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Yesterday evening I came back from my holidays in Egypt at the Red Sea with my friends. We were welcomed at the airport by Mr. Gattino and Chantal's two sons. They were standing side by side without knowing that he was my husband and only when we came out and they screamed "here she comes" they were realizing that they waited for the same persons.

Our flight back was smooth and very well organized for Chantal. I had asked for handicapped assistance so we all were checked in the first once and hadn't to line up and were taken to a bus with an elevator on which the wheelchair was put and lifted in then driven to the airplane and lifted up to the entrance door of the plain. So we sat there enjoying that we were treated like VIP's while the others had to line up and squeeze themselves into a bus which drove them to the plane. Unfortunately I completely forgot to take pictures probably because we all were so excited because for all of us it had been the very first time.

We all had the blues and were regretting that the holidays went by so fast and to comfort ourselves we were looking at our hands and arms at the beautiful rings and bracelets we had bought there.


And this was what we left behind us ! Our beautiful hotel and 2 weeks of sunshine, not one cloud and 30°C (86 F) !

and now we are back and are freezing in - 2° (31 F) !

I FLY HOME

TT below !

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

My blogging place for 2 weeks.

Our holidays are coming to an end. Tomorrow we fly home into the cold weather !

13 things about my holidays in Egypt with two friends.

1. we did a one day excursion to Luxor to see all the amazing places which exist since more than 3000 years before JC.


The Valley of the Kings

2. We went with a glass boat far into the red sea and watched corals and beautiful colored fishes. We even saw a turtle.

3. To get to the boat we were driven in a golf car as my friend can't walk far with her crutches

4. We stopped on a sand bank in the middle of the ocean and could walk there with the water up to our knees

5. Wherever you go the places are very well equipped for handicapped people as Hurghada is a quite new town

6. Here at the Red Sea the Egyptians are very friendly, helpful and funny. They seem to be very very happy people.

7. There is a lot of personal for everything and a lot who who only pick up the dirt tourists leave behind.

8. The streets here in Hurghada are so clean that you could eat on them. They are cleaned all the time.

9. Some tourists are really behaving very badly throwing their trash everywhere and treat the locals very unpolitely and disdainful.

10. Besides the Russian woman who took bread out of our bread basket, we had one who suddenly approached and toot the tooth sticks away without saying a word !

11. You can eat a medium Pizza here in this 5 * hotel for 2 euros !

12. There are so many Russians here that I have to learn Russian ! I already started with
"daaa" (yes) "daawaaii" (quick), sbaasibaah (thank you) and "njet" (no). Apparently this is enough for a conversation because this morning a girl came to me and said :"grrrraaaagrroooogrrraaabaaad" which I understood immediately ! she asked for my lighter !

13. We had a great time and found our teenager years back with 60 !






Our last evening meal in an Italian restaurant. We put the napkins on our heads.

Tomorrow I will sit in the airplane so see you on saturday !

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

BUSINESS IS BUSINESS

Besides a topless Russian at the pool nothing special happened. Topless is not allowed but apparently this girl cannot read. I also find it very respectless to be toples in a muslim country ! I bet they would never do it at a Russian beach.

But our usual evening walk suddenly became very special ! Looking again at the jewelery shops with outhanging long tongues and chatting with the owners, when we crossed the big place to get back to our hotel, we suddenly were stopped by 3 very handsome men. They asked us where we were coming from and for the 1000 time I explained that we are living in Belgium but that I am German and my friends Belgian and French. Then they asked us if we would need something. We said no, everthing is perfect. But they insisted : " Don't you really need anything ?" We again said no, it's really kind of you. Then one of them said : "But we are really very good, very good service, we do everything you want !" Now I was quite surprised and for once speachless ! Then all three showed us their muscles but fortunately didn't unbutton their trousers ! and then they praised again their capacities and precised that they are very clean, use protection of course and are not expensive.

I felt a terrible laughter starting inside myself and could hardly keep a friendly face. My friends hadn't got it all but smiled too. What should I answer to this so politely asked offer ?? Suddenly I had an idea. I told them that we especially went on holidays to rest from our oh so eager and ardent husbands and that we had to invent migraines to get some peace. They approved, smiled and went away. We had met Call Boys !

I am unable to describe the laughter which followed when they were far enough ! None of us had ever experienced such an adventure ! We laughed and giggled the whole evening.

That happens when you are not a teen- but a sixty ager !

To their excuse I have to say that a lot of women are coming here only to pay themselves some "fun". But once the man has understood, they are not insisting at all. They are very polite ! Business is business !

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I don't know if this is one !

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Hourgada shopping street by night

MANIC MONDAY - GRAVY

MANIC MONDAY LINK


When I read the word "gravy" for Manic Monday I wasn't happy at all ! Lieing in the sunshine with 32 deg C (over 80) doesn't really inspire to eat gravy !!

The first time I ate meat in a gravy sauce I didn't even know what it was. I then saw a brown liquid which didn't look very appetizing and covered the meat. I didn't like it at all. Fortunately I only had to eat it in the UK the States and in Germany. I never saw it in another country. Anyway for me it always has the taste of "United Chemicals" and when it is thick it's even worse.

Fortunately it doesn't exist in the Egyptian kitchen which is very healthy. A lot of vegetables, very fresh fish, lam or veal. The chicken really has the taste of a happy chicken pecking around in a little village and not at all the taste of our inside breed chicken which have no taste and are mostly dry. All meals are spiced with nice herbs but not spicy at all. The meat is mostly grilled or roasted and really delicious.

Only the desserts are a little too sweet for me and are sometimes swimming in oil and very greasy. But cakes and yogurt desserts are delicious.

Last time when I was in England in a restaurant and was asked " with gravy ?" I always answered with horror " Oh no !!!" And if there was some on my plate I always scratched it off.

We eat a lot of very fresh fish just caught in the morning in the red sea qnd it always has a wonderful taste and they are fishes which are mostly unknown in other countries.

If every you wish to read a hilarious adventure we had yesterday here in Egypt come here tomorrow.

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No gravy on the table !!!

HOW LONG TO BUY DRINKS ?

Yesterday evening we absolutely had to buy some juices and our Karkade (Egyptian tea). You can mix it together and it makes a wonderful refreshing cold drink which we usually drink during the day at the beach. So we went to our 'Ali Baba shop' who has everything. It would have taken maximum 10 min but there is so much to see and we always discover new things which are so cheap that we think it would be a crime not to buy them. It took us 2 h to buy our juice and of course we forgot the Karkade, but we came out with one long collar of agatha stones and one with lapis lazuli for 3,75 euros (3 $) each, an ashdray with hyroglyphes, 3 little cats and 3 T-shirts for my men, Ilona bought a blouse and a dress (below) and a silk scarf with a beautiful design and Chantal a bracelet in mother of pearl and also 3 T-shirts for 20 euros ! This was our drinks shopping ! We have a little kitchen in our apartment so that we do our coffee and tea ourselves. Nothing else of course !

After shopping we looked for a restaurant and went in another hotel because on the street there were none. People usually go from hotel to hotel if they look for some other menus. But when we saw the prices we were "shocked" instead of the usual price of around 6 euros they asked the double and that seemed soooo expensive to us although we could never get a decent menu for 12 euros at home. Now we didn't know what to do to pay or not to pay but suddenly turning around I saw something .... a Mac Donald !!! Even here you find something so familiar as a Mac Do, as everywhere in the world. There were no Egyptian burgers what a disappointment ! But the prices too were amazing ! For 9 chicken nuggets and two big macs with french fries we payed 3 euros all together !!

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Ilona tries her dress
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I flirt with this blouse

to buy or not to buy that is the question


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and our meal at the Mac Do, the club of the 60th !!

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we finished our evening with a beautiful Egyptian musical. I made a little video but it is impossible to download. I will do it upon my return