Exploring Cairo: The Egyptian Museum

Today we spent the morning at the Egyptian Museum. It was amazing. Of course there was more than we could possibly see in a day, so we spent the bulk of our time in the King Tut exhibit. We hired a guide for 200 Egyptian Pounds (about $40 US) and got two wonderful hours jam packed with information. The best part was the guide took us to different areas than the guide did when I was here last time. Sadly cameras are not allowed inside, so you'll have to settle for these.

However, taking pictures of the grounds was allowed.

Getting to the museum is easy - just get off the Metro at the Sadat Station, climb the stairs up to the street, and look for the big red building. The hardest part was crossing the street - but more on that another time...

Exploring Cairo: Groppi

After landing in Cairo last night at 3:00 am, I slept till 11:00 and then we rode the Cairo Metro to go explore downtown. First we had to take a cab to the Metro Station. Cab fares in Cairo are completely negotiable. 10 Egyptian Pounds (about $2.00 US) got us to the station about 15 minutes away. I'm glad we got out of bed and went out because we accidentally found this place.

I thought about chocolate, but opted for traditional Egyptian sweets instead. I also had a glass of fresh squeezed mango juice. It was delicious!

Each of the sweets they had in the case looked better than the next. I bought a selection to take back to my mom's apartment to enjoy after dinner. We'll see if they make it that long.


Tomorrow we're off to the Egyptian Museum...

Busy...

I've been a busy little beaver lately.

Trying to meet my quota of hats and mittens, finish up my grading so I can complete my report cards before I leave, and packing for my Egypt trip. Phew!

Needless to say, things will be quiet around here for a while. I may be able to post for Cairo, but my mom's internet service is spotty at best so posting may not resume until I get home and sleep for a few days...

Bunny Love

Now that St. Patrick's Day is behind us, it's time to start thinking about Easter. Are you familiar with this book? It was one of my favorite books as a child. So you can imagine how incredibly happy I was when I found a prefect copy at my favorite used book store recently for $3.00. I loved it as a little girl because the story made perfect sense to me. As a four year-old I knew there had to be more than one Easter Bunny. I mean c'mon, one bunny can't do all that in one night (even Santa has helpers,) and somehow I knew the best Easter Bunny just had to be a girl, it just had to be.

Have I peaked your curiosity? I hope so because this book is absolutely darling. If you have little ones you really should pick up a copy. You won't regret it.

Time to Celebrate

photo via

It's official - Pi Day is now a U.S. holiday. Well "holiday" may be a bit strong, but thanks to a resolution passed by Congress on this past Wednesday, March 14 is now National Pi Day. I for one, am geeked - probably because I am a geek.

Just Because

Because Main Street looks like this,

Grand Hill looks like this,

and the Straits look like this,

this starts running Monday morning.

And because of that we won't have a repeat of this.

Hooray for boats!

You Asked For It

So here I am in all my glory on Dress Like You're From Another Country Day at school. The Egyptian Galabeya won over the sari and the kimono due to the comfort factor. Except for the head scarf (which I had on all wrong but didn't feel like pinning in place,) it was like wearing my jammies all day.

I bought the galabeya and hijab (head scarf) on my trip to Egypt last spring. I kind of have this thing about clothing from other places; I try to pick some traditional clothing up where ever I go. I still can't believe that I get to go back to Egypt again in about three weeks. Three weeks! More on that soon...

Perfect

My day off was fantastic. I slept until 8:00 am, drank two cups of coffee in silence, watched three uninterrupted hours of television (though not in a row), made two loaves of bread and a batch of cookies, and managed to get in a little sewing; another zipper pin and a pair of mittens. I even took a shower...

This morning I am getting ready for tomorrow, which is "dress like you're from another country" day (as part of our March is Reading Month celebration.) I've pulled out my sari, my kimono and my galabeya as I try to decide what I'm going to wear...

Glorious

On Mackinac Island this week, every morning has been prettier than the one before. Friday, however, will be the best morning of all since I get the day off and plan on being in bed until well after the sun rises. Hubby is going to work, the kids are going to the sitter, and I plan to bask in the rare glory that is being alone; all by myself for eight glorious hours.

Don't get me wrong, I adore my family and I love my job. But I'm almost never alone, in the house, for more than about 15 minutes. The prospect of eight hours of solitude has me almost giddy with anticipation. I'm sure If I was alone all day, every day, I would get really tired of it, but until then I'll savor every second of this special treat.

Super Science Saturday

was a blast!

We mixed colors,

explored which objects were attracted by magnetic force,

ate a wormy snack,


investigated water absorbing polymers,

and learned about change by making polymer worms.

We're going to investigate different things in a week or two when we do it again! Just because I know some of you are curious, I bought everything here. I owe the Mackinac Island Community Foundation a big thank you for granting the funds to support this activity.

Do you have a community foundation?