Travel to Cairo

This morning we were up at 5 am and got ready to go to the airport. They had the breakfast trays ready for us (& mine without egg!) as promised. We got to the airport and had to go through 3 passport checks and 2 security checks. Our departure time moved an hour later. But it was nice to be able to eat breakfast and not be in a rush going through all the security. It was a quick flight to Amman, then a layover for a couple of hours. The crazy thing in Amman is they made us go outside the airport and then back through to get to our next flight! Their security was similar to Aqaba so it took a while with a lot of lines. Poor girls. Poor parents. But we made it!

Peter went to find some bland food for me for lunch (the rest would get lunch on the plane), while I worked on uploading pictures. He ended up finding a Subway sandwich- who knew! We have been having wifi issues and laptop issues, so it was nice to have time to work on pictures and documenting while we had good wifi! Our flight to Egypt was also pretty quick! But it was the most turbulence I have ever experienced (bumping and lurching). There was some screaming and crying, but luckily the girls were ok after I explained what was happening. Clara said "it's fun"! :) I was thankful it only lasted a relatively short time (probably 5-10 minutes).

When we landed in Cairo, the tour we're a part of (Cleopatra Tours) had someone there at the airport to help walk us through getting us a visa, go through passport control, exchange money, and help with our luggage. That was nice! Our driver was pointing out landmarks but didn't speak English, so Peter utilized Google Translate a lot with him, as we have other drivers. It now has a listening mode and then translates it for you. That has been a heavensend on this trip! We made it to the hotel and there was another tour person to make sure our room was ok and answer any questions. Our hotel (Pyramid Edge Hotel) has a rooftop view of the pyramids, which is really fun! The "family room" setup is interesting, with 4 beds (one pop-up) in a row and a tiny one-person bathroom. We couldn't get the heat to work, but luckily it's not frigid here. We keep saying it's better than a windy cave. Funny note: we ended up leaving our ponchos in Jordan because they take up room and we hadn't used them at all. We get here and it starts raining. :D

For whatever reason I didn't know that they spoke Arabic here too! So it's so fun to already know and have practiced some words: "Salaam" for hello and "Shukran" (shoo-k-ron) for thank you.

We walked down the street for just a couple of minutes and there was a good looking restaurant, and as we were all hungry, stopped in to eat an early dinner. Addy saw Hawawshi on the menu and knew she wanted that! She was so excited! Nana made that for us before our trip and she had loved it. She said it tasted very similar, except here they had put peppers in it. Fun! The other three girls wanted spring rolls (and shrimp for Clara), and Peter got a seafood dish, while I got the traditional Molokhia with Roast Chicken (chicken and rice served with a soup). The chicken was so very tender! We also tried the Mombar (rice filled something) which was good. Emma ate quite a bit of rice and chicken- so happy to see her eat a lot! She has been picky and just says she's full, but I know she can't possibly be. Granola bars have been her saving grace.

We stopped in at a souvenir shop and were told how papyrus is made. Pretty cool the process it goes through! They even had some glow in the dark ones! We learned that the Scarab beetle is for good luck.

I'm really proud of the girls for how they're catching on to things. They are getting to be pros on the plane! They are learning to come whisper when they see something they really like. They are excited to see so many new things! And they don't throw their toilet paper in the toilet anymore (hard habit to break even for me!). They are getting good at brushing their teeth with a water bottle too! Way to go girls!

Theme today: I Can Do Hard Things

Things we learned:
Emma: My favorite was that we had a great time at dinner. That we shared the rice and chicken.
Clara: Buying the papyrus picture was my favorite!
Leesie: I learned that an Egyptian pound is 3 cents US. 25 pounds is $1 American dollar.
Addy: I learned that in Egypt they use horses and camels in the streets! And also wagons. I thought that was pretty cool! But also, it

makes a mess.
Kathy: The biggest bill here is 200 Egyptian Pounds, but it is only worth $7.50 or 8 dollars! I had read that their pound had lost a lot of value, but that was crazy to me!
Peter: Traveling with tired kids is really hard when you're tired too.

Miracles:
- I felt it was a big miracle that we traveled safely today. The fog made me nervous coming into Amman (the Queen it's named for died on a plane there because of the fog); the turbulence was unsettling; and the people here drive the craziest we've seen! So grateful to be here safe and sound!