Trip Continued-Egypt

Greetings to all of you!
I was informed the other day that despite the wonderful details of our trip, I forgot to mention our experience in Egypt. Possibly the reason was that our experience there was a little problematic. When we arrived at the Port of Alexandria, named after Alexander the Great, we found the city littered with garbage! It really took away from the beauty of this historic city, and it didn't get any better on our two hour bus trip to Cairo to see the Pyramids. The capital city was also littered with garbage and many of the streets were unpaved with donkeys pulling cargo on wagons. I didn't realize that Egypt was considered a "third world" country, and now I know! After arriving in Cairo, we took a lunch tour along part of the Nile which was kind of nice and the hotel we arrived at to stay the night was absolutely breathtaking! It was the hotel where Franklyn Roosevelt and Winston Churchill planned WWII. It also was the hotel where Begin, Carter, and Sadat signed the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. It was amazing how a place of overwhelming decadence could be situated in such a poor country. Our first night in Cairo was spent watching the light show at the pyramids which at first was impressive until we sat through the narrative of the history of the pyramids and many of us ending up going to sleep. I think they should notify the folks at Disney to update their presentation! The next day after a wonderful evening at the hotel, we visited the pyramids themselves and it was quite an experience, although I wouldn't care if I ever saw another pyramid as long as I live. I'm sure history buffs and UFO followers would find them fascinating, but to me they were a neatly mounted pile of rocks that served no purpose but to be the burial chambers for Kings. Although there were camel rides available, I wasn't in the mood to get spit upon or smell like a Bedouin after I got off one. After the visit to the pyramids, we took the Kamikaze ride home through the desert and ended up back at the ship! I was never so glad to be "home" after that experience. I guess I'm not THAT happy a camper! Anyway, it was back to Italy after the experience in Egypt, and I looked forward to great food once again! Well, that is all for now. May we continue to pray for one another!

Peace,
Fr. David.