SO....let's recap

The end of the trip is near.  Since all we are doing is eating and swimming(and there won't be pics of that!!) I probably won't post again.  If I have an extreme wardrobe malfunction I will post it so don't panic. 
I will end with my top five experiences of this trip.  It was a busy trip and we saw quite a bit but I will narrow it down

5. Driving on the "wrong" side of the road in South Africa.  I'm pretty sure we were near death at least 3 times but it was really fun.  It also gave me a good excuse to yell at Bob about his driving. 

4. The temples and tombs in Egypt.  It is unreal to see these and know when they were built. 

3. Wandering around the streets of Cairo.  Old Cairo was really beautiful. 

2.  The wildlife preserves in South Africa.  It's nice to see an animal in their own habitat.

1.  The Princess Donia and her crew.  Traveling on the Nile in a Dahabeeyah(which means golden boat) 
is the way to see the Nile.  If you are on a larger ship it is not quiet and you can't hear the sounds on shore.  When the sails were up it was a majestic boat.  It's a once in a lifetime experience.  The company that arranges trips with them http://www.orientaltoursegypt.com/ were a pleasure to deal with and made sure we were always safe in Egypt. 

The people of South Africa and Egypt were both very welcoming and nice.  When you say you are from the United States they always mention Obama.  One man said "you are from the United States of Obama."  It seems he is well loved in the world.  I say this every trip but will say it again.  I never sense a dislike of Americans.  If you respect people anywhere they will return the favor. 

I'm off to a "modern" mall to see what's in style here and get my bearings back.  See you all next week!! 



I

Jo-Burg

We have been back in Johannesburg for 3 days now.  We just checked in to a nice B&B for our last 5 nights.  It's in the Rosebank suburbs and is called Rosebank B&B.  We are not roughing it these last 4 days.  It's a beautiful area but still has security fencing and armed security guards at every turn.  I think I am kind of silly because I don't feel unsafe at all.  We have really just been eating, walking and looking.  Today we went to Nelson Mandela's home and the apartheid museum.  Both were very interesting and eyeopening. 
Apartheid  was a system of legal racial segregation enforced by the National Party government of South Africa between 1948 and 1993, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and minority rule by white people was maintained.
Reforms to apartheid in the 1980s failed to quell the mounting opposition, and in 1990 President Frederik Willem de Klerk began negotiations to end apartheid, culminating in multi-racial democratic elections in 1994, which were won by the African National Congress under Nelson Mandela. The vestiges of apartheid still shape South African politics and society.^[4]

Nelson Mandela spent many years fighting for the end to Aprtheid and over 20 years of them in prison.  He is well loved in this country and I suppose the world. 

The museum was not that great for pictures it was more about the story but I have a few.  Also, I have some random shots and, of course, a food shot. 

The second time Bob has met Mr. Mandela this time just the statue

Loved this comic

Winnie Mandelas retaurant

This was in the museum. 

Loved this too

The maker of the cartoons

As we were walking around yesterday we saw some interesting signs and news headlines. 

Some guys got busted at the Airport for selling Viagra

Electric fences are everywhere.

AND.....now the food shot. This is watermelon and feta cheese with a balsamic reduction and watercress.  It was every bit as good as it looks. 

Jo-burg

We are back and sleeping.  More later

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RoxAnn Bloopers

I seem to always seem to put my foot in my mouth when we are traveling.  For example telling the Jewish guy in Argentina to be sure and have a Merry Christmas.  Yesterday was my day in Egypt for bloopers.  When an obviously Muslim waiter asked me if I liked my Labnah I said it was "Heaven."  Pretty sure thats not the politically correct thing to say.  Also we met some people from France and they asked me if I could speak french.  I said "ummm crepes....or french fries?"  They said very dryly to me "i think they have been renamed freedom fries."  Yes, i'm on a roll. 
We went to a really good egyptian restaurant last evening.  Here are some pics. I didn't use flash to be polite so they are a little grainy

A short word about light fixtures.  Every place we go is always dark but each place no matter how broken down and bad it is has some kind of chandelier.  They don't put out much light but they are pretty.

We had a wild taxi ride back.  I think we had a trainee.  We finally had to help him get us close to our hotel and when we needed change he left us blocking traffic in the middle of the street while he found someone with change.  A policeman came over and saw we had no driver and just shook his head.  In Cairo traffic laws, signs and lights are treated as suggestion only.  The horn beep seems to be some sort of secret driving language.  It all seems to work but crossing the street is a tooth clencher(I won't mention what else might clench too).   

We have two more days in Cairo and then take an overnight flight back to J-Burg, South Africa Sunday night.  I'm going to refer to Johannesburg as J-Berg from now on so I don't have to keep spelling it.

Oriental Tours Egypt

I want to say a word about the people that booked the Egypt part of our trip for us.  From the moment I contacted Sayed and Abeer to plan this trip they treated me very well.  I told them what I wanted and they made it happen.  We just arrived at the airport and they did the rest.  I'm pretty sure neither one of them ever sleep.  They and their coworkers treated us like family and always were concerned with our safety.  This was a trip of a lifetime thanks to them.  We had private tours the whole way and a beautiful cruise down the Nile on the Princess Donia.  Our drivers have all been brave and great and our tour guides very nice and helpful.  Mona and Sherrif really know their stuff.  The Princess Donia crew really loved their boat and were so proud to show us their wonderful country.  Thanks to all of them for a trip we will never forget!!

Mona and Bob

Bob and Kerolos, he always takes very good care of us

Sherrif and Bob

Saloni and Will best cruise partners ever!!

The SUPER CREW

We sad you go(our last desert)  We sad we go too

Thanks to everyone for a trip we will never forget. 

http://www.orientaltoursegypt.com/

Check it out.  Egypt is a great place to go.  The Egyption people are very kind and wonderful people.  We always felt very safe and in awe of such a beautiful country. 

Cairo

Today we took a tour of Coptic Cairo. This shows the era when Christianity was the faith in Egypt. We then went to Old Islamic Cairo with the market and a wonderful lunch at Kahan El Khalili restauraut. Saloni(I'm sure I'm spelling this wrong) and Will who were on the Princess Donia told us about this place. They said we would know it by the metal detector out front. We found it and tried all the things they told us to try.:
Labneh- This really good yougart dish with garlic and spices
Falafil- a ball or patty made from ground chickpeas
AND MY FAVORITE THING OF ALL....
Sahlab-this is a hot drink that is popular in Egypt. It is similar to rice pudding but a thousand times better. It's like hot thick coconut milk with spices and nuts and coconut in it. I am hooked on this. I'm sure something this wonderful can't have calories or be bad for you.
We had a great meal thanks to Will and Saloni!!

Labnah

Falafil

Sahlab-yum yum

It was really good!

market

Market

That's bread

So Colorful

Flying to Cairo

We are boarding a flight to Cairo today.  We have 3 days left in Cairo then back to South Africa.  More later.
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