many stares as we were in Egypt. Istanbul and Turkey in general is very divided between the western side (European) and the eastern side (Asian). This explains why Istanbul, which is very far west, is quite modernized. The European part makes up 3% of the Country, but is very influential which causes problems. Istanbul is a huge city, with a population of 15 million people.

We met our host, Murat, later that evening and went to his apartment to unload our bags. We were quite hungry, so he took us to a local Turkish restaurant where Elana dined on lamb (most common meat in Turkey) and I had a special beef dish. Like in Israel and Jordan, there were salads and pitas to share. We shared an interesting conversation with Murat and his roommate about Turkish culture. Their values are still very traditional, arranged marriages are fairly common (in the east), and men are expected to give "gifts" to their soon to be in-laws as a way of getting to marry their daughter. These are practised in the east of Turkey, where the west is becoming increasingly more European and modern. According to the Lonely Planet 37.5% of Turks believe that women who have extramarital affairs should be murdered. For some reason there was no mention of what should happen to the men if they were to cheat. Quel surprise!

Sultanahmet is the main area of the western side. We are staying on the asian side, so we take a short ferry ride over to the mainland. We walked through the grand bizarre which seems to go on forever! The outdoor market is lined with shops selling clothes, jewellery, food and souvenirs. It is packed with locals and tourists. We sort of got lost walking around, but managed to stumble upon the Blue Mosque, and from there Hagia Sofia and Topkapi Palace, more wonders from our list (hillmanwonders.com). We decided to leave going into them for a few days later as it was getting late. Before going back to the apartment, we booked a two day tour to Cappadocia, a site we were most excited to see in Turkey. Luckily we were able to leave that night by overnight bus, and get the trip started. We arrived in Cappadocia early morning and were greeted by minus 3 degree weather. Although people had pre-warned us, we still weren't prepared for the frosty wakeup! The bus driver took us to meet up with the rest of our tour group, made up of mostly Japanese, Spanish and three Canadians (who are from Ladner where I live)!

We began the day with a trip to the Goreme open-air museum. Here they have many well preserved Byzantine Orthodox churches. You can see all the homes of people who once lived there. A living room, a dinning table, a place to cook. We stopped at many picturesque sites on the way, taking in a quick hike here and there to see some more beautiful rock formations including the Fairy Chimneys. There were many people once living in these caves. They use to put carpet down on the floors and walls for decoration, and for warmth. Up until the 70's, many people were still living in here, when they were told to relocate to safer ground (after a major earthquake).

The second day of the tour started out at one of the 30 underground cities in Cappadocia. This one was the largest and the deepest one, having eight different floors, and could hold up to 4000 people for six months at a time! It was truly amazing how they were able to carve out all the different tunnels and rooms. I found it clever how the floor for pregnant women had easy access to the bathrooms! They also had a nursery school, a room for the deceased, and a little skylight to keep track of the days that passed. Apparently if someone committed a crime, they would be hung by their hands outside the church to humiliate them (not kill them). Everyone would walk by after the service and see who the bad people were. We climbed back to sunlight, and started walking towards the van, but were bombarded by a herd of Turkish women selling handmade dolls.

If you seemed slightly interested (or not even) they would wave the dolls right in front of your face. We found one senior women so adorable (she was maybe 5 feet tall, and had a face full of wrinkles) that we bought a doll for 2 Turkish Liras. They took us next to the Ihlara Valley, a half hour away from the main tourist areas, in the mountains. We dined here on fresh trout from the river and had the most delicious bread we've ever eaten! After lunch we hiked for an hour to see one of the churches built into the mountain. It was nice to get moving, as we were still freezing from the cold weather. It was interesting how the Canadians (us and the three others) were leading the pack. People don`t seem to have much sympathy for us when we tell them we live in Canada, but when you've been getting use to 20+ degrees in Israel/Jordan/Egypt, it's still a big adjustment to come back to the cold! We keep trying to tell them we're from Vancouver, not Toronto (“but my friend went to Ottawa in the winter.....”)

We returned to Istanbul via the nightbus, which was completely full, and we were stuck at the back with three noisy Turks. Thank goodness they settled down after a while and we were able to get some sleep! We picked up our bags from Murat's place, and switched HC homes to his friend Selo's place. We sat and had some turkish tea (something the locals seem to do several times a day) next to the sea. It is funny to see men walking around with trays of steaming tea to deliver to all of the local shops. We were also amazed at the gigantic stacks of pretzels atop their heads on their way to somebody important. Later we reunited with our friend Ahmet, who we had met back in Dahab a few weeks back. He lives a few hours from Istanbul, and decided to meet us for a few days while we were in Turkey. We checked out the nightclub, hospitality club party, one of the reasons we came to Istanbul for New Years time. It was fun to see people from all over the world partying and enjoying themselves.

We got up bright and early to take a tour around Topkapi Palace, the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans, built in 1459. There were many jewels and treasures to look at. Jade and rubies given as gifts from China and India, and the most impressive piece, the spoonmaker's 86 carat diamond (the 7th biggest in the world!). We REALLY enjoyed that! Then we headed over to Hagia Sophia for a tour. It was better than the Palace, just huge inside and very interestingly constructed. Well maintained with lots of paintings done inside. It was once a patrocarchal basilical, then later a mosque and now a museum. It was constructed between 532-537 A.D. Truly magnificent inside.

There was a specific area that said “do not enter” and as I pointed out to the guard I didn't think it was fair that the orange cat was allowed to be sleeping next to one of the illuminating lights getting warm. He was surprised, but assured me that this cat was related to Garfield and so it was ok! The cats are everywhere here and so cute. I think they prey on tourists because many are quite fat!!

We moved to a hostel to be more central to the sights. An interesting story that we heard from a local hosteler was how he and his girlfriend couldn't find a hotel room to give them a double bed because they weren't married. We all had a good laugh about this! Imagine, morals, or something. Actually Ahmet told us that there are many Russian prostitutes who try to rent rooms and so hotel managers are weary! We enjoyed dinner at a Turkish restaurant that had puffed up bread bigger than your head. We just love the bread here!

We spent New Years Eve at the Hospitality Club party in Taksim square having sneaked out of all but one other event. They had a live band and were playing greek folk music and we didn't stay too long. They didn't even have a count down and this was very disappointing. Happy New Year!!

Our last day was spent shopping (of course) through the Spice Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar and negotiated some pretty packages of Turkish saffron. Can't wait to come home and cook for Joe! It also helped to have a local with us speaking Turkish when necessary. Although people are more than happy to hear all about our travel adventures (and of course, where we're from).
It is so bright and colorful here. Everyone is super friendly and their English is quite good. Anytime you have questions or need directions, they really try to welcome you into their country. Such a difference from some Slavic countries we know! The only meanie was the guy who sold us our tickets to Greece and we were happy to be on that train! We really enjoyed the beauty of Cappadocia and the largeness of Istanbul. A very distinct culture with many interesting stories to tell, if you only have time to listen. Definitely a country not to be missed.

12 days in Egypt

We took the 1 hour ferry from Nueiwba, and got off to a very hectic scene! People were everywhere, hauling large packages (piled high on their vehicles). Upon inquiry we found out that they were gifts and packages from Jordan, where it is apparently cheap to buy things. We went through a whole mess trying to get our entry visas, and then our passports back. The poor Russian man was getting quite upset, as he didn't know what was going on or when our passports would be safely returned. We did finally manage to buy our entry visa, find customs and have our passports returned to us. You’d never seen a happier Russian!

After a successful hour of running around, we went in search of a taxi to take us to Dahab. Because there were five of us, they tried to make us pay 50 Egyptian pounds each. I had asked around before, and knew that we should not pay more than 150 all together. It took a lot of negotiating to achieve our price! We've learned very quickly here that nothing is free, and you need to push for what you want! If we thought the driving in Poland was bad, we were not prepared for the roads in Egypt!! Lanes do not seem to exist, and the honking is non-stop all the time. Fortunately we arrived safe and sound to Bish Bishi, a cute hostel in a very beachy, touristy spot. The staff was very friendly and nice, and made us feel welcome after our long trek. After showering, we took to the streets to find some dinner. The stares were even worse than Jordan, although we've gotten better at ignoring them. Everyone wants to give you a "present" for which they will ask for money in return. We've started telling them we're from India, which gives them a laugh. Dinner was a lot of fun. We sat on cushions on the floor next to the ocean, there was a fire pit in the middle, and people could smoke from the communcal hookah if desired. Needless to say, we were very sad that we had to leave the next day rather than exploring this gorgeous city known for its deep sea diving.

The hostel arranged a van to take us into Cairo rather than schlepping on the public transportation for 10 hours. We were told that it would only take 6-7 hours in a private car. The drive started off an hour late, as the driver had to be woken up and then have breakfast. We should have foreseen how the day would go, but at that point we really didn't have much of a choice. We passed many checkpoints where a lot of men just sort of stood around not really working (or so it seemed to us!). They would ask for our passports, take a look in and let us pass. As the drive progressed, the delays became longer and longer. Ten minutes Egyptian time always runs into an hour. Things move very slowly here, and they don't seem to have any concept of time constraints! (picture to the left is Charlize Theron advertising a washroom in the middle of the desert!) We made it very clear to the hostel manager, and to the drivers that we needed to be at our hotel in Cairo by 6pm for our meeting. We were assured all day long that this would be no problem. Well, 6pm came and went, and we didn't get to our hotel until 9pm after 9 hours of driving!! We were more than relieved to unload in the "Egyptian five star" hotel. Although the room was of much higher standards then we've been paying for, it still does not come close to what we consider five star at home. We registered for the tour and went to sleep in preparation of the 8 day tour that was to follow.

The first day of our tour started out by taking us to the number one wonder in the world: The Pyramids of Giza, Cheops, Chephren and Mycrenos. We also saw Sakkara. We were very impressed by their grandeur, but it’s weird how they are so close to the city. Plus the countless Bedouins that harass you to buy their crappy souvenirs somehow cheapen the whole scene. Even the security/police were helping the tourists to take pictures, and then were asking for tips. It is hard to describe just how pushy and annoying people can be! EVERYBODY asks you the same questions: "Where you from? What’s your name? How many? (as in how many camels will it take for them to buy you). We were offered 3 million from one generous man. We contemplated taking it until we remembered that Vancouver weather isn’t so favourable for camels! After taking a million pictures, we went and saw the Sphinx. Personally I thought this was much more interesting to look at. Majestic and statuesque. A day on a guided tour for dummies could not be complete without them taking us to a perfume shop where they make all the perfumes from local flowers and no alcohol or preservatives, and trying to get us to buy some. Luckily our tour had a group of 18 Singaporeans who made up for our lack of purchasing! That night we packed up our bags and traveled by night train to Aswan, 13 hours away.

We visited the High Dam in Aswan which is 11,811 feet long, 3215 feet thick at the base and 364 feet tall. Today it provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt. Very impressive (Joe would have loved it!). Then we visited the Philae Temple by boat, which is located on an Island. We were very impressed with the stories about Isis and god Horus and god Seth. Our tour guide made us act it out! The temple was interested because of its two tone colors after it had been moved from its original location 50 meters away in 35,000 pieces because it was partially underwater.

We woke up very early in the morning for the three hour bus ride to Abu Simbel, an optional day trip we weren’t going to pass up! It was fantastic and so worthwhile. The temple was outstanding. Huge statues of gods greet you at the entrance and the hieroglyphics were superb. We were very pleased we went. Later on the tour split into three groups and Nina and I decided to pay a bit more and take the two day Nile cruise, a longtime running joke between us and Grandma Mary. Well we finally made it Grandma!! Aboard the cruise we worked very hard by sun tanning, lounging on chairs, rousing for meal times and taking naps!

The next morning we visited Komombo Temple, which was built during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The temple is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and god Horus. Pretty cool! Then we visited Edfu the largest and best preserved temple in Egypt. The temple is dedicated to the falcon god Horus and was built over a 180-year period from 237 BC to 57 BC. We returned to the boat and Nina and I indulged in an hour long massage for a good price! The next day we arrived in Luxor and found land visiting the Luxor temple and the Temple of Karnak, one of the most religious centers in the ancient Egypt. The quality of some of these temples is outstanding, just remarkable that you can still see the eye makeup or the reds, yellows and blues on the walls. We can only imagine how they originally looked. The locals however rely mainly on tourists for their income and can be quite pushy following you around with their horse and cart!

The next day we departed for the West Bank of the Nile where we took a ride on some donkeys into the Valley of the Kings. It was really fun, and the donkeys were gentle and cute as we shouted at them in Arabic to go faster and slow down. They totally ignored us and followed their masters! We began to explore “the city of the Dead”, where majestic tombs were carved into the desert rocks, and painted beautifully with hieroglyphics and wonderful works of art. Some tombs you crawl into the ground and some tombs you climb a ladder. This is where the tomb of King Tutankhamen was found. We were told that he wasn´t a very important king at all, and because his tomb was discovered later in life it was left untouched and un-looted and now all of the jewels and treasures are well preserved in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. We visited three tombs inside and each one was unique and remarkable in its own way. The interesting part is that you wouldn't even know you were in the Valley of the Kings from the outside, it just looks like mountains. We were told that this is why they chose to put the tombs here, to try and fool the criminals. Unfortunately their plan did not work out as they would have liked, and a lot of the riches were stolen many years ago.

We then took a quick turn to see the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut who was the only Egyptian queen of Egypt. Cleopatra was Greek. Very beautiful and quite different from the Kings. I found her story to be quite interesting, as she tried to make herself more like a man by dressing in a kilt rather than a dress, working outside (you can tell by her tan), in order to convince the Egyptian people that she should rule the land. It obviously worked! We boarded a night train back to Cairo where I was sleeping soundly until 4am when some weird guy pokes me (there is no seat next to mine, by the way) and says “It's ok, it's ok. “ Then he proceeds to ask me where I'm from and where we're going. Everyone on the train is asleep and he is sitting next to me on a suitcase. I told him not too politely to get lost and finally he got the hint. He came back a couple of hours later and fell asleep leaning on my chair. We found out later that he was a police officer, but it was the creepiest feeling to be woken up by some weirdo in the middle of the night and to be asked where I am from! This country is definitely unique the way they are always in your face and have no boundaries. And they don´t seem to get it. We have grown tired of being harassed by the Egyptian men. I would like to mention that we are appropriately dressed in long pants and shirts, but it makes no difference. Very frustrating. These men watch too much American television and they are always asking to take our picture for we can only imagine what purpose. I believe they think we are all sex goddesses and exciting and fun. I hate to break it to them...They shout things like “hey Shakira,” “baby spice.” God only knows what they watch on TV.

Our last day of the tour was spent visiting the Egyptian Museum, which houses more than 100,000 relics of ancient Egypt. The treasures found in Tutankhamen’s tomb were particularly impressive, as his mask weighed 11 kilograms pure gold and his casket weighed 120 kilograms pure gold. The room of animal mummies was creepy but cool. Elana chose to pay extra to see the original mummies of some of the kings and the minute details still visible were totally creepy. You could see toe nails and hair and eyelashes. Yuck! We also explored the Citadel of Saladin, a Mosque, the Hanging Church and the world famous Kahn El Khalili bazaar. This was a lot of fun. Here all the tourists go to shop for cheap souvenirs. All of the sellers have their lines, and they did not hold back on our account! We got the "What planet are you from? You must be from the moon." I think this was supposed to be a compliment and if you’d walk away they’d cry out that we were breaking their hearts. But it’s all done in good humour. You just have to enjoy yourself and not take them seriously. Bottom line, they just want your money and attention!

Although the tour was great for getting us around to all of the main sites in a fast and safe manner, we were both not sad to leave the group. We found that the majority of the people on the tour were not very adventurous, and just went on the tour because they wanted to be carted around without having to think for themselves. No understanding of culture, just where their next beer is coming from.

We had a couple extra days in Cairo before flying to Turkey, so we decided to take a day trip to Alexandria sans guide. The city sits on the coast, and was really beautiful. We walked for three+ hours enjoying the scenery and stopping for breaks. We found our way to the Library, which holds million books. You have to pay to get into it (something I thought I would never have to do in my life!) but it was so impressive, that it didn`t matter. We also saw a fortress and the monument of the Unknown Soldier. A super cool city but again the men harass and a few of them actually followed us for 20 minutes before we told them to get lost. Don’t misunderstand our stories to believe that Egypt is dangerous or unsafe; you just have to be prepared to be harassed and willing to ignore them. We have had many adventures here, not all can be typed in such details, but we are very happy to be leaving as well! I hope this has satisfied any curiosities about Egypt!

Eilat and Jordan

After leaving our Hannukah party we headed for the bus station in Tel Aviv. A shady area this was, with beggars and young partying Israelis. Our Aunt Ariana accompanied us on our trip to Eilat/Jordan and we all got on the 5 hour bus ride to the tip of the country. Regrettably we were stuck on the Party bus with loud Hannukah celebrators, drunk and behaving badly the whole way there. We found our hostel no problem and even got to sleep at 6am!! Unfortunately some of the savages followed us to the hostel and disrupted our sleeping for one night until Hannukah finished. We enjoyed our first day there with a trip to the Aquarium, Eilat’s most famous tourist site. We saw sharks, corals, fish (every color imaginable) and even took an underwater submarine ride. Too cool!!

Later on, we walked around the beautiful resort town, and dined at a popular Israeli restaurant with tons of little salads, cold corn, pickles, hummus, eggplant with big pita and chicken. Soooo delicious. The food in Israel has been the best food so far. Presentation is key and the prices are so cheap. Then we walked around the open market at night and bought jewelry.

The next day I (Elana) was very sick and so I spent the day in the hostel sleeping while Nina and Ariana enjoyed the sun, surf and beer!

We retired early for a good nights rest before waking at 5am. We packed all our belongings and headed to the Eilat-Aqaba border after a brief encounter with a crooked taxi driver. The price and his attitude dropped once he realized Ariana spoke Hebrew!! After a short wait at the border, we met Egos, an Israeli army deserter, who now lives in England. At 6:30am we began our exciting journey into Jordan. The border on both sides was so slow, with the authorities taking their sweet time to get us in and out of the country. The Jordanian side was intimidating, mainly because it was new. They asked "how many" several times and reviewed all our passports together. Arianna was particularly nervous with her Israeli passport. We all nervously stepped into Jordan to find our taxi. I had previously arranged with our hostel to send a taxi driver to meet us. We were in luck that he had arrived and we were whisked away (along with Egos) to our hostel in Petra. The hour and a half drive through the desert was very beautiful. Tall mountains shadowed the road and I was quite surprised at how different it seemed from Israel, its neighbour.

We arrived at the hostel Cleopetra (correct spelling) to meet Mosleh, the manager. Tea time ensued before we were finally allowed to enter our rooms. For $10/night, we were pleased. Needless to say, we kept our shoes on and only went into the bathroom when necessary! Mosleh drove us to Petra for a 10:30am start, where we grabbed a map and headed to the Siq, a kilometer from the entrance. I can't really explain just how exciting it is to be in this city. The romantic, elusive writtings on the wall, the skills and work put into every carving. The infamous entrance to Petra, when you see the Treasury for the first time. Breathtaking, really extraordinary, pictures cannot begin to explain how moving the experience was. We snapped away and tried to capture the uniqeness of the experience. The day was hot, but bearable. Such a change from December weather at home!! We thought we were prepared for the overeager arabs, but quite frankly it's unerving to have an eight year old try to sell you necklaces while saying "blue light K-mart special" and "happy-hour." One even looked at me with jaded eyes and uttered "I love you". Very creepy. We stopped for a quick lunch before plowing ahead for a full hike to the monastary, the highest point in Petra. You can take a donkey up the steep steps, but we opted to walk as we felt bad for the overworked animals. We were mistified again by the beauty of this place. Nothing quite prepares you for the magnitude and beauty. We were in awe at every step. I tried to keep the camera under control!

We saw much and rested little, after 6.5 hours of complete bliss, we headed to the exit exhausted and satisfied. Mosleh's Uncle picked us up and took us back for some well needed r&r and a final farewell to Egos who decided to head back to Eilat that evening after a lovely day spent together. Although the manager probably saved our trip, we had to put up with his lame lines and calling us princess' far to frequently for our liking! He recommended a simple restaurant down the road where we found half of our hostel dinning. Under the agreement, they were obligated to give us a discount considering they rip all the other tourists off. We got ripped off, but only a little according to Mosleh! We enjoyed schwarma and salad which was so satisfying, we went there for our second evening as well! We endured the catcalls all the way back to our hostel, despite ignoring the men. They are extremely aggressive. Number one question "where you from"? "oh, welcome to Jordan." Seems pleasant enough, but just wait until the taxi driver, the hotel manager, every worker in Petra, Wadi Rum and anywhere you walk, asks you!!

The next day Mosleh arranged for a taxi to Wadi Rum where we met our beduin guide, had more tea at his house before setting out on the desert. We drove in an uncovered jeep for 4+ hours seeing the made up house of Lawrence of Arabia (the movie), the sand dunes (with red sand) and incomprehensibly beautiful mountains and rock structures. We dined on a simple lunch in the desert prepared by our 23 year old beduin guide before and after he toured us around. We discussed bedouin life versus western culture and I explained to him how women can beat their husbands too! This came as much of a surprise to him. Super sweet, I believe he really enjoyed our company since he invited us to stay in his home for the evening! We finished off the day with a beautiful desert sunset ontop of a tall rock structure. Unforgettable in every way. We made our way back to the hostel for our last night before another early morning. I wish I could effectively portray this country as the gem it was. By far the highlight of our trip and all of our travels so far.

We got up early for the 1.5 hour trip to the border where we dropped Ariana off. We waited the 10 minutes till the border opened, since she was all alone. I must preface this email with: THERE ARE NO WOMEN IN JORDAN. Ok, just joking, but seriously, they don't seem to work anywhere and you hardly see any of them on the streets. At the border there were at least 20 men, plus cab drivers and none were women. Very uneasy feeling. It was sad to see Ariana go, but we realized how lucky we were to have shared such an incredible four days together. Nina and I then headed to the port of Aqaba for a ferry ride to Neuwbia, the Sinai in Egypt. We soon realized that again we were the only women in a sea of men (definite;y the only white women). We endured the stares and smiles and the "where you from" while Elana went and purchased the tickets and departure tax. I'll say this much for the country, they let women budge and for that we are thankful! While we waited for our sailing, we met a group of four travelers, all men, all travelling seperately. Elana helped them pay the departure tax and buy tickets, much to their relief. Not exactly the most organized country. Well compared to Egypt....!

We borded the ferry with our new friends from Japan, Korea and Turkey (and a Russian man who spoke no english, but we helped get onto the bus and ferry). Sometimes fellow travelers need to unite to survive!

Israel - Part 2 of 2

One of the reasons for coming to Israel at this time, was so that we could celebrate the Bar mitzvah of our twin cousins Oren and Alon. The planning for this special day had long been organized by our Aunt Ariana and Omi. Thanks to Elana's savvy computer skills, we even helped set up a slideshow presentation at the party. The day started out very early, at 5:40am when we all took a chartered bus to Jerusalem. Although everyone was very tired, it was great being all together on the drive to the Holy city. Once arriving in Jerusalem, we headed straight for the wailing wall (Kotel), where the men and women went to their respective sections. Although there is a divider at the wailing wall, this did not stop us from grabbing a few chairs and peeking over to the men's side to join in the excitement.

There was much commotion on the men's side, as they strapped on the tefillin (religious garb), said their prayers and welcomed the boys into manhood. The women were able to join in by throwing candies and peanuts at the boys; a tradition at bar mitzvah's, which we greatly enjoyed. After the prayer reading at the Kotel, everyone walked over to a lovely restaurant nearby, where a delicious catered brunch awaited us. First were pancakes and pastries to nosh, then came individual pizzas, burekas, quiches and more. Of course dessert followed. To work off all the food we ate, two circles for dancing were formed. One with women, one with men. The twins were lifted up on chairs, while everyone gathered around. It was quite the lively event! After the dancing subsided and speeches were made, a large group assembled for a walking tour around Jerusalem that had been previously arranged. The tour guide was excellent, as he was not only a tour guide but also a historian. Time was tight, but he was able to show us a few of the important spots in the Old City. We were all exhausted by the time we got to the bus to take us back to the Shomron, but were thrilled to have participated in such a special occasion.

On Wednesday we started the day early for an hour and a half drive up to Haifa, in the north of Israel. Our first stop was to see the Baha'i Gardens. Here we saw perfectly manicured, gorgeous gardens atop a hillside, all maintained by the Baha'i people. Unfortunately we chose the only day that they do not have guides showing you through, but we were still able to enjoy the beauty from up above. We left the gardens to Caesarea, an ancient city once run by Jews, Romans, Christians and Arabs. So many years have passed, yet a lot of the buildings are still standing. The horse track still remains, and you can picture yourself high above the arena, where much bood was shed. This was the entertainment for the locals. We also saw an enormous amphitheatre, where they still hold concerts. We had a good chuckle at this lady who was standing on the stage for a full 15 minutes singing for everyone, whether we liked it or not. When she left the stage, I'm not sure if people were cheering because they liked it, or they were happy she was finished with her show.

Thursday night we headed over to our Uncle David's house, where we saw his adorably blond curly-haired children. He and his wife Liat took us for a delicious meal of pita, hummus and Israeli salad. All you can eat. . .and that we did! Then we went to the local bowling alley where the computer screen showed how fast you bowled in kilometres! Too funny. I (Elana) got a little too involved with the speed and that threw off my already fantastic game of ten pin!

Friday we spent a second lovely Shabbat at Uncle Asher's house, this time with Omi and Saba. It was great to see everyone again, since this was our last visit with them. Again, we ate far too much food. We played games all evening using raisins instead of pens (figure that one out) due to shabbat restrictions. Saturday after sundown we drove to my mom's cousin's Yaakov, to spend the evening with him, his wife, and eight children. The house was definitely lively, and it was great to get to know everyone. We are only having small families!!

We also had an overnight with my mother's cousin, Reuvenchik, his wife Shulamit, and his three kids (1, 4 & 6), 2 dogs and 2 cats. Needless to say, all were charming. A special shout out to the older boys for all the kisses we mooched! There place was exciting, chaotic and fun! We had a great time, never a dull moment.

For our sendoff Sunday evening, we went to my mom's cousin Eve's place for a Hannukah party! We lit the candles on the hannukia, ate potato latkes and donuts, and said our last goodbyes. It was a wonderful sendoff to see everyone before we left and also to visit with Ricky and Vera throughout the party.

Israel is a beautiful country, but so different from Canada. We have a quiet laugh over the english menu's with so many spelling mistakes. Many people here are fluent, native english speakers and we just don't get it! The security here is constant, but in some ways it fades into the background of everyday life when you get use to the tanks driving by and soldiers with guns. Locals don't even pay attention. Our bus out of the settlement has bullet proof windows to get to the mall. Scary? or practical?!

We have LOVED our time here, especially seeing all the family and being chauffered with love!

Israel - Part 1 of 2

We arrived safely in Israel, and landed in a rain storm. Our grandmother (Omi), Aunt Ariana, and cousin Noa came to pick us up with beautiful pink roses. It was so wonderful to be greeted by some friendly faces after the cold Slavic countries. We then drove to the territories of Israel (above the green line) to our grandparent's house. After relaxing for a couple of days and catching up with our grandparents, we headed over to our uncle Asher's house for Shabbat. This starts on Friday at sundown, and ends on Saturday at sundown. There are many rules that must be followed during this time. You can't turn on/off lights, rip paper, watch tv or drive. Basically, any carrying, burning, extinguishing, finishing, writing, erasing or any other form of work. Since our Uncle and his family are orthodox Jews, the dinner is very traditional. You start out by saying some prayers, drinking the Kiddish wine, (or grape juice if you prefer) and eating a slice of challah bread sprinkled in salt. Then the first and second course comes out, followed by the dessert. Israeli's eat very well, which is one of the reasons we love coming, and which has led our "European diets" to go out the window.

After dinner we take a stroll around the neighborhood, as many people do in this area. The weather is very pleasant now, and is quite comfortable to walk around at night. We find it funny when they talk about it being cold at 15 degrees in the winter! Gorgeous compared to the snow we left in Krakow!! Uncle David and Aunt Liat came over post Shabbat to visit, bringing along their two adorable blond, curly haired children. It was great to see them both again and to meet their children (Nina had met Netta once before).

Our first excursion to the mall was a pleasant one. A routine check of our car by armed security is standard upon entering the parking lot. Our bags are then checked before walking into the mall. All of this is normal for all malls you go to in Israel as well as museums, grocery stores, etc. The mall is half closed, half open, as the rain here is so scarce. We pick up a couple of silver chains for our new amber pendants from Poland/Czech Republic. The prices are quite reasonable here, as our dollar is fairly strong. We go to the food court where you can find falafel, schwarma and even sushi! Stray cats are abundant here, so there are many of them meandering around looking for food. At home cats are in general loved and are seen as good pets, but here because there are so many strays, many people think of them as dirty and annoying. This to us was very upsetting.

On Tuesday, Elana, Omi and I left early for the Dead Sea (a 2 1/2 hour drive from where they live). We stopped for gas along the way, and apparently the gas attendant (an Arab teenager) thought short skirt with long legs were pretty exciting, and tried to get a couple peeks in. We assume this is because the Arab women keep very covered up, including their heads. To us it was very strange. The drive to the Dead Sea was very pleasant. It is the lowest place on earth and at the beach we reached minus 450 meters below sea level. Super cool!! We passed Arab stores with painted pots for sale, and tall camels out front almost like guards of the stores. We also saw hundreds of palm trees being harvested for fruit. It is great being in the desert at this time, since it is nice and warm but not too hot.

We got to the spa and headed straight for the mud pits. Here we dug in and lathered the Dead Sea mud all over our bodies. We let it dry until it was all gray and crinkly, then washed it off in the sulfur water. We then took the little tram to the shore. Unfortunately it was a very windy day, so we could not exactly float in the water, as the waves were crashing in (it is very important not to get any of the water in your eyes, as it will be burning for hours afterwards). Elana and I dipped in regardless, and covered ourselves with the salty water. Your skin feels incredible; so smooth and soft. After enjoying the beach for a little while, we went back to the spa and relaxed in one of the sulfur baths with the naked women. Not sure what people's deal is with showing off their nakedness since the sign CLEARLY READS: bathing suits must be worn, but that's life.