Spent the afternoon swimming and sailing languidly on the Nile River along its western bank just up river from Luxor. Fellucas (wooden boats with one large sail and no boom) dot the shoreline on both sides of the river in Felluca. As a result competition is stiff for tourist dollars and like anything else we've tried to buy you can really bargain down the price. We ended up at 30 Egyptian pounds for a several hour sailboat ride after the price … [Read more...]
Hot Air Balloon Ride over the Sahara & the Nile
Started the day bright and early with a hot air balloon ride above the never ending sands of the Sahara and the bright greeness of the water rich Nile River valley. Temps were already in the upper 20's at 530am. It was going to be yet another hot day. Arriving to the "balloon field" we spotted about 25 balloons in various stages of setup and groups of people milling about. With 32 people in our basket we were supported by the largest commercial … [Read more...]
Adventures in Luxor
There are hundreds of tombs cut into the hillsides west of Luxor but the best restored tombs are in the Valley of the Kings. Chamber after chamber are decorated with colorful hieroglypics and drawings. Some are situated at the back of canyons and go down several levels. After visiting and then ascending one such tomb the 40C temps outside felt like an arctic breeze in comparison to the stuffy, humid, sweltering temps found in the chambers! … [Read more...]
Entering Luxor
Luxor lies along the banks of the great Nile (the longest river in the world). If it wasn't for the Nile there would be no population here (a ribbon across the great Sahara Desert. The green of the agricultural fields extends both sides of the river maybe 8-10km where it abruptly ends at the sands of the Sahara Desert. The town is spread out along the east and west banks with most of the population centered on the east side. There is no bridge … [Read more...]
Hanging out in Cairo
At the moment I'm sitting in sleeper train on our long transiberian journey - not much to do here so we are chugging the vodka. Actually this is the overnighter from Cairo to Luxor. This is doing it in real style - a private suite for 2 people, AC controls per suite and the calming rocking motion that you can only get on a train will quickly put us to sleep - oh and the 32 hours it took to get here from Cali will certainly help. With not much … [Read more...]
Back to Europe
Arrived in 4C temps and rain at the Frankfurt airport. Its not even mid Autumn and temps are already frightfully chilly. I was here last month and landed to sunshine and warm temps. Not so now. The FRA airport is like a big city - we drove around in a bus after getting off the plane for a long while. We accidentally booked the flight to Cairo from Munich so this gave us a chance to see more of the German countryside. 3 hours on high speed … [Read more...]
Groupon Giveway
Launched in November 2008, Groupon features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in a variety of cities across the U.S., Canada, Europe and beyond. Groupon is offered in 230 cities worldwide and for international travelers, is available in 25 countries. We will give away a $20 value Groupon bucks coupon to the first person who can identify where the following photo was taken (US State and the name of the mountain). Post … [Read more...]
Garden Pictures
This year our summer started on the first day of fall. When I'm not traveling I'm gardening. I've replaced nearly all the adobe soil in the garden with silt from a nearby river along with potting soil and other organic material I've composted in. Am using both beds in the ground and raised beds. Most people said they had terrible problems with growing tomatoes in this "arctic" summer we had this year but mine have done very well. The heirloom is … [Read more...]
Los Angeles Athletic Club
We recently stayed at the Los Angeles Athletic Club (a private membership only club but with hotel rooms available to the general public - the first private club in Los Angeles, founded 1880). We stay in a fair amount of National mid to higher end chain hotels and it is very refreshing to find a hotel such as this one with its uniqueness, elegance and history. As soon as we arrived we shot up to the rooftop for some relaxation with a cold one … [Read more...]
Another fantastic trip to LA and the OC!
One of the highlights of this latest trip was re-visiting Universal Studios (and experiencing lighter than normal traffic on the infamous freeways). One new attraction to me was the Ifly experience located in the "citywalk" which leads to the main entrance. This is a "vertical wind tunnel" which for $40 and 2 mins of your time (after waiting in line and undergoing a short instruction session) you can "fly"! Put on a flight suit, goggles and … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- …
- 63
- Next Page »