I just updated my other blog LeftoverQueen.com with a post about our visit to Venice, Italy !!!

Venezia- gondolas-duomo-venetian masks

Highlights of course were Piazza di San Marco, the Gondoliers, and the amazing and thriving shops all over the city dedicated to the celebration of Carnivale – full of elaborate masks and costumes. Venice really is an enchanting and romantic city -made up of tiny canals where most people travel by foot or boat (no cars) full of tiny shops, cobblestone streets and the most amazing architecture.

The next day we headed to Tuscany and specifically to Torraccia di Chiusi right outside of the beautiful and medieval village of San Gimignano. The Torraccia di Chiusi is an amazing place. The accommodations are exceptionally beautiful and the views from the villa are stunning. All you foodies out there should go, just to experience Chef Bruno’s cooking. He is an absolute genius in the kitchen and of course prepares traditional Tuscan cuisine using fresh and seasonal ingredients that they produce right there on their farms. He also enjoys preparing Etruscan and Medieval cuisines if you are so inclined. He was a joy to spend time with each evening at dinner, hearing his food stories and about life in the Tuscan countryside.

San Gimignano- entrance to san gimignano – us with chef bruno – tuscan hills – view from our room

From the Torraccia di Chiusi we made several day trips. Our first was to Firenze, or Florence.

Firenze – duomo – motorini – duomo

It was a pretty cold and gray day when we went, which didn’t make it so enjoyable. Although our good friends Erin and Chris from The Olive Notes spent a year living in Firenze and so they had given us an extensive itinerary of things to do while in Florence – mostly involving food of course, and seeing some of the major sites. We weren’t able to do it all, but I will discuss the highlights in an upcoming post.

The next day we headed to the medieval city of Siena which is famous for the Pallio a horse race that is done in the center of town, that is a scene of not only sportsmanship, but also huge political rivalries. The Pallio really defines Sienese life in so many ways.

Siena – duomo – lions head detail – the campo

When we visited Siena it was a nice a quiet day. The city is very charming and was probably my favorite. It was easy to navigate and the architecture there was so unique. I really enjoyed traveling the ancient streets and stairs.

After five idyllic days in Tuscany we had to head south to Rome, for some family time. Roberto doesn’t make it home very often, and so we had to make sure to go to Rome where his family lives.

Roma – forum – colosseum – pantheon

What can you say about Bella Roma? It is an incredible place. Going from the more medieval towns of Tuscany to a truly ancient place, like Rome was an amazing chance. In Rome you have the ancient alongside the most modern. From the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Forum to Via del Courso where Prada and Dolce Gabbana live.

Roma – trevi- bronze angel- piazza di spagna

The enormity of the buildings were breathtaking, and photos will never do justice to these ancient and modern buildings, fountains, and structures – everywhere you turn is a work of art, or some kind of major human accomplishment…and the FOOD. The food throughout the areas of Italy we traveled we all amazing, but in Rome, it is just abundant – markets, green grocers, cheese and meat shops. It is unending. Oh and did I mention the gelato and coffee? Those are whole posts to themselves.

Our final four days were spent in Ostia, Rome’s seaport.

Ostia – ostia antiqua – port of rome – il mare

Ostia Antiqua is nearby and again, everywhere you look are ruins. Ostia is reminiscent of Saint Augustine, on a much smaller scale. But it was nice to end our visit with a place that reminded us of home, and where we were surrounded by family.

On a personal note, I will be traveling to New England through the end of October, and will not be updating the site while away! But look forward to more articles in November!

Madeira – Tropical, Mountainous and Lovely

Article and Photos BY: KARI HOEL

The trip to Madeira was decided during a conversation between my husband and I sometime in June, when the holiday was coming closer. “Kari, I have been thinking: What if the weather in Norway this summer turns out as terrible as it was last summer? It would be nice to go away somewhere warm and nice for a week or so – what about Madeira?” I smiled, turned on the computer, checked out some facts about Madeira (all very promising), booked tickets and said: “Yes, that is a wonderful idea, we are leaving 6 am. on July 7th. !“

Madeira is an island in the Atlantic ocean (600 kms off the west of Morocco) and an autonomous region of Portugal. The climate is comfortable all year around, and there is plenty of sunshine. The scenery is very diverse: It is rocky, but there are also hills, colorful flowers and sub-tropical forests. Madeira does not really have nice beaches, but Porto Santo – an island northwest of Madeira – apparently has a wonderful 9 km long beach. There are several seawater pools along the coastline of Madeira, so it is not hard to find places to swim and sunbathe. The Rough Guide Directions Madeira and Porto Santo contains lots of information about Madeira, and we used it a lot during our holiday.

We stayed in Funchal, the capital, and most hotels in Funchal are situated in the western part of the city, the “hotel zone”. Our hotel, Terrace Mar, had big rooms, a great pool area on the roof, and it was very clean. However, the street had a lot of traffic, so it was quite noisy. Fortunately, the room had air conditioning, so we were able to shut the noise out while still maintaining a comfortable temperature indoors.

Uphill and downhill things to do

We rented a car to get easy access to the mountains and get around at our own pace. Some of the roads are very, very steep. I live in Norway, a country with ice and snow several months a year, but I still have no problems driving up hills. In Madeira, the rental car stopped several times because the (stupid little) engine could not handle the hills. Fortunately, all it needed was more speed, and it got us up every time.

Pico Ruivo is the highest mountain, at 1862 m. It is possible to get to it the easy way or the hard way. We chose the hard way, going from Pico do Areiro (1811 m), where we parked the car. One might think that the altitude difference of only 51 meters made this an easy walk. It was not. Imagine walking up and down the stairs of skyscrapers, and you get an idea of how the walk was: The path between the mountains consisted of a large part of stair steps. It was a hard walk, but it was also spectacular. The scenery was diverse, and the view from Pico Ruivo was incredible. The view of the island from above the clouds was definitely worth the effort.

Hiking (or driving) is not the only way to experience heights in Madeira. From Funchal, we caught a cable car to Monte, a hilltop town overlooking Funchal. Monte has s a great botanical garden with a museum (Jardins Tropicais do Monte Palace). Walking around here is a peaceful way to spend a couple of hours.

And a quick way to get out of the peaceful mode is to catch the toboggan run down from Monte. You sit in a basket car while two “drivers” jump on and off the back of the toboggan in order to control speed (the “brakes” are the rubber soles of their shoes). It looks scarier than it is… The ride takes about ten minutes, and is well worth doing if you are in Madeira. I am pretty sure that you cannot experience this anywhere else!

A flat walk into a lush forest was a nice change to the experiences mentioned above. There are several levadas (mini-channels) on Madeira, and we walked along the Ribeira da Janela, north-west on the island. The Ribeira da Janela is a river in the valley below, and the trip offers great views of the valley and the forest, apparently UNESCO-protected.

Food and Madeira

The selection of bars and restaurants in Funchal is huge, which is not so strange, provided that this is a popular place for tourists. We were able to find some great places to eat and drink, and the Rough Guide did not let us down this time either. Unfortunately, none of the places we visited have websites.

Golden Gate (Avenida Arriaga 27-29) is a restaurant/bar in the centre of Funchal, open from early morning until late at night. The restaurant is spacious, with a high ceiling, a wonderful balcony on the first floor, and attentive staff. For lunch on the day we arrived, my husband had a salmon and pasta dish and I had a caesar salad. The food was good, but not fantastic. However, the atmosphere of the place made us return a couple of days later for dinner. My husband had a steak and I had chicken cordon bleu. This time, the food was a bit better, but it was still the atmosphere that made it a great experience.

The Quashbah Oriental Caffe is in the “hotel zone” west of Funchal. It is situated on the promenade close to a big saltwater pool (Lido), and it serves Middle-Eastern inspired cuisine, but it is also the kind of place where you can have a coffee or a drink. The food is good and reasonable, and the vegetables that came with my dish were wonderful!

Doca do Cavacas is my most memorable dining experience from Madeira. The lovely building with a big terrace is right over the sea, and the view is spectacular. This restaurant is about 5 km from Funchal, but well worth the trip. We both had scabbard fish with vegetables, and it was delicious. On top of that, the soothing sound of waves and the fresh air made this evening even more wonderful.

Bernini is a small (wannabe) Italian restaurant close to a big casino complex. It was supposedly Italian, but the pizza was American-style pan pizza with lots of cheese, not the thin crust that Italian pizzas are known for. It also had some local twists on the menu (pizzas with banana, for instance). I had a vegetarian pizza, and it was really good… in fact, we went back to this place because good American pizzas are hard to find in Norway, and I like American-style pan pizza just as much as Italian pizza (even though that is a very “untrendy” preference for young and semi-young Europeans these days).

When in Madeira, it is almost compulsory to drink Madeira Some of the restaurants served it before the meal, other restaurants served it after the meal. We also went to a place that produces and sells Madeira, Pereira d’Oliveira located on Rua dos Ferreiros in Funchal. Fortunately we had read about this place in a newspaper just before we went to Madeira, and this was a good place to taste and buy Madeira – it was not a tourist trap that sold overpriced stuff. We tried several types before we went for a Madeira from 1984 that was the second sweetest category (the types are dry, medium dry, medium sweet and sweet). The price was about EUR 35, which was not bad.

For people who seek beach life or a wild nightlife, Madeira is not a good holiday destination. Anyone besides that will probably have a wonderful time on Madeira. We certainly did!

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On a personal note, I will be travelng to New England through the end of October, and will not be updating the site while away! But look forward to more articles in November!

When talking to someone who has been to Thailand, the subject of visiting the islands always comes up. There is a reason for that: Thailand has several islands that are worth the visit. This time, I visited two of them: Ko Samui and Ko Tao, situated on the south-eastern coast. They are close in proximity, but widely different in all other aspects.

Ko Samui

The choice of Ko Samui was based on two practical considerations: It has an airport, and it is easy to get to Ko Tao from Ko Samui. My husband and I flew from Siem Reap in Cambodia via Bangkok to Ko Samui. When we arrived, it rained heavily for a couple of hours, and we began to wonder if we had made a mistake in going to this island. But when the sun appeared, we were not in doubt anymore – it was a gorgeous place.

We stayed at the northern side of the island, and the “beach choice” was based solely on what our guide book, Thailand Travel Guide by Lonely Planet, said: “Our favourite beach on the island, Hat Bo Phut serves up the Samui you didn’t think existed anymore. World’s away from the clutter of Chaweng and Lamai, Bo Phut is a quiet and romantic spot.”
We stayed at Eden Bungalows, a charming hotel with 15 spacious rooms and a pool.

The eating and drinking options in Hat Bo Phut are of high quality and relatively costly compared to other parts of Thailand. All the restaurants and bars we visited were good. The best restaurant was by far Villa Bianca, a wonderful Italian restaurant. It has white walls and white linen-covered tables, but the candlelight, the decorations and the sound (and sight) of the beach contributed to a romantic atmosphere. We had aperitifs, pasta dishes for our main course, red wine and Irish Coffee, and the price was about 3 500 Baht (about 105 USD). It was probably our most expensive meal in Thailand, but worth it.

Renting motorbikes appeared to be the most common way to see the island, but we chose to rent a car instead. In one day, you get an impression of the island, although you do not get to know the island. My main impression was that I was really, really glad we were staying at Hat Bo Phut! There are many wonderful beaches on Ko Samui, but there are also many towns by these beaches that are not very charming, as McDonald’s, Burger King, 7-Eleven and shops that sell low-quality merchandise appear to have taken over some places.

After three days at Ko Samui we decided it was time to move on, and we were both very excited that we were going to Ko Tao again, four years after we were there last.

Ko Tao

Getting to Ko Tao from Ko Samui takes two-three hours on a boat. The boat also stops at Ko Pha-Ngan, well-known for its Full Moon parties. As we like to go to bed early and rise early, we decided not to check it out (I know…we are boring people).

Ko Tao is a diver’s paradise, but until lately, there has been little less to do than scuba diving. But things have changed! The main town (Ban Mae Hat) had grown noticeably, there were at least twice as many restaurants, hotels, diving schools, shops etc. as it was four years ago. And there are now tattoo parlors, massage places and internet cafes and all over the place. The good news is that Ko Tao has not lost its charming atmosphere.

(View of the sunset from our bungalow)

We stayed at the beach north of Ban Mae Hat, at Tommy’s Dive Resort. We stayed in the same bungalow as we did last time we were there, situated right on the water. It cost about 1 500 Baht (45 USD) per night, which is a bargain if you value a wonderful location more than high standard accommodation.

There are several good eating options in Ko Tao, and we ate most our meals at the beach north of our bungalow (Hat Sai Ri), and some days in the town Ban Mae Hat. Hat Sai Ri has a myriad of bars/restaurants situated right on the beach, In Touch being our favorite hangout. Generally, food and drinks are very cheap, and the menus are extensive: You can have anything from Thai dishes to Italian dishes and American pancakes, and it all tastes good. You can easily spend less than USD 10 on a main course. Some places, for instance Whitening in Ban Mae Hat, are a bit more expensive, but also a more “classy” beach restaurant than the ones in Hat Sai Ri.

So…what do you do except eating, drinking, scuba diving or swimming? Some years ago, the answer was “not much”. These days, it is easier. You can go on a snorkeling trip or a boat trip, rent a motor bike or a kayak, visit the shops (not much interesting stuff to buy, mind you) or hang out at a beach. Hanging out on the beach is one of my favorite things to do, so quite a few hours were spent doing that. We also rented kayaks, which is a nice way to get some exercise and see the parts of the island that are not accessible by road.

We walked across the island one day, which was a fun (and hot) adventure. On the way, we walked up to a viewpoint of the island, which was a nice detour. The eastern part of the island is more secluded and quiet than the western part of the island. By staying here, you gain tranquility, but lose the choice of great, inexpensive restaurants and bars that I appreciate so much.

We spent six days at Ko Tao, including Christmas. During the evening of Christmas day, several hundred paper lanterns were lit and floated across the sky, enhancing the already wonderful atmosphere of celebrating Christmas on a beautiful beach in Thailand with great food and drinks and my husband by my side. May all Christmases be as merry as this!

In all truth, Jamaica is a food lover’s paradise. Everything is fresh and delicious, from the fruit (Papayas and Mangoes like you have never tasted), to fish and even some of the best tomatoes!Let’s not forget the Blue Mountain coffee and the Scotch Bonnet peppers. There was just so much to try it was great. I sampled things that I had always wanted to try, and tried some things I had never even heard of before. We drank coconut water straight from a green coconut. We snacked on raw sugar cane, refreshed ourselves with sour sop juice, which was not sour at all, but milky and tasting like a cross between banana and coconut with a bit of tang.

We enjoyed the national dish of Jamaica – Ackee with Salt fish – which is made up of Ackee fruit – that looks like scrambled eggs and tastes very rich, and Cod, which Jamaicans call salt fish. I thought it meant salted codfish, but it was uncured. I liked it, but I think the ackee was a little too rich for me.

But the story behind it is great. I arranged for a private beach dinner to surprise Roberto. His birthday was in March and with all the excitement of wedding planning it was not that inspired of a celebration, so I wanted to make sure that he was recognized. So they set up a private table for us on the beach, surrounded by tiki torches. There were tropical flowers on the table and the path that lead us out to the beach was lined with votive candles. We enjoyed a delicious 5 course dinner, full of treats. It started with …

“I’ve got a new love baby, a new love, oh, oh oh” …besides my new husband that is… and it is Smoked Marlin Ceviche. Now I don’t know how something they is already cooked can be a ceviche, but I am gonna let this one slide because it is so freaking good. There were many new tastes and delicious things to be eaten in Jamaica but I must say this little gem was my favorite and I ate it every chance I could get – in sushi, as an appetizer, over pan fried grouper as an entree. Hell, I would have eaten it for breakfast or dessert, if they had offered it. This stuff was addicting. So smoky in its under notes, yet incredibly citrus-y in the high notes. It was like nothing I ever had – but the best was when they served it that night with an ackee fruit and lemon aioli over a slice of pineapple. It was pure heaven. I can honestly say possibly the best thing I have ever eaten, ever.

Next was a Cream of Carrot, Seville Orange and Ginger soup – creamy, refreshing and delicious, served in a coconut bowl. Then the salad course, a green salad with nuts, cilantro, feta cheese and passion fruit vinaigrette.

Then the Entree – 2 huge pieces of fish – Pan Fried Grouper and Salmon, with Garlic Shrimp, over Mashed Potatoes in a Lemon Buerre Blanc with Capers. Talk about fresh. Everything just melted in your mouth like a symphony.

Dessert was a chef’s choice trio: Chocolate Espresso Tart, Tropical Fruit Compote with Coconut Brittle and some kind of citrus pie that I can’t remember… mind you all of this was served with copious amounts of champagne. So that is my excuse!

Irie! The food was amazing as I said, but the service was great. Jamaicans are some of the nicest people I have ever met – always ready to laugh and smile and at the same time, almost everyone we talked to was a philosopher. The first experience we had of this was with our waitress that night, Carlene. We talked a lot in between dishes about family, roots and doing the best you can with what you have. During this conversation, when we were talking about her working at the resort, I mentioned that I really wanted to try Ackee and Salt fish. She also works at one of the restaurants at the resort, and said if she was working there tomorrow, she would talk to the chef and see of he would make it. So the next morning, we go over there, and of course it was there. It was so sweet and heart warming that she did that for me. We saw her there and she gave me a big hug and made sure I knew the dish was available.

This is what I am talking about. There is a spirit to the people of Jamaica that Roberto and I really had an easy time relating to. People there have had a lot of adversity in their lives, but most of the people we met, had used that to learn something from. They have taken it and embraced it, and risen above it. People were proud of their country and happy to talk about all sorts of topics relating to Jamaica, its culture, history and food. They don’t worry about the small things, and value love above all. This is Roberto with one of our favorite bartenders, Fraser, who hopes to move to FL for work. He is the same age now, as Roberto was when he came to the US. So we wished him luck and told him to be sure to work somewhere that his enormous skill, talent and personality would be appreciated.

Always sinting deh yah fi nym (There is always some food here to eat). Other foods of note were Coco Bread which is a soft delicious bread that accompanies a lot of Jamaican dishes, like one of our lunch favorites, Snapper baked in foil with onions and peppers. Also good was the Jerk dishes – we had Jerk Chicken and even a Jerk Burger. It was great to try Jerk in Jamaica – it is so different than the “Jerk” stuff we get here in the US. So spicy, but yet with a bit of sweetness to it. Delicious stuff. Also a local green called Callaloo was a favorite. It is kind of like spinach, but often eaten for breakfast, which I loved. Roberto even had callaloo risotto with dinner one night. Roberto also enjoyed Jamaican pizza – he doesn’t know how they learned but he says the crust is perfect. He enjoyed it several times while we were there, even for breakfast. For me, I loved the use of Scotch Bonnet peppers in so much of the food. I love spicy foods and this was great. Like in this remoulade dressing for grilled romaine. YUM.

Wanga-guts for sure! Ya Mon! – oh yeah, did I mention that we also took a Patois (Jamaican dialect) class…
Really fun stuff!

Then of course there were the drinks – frozen, shaken and stirred. This was a resort, so we enjoyed as much rum as we could take (among other beverages like wine, and cordials, and martinis) and we certainly had more than enough, it will be a very long time until I crave another frozen rum drink.

But my favorites were the ones that contained Papaya and Blue Mountain coffee! YUM. Roberto liked the ones with Coconut the best.

Did I mention Jamaicans also like to cook a lot with Rum? Like Italians cook with wine, so do Jamaicans cook with rum. But we were well behaved, no bangarangs, I promise.

Although, there are incriminating photos, I will not put them here of Roberto dancing on stage during one of the resort shows, Roberto singing O Sole Mio! at the piano lounge and both of us with a big snake wrapped around our necks….ok, well I guess its not so bad, so here you go.

Next time we go to Jamaica – because there WILL be a next time, I would love to see more of it. We really didn’t do much besides snorkeling, swimming, kayaking and taking boat and catamaran trips. But it was what we needed this trip. It gave us a chance to really relax and connect with each other away from the world at large.

Luckily we were able to see the Southern most point of Jamaica and on the way, enjoy the Pirates Caves – caves in the ocean, that we were able to swim into and explore a bit. The water there was about 25-30 feet deep and still crystal clear.

It was a gorgeous place and certainly a highlight of our trip. While snorkeling and swimming we saw lots of sting rays, tropical fish, starfish, sea cucumbers, coral, and someone on our scuba trip even saw an eel.

Also a highlight were the beautiful sunsets! There is nothing more romantic and beautiful than sitting on a beautiful beach, under swaying palm trees, holding your new husband’s hand and watching the sun disappear behind the endless sea.

disclaimer: no starfish were harmed in the writing of this article.

Like a sandstorm coming out of the west from the Sahara, my partner Jonathan and I descending upon Egypt for a week of intense sightseeing. We had long wanted to travel to Egypt to walk through the ancient temples, gaze upon the pyramids, and travel on the Nile, long the source of life in Egypt. We booked a tour with Friendly Planet Travel that covered the highlights of ancient Egypt from Aswan in the South to the pyramids of Giza in the North.

We departed JFK on an overnight flight to Cairo on Air Egypt. We had wonderful seats with extra legroom in the emergency exit row and no one between us. The plane was old and could have used a rehab in the interior to spruce it up, but it was fairly comfortable. The unfortunate part of flying Air Egypt was that it has no airline partners so we were unable to earn miles for the trip.

We arrived in Cairo mid-morning and were met by the tour guide who helped the tour group (about 40 people) through immigration and customs, loaded our luggage on the bus and off we went for our 1st stop: the Pyramids and Sphinx. Our first stop was at the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the largest of the three main pyramids on the Giza plateau. Seeing the pyramids in person is one of the highlights of my many travel experiences. While I have read many descriptions of the pyramids and seen many pictures, those images do not do them justice nor do they bring out the wonder one feels in their immensity and power when seeing the pyramids in person. These ancient monuments have lasted longer then most human endeavors and will probably outlast those endeavors yet to come. They are truly a site to behold.

After our visit to the Pyramids of Cheops, next up was the Pyramid of Chephren. It actually looks taller then the Pyramid of Cheops but that is just an illusion. Chephren had his pyramid build on a slight rise on the plateau making it appear to be the tallest of the three main pyramids (there a many smaller pyramids on the plateau for various other royals). Here we took the opportunity to venture inside the Pyramid. We hunched down and travel down a passageway inside the pyramid. We reached the bottom of the passageway and began to travel up until we reached the chamber where the pharaoh’s sarcophagus was located. Inside was our first site of the graffiti left behind by Europeans and others on the ancient Egyptian monuments we would see some at many of the sites we visited carved into the ancient stonework. This time it was the Italian Giovanni Belzoni who opened this Pyramid in modern times in 1818. He left his name in large black letters inside the chamber with the sarcophagus. Standing inside the burial chamber one can felt the power of the pharaoh – to have such a monument built that we still marvel at its construction.

We did not have time to go to the third pyramid, the Pyramid of Mycerinus, as we needed to leave to get to the Sphinx before the site closed. We were in Egypt during Ramadan and some sites closed earlier then normal. The Sphinx has seen its better days and the face is very much lost to time. Shortly after we arrived at the Sphinx and just as we were finally through the crowds in order to have a closer view, the guards began to blow on their whistles to move everyone out of the site. As with many stops on this tour we did not have enough time to really enjoy the site.

Later that same night we were back at the pyramids for the “Light and Sound Show” narrated by Omar Sharif. It was a very enjoyable show that presented the story of the pyramids and the Sphinx with wonderful light and sound effects. I highly recommend attending it when you travel to Egypt. This was also the only time that we had to pay to use our video camera about $7.00. In some countries you have to pay at every site to even use a camera like in India.

That night we stayed at the Ramses Hilton in Cairo. It is a very nice hotel within walking distance of the Egyptian Museum and with a view of the Nile from our room.

The next morning we were off early on a flight to Aswan. Upon arrival we went to the Aswan High Dam to see the engineering marvel that tamed the Nile while at the same time interrupted the ancient flooding that has always renewed the fertility of the Nile River Valley. Up next was a red granite quarry from which the ancient Egyptians mined granite and floated it down the Nile for use in statues, monuments and obelisks. At the quarry is the broken obelisk. It was carved out on three sides but cracked before it was completed so it was left in place for us to be amazed at the hand labor used to create every monument that we would be viewing.

The next stop was the Island of Philae where the Temple of Isis is located. The temple is not on its original island, that island continually flooded and the temple was in danger of being destroyed so the temple complex was cut into over 37,000 pieces and moved to a higher island. In one word beautiful and a must see site for your travel to Egypt.

Later that day we made it to our cruise ship the MS Tulip. The ship was quite nice with room for about 100 people, an open deck on top and a small swimming pool.

That evening we took a felucca ride on the Nile to Botanical gardens of Lord Kitchener on an island in the river. While the gardens were not impressive we did enjoy the many cats and kittens that roamed the grounds.

The next day was our one block of time that we had free. While some others in the tour group took a flight to see Abu Simbel, we stayed in Aswan to explore the marketplace. We were disappointed in many ways with the shopping all over Egypt. The prices were highly inflated and the vendors would play currency games with you. Giving prices in Egyptian pounds but after bargaining on a price saying that they were talking about dollars. The quality of goods was poor, for example we found plastic in some of the tea we bought and the cinnamon is of poor quality. Many of the souvenir type items appear to have been made in China. The vendors become very aggressive and physical, grabbing your arm and trying to hold you at their shop – and many times we had to just walk away. We love shopping so we did still come back with a number of items and a few that are nice.

That afternoon began our cruise down the Nile; along the way we could see the fields, crops, animals, small villages and in places the desert coming down to the river edge.

The next day our stop was Kom Ombo – the temple dedicated to two gods Sobek the crocodile god and Haroeris. The only crocodiles that we saw were three mummified crocs in display cases at the temple site. We found out that there are no longer any Nile crocodiles below the Aswan High Dam. We arrived in the evening just before sunset so once again had just enough time to see the temple before the sun went down and the site closed for the evening. It is just amazing to walk through all of these sites that it is difficult to select just one favorite. Each has their unique qualities that must be seen to be appreciated.

The next morning we were at Edfu, the most complete temple complex in all of Egypt. Built by the Ptolemy Pharaohs. Dedicated to Horus, it took about 200 years to complete the temple. It is at this temple that one is able to really see how all the temples once looked. With walls, ceilings and even the mud brick outer wall in place you can really image yourself back in time while ceremonies took place to Horus. Once again though we were rushed away after an hour. This time we are told that the ship needed to travel down to Esna and get through the locks in order for us to make it to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings the next day. Well travel quickly we did and we made it to the locks in time, in time to sit for over 14 hours while we waited our turn to travel through the locks. It wasn’t until 2 a.m. that we finally moved through the locks and continued our travel on the Nile.

We did make it to Luxor for the next morning without a problem and went out to the Valley of the Kings. This is the one place where we could not use any cameras. Our entrance ticket allowed us to enter three tombs. We went into Seti II, Ramses II and Tuthmosis III – the most impressive of these three and a must see when you go especially for the star filled ceiling. All the tombs are different and in various states of being finished, depending upon when the pharaoh died and how far along they were in creating the tomb. In some of the tombs the wall paintings are not completely filled in and are only an outline of figures, in others the pillars are not completely cut out of the surrounding stone. But regardless, the tombs are a wonder to see and marvel at the amount of work that went into their creation.

We also paid extra to enter King Tut’s tomb, the smallest of all of the stone cut tombs in the valley. This is also the only tomb with its mummy still located there in his outer coffin inside his sarcophagus (until his recent removal to a climate controlled case inside the tomb to protect his deteriorating body). With the fame of this pharaoh it was well worth the extra money (it cost more than the entrance to the valley). The tourist trade has taken its toll on the tomb and you can see the damage from black mold on the wall paintings.

We were off next to the impressive Deir El Bahari mortuary temple of the Pharaoh Hatshepsut one of the few female pharaohs. This is one of the most impressive temples that we saw in Egypt and we could have spent hours exploring its wonders.

One the way to the Temple of Karnak we stopped at the Colossi of Memnon, two seated statues of Amenhotep III. The statues are severally degraded and not worth adding to your itinerary.

The Temple of Karnak was continually added onto and used for over 1500 years and spreads out for many acres. The complex of temples, shrines, obelisks, statues and a sacred lake is overwhelming in scale. The Great Hypostyle Hall and its magnificent stone pillars, the wonderfully carved walls, and the numerous statues, including one of King Tut and his wife show the grandeur and skill of the ancient builders.

Later that evening we traveled back to the Temple of Luxor, this originally was connected to the Karnak complex and here are plans to reconnect it. The Temple of Luxor, just like Karnak, is a wonder to behold, a strikingly graceful architecture that impresses you with its beauty. A 14th century mosque sits on part of the temple complex; it is not open to tourists.

We flew back to Cairo that evening after our tour of Luxor. The next day, our last in Egypt, we went to The Egyptian Museum – the storehouse of many of the ancient treasures. With only about 2 ½ hours in he museum we only were able to see part of the many artifacts in the museum. Our guide made sure that we saw the best pieces and left us about ½ hour to explore on our own. We spent much of that time looking at the King Tut exhibit. His golden coffin and death mask are two pieces that you have to see. When you look into the eyes of the mask it feels like you are looking into his face it is that lifelike. There is a traveling tour of King Tut artifacts, I think that it recently left the US for the UK, but they no longer allow the best pieces out of the country and only those pieces that have more than one in the collection. We could have spent days at the museum but were soon off to the old city. Egypt is building a new museum out near the pyramids that will be climate controlled and display more of the ancient artifacts. The joke in Egypt is that they will need to hire archeologists to dig out the storerooms and warehouses of The Egyptian Museum in order to move to the new museum since there are so many artifacts in storage.

Our tour of the Old City was brief with a stop at a church and a synagogue and some drive by views of other sites in Cairo. This was not really worth the time. The final stop was the old market place in the Old City. We left the other tour members at this stop and went to explore and shop on our own. As I have mentioned the shopping was disappointing in Egypt as was the quality of the products. The Cairo market was the same as the other shopping in Egypt.

Going to Egypt was a wonderful experience and quite the adventure. Having seen all of these sites in person was well worth the problems of the tour itself. As with any tour you can never pick the people you travel with. On this tour, we had the obnoxious group of Indians and the racist white guy. On the other hand there are always some who you really enjoy, on this trip Grandma Linda, who celebrated her 89th birthday on the trip, was a joy. Our guide was very knowledgeable and did get us to all the sites on the itinerary. However, the tour was not well planned out for timing at each site, we were rushed through every site and never had enough time to really explore on our own. The food served was very American/European. On the boat we only had one meal that was North African in flavor. The best parts of the meals were the fresh dates on the boat and the tamia that was served on the breakfast buffet at the Hilton. We would not recommend Friendly Planet Travel as the tour company to use, but we do recommend traveling to Egypt to see the grandeur and beauty of the ancient civilization along the Nile.

Our next trip? We are off to sunny and beautiful Thailand for two weeks in Bangkok and Hua Hin. Thailand is one of our favorite travel destinations and travel there always results in a relaxing vacation.

Check it out!

I have found a really great series of books on Amazon which are all guidebooks to places all over the world, but instead of just describing to you the best places to go when you get there, it also describes cultural differences as well as etiquette for a particular place. If you are inspired as I am to go to Greece someday, you should check out this book!

I would be curious to hear from Mel of Mel’s Diner or any other ex-pats living in Greece or any Greek ex-pats living in the US on cultural differences between the United States and Greece. That would be an interesting topic of discussion!

Has anyone seen Giada De Laurentiis’ new show on Food Network, Giada in Paradise?

As far as I can tell from the listings it is a special only. So far she has been to Santorini, which is my ultimate dream trip and Capri, which is not too far behind! When we watch this show at my house, it must sound like we are watching sports. We make all the same noises that sports fans make when their team scores a point, falls down or takes a hit to the stomach with a flying ball. We love this show, but we also are tortured by it because we want to be there more than anything else! When Giada takes a bite of something delicious you hear groans from our couch, when she steps foot somewhere we’d like to be, you will often hear a “yes!” as she starts describing a dream spot. This show is really giving me the travel bug big time, which is a great motivational tool to get me fired up to continue with all my projects and find more!

I have been dreaming about going to Greece for years now. My ultimate plan is to follow the voyage of Odysseus as I have loved the Iliad and the Odyssey for as long as I can remember. I have also been a big fan of all the theories surrounding the lost city of Atlantis. Many scholars believe that the destructive Minoan eruption on Santorini is the most likely candidate for the lost city itself. I have always believed that anything is possible and with my Anthropology background, I am always searching for the truth behind the ancient mysteries. I guess this is something else that Giada and I have in common, as she graduated in undergrad with a degree in Anthropology before she went to culinary school in Paris. So I am guessing that she loves this new assignment which takes her to ancient places, where she can get the lay of the land, eat the food and just soak up that Mediterranean sun! What a life, huh?!

Last night the show about Capri aired and since her family has been “hanging out” there for a long time, as her Aunt Raffi says, Giada knows all the ins and outs of the place. This show was like a big family reunion for her. We got to see her go jewelry shopping and have drinks with her aunt and a friend. We got to watch her make Ravioli Caprese with the chef at the restaurant her grandfather Dino De Laurentiis eats whenever he goes to Capri. We got to watch her prepare shellfish for her family in the kitchen of another well known Caprese restaurant, in her bathing suit cover-up! So it is obvious that she is well-known there and very comfortable!

I do hope they keep airing these specials. I think Giada is much more suited to these international voyages in comparison to her Weekend Getaways which are mostly US based. But in both cases, these are not trips, getaways or otherwise that the average person is likely to go on, which is why I need to get my own food travel show! However, in the meantime, it is entertaining to see how the other half lives!