Portugal, Day 8: The Algarve to Lisbon

Today, the mission was to get to get to the Lisbon airport, drop the car, check in to the airport hotel and then rest for a ridiculously early flight. We had set up three side quests, of which we were able to achieve two.

Portugal, Day 7: The Algarve

The Algarve is full of beautiful sights, and if you tried to jam them all in for the sake of it, you’d kind of be missing the point.

Portugal, Day 6: Sintra to the Algarve

We knew that a “beach vacation” in Portugal in March probably wasn’t going to be a thing, in spite of Daina packing three tank tops.

Portugal, Day 5: Óbidos and Sintra

This place is a virtual Disneyland of castles and palaces, with each one having its own specific design quirks.

Portugal, Day 4: Azulejos and Architecture

So I learned today that Daina wanted to be a seismologist growing up and that I can readily be mistaken for a Portuguese waiter if my tan has come in.

Portugal, Day 3: The Many Miradouros of Lisbon

This is a city of hills. Lots of them.

Portugal, Day 2: Belém

Lisbon continues to win me over in spite of a ridiculous line to start the day.

Portugal, Day* 1: Toronto to Lisbon

Now, full disclosure – up until a few years ago, Lisbon and Portugal weren’t on my radar. I think I always had Portugal in my mind as “Spain Junior”, to modify a Simpsons reference.

40 for 40: Day 37 – Fredericton, New Brunswick

I don’t know that I would ever have sought out Fredericton as a tourist destination on my own. That said, as a place to be for a friends wedding on a long weekend, it was surprisingly nice.

40 for 40: Day 36 – Fredericton, New Brunswick

So here’s a picture of the Fredericton Legislature, which is really the only historic thing we did or saw today. … More

Egypt: The Best & The Leftovers

I’ve wanted to visit this place since I was a kid. Achievement Unlocked!!!

Final thoughts, recommendations and “bonus material”.

40 for 40: Day 24 – The Citadel and Islamic Cairo

“Do you realize we were in a car accident, a fistfight, and there was a mass shooting? That’s pretty much everything under the sun.”

40 for 40: Day 23 – Alexandria to Cairo

So, we went back to the Platform Believed To Be Seven, and I was frantically looking and hoping for any indication that the broken-looking train was leaving. Some kind of a sign, either physically or metaphorically.

40 for 40: Day 22 – Alexandria

For the “Rick and Morty” fans out here, the Citadel reminded me of the episode where an Evil Rick was kidnapping Mortys and using their inferior brainwaves to hide his superior brainwaves. I know Daina is a great photographer, and I consider myself a pretty good one, but here, it’s drowned out by all the bad photography that surrounds you. Part of that bad photography was pictures of us.

40 for 40: Day 21 – Cairo to Alexandria

At this point, we’ve been in Alexandria for only a few hours, and the place looks like it’s crumbling in on itself, but somehow, that adds to its charms.

40 for 40: Day 20 – Islamic Cairo, Al-Azhar Park and the Cairo Tower

Cairo doesn’t really care about your plans.

40 for 40: Day 19 – The Monasteries of St Paul and St Anthony

As much as I like cheap DIY, no way we could do it and fit in the rest of the things on our trip, so private car was the option.

40 for 40: Day 18 – Hurghada

…to drive home how much today isn’t about adventure, I’m doing bullet points.

40 for 40: Day 17 – Luxor to Hurghada

We got off of the Go Bus in “downtown” Hurghada, did a rough negotiation for a cab (first guy wanted 100 LE each, we found a guy for 30 LE total), and now we’re at an all-inclusive resort in Egypt.
 I know, not what you would expect.

40 for 40: Day 16 – Abydos and Dendera

It was at this point that friends of mine may have read a “Hey, LOL, police escort just taking us out of Abydos with masks on, OMG” type post on my Facebook, because even though I was pretty sure nothing was happening, I wanted there to be some kind of digital record.

40 for 40: Day 15 – Medinat Habu, Tombs of the Nobles, Valley of the Queens, Colossi of Memnon, Banana Island.

“Your friend is rich enough to pay 300 LE for photos but doesn’t have enough to tip guards?”

So this is where the perspective piece comes in.

40 for 40: Day 14 – Valley of the Kings, Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut and Ramesseum

When the place you’re visiting has been considered one of the hottest places on Earth, it’s good to be able to get going early and avoid the heat.

40 for 40: Day 13 – Luxor

Figuring that we’d want to spend a couple of days on the West Bank sites, and having heard that Luxor is the Hassle Capital of Egypt and that not of that takes place in the East Bank, I figured a 9.4 rated guesthouse on the West with a pool would be a solid bet.
…
We are REALLY far away from everything.

40 for 40: Day 12 – Edfu and Al Kab

At this point, I got a bit loud and, in my best kindergarten voice said “NO! That is NOT how you do things! You do NOT push me! Good-bye!” Which shut him up for almost a minute before he went back to trying to sell me something as I was across the parking lot.

40 for 40: Day 11 – Gebel el-Silsila

Gebel el-Silsila isn’t going to be overrun by tourists any time soon, mostly due to the fact that the bigger boats aren’t allowed to dock anywhere near it, so the ability to flexible was appreciated and a bit of a given.

40 for 40: Day 10 – Swimming in the Nile and cruising to Kom Ombo

I don’t know what other spectacular sights Egypt will present, but this experience may become the thing that defines it.

40 for 40: Day 9 – Abu Simbel and Siou, Egypt

We arrived at Abu Simbel at 6:45 am and, already, the sun was baking the ground, coming in at what felt like the mid-thirties. There’s zero shade outside, and you immediately sweat as you pass over a hill to see the temple. You can understand why you wouldn’t be there midday, as it would just be too damn hot.

40 for 40: Day 8 – Around Aswan, Egypt

I had readied myself for Philae ahead of time, having read that the ferry negotiation was intense, the guards and caretakers would aggressively follow you or try to photobomb your shots for tips, and that there was quite a bit of hassle at the temple.
 Well, ferry price came in at cheaper than Kalbasha, guards were nice and asked us where we were from before leaving us alone, caretakers asked if we wanted to take pictures of them, but nothing nearly as intense as what I had heard.

40 for 40: Day 7 – Elephantine Island, Egypt

If you’re obviously not from here, you have a good chance of getting offered something, from a felucca to a horse ride to, today, hashish (which got an immediate no in the shortest of terms).

40 for 40 Day 6: Coptic Cairo and Historic* Cairo

Soon after, another guy comes up to us and tries the same shtick, following us until I literally see people walking into the mosque and say “Oh look, it’s open”, at which point he says “It’s open! After, do you want some spices? Backgammon board? Anything you need!” Worst attempted save of a hustle ever.

40 for 40: Day 5 – The Egyptian Museum and the Museum of Islamic Art

It’s rare that you get to check two big items off the bucket list in two consecutive days. With the pyramids yesterday and the Egyptian Museum today, we were lucky enough to do just that.

40 for 40: Day 4 – The Pyramids of Egypt

I’ve started off with that long disclaimer to let you know that today was absolutely one of the best days of my life and that’s including the hassle and hustle that came with it.

40 for 40: Day 3 – Rome to Cairo

I think the last time I was this excited to be on a plane going somewhere was Easter Island, and considering how strange, rare and wonderful that place was, that’s a big deal for me.

40 for 40: Day 2 – Rome

Once we got to the office, we found out that, yes, on the first Sunday of the month, admission to several of Rome’s major sites is free, so we would pay nothing for the Colosseum and Forum.