What a day to wrap up Africa- in Alexandria 10/29/18
We had the most fantastic breakfast this am. Cheeses and meats and fresh warm breads as far as the eye could see. We could have stayed in bed all day, but there are sights to be seen. We took a cab to our farthest destination, the citadel. We paid 100 EGP for the ride, we are getting closer to finding out how much it actually costs. The citadel is right on the Mediterranean and was better than expected. It was beautiful next to the ocean with all the outlook towers. Andy found a young orange cat that started to follow him around. Only if we could take him home! There are tons of cats and kittens all around this city. Dogs too but they were all sleeping. I bet nights are crazy with sounds around here.
Next was the Abou El Abbas El Morsy Mosque. It's a giant mosque with large ornate domes. There are multiple mosques in the area that are all very impressive. I'm not sure if women are allowed in these and I wasn't about to try. Andy was tempted but he didn't. While the mosque's themselves are impressive, the area around them, are not.
We were getting a bit tired so we took a tuk tuk to the next stop, the Souk El-Attarine. It was an area of town that had a lot of stores of antiques. Not quite what we were looking for but we cruised around. Next was the Roman Amphitheater which has the remains of a small Roman theater, cisterns, and baths. I was done with history and getting hangry so we were en route for falafel, until we came upon a small alley with locals sitting at tables on the side eating small sandwiches. I'm always down for sandwiches so Andy found one open table and went in to try to communicate. There are fewer signs in English in this city and fewer people who know English. The guy who owned this cafe was happy to serve some Americans, just like the guy at the shisha/tea cafe. Andy came back to the table and said, by the way these are liver sandwiches. Oh dammit, I'm not a fan. Well I'm hungry and we are here so let's get some. We did and they were pretty good. A little spicy, a little citrusy, not very livery. We got another order and we were good to go. The owner was happy he satisfied some Americans and gave an overall thumbs up and said come back! We were just chillin and a father came up to Andy asking for a picture with his daughter. The daughter look thrilled (not really). I’m not sure if it was an American thing or more of the 300 movie but of course Andy obliged. Funny.
The last stop was the Bibliotheca. It was a new and modern library. Pretty impressive, especially for this area. The architecture was unique and nice to see surrounded by the old city. Our walking tour was done so we hopped in a taxi for some pool time. I asked the taxi driver about the cost- 50? He said 25. OK, I'm not used to negotiations going this way, but this is how much it actually costs to go down the strip $1.5.
Back at the hotel finally and we jumped in the outdoor pool while the sun was still shining brightly. Some glasses of wine and a snack, this is what I've been thinking about all day. Yesss. We later had dinner down at the private beach and got some more shisha time in, this time with grape and mint (highly recommend). We finally got the seafood platter (you have to eat seafood in Alexandria) we've been waiting for. The concierge had a guy go get our train tickets for us tomorrow since they do sell out and there's no phone number to buy tickets. That would have sucked if we didn't have a train ride home. He brought them to us at dinner for 2pm tomorrow. So this is what happens at nice hotels??!!
Next was the Abou El Abbas El Morsy Mosque. It's a giant mosque with large ornate domes. There are multiple mosques in the area that are all very impressive. I'm not sure if women are allowed in these and I wasn't about to try. Andy was tempted but he didn't. While the mosque's themselves are impressive, the area around them, are not.
As we walked through town, we saw several men on a corner cafe drinking tea and smoking shisha and yes, that's what we needed to do. The owner gave Andy a smoke from the hookah. When he ripped a big one, the dude cheered and gave him a solid handshake. We had some tea, got some apple shisha, and chilled with the other men. Some men were chilling and quieting praying with their prayer beads in their hands. A man talked up Andy and said we are welcome to come back to Egypt. After an hour (not long enough for shisha but we had to be on our way), we headed out. We skipped the palace due to time and headed to Pompey's Pillar. This was one of the last standing columns from the Roman era with 2 sphinxes. After seeing the Sphinx in Giza, these two were small and not as impressive. We walked around and saw the history. On the way, we took the scenic route down back alleys. People were not used to seeing tourists so we got a lot of stares but people were cool. Part of the route we took was questionable. First we hit the livestock area where the goats and sheep were kept/sold. Two were already bleeding out (I didn't look at this, I caught it in my peripheral). Then we hit the end of the road, but more garbage. There was a ton of garbage everywhere, it was an eye-opener seeing the little girl in the street knowing this is her playground.
We were getting a bit tired so we took a tuk tuk to the next stop, the Souk El-Attarine. It was an area of town that had a lot of stores of antiques. Not quite what we were looking for but we cruised around. Next was the Roman Amphitheater which has the remains of a small Roman theater, cisterns, and baths. I was done with history and getting hangry so we were en route for falafel, until we came upon a small alley with locals sitting at tables on the side eating small sandwiches. I'm always down for sandwiches so Andy found one open table and went in to try to communicate. There are fewer signs in English in this city and fewer people who know English. The guy who owned this cafe was happy to serve some Americans, just like the guy at the shisha/tea cafe. Andy came back to the table and said, by the way these are liver sandwiches. Oh dammit, I'm not a fan. Well I'm hungry and we are here so let's get some. We did and they were pretty good. A little spicy, a little citrusy, not very livery. We got another order and we were good to go. The owner was happy he satisfied some Americans and gave an overall thumbs up and said come back! We were just chillin and a father came up to Andy asking for a picture with his daughter. The daughter look thrilled (not really). I’m not sure if it was an American thing or more of the 300 movie but of course Andy obliged. Funny. 
The last stop was the Bibliotheca. It was a new and modern library. Pretty impressive, especially for this area. The architecture was unique and nice to see surrounded by the old city. Our walking tour was done so we hopped in a taxi for some pool time. I asked the taxi driver about the cost- 50? He said 25. OK, I'm not used to negotiations going this way, but this is how much it actually costs to go down the strip $1.5.
Back at the hotel finally and we jumped in the outdoor pool while the sun was still shining brightly. Some glasses of wine and a snack, this is what I've been thinking about all day. Yesss. We later had dinner down at the private beach and got some more shisha time in, this time with grape and mint (highly recommend). We finally got the seafood platter (you have to eat seafood in Alexandria) we've been waiting for. The concierge had a guy go get our train tickets for us tomorrow since they do sell out and there's no phone number to buy tickets. That would have sucked if we didn't have a train ride home. He brought them to us at dinner for 2pm tomorrow. So this is what happens at nice hotels??!!