Well, internet issues again. so I haven't uploaded the street paving videos yet. Of course, since the last post I've had plenty of time to do so, but the day that I post, well... wouldn't it figure there are issues! lol
Hopefully they'll be sorted shortly (sometime today) and I'll be able to upload. I also still have some pictures to upload if I'm not mistaken, from our trip to the mall a few weeks ago.
:::
Well, my round trip tickets are booked and I am finally going to be heading back to the States for a visit!
So excited and nervous and happy and I really hate flying but it will be worth it.
I was possibly going to fly through London's Heathrow airport, but am saving that for another adventure some other time, and instead I'm flying to Paris and then to San Francisco, which is the exact route I wanted to begin with.
It's interesting to note that although I could fly Cairo to JFK in New York, and then from JFK to San Francisco, that route actually takes 19 hours of flying, while the Cairo to Paris to San Francisco only takes 16 hours. I understand why, though it seems strange. But that's one of the reasons I wanted the Paris flight. Three less hours that I have to be stuck up in a metal tube? Alright by me!
Planning to stay 3 weeks, which seems short and long at the same time. Will be staying with the folks who are gracious enough to let me leech off them while I'm there. :D
It's hard to be without a car but I'm sure I'll manage. I just hate to impose when I need anything.
Already started a list of things to buy and bring back with me to Cairo when I return. Some funny things on the list. Well, maybe not exactly ha ha funny, but strange to bring back. But, they are things I can't find here that either I miss or that I want hubby to try.
I'm sad that hubby can't come but he needs to focus on his business, so insha'Allah next trip he will be able to come.
I'm also going to miss him like crazy. Three weeks is a long time to be gone.
It might not sound like a huge amount of time, but because we were apart for so many years, I find that it's really hard to be apart from him now. Like the two times he traveled to Kuwait were so hard.
I know it shouldn't be that difficult but I guess it just brings back all the years we were separated before.
Insha'Allah it won't be bad and I will just be happy to be visiting with family and such.
And, he might take the opportunity of my visiting the States to make a business trip to Kuwait, which makes sense, so that way I am not missing him and having to stay at the in-laws when he goes. Not sure about the trip but I do hope he goes when I'm away if he really has to go.
Wish I could stop and visit more family on this trip, but I don't have the money for it and so it will have to wait. Would also like to visit when hubby is with me so he can meet everyone.
Also, 5 hour layover in the airport in Paris. Suggestions?
:::
We've been having a lot of power outages lately, which doesn't particularly surprise me with the summer heat and energy consumption up.
The outages last anywhere from 5 minutes to a couple hours, though lately it's more like half an hour to an hour. Not too horrible. The bedroom, which has a/c, usually doesn't get too warm in that time, though I would imagine if it was out for more than an hour and it was too hot in the apartment it would warm up.
The new thing though, about when the power goes out, is that our internet also goes out, since we are now getting dsl instead of using wireless (though we do have wireless as a backup for when the dsl is out, like right now, lol). So, whenever the power goes out, the internet goes out. Which I suppose is fine because the battery on the laptop only lasts so long anyways.
It's funny, we've been having some trouble off and on with the dsl and the line being down, and many times when we finally get the line back up and working, that's when the power goes out, so of course, it stops working again. You have to laugh. What else can you do?
:::
There is a nice video that I found posted on the web about street food in Cairo. It's in two parts, the first part is about 15 minutes and the second part is about 7 minutes.
I'd say it's well worth a watch. It shows exactly what it looks like here, how the streets are, how the people are dressed, it's very real and what I see every day (or rather, whenever I'm out).
It focuses a lot not just on what the street foods are here, but the problems with selling foods on the street and how the economy is affecting that.
It's quite sad actually, in a way. These people make so little money, and most of us in the West truly have more than we need. It's hard to see people that are so poor, and Egypt is full of them.
So here's the links to the videos.
Street Food part 1
Street Food part 2
And that's all folks!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Travel weather tar
This was written yesterday but we're having internet issues so I'm not getting round to posting it til today.
:::
Well the biggest news lately has been the temperatures here.
Quite hot to say the least.
I usually check the forecast online several times a day to see the current temps,
but also to check for what's coming later in the week.
The strange thing is, the forecast can vary a lot from morning to noon to night.
I took a few screen shots one day to show this.
Pay attention to the last day listed here, the forecast goes from 111, to 118 to 105.
In reality, Sunday ended up being the hot day at about 113, and Monday was only a comparatively mild 109.
We also get sand in our forecast, but often when it says sand there isn't any, so I'm not sure how they
forecast that. It also often says rain or light rain and I can promise you it doesn't rain as often as it says.
Here's a couple of the sand forecasts. Actually it wasn't a forecast, it was the current weather at the time.
So, that's the exciting weather news.
:::
I've been trying to book a ticket for my trip back to the States. The travel agent I used last time has been
less than helpful so I've been looking online. I can get some better prices than the agent quoted me,
but I was really really hoping to avoid going through JFK airport, as it's pretty much a nightmare to
get around in, but I'm not sure how to avoid it when I'm checking flights online. There is no check box for
"avoid _____ airport". If anyone has any tips about that or a great place online that they've used for
booking tickets, please let me know.
The place that I've found the best deals through so far is cheaptickets.com
I've never used them before and not sure if anyone I know has used them, but they look okay.
The last trip I had was booked through Delta but the flights were actually operated by Air France.
Best service I've ever had flying. Unfortunately, if I try to book through any of the airlines directly,
they are very expensive compared to checking the "cheap" flights websites.
In any case, I really need to get the tickets done since I'm planning to fly in less than a month insha'Allah!
:::
They've been working on our street this week. Despite the heat and the smell, it's a good thing.
It started the other day, Monday I believe (or was it Sunday?), with a lot of very loud noise out on the street. It kind of sounded like a tractor at a construction site hefting and dumping rocks or something. What it turned out to be was some kind of tractor with a lift thingy in front, and they were using the lift part to scoop up any protruding cement chunks from the road and then also to flatten the surface out. At least that's what it looked like.
Today I heard some banging out on the street around 9 a.m.
It sounded like someone hammering large spikes with a sledgehammer. I wasn't about to get out of bed
to see what it actually was, so that will have to remain a mystery.
But, around 2:30 this afternoon I heard trucks on the street and could hear they were getting ready to get some more work done, so I got myself "decent" (long sleeve sweater over my t-shirt and hair covered) and went out on the balcony to check it out. They had some kind of paving machine and a dump truck full of black pebble stuff and then I could see they had what looked like a 55 gallon drum with a fire going underneath it. It turns out they were making some of the pebble stuff into a liquid, which they then spread out on the street before the paving truck went over it. I'm not sure the sense in that but they must have a reason. Perhaps to help it stick better to the rock that had been laid all over the street. (pebble stuff = tar I suppose?) (In Egyptian, tar is called zift, which can also mean something else entirely)
And then the paving machine slowly made it's way down the street. I could see other neighbors out on their
balconies, also watching the progression of the noisy smelly beast.
I took a bunch of videos in 30 second segments. I didn't want to make it one long video because it takes too long to upload and for anyone to download. Also took a few pictures.
The pictures and videos are not ready to post yet but I should get to it this week insha'Allah (provided internet issues are solved).
And that was the excitement for today!
:::
Well the biggest news lately has been the temperatures here.
Quite hot to say the least.
I usually check the forecast online several times a day to see the current temps,
but also to check for what's coming later in the week.
The strange thing is, the forecast can vary a lot from morning to noon to night.
I took a few screen shots one day to show this.
Pay attention to the last day listed here, the forecast goes from 111, to 118 to 105.
In reality, Sunday ended up being the hot day at about 113, and Monday was only a comparatively mild 109.
We also get sand in our forecast, but often when it says sand there isn't any, so I'm not sure how they
forecast that. It also often says rain or light rain and I can promise you it doesn't rain as often as it says.
Here's a couple of the sand forecasts. Actually it wasn't a forecast, it was the current weather at the time.
So, that's the exciting weather news.
:::
I've been trying to book a ticket for my trip back to the States. The travel agent I used last time has been
less than helpful so I've been looking online. I can get some better prices than the agent quoted me,
but I was really really hoping to avoid going through JFK airport, as it's pretty much a nightmare to
get around in, but I'm not sure how to avoid it when I'm checking flights online. There is no check box for
"avoid _____ airport". If anyone has any tips about that or a great place online that they've used for
booking tickets, please let me know.
The place that I've found the best deals through so far is cheaptickets.com
I've never used them before and not sure if anyone I know has used them, but they look okay.
The last trip I had was booked through Delta but the flights were actually operated by Air France.
Best service I've ever had flying. Unfortunately, if I try to book through any of the airlines directly,
they are very expensive compared to checking the "cheap" flights websites.
In any case, I really need to get the tickets done since I'm planning to fly in less than a month insha'Allah!
:::
They've been working on our street this week. Despite the heat and the smell, it's a good thing.
It started the other day, Monday I believe (or was it Sunday?), with a lot of very loud noise out on the street. It kind of sounded like a tractor at a construction site hefting and dumping rocks or something. What it turned out to be was some kind of tractor with a lift thingy in front, and they were using the lift part to scoop up any protruding cement chunks from the road and then also to flatten the surface out. At least that's what it looked like.
Today I heard some banging out on the street around 9 a.m.
It sounded like someone hammering large spikes with a sledgehammer. I wasn't about to get out of bed
to see what it actually was, so that will have to remain a mystery.
But, around 2:30 this afternoon I heard trucks on the street and could hear they were getting ready to get some more work done, so I got myself "decent" (long sleeve sweater over my t-shirt and hair covered) and went out on the balcony to check it out. They had some kind of paving machine and a dump truck full of black pebble stuff and then I could see they had what looked like a 55 gallon drum with a fire going underneath it. It turns out they were making some of the pebble stuff into a liquid, which they then spread out on the street before the paving truck went over it. I'm not sure the sense in that but they must have a reason. Perhaps to help it stick better to the rock that had been laid all over the street. (pebble stuff = tar I suppose?) (In Egyptian, tar is called zift, which can also mean something else entirely)
And then the paving machine slowly made it's way down the street. I could see other neighbors out on their
balconies, also watching the progression of the noisy smelly beast.
I took a bunch of videos in 30 second segments. I didn't want to make it one long video because it takes too long to upload and for anyone to download. Also took a few pictures.
The pictures and videos are not ready to post yet but I should get to it this week insha'Allah (provided internet issues are solved).
And that was the excitement for today!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Snickerbiscuits
Well, apologies, again, for lack of posting. I can't tell if I'm just being lazy or what?
:::
The weather has been pretty stable. Generally in the low to mid 90's. Kinda hot.
And exciting huh? I bet!
I don't know why people don't get tired of talking about the weather. It's not like there are people who don't experience weather, unless they never leave the house that is.
But what's the comparison for? Are we looking for sympathy? Envy? What?
Sometimes I think we're all too silly.
:::
Looks like it will just be me visiting the States this summer, as much as I wanted hubby to come with. I'm looking forward to it, A LOT, and can't wait to breathe some "fresh" air. lol
Lots of things I want to buy or stock up on while there before going back to Cairo, though with luggage fees these days, I guess I'll have to watch it.
It's kind of weird sometimes to think about traveling around the world to different places. I never thought I'd be the one to say I was flying off to Egypt. It always sounded so exotic to me to hear people talk about visiting other countries. But it's really just... being at home somewhere else.
There are many places I'd like to visit, and technically it should be easier based on living in Cairo, because of proximity, but you never know. Maybe some of the "exotic" destinations I've dreamed of will always just be dreams.
:::
I found a chicken feather on the bedroom floor the other day. Which is a little strange considering that the bedroom balcony door is never really opened. Which means it had to get into the bedroom from the living room balcony doors? They do stay open in the morning when hubby is in the living room. And we have so far failed to get screens up on those particular windows (don't ask!!!!!), but it's still a bit of a journey to make it just not into our bedroom, but around the other side of the bed where it was.
And what was a chicken feather doing floating around anyways? lol
I often used to see them at the in-laws, but I understood that a little better, as my mother in law used to get a flat of eggs, and the eggs were not exactly cleaned and would frequently have feathers on them. So you would see the odd feather floating around here and there.
It's not particularly bothersome, just strange sometimes. I'm not exactly living on a farm. Except the way things are here, at the same time, I kind of am. lol
You will see all manner of animals transported on the roadways here, both the big streets and the little small alleyways. And often transported in a manner you wouldn't expect, which seems somewhat comical to watch. But you have to give it to the Egyptians, they are nothing if not determined. They will find a way to get what they want. I would even go so far as to call them ingenious, which Webster defines as, "marked by originality, resourcefulness, and cleverness in conception or execution." That's Egyptians to a T.
:::
We've discovered the wonder of "drop" biscuits. So simple to make and quick as well. Only 4 main ingredients, and then additions if you so desire.
I've made them a couple of times with cheddar cheese which was nice. Once I made them with rumi cheese, but those went to the in-laws and I didn't taste them, though I was assured they tasted good. I made them plain once which was not bad either. I love the taste of fresh bread, even just "plain".
And then last night I decided to make them a bit sweet and added sugar and cinnamon. The taste was great, though they ended up being a bit flat and not holding their shape like the others. I can only imagine it was from the addition of the sugar, or the butter got too warm before I was able to get them in the oven.
In any case, they ended up being kind of like a light cakey version of a snickerdoodle cookie. Nice.
And now, gone, as I just had the last couple with breakfast.
:::
I've got it in my head that we need to walk to the pyramids. It's totally doable. Except for the heat.
It means that we would need to get up at early o'clock if we wanted to get there before it got too hot to walk, and we would in all likelihood have to take a taxi or microbus back home.
Hubby used to walk there when he was younger. He was coming from further away than we would be, and it took him longer, but he did it all the same. And quite a few times if I'm not mistaken.
I'm not sure how long it would actually take us to walk it. Maybe a couple of hours? Maybe less.
The biggest obstacle (aside from decent shoes), is getting up early enough to do it. We stay up so late every night that it would almost be easier to just start walking and get there and back home before going to bed.
I bet it would be nice to see the sun rise over the pyramids. Hmmmm......
I'll have to see if I can convince hubby. I doubt it but it's worth a try.
:::
I also asked hubby if he would make a guest post here. He asked, before answering, what would he talk about, and I told him that he could talk about whatever he wanted. He agreed but let's see if it happens. lol
I know I said I'd post the rest of the pictures I took from our outing the next time I posted but apparently I was fibbing, as I've still not got them ready to post. Maybe next time. Maybe not. lol
:::
It seems that my allergies have started up here. I didn't really have any last year while living here, and I had hoped that maybe I had escaped them and wouldn't get them here, but it seems they were just delayed and adjusting.
I heard from someone else that their allergies didn't show up after moving here for a year or so, so perhaps it's just a normal acclimatization thing? Annoying though. It was really nice not having to deal with that.
And because it's always so windy and always so dusty in the apartment, I think they are just going to be here with me. Perhaps in an apartment that didn't get so much wind and dust it wouldn't be so bad.
The thing is, I've no idea what it is that I'm allergic to here. My guess is that it's either some trees or grasses, but which trees or grasses I don't think I'll ever find out.
I never took medicine for my allergies in the States, though I considered taking Claritin on more than one occasion. I don't think they sell it here though. Not that I'm ready to take any. But maybe I'll bring some back with me from the States when I visit. I don't care for Sudafed or that kind of thing. Yuck.
Maybe they'll never get bad enough that I'll have to take anything.
Here's hoping!
:::
The weather has been pretty stable. Generally in the low to mid 90's. Kinda hot.
And exciting huh? I bet!
I don't know why people don't get tired of talking about the weather. It's not like there are people who don't experience weather, unless they never leave the house that is.
But what's the comparison for? Are we looking for sympathy? Envy? What?
Sometimes I think we're all too silly.
:::
Looks like it will just be me visiting the States this summer, as much as I wanted hubby to come with. I'm looking forward to it, A LOT, and can't wait to breathe some "fresh" air. lol
Lots of things I want to buy or stock up on while there before going back to Cairo, though with luggage fees these days, I guess I'll have to watch it.
It's kind of weird sometimes to think about traveling around the world to different places. I never thought I'd be the one to say I was flying off to Egypt. It always sounded so exotic to me to hear people talk about visiting other countries. But it's really just... being at home somewhere else.
There are many places I'd like to visit, and technically it should be easier based on living in Cairo, because of proximity, but you never know. Maybe some of the "exotic" destinations I've dreamed of will always just be dreams.
:::
I found a chicken feather on the bedroom floor the other day. Which is a little strange considering that the bedroom balcony door is never really opened. Which means it had to get into the bedroom from the living room balcony doors? They do stay open in the morning when hubby is in the living room. And we have so far failed to get screens up on those particular windows (don't ask!!!!!), but it's still a bit of a journey to make it just not into our bedroom, but around the other side of the bed where it was.
And what was a chicken feather doing floating around anyways? lol
I often used to see them at the in-laws, but I understood that a little better, as my mother in law used to get a flat of eggs, and the eggs were not exactly cleaned and would frequently have feathers on them. So you would see the odd feather floating around here and there.
It's not particularly bothersome, just strange sometimes. I'm not exactly living on a farm. Except the way things are here, at the same time, I kind of am. lol
You will see all manner of animals transported on the roadways here, both the big streets and the little small alleyways. And often transported in a manner you wouldn't expect, which seems somewhat comical to watch. But you have to give it to the Egyptians, they are nothing if not determined. They will find a way to get what they want. I would even go so far as to call them ingenious, which Webster defines as, "marked by originality, resourcefulness, and cleverness in conception or execution." That's Egyptians to a T.
:::
We've discovered the wonder of "drop" biscuits. So simple to make and quick as well. Only 4 main ingredients, and then additions if you so desire.
I've made them a couple of times with cheddar cheese which was nice. Once I made them with rumi cheese, but those went to the in-laws and I didn't taste them, though I was assured they tasted good. I made them plain once which was not bad either. I love the taste of fresh bread, even just "plain".
And then last night I decided to make them a bit sweet and added sugar and cinnamon. The taste was great, though they ended up being a bit flat and not holding their shape like the others. I can only imagine it was from the addition of the sugar, or the butter got too warm before I was able to get them in the oven.
In any case, they ended up being kind of like a light cakey version of a snickerdoodle cookie. Nice.
And now, gone, as I just had the last couple with breakfast.
:::
I've got it in my head that we need to walk to the pyramids. It's totally doable. Except for the heat.
It means that we would need to get up at early o'clock if we wanted to get there before it got too hot to walk, and we would in all likelihood have to take a taxi or microbus back home.
Hubby used to walk there when he was younger. He was coming from further away than we would be, and it took him longer, but he did it all the same. And quite a few times if I'm not mistaken.
I'm not sure how long it would actually take us to walk it. Maybe a couple of hours? Maybe less.
The biggest obstacle (aside from decent shoes), is getting up early enough to do it. We stay up so late every night that it would almost be easier to just start walking and get there and back home before going to bed.
I bet it would be nice to see the sun rise over the pyramids. Hmmmm......
I'll have to see if I can convince hubby. I doubt it but it's worth a try.
:::
I also asked hubby if he would make a guest post here. He asked, before answering, what would he talk about, and I told him that he could talk about whatever he wanted. He agreed but let's see if it happens. lol
I know I said I'd post the rest of the pictures I took from our outing the next time I posted but apparently I was fibbing, as I've still not got them ready to post. Maybe next time. Maybe not. lol
:::
It seems that my allergies have started up here. I didn't really have any last year while living here, and I had hoped that maybe I had escaped them and wouldn't get them here, but it seems they were just delayed and adjusting.
I heard from someone else that their allergies didn't show up after moving here for a year or so, so perhaps it's just a normal acclimatization thing? Annoying though. It was really nice not having to deal with that.
And because it's always so windy and always so dusty in the apartment, I think they are just going to be here with me. Perhaps in an apartment that didn't get so much wind and dust it wouldn't be so bad.
The thing is, I've no idea what it is that I'm allergic to here. My guess is that it's either some trees or grasses, but which trees or grasses I don't think I'll ever find out.
I never took medicine for my allergies in the States, though I considered taking Claritin on more than one occasion. I don't think they sell it here though. Not that I'm ready to take any. But maybe I'll bring some back with me from the States when I visit. I don't care for Sudafed or that kind of thing. Yuck.
Maybe they'll never get bad enough that I'll have to take anything.
Here's hoping!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Just passing by
We went out yesterday to Dandy Mall, which turns out to be about a 45 minute drive when there's traffic on Faisal Street. Which there was, both coming and going.
In any case, when you reach the end of Faisal street and make a right to head towards whatever other roads take you to the mall, you can see the pyramids of Giza off to the left and then behind you as you go.
Kind of strange. We live so close to them, less than half an hour, perhaps 20 minutes or so by taxi with traffic, but we can't see them from our apartment and you'd never guess they were there and they're these piles of rock that people fly thousands of miles to see.
I snapped a couple of photos from the back seat of the taxi, and the pictures aren't so great, there are horizontal lines going across both photos from what I guess is defrost feature of the back window, and the window isn't extremely clean and there's trees and cars and buildings in the way, but still.
It's also strange when you see the pyramids in movies, they always make them seem like they are out in the middle of nowhere. And they aren't. Perhaps they are on the edge of the middle of nowhere, but they are quite surrounded at least halfway by a sprawling population.
Anyways, here's the couple of shots I managed to get. Click pictures for a larger image.
As you will notice from the yellow bus on the left side, we are closer in this picture, and below you can see the bus is a bit further away as we're driving away from the pyramids.
There are quite a few hotels that line the road we're driving on above. They stretch out along the road, catering to, I'm assuming, almost strictly folks who want to see the pyramids, as there's nothing else much out in that area. Though actually they are building a new "city" of sorts, New Giza. We live in Giza but I guess it will be "old" Giza after this is done. lol
But even with the build of the new "city", I guess the area will still not hold much attraction for tourists. The area we live in is just devoid of most of what they seem to want to see or of the creature comforts that most of them want.
But the area, much to my surprise, was quite lush. At least driving down the roads we were on. Not Faisal street, but once you get past the pyramids and start driving out where there's not much on one side except desert, and the other side is being built up with what they call villas here, which is just large houses. Not so much villa how I would think of, like something on the Riviera (though I've never been there). But some of the houses are indeed quite large. I guess something in between a regular house and more of a mansion of sorts.
Why there are so many trees and plants and bushes on the edge of the desert I don't know. Particularly because much of it looked like it consumed quite a bit of water instead of being desert friendly plants which would consume much less water.
I tried to take some pictures but driving in the car does not always make for great shots and you tend to miss a lot of what you want and my camera takes forever to be ready to take another picture after you take one. I don't have the other pictures ready yet, so I'll post them next time I post. They aren't that exciting, just shows along the road we were driving.
:::
I made basbousa, which is a cake like thing that is liberally doused with a sugar syrup after baking. The cake is made with semolina instead of regular flour. I didn't know what semolina was before baking this, but I looked it up and it seems that it's basically just a rougher version of flour. The outside part of the grain if I remember correctly. So it kind of looks like cornmeal. And I guess it is interchangeable with cream of wheat? Not sure if that's what cream of wheat is made from or not.
In any case, it was good and hubby is loving it. I guess it's not something people make at home as much as buy in the bakery, so he was quite surprised that I made it, though it wasn't hard to make at all. I'd have taken a picture but it's really plain to look it.
:::
We had a small dust storm the other day that lasted for about 24 hours. I can tell when it starts getting too dusty because my eyes start to sting a bit. Not pleasant. Thankfully it didn't last too long.
We are due for some more hot temps in another day or so, so I'm debating on whether to clean the floors today or wait til after Tuesday, as the hotter the weather is the more the dust seems to kick up.
Decisions decisions!
:::
Ramadan, our month of fasting, is coming up in just over two months insha'Allah! Hard to believe the year passes so quickly. It should be starting somewhere around August 11th.
I'm excited that this will be hubby and my first Ramadan together in our own place, and I'm already looking at meal planning and what I can make in advance and freeze so that I don't need to spend as much time in the kitchen cooking during the hot days when I can't eat or drink.
Also thinking of ways to decorate the apartment. Still have some time to figure all this out.
In any case, when you reach the end of Faisal street and make a right to head towards whatever other roads take you to the mall, you can see the pyramids of Giza off to the left and then behind you as you go.
Kind of strange. We live so close to them, less than half an hour, perhaps 20 minutes or so by taxi with traffic, but we can't see them from our apartment and you'd never guess they were there and they're these piles of rock that people fly thousands of miles to see.
I snapped a couple of photos from the back seat of the taxi, and the pictures aren't so great, there are horizontal lines going across both photos from what I guess is defrost feature of the back window, and the window isn't extremely clean and there's trees and cars and buildings in the way, but still.
It's also strange when you see the pyramids in movies, they always make them seem like they are out in the middle of nowhere. And they aren't. Perhaps they are on the edge of the middle of nowhere, but they are quite surrounded at least halfway by a sprawling population.
Anyways, here's the couple of shots I managed to get. Click pictures for a larger image.
As you will notice from the yellow bus on the left side, we are closer in this picture, and below you can see the bus is a bit further away as we're driving away from the pyramids.
There are quite a few hotels that line the road we're driving on above. They stretch out along the road, catering to, I'm assuming, almost strictly folks who want to see the pyramids, as there's nothing else much out in that area. Though actually they are building a new "city" of sorts, New Giza. We live in Giza but I guess it will be "old" Giza after this is done. lol
But even with the build of the new "city", I guess the area will still not hold much attraction for tourists. The area we live in is just devoid of most of what they seem to want to see or of the creature comforts that most of them want.
But the area, much to my surprise, was quite lush. At least driving down the roads we were on. Not Faisal street, but once you get past the pyramids and start driving out where there's not much on one side except desert, and the other side is being built up with what they call villas here, which is just large houses. Not so much villa how I would think of, like something on the Riviera (though I've never been there). But some of the houses are indeed quite large. I guess something in between a regular house and more of a mansion of sorts.
Why there are so many trees and plants and bushes on the edge of the desert I don't know. Particularly because much of it looked like it consumed quite a bit of water instead of being desert friendly plants which would consume much less water.
I tried to take some pictures but driving in the car does not always make for great shots and you tend to miss a lot of what you want and my camera takes forever to be ready to take another picture after you take one. I don't have the other pictures ready yet, so I'll post them next time I post. They aren't that exciting, just shows along the road we were driving.
:::
I made basbousa, which is a cake like thing that is liberally doused with a sugar syrup after baking. The cake is made with semolina instead of regular flour. I didn't know what semolina was before baking this, but I looked it up and it seems that it's basically just a rougher version of flour. The outside part of the grain if I remember correctly. So it kind of looks like cornmeal. And I guess it is interchangeable with cream of wheat? Not sure if that's what cream of wheat is made from or not.
In any case, it was good and hubby is loving it. I guess it's not something people make at home as much as buy in the bakery, so he was quite surprised that I made it, though it wasn't hard to make at all. I'd have taken a picture but it's really plain to look it.
:::
We had a small dust storm the other day that lasted for about 24 hours. I can tell when it starts getting too dusty because my eyes start to sting a bit. Not pleasant. Thankfully it didn't last too long.
We are due for some more hot temps in another day or so, so I'm debating on whether to clean the floors today or wait til after Tuesday, as the hotter the weather is the more the dust seems to kick up.
Decisions decisions!
:::
Ramadan, our month of fasting, is coming up in just over two months insha'Allah! Hard to believe the year passes so quickly. It should be starting somewhere around August 11th.
I'm excited that this will be hubby and my first Ramadan together in our own place, and I'm already looking at meal planning and what I can make in advance and freeze so that I don't need to spend as much time in the kitchen cooking during the hot days when I can't eat or drink.
Also thinking of ways to decorate the apartment. Still have some time to figure all this out.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Chicken conspiracies
Well I realize it's been a week since I've written. Sometimes I'm just too lazy to put words down, and other times I feel like there's nothing interesting to talk about. Not sure if this trend will continue or not. I always feel kind of guilty when I don't write for a few days. Silly me!
:::
The weather has cooled down a little bit. Mostly in the mid to upper 80's, which is a lot nicer than the upper 90's and mid 100's weather we were having.
The a/c has been running quite a lot, which will bring the electric bill up. However, last month our electric bill was 77 pounds. I had to laugh about this. The month before it was something like maybe 20 or 25 pounds, I can't remember exactly. But 77 pounds equals about 15 dollars. :D
I've heard that the more you use your electricity, that the price doesn't go up steadily, it kind of doubles and quadruples, so we shall see as summer wears on.
I also told hubby we should get a fan, since sometimes that is all that is needed, just to move the air around, as opposed to the a/c. Cheaper to run, even if we have to spend 50 pounds (or however much they cost) to buy it.
:::
Generally when buying chicken, we buy frozen whole chickens. The ones we buy generally weigh either a kilo or just over. That always kind of cracks me up. While I was growing up, the only thing we (I) heard kilo in reference to was drugs. So thinking about the illegal chicken we're keeping in the freezer kinda gives me the giggles a little bit.
Anyways, there are two brands of chicken that we buy, but last week or the week before, they were out of those two brands and so hubby brought home a third brand. No big deal I figure, they're all pretty much the same.
Except... this one still had it's neck bone attached. GROSS!
Usually they take that bone out and the end is just kind of sealed up there, but for some reason this company leaves the bone there and man it was just too much.
I know that I'm eating an animal, but truth be told, the more it resembles an animal, the less I'm inclined to eat it.
Sometimes I smile when I see the half a chicken frying in the pan because for some reason sometimes they look too much like a dancing chicken. Except... you know.. dead and with no head and not resembling the cartoon that plays in my head of dancing chickens at all.
Last week when I decided to roast a chicken, I hadn't let it thaw out first but figured that it would be fine if I just let it cook a little bit longer.
It got to the point where it had been cooking for what I thought was long enough. I took it out of the oven and it looked nice and roasted. I pierced it with a fork and the juices ran clear. Well, done I thought.
I turned the oven off and went to checking the rice and a couple of other things before I got around to putting the chicken on a plate so that I could cut it in half.
Which is when I noticed that although the outer layer was quite cooked, the inside was still quite uncooked!
Ooops!
And the oven was off, and since I have to pull out the oven tray to light the oven, and the oven was still quite hot, there was no way I was going to light it again, so I stuck the chicken in a pot with some water, oil and vinegar, added a little salt and pepper and let it cook that way til it was *finally* and for real done.
I think I learned a lesson. We'll see.
:::
Went for a nice walk down Faisel street last night. About 45 minutes of walk til we got to the restaurant we wanted to get food from. Sat 20 minutes inside waiting for it to be done and then caught a taxi back home.
The restaurant, I can't remember if I've talked about it before, but it has the best chicken EVER! For real.
And it's not a chain, just a stand alone place.
They actually have kind of barbecue pits but they're built into the wall so all you see is the opening. The coals are underneath and the opening isn't all that big and mostly just looks like a rectangular black hole
But you can see the guy cooking from where we were sitting in the lobby, as it's just behind a glass barrier.
We got home and got the food out and I took a bite of my chicken and it's just like heaven. I don't know what spices they use, but it is so good. Not too spicy, slightly sweet, it's just perfect.
Hoping for another walk tonight but we'll see.
:::
Trying to start making some plans towards coming to the States for a visit. Looked online at ticket prices which are ridiculous, so will probably have to go through a travel agent, who will hopefully have some better deals. $1300 bucks to fly Egypt Air (which sucks) isn't going to work for me. At least for that price give me a decent airline. lol
When I flew here a year ago it was through Delta but on Air France planes. I've heard a lot of complaints about Air France but they were nicer than nice to me and the planes were just fine.
I'd love to fly first class sometime on a flight that long. The problem with the 12 hour leg of the flight is that the seats are a bit cramped and you don't have that much leg room, even a shorter person like me, so while a couple hours flight isn't bad, 12 hours is just kind of miserable.
:::
Found the most ginormous daddy long legs in the bathroom the other day. Scared the bejeepers outta me. I took a picture because I couldn't believe how big it was and I figured I had to show hubby and I thought perhaps I could post it here, but honestly the picture is still sitting in my camera because really I don't want to look at that thing again. lol
I left him be where he was, not sure what to do, and went about mopping the floors. On one of my trips back into the bathroom, I noticed that he had disappeared, and upon looking for him found him hiding behind the toilet. At which point I got the spray hose and hosed him down the floor drain which is right next to the toilet. Phew, I was more than happy to have that thing out of sight!
There haven't been a lot of spiders here that I have seen. Occasional roach which gets killed fairly promptly, and we've had some roly poly bugs which I find strange and which hubby is not acquainted with. I tried to explain that when I was a kid and found them I would touch them and then they roll into a ball and then you can flick them and they roll all over the place. I think he thought I was crazy. lol
I guess kids do weird stuff. :D
:::
The weather has cooled down a little bit. Mostly in the mid to upper 80's, which is a lot nicer than the upper 90's and mid 100's weather we were having.
The a/c has been running quite a lot, which will bring the electric bill up. However, last month our electric bill was 77 pounds. I had to laugh about this. The month before it was something like maybe 20 or 25 pounds, I can't remember exactly. But 77 pounds equals about 15 dollars. :D
I've heard that the more you use your electricity, that the price doesn't go up steadily, it kind of doubles and quadruples, so we shall see as summer wears on.
I also told hubby we should get a fan, since sometimes that is all that is needed, just to move the air around, as opposed to the a/c. Cheaper to run, even if we have to spend 50 pounds (or however much they cost) to buy it.
:::
Generally when buying chicken, we buy frozen whole chickens. The ones we buy generally weigh either a kilo or just over. That always kind of cracks me up. While I was growing up, the only thing we (I) heard kilo in reference to was drugs. So thinking about the illegal chicken we're keeping in the freezer kinda gives me the giggles a little bit.
Anyways, there are two brands of chicken that we buy, but last week or the week before, they were out of those two brands and so hubby brought home a third brand. No big deal I figure, they're all pretty much the same.
Except... this one still had it's neck bone attached. GROSS!
Usually they take that bone out and the end is just kind of sealed up there, but for some reason this company leaves the bone there and man it was just too much.
I know that I'm eating an animal, but truth be told, the more it resembles an animal, the less I'm inclined to eat it.
Sometimes I smile when I see the half a chicken frying in the pan because for some reason sometimes they look too much like a dancing chicken. Except... you know.. dead and with no head and not resembling the cartoon that plays in my head of dancing chickens at all.
Last week when I decided to roast a chicken, I hadn't let it thaw out first but figured that it would be fine if I just let it cook a little bit longer.
It got to the point where it had been cooking for what I thought was long enough. I took it out of the oven and it looked nice and roasted. I pierced it with a fork and the juices ran clear. Well, done I thought.
I turned the oven off and went to checking the rice and a couple of other things before I got around to putting the chicken on a plate so that I could cut it in half.
Which is when I noticed that although the outer layer was quite cooked, the inside was still quite uncooked!
Ooops!
And the oven was off, and since I have to pull out the oven tray to light the oven, and the oven was still quite hot, there was no way I was going to light it again, so I stuck the chicken in a pot with some water, oil and vinegar, added a little salt and pepper and let it cook that way til it was *finally* and for real done.
I think I learned a lesson. We'll see.
:::
Went for a nice walk down Faisel street last night. About 45 minutes of walk til we got to the restaurant we wanted to get food from. Sat 20 minutes inside waiting for it to be done and then caught a taxi back home.
The restaurant, I can't remember if I've talked about it before, but it has the best chicken EVER! For real.
And it's not a chain, just a stand alone place.
They actually have kind of barbecue pits but they're built into the wall so all you see is the opening. The coals are underneath and the opening isn't all that big and mostly just looks like a rectangular black hole
But you can see the guy cooking from where we were sitting in the lobby, as it's just behind a glass barrier.
We got home and got the food out and I took a bite of my chicken and it's just like heaven. I don't know what spices they use, but it is so good. Not too spicy, slightly sweet, it's just perfect.
Hoping for another walk tonight but we'll see.
:::
Trying to start making some plans towards coming to the States for a visit. Looked online at ticket prices which are ridiculous, so will probably have to go through a travel agent, who will hopefully have some better deals. $1300 bucks to fly Egypt Air (which sucks) isn't going to work for me. At least for that price give me a decent airline. lol
When I flew here a year ago it was through Delta but on Air France planes. I've heard a lot of complaints about Air France but they were nicer than nice to me and the planes were just fine.
I'd love to fly first class sometime on a flight that long. The problem with the 12 hour leg of the flight is that the seats are a bit cramped and you don't have that much leg room, even a shorter person like me, so while a couple hours flight isn't bad, 12 hours is just kind of miserable.
:::
Found the most ginormous daddy long legs in the bathroom the other day. Scared the bejeepers outta me. I took a picture because I couldn't believe how big it was and I figured I had to show hubby and I thought perhaps I could post it here, but honestly the picture is still sitting in my camera because really I don't want to look at that thing again. lol
I left him be where he was, not sure what to do, and went about mopping the floors. On one of my trips back into the bathroom, I noticed that he had disappeared, and upon looking for him found him hiding behind the toilet. At which point I got the spray hose and hosed him down the floor drain which is right next to the toilet. Phew, I was more than happy to have that thing out of sight!
There haven't been a lot of spiders here that I have seen. Occasional roach which gets killed fairly promptly, and we've had some roly poly bugs which I find strange and which hubby is not acquainted with. I tried to explain that when I was a kid and found them I would touch them and then they roll into a ball and then you can flick them and they roll all over the place. I think he thought I was crazy. lol
I guess kids do weird stuff. :D
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