1. Um, yes, the pyramids are all that they're cracked up to be. WOW. And, did you know that the Sphinx is neon green?!
Just kidding...this is a photo taken from the "Sound and Light Show" at the Pyramids. So chessy, so fun. The Sphinx talks to the audience and tells the story of the pyramids and the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt (approx 2700-2100 BC) while fun lights shine upon the pyramids and broadcast cool scenes onto their surfaces. 
2. I may have eaten at my favorite restaurant of all time: Andrea's (I say "I" because Jon, unfortunately, does not agree....). Spit roasted chicken, freshly baked bread and a slew of mezzes - pickles, salad, tahini, baba ghanoush, some kind of fantastic beans and falafel. All topped off with a massive, delicious orange. That's about all that is on the menu, and it's divine.
3. I visited the oldest continually open restaurant in the world (200 years) a couple of times...Once in the wee hours of the early morning with my friend Skye (she and her fiance, Matt, were also traveling around Egypt this week). We enjoyed being the only people there and watching the Khan al-Khalili (large, popular market in Cairo) slowly wake up - quite the late awaking city (much like India). And once with Jon on a Friday night where we enjoyed sitting among tons of locals and foreigners drinking mint tea, mango juice and smokin' da sheesha (hookah). 4. The Egyptian Museum is very cool, and yet, very disorganized. They have so much stuff that they don't know what to do with it...and apparently, they aren't the biggest fans of labeling items either. Nonetheless, it doesn't change the fact that walking through rooms and aisles of 4000 year old, very intact stuff is quite extraordinary. I mean, we saw the mummy of Ramses II among other notable kings (Tuthmosis III, Seti I - Ramses I's son) of the New Kingdom (1500-1000 BC). Pretty freaking cool. That is, if you are in to mummies and don't find it wrong to dig up dead people and look at them...an opinion which I respect; however, mummies were meant to last forever, which is totally trippy...why not take a look? Then, there are rooms and rooms of the amazing "loot" that was recovered from King Tut's tomb in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. Gold, wood, statues, coffins galore....it's all there.
5. Jon and I had way fun playing with photos. Here are some examples:
6. UNC won the NCAA Basketball championship (And, I won the bracket pool!). While I did not get to watch the game, I did get to see highlights on CNN, cheer in my hotel room, and celebrate by checking out tombs and temples in the fantastic, can't miss it, town of Luxor.
7. We visited a lot of tombs. very cool. First, there was the Valley of the Queens, where, well... the queens were buried. Then, we visited the Valley of the Workers, where the artists and architects of the queens' and kings' tombs constructed their own tombs for their burial sites. Next, we visited the Valley of the Kings, where you will find the exquisite tombs of Ramses I, II, III, VI, IX, King Tut, Tuthmosis III, Seti I, and many others (62 have been uncovered so far!). Lastly, we checked out the Valley of the Nobles, which houses the tombs of the priests and other religious officials (there are over 100 here!). For all of these valleys, the bad news is that you can't see all or even many of these tombs...many are closed at the moment due to restoration or just because they are not safe to wander into. The good news is that the reliefs (wall carvings) and paintings of many are still quite present and quite amazing. Each tomb is usually constructed with multiple rooms for storing items that were believed to be needed by the individual in the afterlife such as food, chariots and mummified animals (yes! such as pets - dogs-, sacrificial animals - birds, crocodiles-, and animals for food). After wandering down long hallways or several long hallways, you reach the sight for the sarcophagus and coffins (yes, plural...coffins within coffins). The amount of time and energy put into these tombs must have been one's lifetime especially considering the fact that many of these individuals did not live to be older than 40!
8. One of the coolest spots was Medinat Habu in Luxor. Best explained via pictures. This is also the spot where I dropped my camera...the drop of all drops. Bounce, bounce, crash, boom. Broken. very sad...we'll see what the warranty and Canon can do. Cross your fingers!
9.
We went on a Hot Air Balloon Ride over the ruins of Luxor at sunrise, and it was great fun! Now, I'm not an experienced hot air balloon rider, but I don't think that it always takes 20 men to help launch and retrieve a hot air balloon. Well, in Egypt it does....and I think I now know why. At the end of the ride (which, by the way, took place in the middle of a sugarcane field - i don't think that was planned, especially since I watched the 20 men try to sprint through the tall canes only to get stuck inside), the crew hosted a "ceremony" which consisted of singing and, to be frank, dancing with the "white chicks". Ah ha! This is why they all want to work here! I, of course, sacrificed myself (I can never turn down a good dance). Now, before you get all up and offended by my comments, travel to Egypt and count the number of times you (western women) get holla'ed at. Yeah. Word.
10. The Luxor Temple and ruins at Karnak are amazing and Ramses II was totally obsessed with himself. 
11.
Luxor Museum security guards love to help you find the spots where the security cameras won't catch you taking illegal pictures of the museum artifacts...for a little bakshi (tip), of course. Here we are sneaking some photos.
Just a couple more... 12. We were followed by a guy named Assaf for 4 days. Day 1: We are walking along the Nile on our way to catch a ferry boat and all of a sudden Assaf appears beside us. He introduces himself and proceeds to ask us where we are from. Then come the statements about Obama, etc, etc. He follows us onto the ferry boat where he then asks if we need a taxi for the day on the West Bank (which we do, but we're not biting just yet). He uses his phone. Once we reach the other side, we try to free ourselves of his following and we turn to a man named "Mr. Kind". Great! Mr. Kind offers us a better deal than Assaf and so we hop in his car. Mr. Kind's phone rings. He talks. He hangs up and tells us that Assaf just called and wants to know why we chose to ride with Mr. Kind. Uh, sketch. whatever. Day 2: We have already arranged for a ride with someone else for this day. Again, we walk along the water to the ferry boat, and out of nowhere Assaf appears- dang, he's good! We tell him we already have another driver, and no, it is not Mr. Kind. We try to fall behind him, which we do, and we take a quick turn towards a smaller ferry boat. We rush down to the captain, get on his boat, and ta da! Assaf appears on the boat and is already talking to the captain. Assaf makes a phone call, and low and behold, we reach the other side only to find Mr. Kind waiting for us. He is angry with us that we won't be choosing his services for the day and asks us to return his business card. Dude, seriously? And what's up with you and your buddy? leave us alone already! Day 3: We leave at 4:40am for our Hot air balloon ride, but when we return at 7:30am, we see Assaf standing across the street from our hotel, staring at the entrance. Day 4: We leave for the airport at 5:45am, and who do we see sitting in the roundabout median right next to our hotel...Assaf.
13. I then had the following conversation with a flight attendant on my flight from Luxor to Cairo: Me - May I have some water. FA - yes. Me - thanks. FA- Your welcome. And?... Me - Um, thank YOU. FA - And....?. (Awkward silence and staring). Me - Uhhhh. FA - And....? How about some guava juice. Me - Oh, No thank you. (Moments pass, and then she hands me guava juice). Me - Oh! I said no thanks. I'm sorry. FA - But why not? It's so tasty! Me - Um, yeah, no thank you. FA - Oh, alright then. (She leaves).
More pics in Picasa! Peace!
