Wrap Up

Finally on the plane home. Had one more chance to have a look around Cairo yesterday. We had a client move a meeting in the afternoon to a dinner. So we had a couple hours to kill in the city. We went up to the Citadel, which is a fortress from when the Turkish kings were ruling. We had a look in the Mohammed Ali Mosque there. It is Byzantine in style but built in the mid 1800's (see picture). Quite something. It is high above the city and the air was clear enough to see the pyramids many miles away.














From there we paid a very fast visit to the Egyptian Museum, which is mind-boggling. Every square inch is jammed with antiquities. It would take days to do it justice and they only have a fraction of the collection displayed. All you can do is shake your head as you just can't take it all in that this is the real stuff. The facility itself is pretty run down. I don't know where they get the funding to preserve all this - clearly they don't get enough. Saw the royal mummies, the highlight of which is Ramses II, who is excellently preserved. However the ultimate highlight is King Tut's treasures. These are just incredible for not only quality, but massive volume. Of course the best are his golden coffins and mask. I doubt we could reproduce the craftsmanship today.














So Cairo is well worth the visit for the history. Driving on the roads is unreal. I wouldn't make the moves in a video game that people do for real here. I saw a car wrap itself around a tree and a truck smash into a barrier in one day. That doesn't mention fenderbenders. The other negative is the airport. While Egypt Airlines has a beautiful new terminal, the other airlines are relegated to a dump. So your first impression of Egypt is that you've just arrived in the 3rd world - which is actually the case, so maybe a good reminder! Everyone raves about the trip of a couple days in Cairo, then a quick flight upriver to Luxor and a 4 day cruise up the Nile to Aswon - taking in the Valley of the Kings along the way. Most of the passenger boats were built to ABS Class. So there are trade-offs, but I'm sold.

TWG
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Via Blackberry

Originally sent December 11, 2009

Am I losing it

No kidding. This is on my train tonight.
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Via Blackberry

Originally sent November 13, 2009

Venice Day-4: Acqua Alta

Well the rains finally came. But rather than the rain being an issue, the wind associated with the front pushed the Adriatic into the lagoon an extra couple feet at high tide and we experienced an actual Acqua Alta (literally "water high") today.

We started out this morning in Dorsoduro to visit the Scuola Dei Carmini, where Lacey's favorite artist, Tiepolo, (learned about from a "Magic Treehouse" book) painted a ceiling in the 16th century. Unfortunately, they decided to open several hours later than usual (this IS Italy), so had to go with Plan B and visit the Doge's Palace first.

When we got back to Piazza San Marco we could see the lagoon waters were already right up to the top of the wall with 2 hours remaining to high tide. Workers were already setting up the boardwalks in anticipation of an Acqua Alta. Meanwhile, we ducked out of the weather into the palace.

This place is yet another opportunity for sensory overload. It is huge and way over the top in gold leaf and renaissance paintings on just about every flat surface. We lost count after 30 rooms. A lot like Versaille in that there are no furnishings in the place - Napoleon made off with most of it. Much to the kids' satisfaction we did get to walk across the Bridge of Sighs to the prison.

After giving up on listening to every detail of the audio guide after 3 hours we finally finished up in the palace to head back to Dorsoduro. When we got to the exit we were greeted by the entire Piazza San Marco under solid water (see pic). Before leaving home we received a good tip to bring the Wellies along given the time of year. Good use was made of these today. You can see everyone up on the board walks. In the middle of the square there was a good foot of water. With a whole city living with canals and no streets, you see a lot of unique things afloat: ambulances, the fire brigade, hearses, refrigerated barges for food, etc. In the square you also have police in waders at the intersections of the boardwalks directing all the foot traffic to keep people moving. Once out of the square we had to go weaving through the rabbit warren of alleys to find a non-flooded route to Dorsoduro. Actually, kinda fun. By the time we got back to the Scuola the sun was back out and the water was retreating quickly. An hour later when we got back to the Vaporeto landing on the Grand Canal they were already stacking the boardwalk.

After our last dinner tonight we made one more trek via a new exploratory route across to Piazza San Marco. We realized that here we were, feeling our way through neighborhoods we'd never been to before, had no idea exactly what was there, in the dark, and feeling perfectly safe and at ease. You have to love this place. When we got to the piazza it was all lit up for the night and dry again. Music also filled the air from an orchestra serenading one of the restaurants. Very pretty.

Found out tonight that public transit is all on strike tomorrow, which will make it interesting getting to the airport. When I asked the hotel for suggestions on this their first was to simply stay an extra day. Tempting, very tempting.

TWG
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Via Blackberry

Originally sent October 22, 2009

Flying Low

Roma to Napoli in 75 min. and no security check. I love the EuroStar.
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Via Blackberry

Originally sent September 30, 2009

Napoli

Hot day in Naples. So, while I could see Vesuvius, it was so hazy that a picture only looked like smudge. Oh well, will be back in Naples tomorrow night and Thursday so will try again.

Good day of meetings, but had to re-adjust to Napolitano time. E.g., for a 2pm meeting you sit in the office chain drinking espresso (I lost count after 5 as my brain can't concentrate on any numbers higher than 2 right now with all the caffeine), then at 2pm you decide it's time to leave for the 2pm meeting, then drive like total maniacs to try to make the 2pm meeting on time with the 2 million others trying to do the same thing. Think of NY taxis on too much caffeine where traffic signals are simply something to gesticulate about. The guys I'm with from Genoa refuse to drive here.

Anyway, since I failed on a picture of redeeming natural beauty, attached find something of infinitely more practical value. One of our owners is sufficiently cost conscious (I.e., "tight") that he likes to encourage people to use the stairs rather than pay for the electricity to run the elevator. So the enclosed picture is of the coin drop in the cab where you have to pay 10 cents to get the thing to move. But you also have to ensure that you poll everyone else onboard to make sure no one wants to get off on a lower floor first as you have to drop another 10c to get to the next floor. Luckily that's not usually a problem as the cab is only rated for 3 persons, so you only have to deal with 5 others onboard.

Have to say this is the only place on the planet I've seen this contraption.

Off to Rome.

TWG
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Via Blackberry

Originally sent September 29, 2009