Year 3 - 2010 - 2011

Year three in Cairo was the year of the revolution. I had many amazing adventures that year but, when I think of January 2011 and all that followed, I forget about all of the great trips that happened in the fall; so it's nice to look back on them now.

The year even started off with an air of instability, and the school year started later than planned, which led to an impromptu trip to Aswan for the Eid el Fitr.

There were also Greece Day in Greece, Eid el Adha in Cyprus, Christmas in the UK, Hogmany in Edinburgh, and Easter in Italy - again, all incredible adventures (full of tasty deliciousness - so much good food...)!

I had booked a trip to Disney World for my February holidays long before we knew anything of what was to come in Cairo, and ended up with two weeks in Florida instead of one. I watched Mubarak's topple from power on a hotel TV at the Disney Riverside resort as I prepared to go out to dinner among the burnt-red masses of tourists. It was all very surreal. I lost my camera on the flight back to Cairo and have no photos of my own from that trip.

And now, just a week before I leave my life in Cairo behind, it's all so very strange to look back on the amazing and difficult year of 'character building' that was my third year in Egypt.

Aswan, Egypt

 

Athens, Greece

 

Hydra, Greece

 

 

Cyprus (Greek Side)

 

 

Lincoln, UK

 

 

Edinburgh, UK 

 

 

Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt (April 2011)

 

 

Rome, Italy

 

 

Sorrento, Italy

 

 

Pompeii, Italy

Scotland

Driving up the coast of Scotland, even in mid-winter, is breathtaking. Despite recent snows, much of the coast was still a brilliant green - dotted here and there with dramatic hills and sheep(!). There were historic cottages, and amazing views of the sea and I can't imagine approaching the city any other way.



Edinburgh was a delight for someone like me who is awed by stone architecture. The castle, built on volcanic rock (I had no idea!), was beautiful and sprawling, representing many different periods and styles of conquerors and monarchs. Underground, I visited a paved-over close (alleyway), and overground I had one of the best meals of my life at The Witchery, just below the castle (brown Mull Crab and Fennel salad, venison with meaty portabello mushrooms and potatoes au gratin, and an assortment of amazing desserts). I ate haggis, neeps and tats at at least two establishments, and felt old old old at the Princes Street Gardens Hogmanay concert - though probably had the best view of the fireworks in all of Ediburgh (on an isolated bench at the base of the hill from the castle, so sheltered that there was only a crowd of 10 people in a huge area, despite the gardens being surrounded by 80,000 spectators on the streets above us!)

The only challenge of Hogmanay (other than staying up past 10pm - yes, I'm getting old) was the obscene amount of people literally falling ON me (or, at one point, SITTING ON ME). Still though, an outdoor concert, not too cold, hot mulled wine for 5 pounds a pop, and the best fireworks display ever made me glad I went.

Next year, though, I think my New Year's Eve destination is going to have to be a bit warmer! :)

The Trip of All Trips

This Google Earths image represents the adventure the last week and a half, starting in the lower right hand corner leaving Cairo on Saturday last week and ending in the upper left corner in Edinburgh. The trip began with a plane, moved on to a coach bus, then a ferry, then the coach bus, then a train, and finally a swank VW Bug convertible (top up in the snow).

Regarding the trip: thirteen hours in a coach with 30 people who are three days late to their destinations makes for an interesting story; though to grumble would be to give over to the darkside, so just allow me to say it is an 'adventure' I wouldn't recommend and allow me to add that people need to be GRATEFUL we got hotel and 3 square a day rather than spending the night on the airport terminal floor. (AND be grateful we got to our destination at all as many of my friends in Cairo did not). None-the-less, the airport woes have yielded the following new experiences:

1. A trip through the snowy French countryside
2. Undamaged luggage
3. My first crossing of the English Channel
4. My first glimpse of the White Cliffs of Dover
5. An extra stamp in my passport! :)

After a lovely Christmas in Lincolnshire, I am now preparing for a day exploring Edinburgh in advance of Hogmanay.

The five hour drive to Edinburgh from Sleaford yesterday was beautiful, if not drizzly and gray. Field after field of snow dotted with sheep, castles, cottages, and horsies kept me well entertained. We drove past such literary places as the castle where Harry Potter is filmed, Gosford Park, Sherwood Forest (in Nottinghamshire, in Robin Hood County), and Barton Park. Now for some haggis and plaid!