Monday, March 29, 2010
We wanted to note that we have now had over 25,000 visitors to our Blog. This includes those visiting for the very first time along with those who have visited one or more times since we began writing the Blog. We love to hear from you and have read all of your comments and we look forward to hearing from you as this journey continues to unfold.
Yesterday was a wonderful day. While this was our third transit of the Suez Canal it was still an enjoyable experience. We were one of twenty-three ships in a caravan and we were the first in line for most of the transit. We had wonderful weather and it was nice to be outside for a portion of the transit. We ate lunch outside so we could enjoy the experience and enjoyed being outside later in the afternoon as well.
We also wanted to note that when Anne Marie was on her long walk on the Promenade Deck yesterday afternoon that all of the hoses that have been out ever since we sailed in areas where there were reports of pirate activity were being put away. So, now with our successful transit of the Suez Canal the issues of pirate activity are now behind us. Congratulations to Crystal and to the Military from various countries around the world for being on top of this situation and for taking the necessary pro-active steps to keep all of us safe.
Late yesterday afternoon after we did our post we learned that a passenger needed to be taken off the ship as they had a cardiac issue and the ship waited while another boat met us so that the passenger could be transported to a land based medical facility. While the Serenity has excellent medical facilities and highly trained medical personnel it is always best in this situation to transport the individual to a land based medical facility. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the passenger and hope that a speedy recovery occurs.
Before dinner, Keith stopped by the reception desk to get our passports which were needed for today’s visit to Alexandria, Egypt.
We enjoyed another fantastic evening on the ship last evening.
As we mentioned in yesterdays post we had dinner with another couple who we invited to join us at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant and we had a very nice time with them. We first met them during the 2008 World Cruse and they have been on several World Cruises.
We each began the meal with the special appetizer of the evening prepared by the chef. This was followed by what is known as our salad that goes by our last name, We each had the regular fish entrée with Keith having the Broiled Baanzino Fish without the sauce over spinach and Anne Marie having it the way it is prepared. Keith also got a large bowl of steamed vegetables. Our dessert was fresh fruit.
After dinner we attended a terrific show featuring Celebrity Ventriloquist Ronn Lucas. Ronn has entertained for over 25 years. He has starred in various national Television programs including David Letterman, and The Tonight Show/ He has been the recipient of numerous accolades including being labeled as the “The World’s Best Ventriloquist”, by the New York Times and the London Times. He has also performed before several United States Presidents as well as the Queen of England and was the first ventriloquist to have his own, long running show in Las Vegas for eight years. The passenger who he called up to the stage is someone we met at the very start of the World Cruise and is only a few doors down from us on the ship.
We slept very well last evening and once again Keith was up very early in the morning to begin his day with a wonderful workout in the Fitness Center. He worked out on the Elliptical Machine. He was the first one up there. He was able to watch our entry into the Port of Alexandria and the timing was perfect as the sun was rising. This is our third time to this port and it is a very large and nice port with some attractive facilities close by.
Keith could already see all of the buses lined up with many of them scheduled to take many passengers and crew to the Pyramids. They will do this in a caravan for security reasons.
After a nice workout, he stopped by the Lido Café to bring back some coffee to the room. The Lido Café was very crowded and there was lots of staff up there since many passengers are taking the full day tour to Cairo to see the Pyramids. Just a few minutes after returning back to the room it was Anne Marie’s turn and she worked out for an hour on the Treadmill. Like Keith she brought some coffee back to the room. Keith also did some laundry while Anne Marie was working out.
We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in the room. We chatted with Alexander for a few minutes and then enjoyed breakfast, as we got ready for another wonderful day. We then took care of various errands around the ship.
Today marks our third visit to Alexandria, Egypt. This is a beautiful city and with each passing day they are learning more about the past as through excavation they continue to turn up new artifacts and treasures from this cities past.
Just like any city around the world there are many beautiful areas of Alexandria such as places we visited today along with other places that are quite nice. At the same time there are those places that are not as nice and very chaotic.
Alexandria is named after Alexander The Great. Alexandria was established in 332 BC and for many years was one of the most famous cities in the world. It served as Egypt’s capital for clost to one thousand years until the Muslim conquest of Eypt in 641 AD.
Alexandria is home to the Library of Alexandria and this library was known as the largest library of the ancient world.
Today, Alexandria’s population is close to 4.5 million inhabitants. It is the second largest city in Egypt and it is the country’s largest seaport. It is well know for its tourism.
Alexandria is a large city and extends twenty miles along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Alexandria was a major trading post between Europe and Asia. Alexandria was also the setting for the rather intense relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony. It was also the center of learning in the anicent world. However, overtime ancient Alexandria declidne and when Napoleon landed, he encountered a much different city than that of ancient times which by then became a sparsely populated fishing village.
Before our afternoon shore excursion we went ashore
We not only had to show our passport to the local authorities before we could get off the ship, but we had to point out where it was stamped.
Once on shore and we looked a several of the shop that is around the pier.
Over the years we have found those folks who work the shops at the pier to be a lot less pushy and much nicer than those who work the downtown area. We suspect that they have been told that for the shops to be at the pier that they need to not harass the tourists. As you pass each of the shops you hear the normal lines such as “there is no charge for looking”, “please take a look at what we have”, “come into my shop”, “be sure to come back and look at my ship”, etc. We walked by each shop until we reached the end taking in all that they have and then we settled on two shops. We then narrowed it down to one shop and there was a particular item that we wanted and we wanted several pieces of that item which they said they could get for us in five minutes. Their translation of five minutes was really about twenty minutes but that was fine. After the items showed up we settled on a price that both they and we were happy with. They offered us Egyptian Tea or a Canned Soda or even Bottled Water and we politely said no thank you. The good news about making the purchase in the morning is that since many people were either on a tour or just stayed on the ship there were very few buyers so we had their full attention.
We then got back to the ship and got organized for our tour this afternoon. We ate lunch at the Lido Café as we have done on almost everyday of the cruise and we each enjoyed a very nice salad entrée that we made for ourselves.
Today we took a shore excursion in the afternoon that visited three of Alexandria’s most historical sites.
Our first stop was to the Alexandria National Museum, which contains 1,800 pieces of art. A highlight of this museum is the display of artifacts raised during underwater excavations around Alexandria in recent years.
Our next visit was to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, or Alexandria Library. The original library was built in 283 BC by Alexander the Great . In the 4th century the library and the museum along with half a million volumes was destroyed by fire. IN 1995, construction began on this new library.
After our visit to the library, we had photo stops at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Abou Al Abbas Mosque. We also drove past the 15th Century Fort Quait Bey that guards the eastern entrance of the harbor.
The tour was wonderful and we also had terrific weather. We have been so very fortunate to have had wonderful weather throughout this adventure. The only days with poor weather were in Key West on the seven-day cruise and our arrival back to Miami from the seven day cruise where it was also very cold. Other than that we have enjoyed very nice weather and in general very mild seas. We realize that as we get into Europe that the weather will be much cooler, particularly as we visit ports near the Black Sea.
We are dining in Silk Road this evening. While this evening is the first night of Passover since there are some all day tours that do not get back until late at night plus our tour that got back around 6:00 PM the Passover Seder will be held tomorrow evening on the second night of Passover. Since at that point we will have left Egypt on the way to Israel this will make the celebration of Passover tomorrow evening quite special.
TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY……
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”
Keith and Anne Marie
1 comment:
Congratulations on 25,000+ views. That is quite an accomplishment. As always thanks for the beautiful pictures and the wonderful narrative.
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