Our last day in Cairo during this leg of the trip. we decide to walk along the Nile, after purchasing our bus tickets to Hurgharda (320LE for the four of us).
As is our way, the walk turned out to be more of a trek. The route took us from the Egyptian museum along the Nile to the southern ti of Roda Island to visit the Nilometer (we had missed this when we visited Coptic Cairo). Along the way we crossed over to the island of caple at times and bought some food to feed the beast - anyone read Kitchen Confindential? (Guy - who seems to have a continuous need for food as he continues to grow).
On the last crossing, we were starting to wonder if we had take the right road as we walked past a densely populated area. Suddenly the hi-rise flats ended and ahead of us was the entrance. The place was deserted and we were starting to think that it was closed when a man in uniform beckoned us to walk past the security bag system (which was not being manned) to where he was sitting. He directed us to a woman selling tickets (15LE and 8LE) and then to the main event. We found a man who was clearly the keeper who took us in through the locked door of a circular building with a tall column set in the cntre which went down below floor level and had gradients. We were allowed to take a narrow stair case to the bottom. Well satisfied, we relaxed in the surrounding gardens before heading out to find the metro.
An ornate foot bridge took us back to the other side, but having reached there, we could find no clear direction to the metro.. After 10 minutes walking between tightly packed buildings and providing a great source of interest and entertainment to the locals, we eventually realized that we were lost. A guy in a smart suit directed us back in the opposite direction and eventually we located the metro station. We'd done this before, so the metro was easy - but very packed this time - back to Nasser station.
Before returning home, Lauren had one other plan for us. This was to go up the Cairo Tower. We could see it across the river and it didn't seem too far away. It was fairly late already and we knew that we would need to get there before sun down. We had to walk fast. We made it in time but when we found out what the costs were (around 80LE each) it was definitely not worth it. We took a far slower walk back - tired and hungry but we were able to enjoy some stunning views of the tower as the sun went down. We were also taken by the numerous political murals sprayed on to the walls on the way homw
We found a small shop where we sat down to mince rolls and pickles (2LE per roll) and finished it off with a very impressive fruit salad in a beer mug (2.50LE). Definitely will return there.
On the way back, we found a bottle store and decided to buy some wine as we expected prices in Hurgharda to be high. At first glance, the standard labels were on show, but on closer examination , these were made by Egyptian drnks companies. Eg: Cheval Rigal in a bottle that looked a lot like Chivas Regal, but sold for only 40LE. We bought a Johnny Walker Red Label look alike and two bottles of Egyptian wine for a total of 100LE.
We returned and left the children in the room while Fiona and I went out to get some cash then sorted out our bill and retured to the Kushari Tahir for our last meal in Cairo. Not as good as the previous time - probably because our waiter had no idea what were talking about. After dinner, I think we were all a little down, so we went to the main road to find some ice cream. Having tried out the two available options, we settled on the same place we had eaten the night before. For 4LE, we got tow large scoops and a double cone. While we stood there eating our ice creams, a woman came past Guy and bumped him. Then she returned with the standard Egyptian question "What's your name? Where are you from?" We told her . She seemed dissatisfied. Looking at Fiona, she said she thought she was Egyptian. Fiona said No. The woman suddenly shouted something in arabic (probably swore) and walked off. I suspect that at that stage she realized that Fiona was telling the truth as our surprised faces probably told her that we knew not a word of what she had said! After that we went to our standard cafe ( the man there remembered Lauren from the previous day as she had been hiccoughing).
We came down for our evening whisky (not shy about drinking alcohol in the hotel any more - but careful not to make it too obvious) and cards and then said our goodbyes to Mohamed . A better nights sleep as we spent half an hour killing mosquitos before we put the lights out.
As is our way, the walk turned out to be more of a trek. The route took us from the Egyptian museum along the Nile to the southern ti of Roda Island to visit the Nilometer (we had missed this when we visited Coptic Cairo). Along the way we crossed over to the island of caple at times and bought some food to feed the beast - anyone read Kitchen Confindential? (Guy - who seems to have a continuous need for food as he continues to grow). 
On the last crossing, we were starting to wonder if we had take the right road as we walked past a densely populated area. Suddenly the hi-rise flats ended and ahead of us was the entrance. The place was deserted and we were starting to think that it was closed when a man in uniform beckoned us to walk past the security bag system (which was not being manned) to where he was sitting. He directed us to a woman selling tickets (15LE and 8LE) and then to the main event. We found a man who was clearly the keeper who took us in through the locked door of a circular building with a tall column set in the cntre which went down below floor level and had gradients. We were allowed to take a narrow stair case to the bottom. Well satisfied, we relaxed in the surrounding gardens before heading out to find the metro. 
An ornate foot bridge took us back to the other side, but having reached there, we could find no clear direction to the metro.. After 10 minutes walking between tightly packed buildings and providing a great source of interest and entertainment to the locals, we eventually realized that we were lost. A guy in a smart suit directed us back in the opposite direction and eventually we located the metro station. We'd done this before, so the metro was easy - but very packed this time - back to Nasser station.
Before returning home, Lauren had one other plan for us. This was to go up the Cairo Tower. We could see it across the river and it didn't seem too far away. It was fairly late already and we knew that we would need to get there before sun down. We had to walk fast. We made it in time but when we found out what the costs were (around 80LE each) it was definitely not worth it. We took a far slower walk back - tired and hungry but we were able to enjoy some stunning views of the tower as the sun went down. We were also taken by the numerous political murals sprayed on to the walls on the way homw
We found a small shop where we sat down to mince rolls and pickles (2LE per roll) and finished it off with a very impressive fruit salad in a beer mug (2.50LE). Definitely will return there.
On the way back, we found a bottle store and decided to buy some wine as we expected prices in Hurgharda to be high. At first glance, the standard labels were on show, but on closer examination , these were made by Egyptian drnks companies. Eg: Cheval Rigal in a bottle that looked a lot like Chivas Regal, but sold for only 40LE. We bought a Johnny Walker Red Label look alike and two bottles of Egyptian wine for a total of 100LE.
We returned and left the children in the room while Fiona and I went out to get some cash then sorted out our bill and retured to the Kushari Tahir for our last meal in Cairo. Not as good as the previous time - probably because our waiter had no idea what were talking about. After dinner, I think we were all a little down, so we went to the main road to find some ice cream. Having tried out the two available options, we settled on the same place we had eaten the night before. For 4LE, we got tow large scoops and a double cone. While we stood there eating our ice creams, a woman came past Guy and bumped him. Then she returned with the standard Egyptian question "What's your name? Where are you from?" We told her . She seemed dissatisfied. Looking at Fiona, she said she thought she was Egyptian. Fiona said No. The woman suddenly shouted something in arabic (probably swore) and walked off. I suspect that at that stage she realized that Fiona was telling the truth as our surprised faces probably told her that we knew not a word of what she had said! After that we went to our standard cafe ( the man there remembered Lauren from the previous day as she had been hiccoughing).
We came down for our evening whisky (not shy about drinking alcohol in the hotel any more - but careful not to make it too obvious) and cards and then said our goodbyes to Mohamed . A better nights sleep as we spent half an hour killing mosquitos before we put the lights out.
