ARRIVAL AND FIRST HOLIDAY

After our exciting arrival in Egypt we both slept like babies from 8 pm until 7.30 am !!

I had booked wheelchair assistance for my friend Chantal who walks on crutches. Our travel agency swore that this time everything was in order and we would be brought to the airplane and upon our arrival in Egypt we would be picked up in the airplane and let through the customs with a wheelchair. Last time I had troubles with the wheelchair so this time I wanted to be sure !!

On the paper was written "wheelchair assistance on ramp", which meant that there was a wheelchair available at the airport. But the long way from airplane to the passport control we should walk. A truck with lift waited at the airplane, but there was no wheelchair. The assistant told me it would arrive immediately and we should sit down at the border check in.


In this huge truck with elevator where 4 wheelchairs but not for us apparently. I think I will never" understand this logic !

After half an hour the "immediately" was changed into a moment and changed again into immediately. Nearly 2 hours later and having "spoken" (I slighly lost my initial kindness) to 5 responsibles in uniform, there was still no wheelchair and we got fed up and were rather unnerved ! Finally a very friendly custom guy helped us to go through the border, showed our passports got the visas and we could pick up our suitcases (always without wheelchair !) But at least we didn't have to wait in the long line of tourists. Apparently nobody was afraid of the Egyptian revolution in spring, I have never seen so many tourists like this time.

Outside, our travel agency bus waited with all people sitting inside except us and fortunately another couple. Instead of arriving at 2 pm in the afternoon it was nearly 4 when we finally arrived in the hotel half dead !

Today was our first day and the sun was shining, the water warm and the food delicious. We made an appointment for a massage our cure from today on should be perfect ! The staff is so very friendly and cheerful just as last your. Egyptians like to joke and have a lot of humor.

Besides the fact that I was in war with one surviving mosquito which bit me and I had to put an anti itching cream on, I slept very well.

The hotel had all bathroom renewed and the rooms freshly painted. Most of the guests are Germans, English, Scandinavians and a few Eastern country guests. But no badly behaving Russians !

At 3 the sun goes down slowly so we had breakfast at 8 and then lay at the beach because it is already quiet hot and stayed until 3 pm when it is getting cold.

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. I started the week with preparing my trip to Egypt, which included laundry, shopping, making lists etc.

2. The mussel season started here in Belgium and as it is one of the typical Belgian plates, I went with Dominique eating our first mussels ! It was delicious. As the weather was sunny we had a cup of coffee at the Waterloo Lion and could even sit outside. There were many tourists from all over the world to see where Napoleon had lost his battle.

3. Spending the whole day or nearly at my computer transferring all things I need on my little notebook which I always take with me when I am on holidays.

4/5 After having gotten up at 4 am, to be at the airport at 5.30, we arrived finally in Hurghada without any delay. But then the troubles started but I will report about this tomorrow, now I am so tired that we will just go for supper and then fall into our beds !

One thing I can tell you already, when you go to North Africa you have to be armed with a lot of patience !! "In a moment" can easily mean in an hour !

Sorry if I am short in commenting, getting Internet was also a whole story !

FIRST TRIP IN AN AIRPLANE

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

I took an airplane for the first time in 1964. For a 21 year old European girl it was very early and rather unusual. But I worked in an American company where the salesmen took the airplanes like a bus, from Brussels to Italy, Germany, France etc and of course also to the States, but this was at that time a rather long flight, especially there was no direct flight from Brussels to New York and to other big cities it was even more complicated. So I thought what they can do I can do too.

My first flight took me to Sicily. For that I had to take an airplane from Brussels to Rome and from Rome I had to take a very small airplane with just 6 seats to Catania (Italy) because the airport was not yet equipped for big airplanes. The pilote of this little thing probably was in a hurry to fly home, anyway he flew as if the devil would chase him and the only passengers in this mini airplane was a business man and I. The pilote went through the clouds up and down and we had the feeling to fly in a shaker, it was a miracle that I didn't get sick while my flight companion was rather green in his face and tried hold on his seat. As I had no flight experience at all and am not especially an anxious person, I thought it was normal !

Today, looking back, I admire myself, I would never dare to do such a flight again. But in youth one is more reckless !



Now while you are reading this I am sitting in this kind of airplane which will take me in 4 hours to Hurghada at the Red Sea in Egypt. It will be the 10th time I go to the Red Sea. For the last five years at the same place before I was in Sharm el Sheik, on the other side. To me these are not holidays but a cure for my health. I get better over the winter since I spent 2 weeks doing nothing, besides reading, swimming, and eating and forget all worries. The warm weather is good for my old bones and when I come back I almost feel like a newborn baby, except that I don't remember how I felt when I entered this world.



I will continue to post on this blog like a diary of my holidays. Observing tourists can be fun !

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

more participants here








Sunday market in Waterloo

OUR WORLD - Waterloo Antiquity Market

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In our world are also Antiquity/Flea markets. We have a very big one in Waterloo, each Sunday morning on the parking space of the Supermarket Carrefour (that's like Tesco, or Walmart).
People from all over Belgium are coming to this market and there are a lot of foreigners too. I heard a lot of English and German.

It's amazing what people sell and of course also buy.





The weather was sunny and quiet warm, and therefore the whole place packed !



lots of useless and useful things to buy



A cat in a "Dutch" outfit and a little spinning wheel



This lady apparently had been very thirsty at 10 am ! I suppose that a group had their first good Belgian beer here. I don't think she drank all these bottles alone ! She probably wouldn't sit on the chair anymore.



Instead of a baby I saw a dog in the stroller



and some very strange shopping in the caddy. Maybe it would fit in your living room ?



African statues



And a brave dog, watching over the people.

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND ?

of October 29. If you participate please put the little logo on the top of your post and leave your link.


Saturday afternoon Ilona invited me to see the two white cats people had left in a carrier in the woods where she had a walk because the weather was so nice. A man with a dog had found the cats and had told her. She took the carrier with the cats home and tried to find somebody who would adopt them, because she has already a cat and no space for two others. I will tell the whole story Tuesday on my cat blog. Anyway when I arrived I saw her neighbor's house decorated for Halloween !



It also was the only one in the street

Then we walked over to the lady who had adopted the two poor things and by coincidence lives in the same street.



When I arrived there I found a real cat paradise ! The two cats felt already home. The left one has blue and the right one yellow eyes. Apparently they are around 7 months old were well fed and had recently been spayed. Now the Lady's vet will try to find out who spayed the cats and who abandonned them in the woods ! It's a shame ! Fortunately they found such a good home.

In the evening I made a big pot of Chili con Carne, which I wanted to put into portions and deepfreeze, so that Mr. G. has his favorite plate also when I am on holidays in Egypt.

During the night I woke up because there was a big bang in the kitchen. I jumped out of my bed and went into the kitchen and just saw cat Arthur trying to eat the Chili, he had removed the cover of the pot which was quiet heavy. I called him a naughty boy, put the pot in another place and returned to my bed. Not even 5 min later I heard a big bang again, returned to the kitchen where I found Sir Arthur again busy with the Chili and the cover laying on the floor ! Now I was really upset.



The only place in our house where the door is always closed is the toilet. Otherwise all doors are always open, because as cat lovers know, cats hate closed doors and scratch until you open them. I put the pot on the toilet, closed the door went to bed and forgot about it.

Sometimes in the morning I heard Mr. G. calling me and asking me why the Chili was on the toilet. You should have seen his face ! I explained and then put the Chili into portions and then in the deepfreeze. The Chili was saved !


Arthur is always ready to steal food ! Doesn't he look like the two orphans ?

Sunday morning it was quiet sunny so I went for a little walk to the very big flea market which takes place each Sunday on the Carrefour parking.



There were so many people so that I thought whole Waterloo would be there. I saw lots of funny and real rotten old things to buy and these ladies with a rather strange purchase.

The afternoon was dedicated to some laundry.

HALLOWEEN IN BELGIUM

Meanwhile in Belgium Halloween is also known but not as much celebrated as in the USA. In my street there is no Halloween decoration at all, although last year at least one house had a very "bloody" decoration. This year nothing. I just drove a little around in other parts of Waterloo but didn't see anything in the gardens.

To my surprise when on Friday afternoon I visited Annie from my painting class in her street the houses and gardens were decorated !





With all neighbors they even make a big Halloween street party with a special witch soup and the kids going from house to house. She said it started around 8 years ago.



When I came back home, I added the witch and the pumpkin to my autumn basket so that Mr. G. has now two witches in the house and at least it gives a little Halloween touch.

To those who celebrate Halloween