Journey to Egypt, Part 6: Coptic Churches & Ben Ezra Synagogue

December 25, 2018 We left the Egyptian Museum ready for lunch. We boarded our bus and headed to Old Cairo, where we would go to a restaurant for lunch and to the Christian Quarter of Old Cairo. At Felfela Restaurant we were greeted by this hookah-smoking dwarf. The restaurant had interesting décor. Our tummies satisfied, […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 5: Cairo Museum of Egyptian Antiquities

December 25, 2018 The Egyptian Antiquities Museum in Cairo is a huge neoclassical building which is home to the world’s largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts. The collection contains over 100,000 pieces, so it is said that if you spend just one minute on each piece, it would take over nine months to complete the […]

Journey to Egypt: Part 4 – Visiting a Mosque and Celebrating Christmas in Cairo

December 24, 2018 I had not expected to see much evidence of Christmas in Egypt. Although I knew there was a population of Coptic Christians in Egypt, I thought they were few in number and not much attention would be given to this Christian holiday. I was wrong! Egyptians love Christmas! We had seen evidence […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 2: Giza – Pyramids, an Ancient Boat, Camels, & the Sphinx

December 24, 2018 Our first full day in Cairo began with a trip to Giza to see the famous pyramids and the Sphinx. Egyptologists have identified 118-138 pyramids commissioned by ancient pharaohs as burial tombs. The oldest known pyramid is the step pyramid located in Saqqara, which we did not visit. Egyptian pyramid building was […]

Journey to Egypt: Part 1 – In Transit and Arrival in Cairo, Cairo Traffic

December 23, 2018 Dale and I took a flight from Chicago O’Hare Airport late on Dec. 22, arriving in the morning in Frankfurt, Germany, where we had several hours and time for lunch at Goethe restaurant in the airport. In the afternoon, we walked through the maze of the Frankfurt airport – down hallways, past […]

FOTD: Shooting Stars

These flowers are called shooting stars. Looking at them closely, it is easy to see why. In this photo, their shape is clearer. Taken in my garden on May 22, 2018. Posted for Cee’s Flower of the Day, 5/27/18.

Tanzania Safari: Out at Sunrise on a Windy, Dusty Day

Feb. 10, 2018 We had an early morning departure on our game drive this morning – 6:30 with no breakfast. We’d take boxed breakfasts to eat during the drive. Because we were up before dawn, we saw a lovely sunrise. We were with Livingstone again and only five passengers. Three members of our group had […]

Tanzania Safari Journal: Arusha to Tarangire

We had about a 3-hour drive to our next destination, Tarangire National Park. I took a few shots of the noisy colobus monkey that resides at Rivertrees Country Inn, but there were other monkeys too – blue monkeys and grey vervet monkeys. I was sad to leave – it seemed our stay here was so […]

FOTD: Tarangire Flower

I don’t know the name of this flower, but it may be related to the morning glory. I took this photo at Tarangire National Park. The close up is first, and the second picture is a group of these flowers in the foreground, against the backdrop of beautiful green grasslands, baobob and acacia trees in […]

Travel Prep: Journaling

In my previous post under the Weekly Photo Challenge prompt “Growth“, I introduced a new travel journal my daughter got me for Christmas. Well, my husband liked it so much, he had her order one for him too! (By the way, she got it on Amazon. It’s called You Are Here: A mindful travel journal […]