Mind the Gap

London has been a breath of fresh air! We have really enjoyed the time that we've spent here and could see ourselves coming back for another vacation in the future. There is so much to see here that it is impossible to walk down the street without seeing something amazing and there is no way for us to take it all in during such a short trip.

As soon as we got to Heathrow Airport we were impressed by how easy it was to get around the city. We took the train from the airport into town and got off at Paddington station. We knew that our hotel was near by but had no idea which way to go as we left the station. That is when Ryan's excellent sense of direction kicked in. He picked a direction and basically headed straight to our hotel which was no small feat considering how many little hotels are squished into the row houses in this neighborhood.

As we walked we were pleased to pass many restaurants, pubs and corner stores. We stopped to get some snacks and then settled in our hotel room for the night. We crashed really hard after a long day of excitement and travelling.

Our first tourist trip was to head to the British Museum. We went to Paddington station and bought our Oyster cards which are a pay as you go cards for travelling on the underground and buses in London. Once we figured out which tube line and direction we needed to go it was quite easy to figure out where we were going. The bonus of being here in London is that we can ask for directions without the potential of a massive language barrier.

There was so much to see at the museum that we weren't able to see it all with one trip. We were very surprised to learn that there is no admission fee and we were allowed to take pictures! The highlight for me was definitely the Rosetta Stone which I have wanted to see since I was little. The Roman and Greek sculptures and artifacts were very impressive as was the clock room. There were many shiny pieces of jewelery and old weapons that were in varying degrees of degradation. Unfortunately we both developed intense headaches and after grabbing a hot dog from the cart (which turned out to be more like a sausage in a bun) we decided to head back to the hotel to try to relieve our brain pain.

After reviewing our wardrobe for our upcoming trans-Atlantic cruise we realized that our warm weather clothing was severely lacking. This was never a problem during our time in Asia and Egypt but the winds off the Atlantic during September can get awfully chilly. So after getting some advice on where to shop in London on a Saturday without getting run over by crowds we headed to High Street Kensington.

Our shopping went really well so after having lunch we took a double decker bus to Trafalgar Square which is the 4th most visited tourist site in the world. It was a busy place on the weekend with many tourists and visitors to the National Gallery. We did not intend on going to the gallery while in London but since we were there (and again the admission was free) we decided to head in and check it out. I am so glad that we did! I have a much greater appreciation of fine art after seeing the amazing paintings that were housed there. I have never seen anything like it and we were both awestruck. Monet, Picasso, da Vinci, Van Gogh and Ryan's new favorite Rembrandt were all there and we spend more time than I would have thought wandering around in a mind blown stupor.

After a long day of walking we decided to take it easy the following day. We headed to Hyde park in the afternoon which is very close to our hotel. Proms in the Park was going on which is a classical concert held by the BBC so there was many people in the park on their way to the concert. We stopped and listened at speakers corner to the brave people who stand on their soap boxes and spout on about almost any topic, with the main themes being religion and politics. The lady with the largest crowd was annoying and egging the crowd on with a racist theme which encouraged many audible and passionate retorts. It was quite the sight to see and although we did not agree with most of what any of the speakers were going on about, it was excellent to see everyone being able to speak their mind and spark a discussion.

Trots and Farts

A couple days after our trip to the museum we decided to head off the see the pyramids that had been teasing us from our hotel room. We were really excited about this adventure and the day did not disappoint us. We got up early so that we could avoid the heat and the crowds. After a mediocre breakfast at the hotel (the food here has not sat well with our tummies) it was time to negotiate a price for the days taxi ride.

The hotel we are staying at is fancier that what we are used to, so the taxi prices are also equally as fancy. Unfortunately there are no cabs that come to this area and most taxi drivers don't know where the hotel is, so we were stuck taking the hotel car. On the upside our driver is excellent and we have a lot of fun with him while he is chauffeuring us around.

Our original plan was to go walk around the pyramids but we were convinced that the trip might be better on the back of a camel and we are very glad that we let ourselves be convinced. We arrived at the camel stable and negotiated the price of our tour around the pyramids and the sphinx. Once we came to a reasonable (cough, cough) agreement we met our camels and swung ourselves on. They instruct you too lean back really far as the camel stands up so that you don't biff it over the front. Camels are much taller than I was expecting so falling off was not something I planned on. I felt huge on the back of mine as we sauntered and bumped towards the pyramid entrance.

The entrance was not the main gate as I had expected. Instead we were ushered with our guide through a side gate and since we never received an official ticket I have a feeling a little baksheesh cleared our way through the gate.

The ride was bumpy, I had expected a smooth swaying action but instead it was a jolting up and down motion that had my butt and back aching. Our first stop was an excellent photo opportunity where we climbed off our camels and the guide took some of the best photos that we have gotten on this entire trip. You could tell that he had done this before as he set us up in front of the pyramids in great poses. After admiring the view for a little while we climbed back aboard our camels and headed to the next photo opp.

Our camels deserve a description as they had so much personality. Ryan's camel was leading the way and had quite a flatulence problem. My camel was so bouncy that I was afraid if I let go for just a moment I would be bounced right off his back. He also peed on his own foot while we were getting our photos taken at our first stop. I asked our guide what their names were and he told me 'Micheal Douglas' and 'MacGyver' which was hilarious and not what I was expecting at all. We decided to rename them for the course of our short journey and 'Farts' and 'Trots' seemed appropriate.

Onward to the next stop where we got a stunning photo of the Pyramid of Khafre as well as some more well placed photos courtesy of our excellent and funny guide. After this stop, our guide asked Ryan if he wanted to drive his own camel. Up till this point Ryan and the guide were on the same camel in front with me on my own camel tied behind to follow. After some quick instruction Ryan was on his own, cruising with a camel and a huge grin on his face.

As we continued touring the pyramids our guide was cracking jokes, pointing out items of interest and giving us really good information about what we were seeing. He told a story about why the sphinx is made up of a lion, an eagle and a women's head as well as talking about the destruction of the nose of the Sphinx which he attributed to Napoleon as most people do but there is also some evidence that Turkish soldiers shot it off.

The Sphinx was smaller than I expected (at 65 feet high and 250 feet long) but almost anything is small in comparison to the overwhelming size of the pyramids (at 450 feet high) which were the tallest man-made structures in the world for over 3800 years. We were also surprised to learn that it only took 20 years to construct the pyramid. Unfortunately all the slaves who worked on the pyramids were killed after their completion which will leave us all wondering how they were able to construct such an amazing and awe-inspiring wonder of the world.

For more photos of Cairo and our trip to the pyramids click here...