When you think of Egypt, what do you first think about? For me it has always been the Pyramids… So the day had arrived, we first went to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo where we lined up for a 9am opening, even then we had to beat off people pushing in. Our guide had a microphone system which was fantastic and we spent about an hour learning about the ancient culture. The highlight was Tutankhamen tomb which consisted of 4 square catacombs before the series of coffins, all in gold of course. The mask was on display but no photos were allowed to avoid the queues. We saw the various stages of the mummifying process. The scope and variety were amazing but I hope in the new museum they are building better display for these priceless and unique artefacts, one could easily touch them and there was very little written explanations.

Then the moment came, it almost took my breathe away and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, they appeared out of the haze caused by humidity. The tallest pyramid is 148m with two small ones and beside the smallest are three tiny ones, these are for the wives, children and other important people. Each Pyramid took about 40 years to build because there are three seasons, agriculture, River and festivals and the third is harvesting. The Pyramids are only built during the River and Festival season.

There was the option for camel rides, so I went and there were some amazing view, my Camel’s name was Casablanca:).

We had the opportunity to go inside one of them, and the descent was a lot longer than the ones in Memphis and it was very hot due to the other bodies.

The last stop was the biggest Sphinx in Egypt and it was made because it was an ugly stone and they wanted to do something with it, therefore the quality of the stone is not good that is why the nose has fallen off. After the Pyramids we then organized ourselves for the overnight train ride to Ashwin, about 14hrs starting at 8pm, 2 people per cabin and this is first class.

So, I still can’t believe I have seen the Pyramids in real life. If you get the chance, do it.

We had a free day before we started our official tour so our guide arranged a day trip to Memphis which is the site of the first pyramid and Northern Capital of the old Egypt. The second largest Sphinx in Egypt is located here which is a cross between a lion and a human.

The next site was the highlight of the day, the first pyramid ever built with 6 layers. The special thing about this area was we had the chance to go inside another pyramid which had carvings and colour on them which are the only ones in existence. Getting in and out is quite a back bending mission. There were stars on the roof and the most fascinating thing was when the guide put his torch against the wall it illuminated, alabaster material and hieroglyphics and animals painted. aThis area was only recently discovered so we felt very lucky to experience this. The Kings weren’t the only ones that built pyramids for their final resting place before they had eternal life; doctors, butchers and wives also. The last attraction for the day was a carpet factory, we saw silk, Egyptian cotton and wool being woven and the factory is a school, where children learn the trade and they get a daily salary and other perks like school clothes and extra tutoion. I had a go, these kids are fast and the one that was showing me was 10 years old and a bit of a star in the carpet making world. https://vimeo.com/381032324

Before we left I had wanted to get two small carpets, one for each side of our bed so we purchased 2 Egyptian cotton ones. Our carpets took 1 month each. Once back in Cario we had free time so Niels and I decided to walk to the tallest tower where we had a great view.

We walked home via a quick dinner then off to bed while Niels went out to watch some local soccer in a cafe with our guide. An excellent first day in the hunt for Pyramids.

Prior to starting our tour of Egypt & Jordan, wE had organised an overnight trip to Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast. We were picked up early in the morning in a private car with a driver and our own guide, Modi, who as it turned out would also be our guide for our main tour through Egypt. It was about a 2 hour drive, on a new highway, with for Egyptian norms very little traffic. The trip was interrupted due to haze on the dessert road, where the police closed the road and we had to wait for about 30 mins until it cleared. Speeds up to 150km/hr were reached…

Our first stop was the Catacombs of Kom Ash Shuqqafa crypt which was found by accident when a donkey fell into it, I don’t know what happened to the donkey but from what I saw it can’t have been good. Depending on how rich you were dictated the type of crypt you had, there was even one for horses.

Our next stop was a massive column, Pompey,s Pillar, with the unofficial name to do with a main sail mask as from a distance at sea, this is what is looked like. After all the hard work of sight seeing, we went had some of the best seafood I have ever tasted for a cost of less than 10 AUD. We had filale, prawns, calamari and a halved fish with a tomato and vegetable sauce, it was fresh and the batter was perfect, this is a meal I think I will remember for the rest of my life.

From there was the highlight of the overnight trip, the Alexandria Library, it is the largest open plan library in the world and opened in 2002 and is near the site of the orginial library that was burnt down 391 AC years before. A competition was run for the design of the library and it was won by a Danish where the objective of the design was to maximize the amount of light in the reading room and there were about 11 levels with 8 in the reading room. The unexpected highlight of the library was the Saddat exhibit who was the President who negioated peace with the Israel’s and then was shot dead by the Muslin Brotherhood at a military parade.You can see where he got shot on his clothes and the blood. We then headed to our hotel which had wonderful views of the Mediterranean and we went for a walk however couldn’t stomach dinner because of the massive lunch. The next day we went for a walk along the water front, had a simple and delicious breakfast with feta and flat bread. We had three sites to visit with the first being the Presidential Palace with a beautiful park, from there we went to the Fort which also had the second oldest Mosque in Alexandria. We saw where they had designed the defenses with slots to pour hot molten oil down and slit windows for guns. The last attraction was my favourite and it was a Kom Al Dinka coliseum and a Roman bath house that was discovered in 1960 and restored by Polish archeologists. The acoustics were amazing and they uncovered a mosaic tiled floor that had birds which had amazing detail.

We had take away kebabs, which are really Sslash and another speedy trip back to Cairo. Alexandria was amazing, a beautiful, quaint seaside city with an extraordinary history and a more moderate climate than Cairo, a must see place.

I really didn’t have any preconceived ideas on what to expect, and what I can take away, as the title suggests, it is a melting pot of cultures, people and styles. If you were dropped into Dubai and were asked to what country you thought you were in, the answer would probably be India, Indians and Pakistanis make up 45% of the population here.

We landed and headed to our nearby hotel, had a nap as we arrived at 6am, then explored the mall attached to our hotel and had a quick lunch, Philly Cheese Steak, yes very Arabic, then an early night, however not before we had a high tea.

The next day we got the metro to the old part of town which basically felt like a cleaner version of India. We walked through a variety of Souks (markets) perfume oils, gold, spices and exotic fabrics. We then strolled along the Dubai creek and crossed it on an Abra (boat) for a price of $1 Dirham, about $0.30 USD. We chanced upon a fantastic museum that illustrated the development of Dubai over time and the importance of the creek. What I didn’t know was that oil wasn’t discovered here until 1960 and before that Dubai mainly existed for pearl diving.

We got a better understanding of the importance of perfume and how it is made; boiling, condensing and distilling ingredients such as musk, agar wood, rose water and amber. The other museum we visited was the Dubai Museum which is worth a visit and is housed in the oldest building of Dubai, a fort.

We jumped back on the metro and headed for the biggest mall in the world, over 1200 shops, so of course we worked out if you spent two minutes in each shop if would take 40 hours to visit them all. The biggest challenge in these types of places is to leave at the same place that you arrived at, seems simple. We found the indoor ski slope and watched the skiers and then some penguins while having a hot chocolate. No there isn’t a story of us getting lost in the mall, we are urban warriors, but this thing is massive. Home via the metro and another early night.

The next day was the day of the tallest building in the world, 828m, 163 stories, booked our tickets online to avoid queues, but first we visited the beach and strolled for about 7 km along the water front, doesn’t compare to Aussie beaches but ok, and then the highlight of Dubai; Dubai Burj Khalifa Tower, it is hard to truly appreciate how tall it is. We walked around the mall where there was a skating rink and an aquarium and the high end shops there were amazing. We had tickets for the 4:30pm elevators to take us up to the 124 and 125 floors. Despite it being the tallest building by far, due to the ever present the views are limited and not nearly as spectacular as say the view from the Empire State Building or CN Tower.. At the base of the building, where is a massive water fountain with a fountain/light show every 30 mins, so we had dinner outside and watched this. Home time followed and then off to the airport the next day to Cairo where I am writing this.

Keep reading for the next 17 days of exploring through Egypt and Jordan.

Where do I begin… We have welcomed a new member to our family, a two year old female dachshund, Quinnie. My Grandmother always had them as we were growing up, so I have always had an interest in this breed as they are quite quirky animals.  This year, I watched the dog show at the Ekka Show (Brisbane Show) and afterwards I approached a breeder of award winning dogs. She didn’t have a litter coming anytime soon, but she was looking for a home for Quinnie, which is short for Quintessential.

We couldn’t be happier, there is nothing better than coming home from work and being greeted like a long lost partner, the tail is wagging, the body is wiggling and she is running around.  We have gone on a few adventures with her, to the beach, Kangaroo point, board walk and out to the pub.  Coming from the quiet rural town of Warwick, about 2 hours west of Brisbane, Quinnie is getting used to the noise of cars and other city noises.

Here is some action of her on the beach, https://vimeo.com/379182905

She has been used to having company around her with other dachsies and she waits for us behind the door for most of the day when we go to work. It is heart breaking to watch so until she has puppies of her own sometime next year, of which we intend to keep one, we have organised for her half sister to stay with us to keep her company.

She loves to cuddle and she even snores when she is asleep. Quinnie is a wonderful walker and she ends up going for about five walks a day and she even runs with us and her favourite thing is hunting bush turkeys, she will track them down from their scent. Here are some little adventures that have been captured.

As you can see she has made herself at home, and is the centre of attention, even getting presents from overseas https://vimeo.com/379183122

We couldn’t be happier with Quinnie and we can’t wait to see what other adventures we will share

The longer I live here, the more I love it.  While I am walking around a take more notice of things and I think that is because I lived overseas for a year.  Here are some of the things I have seen on my travels around Brisbane.

I was walking along Musgrave Rd and with the light, it was amazing, St Brigid’s Catholic Church, Red Hill.  In 1897 Archbishop Robert Dunn laid the foundation for a new school building and, when it opened, there were over 400 on the school roll. This building was located in the present car park and had to be demolished after a fire partially destroyed the building in 1974.The school was closed in 1983 because of declining numbers.

Two weekends ago Niels and I were in town and there was a military parade for the Mayor of Brisbane, it always sends shivers down my spine when I see military vehicles in a civilian setting.

Working at Seqwater I was alerted to some work we were doing on The Green Hill reservoir in Brisbane.  How well did this turn out and not to mention the size it it, took us about 10 minutes to circumvent it.  Check it out if you have time and it is dog friendly.

I was in the city during the weekend minding my own business on the scooter and I almost ran into horse poo.  I thought this was odd but then I hear a clip clop.  How amazing are these animals.

Now while at work going from site to site I had the pleasure of seeing a koala run across the road in front of me and then scurry up a tree and look at me.  Then in Fernvale, which is famous for its bakery, I ran into this crazy character, modern and traditional technologies mixing.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have a training program on the 26th floor of a building near the water, magnificent.

And last but not least, Niels and I were walking through Southbank a couple of months ago and came across this, yep a snow playground, I think it was about 20 C.

So I suggest that we all look harder at our surrounds to see the beauty and the unusual and be grateful of our situation.

Niels like most boys love anything with a motor; car, planes, motorbikes and trains, so now that I am working in the Ippy (Ipswich) I have more exposure to trains, so I saw a pamphlet for a steam engine ride so I booked.

Now if you can imagine the demographic of who would go on a steam train ride then you are correct; families with young children, older people and then there was us.  We arrived promptly on platform 1 at the Roma Street Station and then waited for the action to begin.  In a cloud of smoke, no it wasn’t on fire, it arrived, they went through some interesting facts and then we boarded.

If my memory serves me correctly, this engine was one of the last to be made in Queensland, if not Australia in the early 1960’s. We were in the oldest carriage, circa 1921, and we could open the windows however we soon learnt that was not a good idea with a train that producers soot and in a tunnel.  The noise it made was incredible and we went at a good speed to see the surroundings and headed for Bulwer Island near the airport.

Because we went off a track that wasn’t used very often, probably only for this trip, they had to manually change the tracks so at first I thought my eyes were deceiving me when the same guy was at each crossing, and then when we were too fast, we had to wait.

It was about a 2 hour trip and I thoroughly recommend it if you get a chance, I great way  to see the sights from a different angle sound.

After almost 10 years in our house it was about time for some maintenance.  Our garden was literally a jungle and this was confirmed when we hired a gardener and he said that he had wished he had taken before and after shots.

So Phase 1: Turn the jungle back into a garden.  Now in my defence I have been away overseas for about 1 year so this could have been the time it turned into a jungle:).

Phase 2: Operation New Fence.  We got a hot tip from our local reaestate agent on fencers so I got them in. Over the years we have had a series of mishaps with the fence, eg one time while we were on holiday a piece of our fence decided to fall down and our lovely neighbours came to the rescue.  If you lent too hard the fence would topple over and Niels had devised a series of rackets to keep it stable.  Here are the before photos:

The only complicated part of our fence was the vehicle entrance halfway down the hill.  There was some miscommunication between the fencer and myself and we ended up with this.

This was corrected and now Niels and I have to fix the driveway up now, something to do with a sidewalk and suing.  I didn’t know we were in America?  The whole job took about 1 week all up so was pretty good.  One of the funny parts was our neighbour interactions, we have two of them.  The first is beside us on our street and they were fine with the replacement (didn’t pay anything) and we had to pull the weeds off the fence in their garden, so on the day that they were starting, Niels and I were in the neighbours garden at 6am ripping out banana plants, weeds and trying to not find any snakes.  The other neighbour is at the bottom on the hill and when we bought the property we were told there was an easement for sewage, so I didn’t think to contact them and told the fencers they could put their stuff in this area.  So at 9:30am non the first day I get a call from the fencer and then the phone is passed over to this neighbour and I then “listen” to them complaining for the next 5-10 mins.  So you would think as a project manager in my day job that I would have nailed this part, but no.  My solution was to send Niels over with a bottle of wine, this worked a treat and we got a card a couple of weeks later thanking “Julie and Nigel”.

Phase 3: The Decks.  Just as well I can write this and don’t have to say it out loud, who knows what would have happened in Phase 3.  Anyway, this was in three parts, the back deck replacing rotten boards, part two, replacing a railing in the spare bedroom and part three, replacing the deck out the front.  This took about 1 week also. The deck at the front turned out really well as we got Jarrah wood by mistake. This is the construction phase:

Now the first time I walked to the front door on those planks was 7pm at night, pitch black, so that was a bit of fun.  This is the outcome at the front, I am pretty happy with it:

Niels’ commented when all this work was completed was “you have done really well”, I said thank you and also mentioned that I have been doing this as a job (project management) for over 16 years…

Niels and I were very lucky to have the wee guy (nephew, Connor) come to stay for the weekend in July.  Working out at Ipswich, I met Mum at Dayboro and it didn’t get off to a good start, Mum got lost and then because of the windy roads Connor had thrown up.  We managed to get home safely and Niels cooked us diner.  Connor decided to check my hair for something…

We hadn’t seen Connor for a long time, so we took him to Toy World so he could choose his present.  I left Niels and Connor at it for about an hour and guess what they decided on, Lego, and Niels had to get himself some too…

So as you can imagine I had a very quiet day as they go into it.  Not sure who did more of the building?

Now we asked Connor what he wanted for dinner on the Saturday and he said lamb shanks.  Well that wasn’t what we were expecting, but I think I know where he got the idea from… Mum?  Anyway you can guess what we did that night?

And the next morning.. Must have been a bit cold.

So we then went for a bike ride around New Farm so Niels drove the scooter and we loaded the bikes into the Little Lorry and off we went to New Farm and then rode around.  We had lots of fun.

We then drove home, got packed and drove Connor back home, but before we could do that, something had to be finished, what could that be?

A great weekend had by all!

 

Well it has been some time since my last confessional (post).  I am getting a hang of this working caper interfering with my leisure activities.  Niels and I entered into the Giant 3 Plus 3 2 day mountain bike race in July and we competed as a team, “Team Caddy”.

So I prepared the packing list and our first road test for the Little Lorry.  It all fitted in easily. 

We arrived at Hiddenvale, Grandchester, about 60km west of Brisbane in the late morning and set up our camp site.  We moved the frame that holds the bikes outside and locked them up and then set up inside using a swag king single mattress.

It was very busy as you can see.

After the camp site was set up we then did a 3 hour endurance race and because we were in a team we each did a lap and then tagged one another.  Because of our supreme fitness or lack of it we only did one lap each and then headed to the hot showers supplied.  We had ordered dinner so at 6pm we rocked up and had a lovely dinner and then enjoyed the lights.  It was Xmas in July.

It was pretty cold that night however we were cosy and slept for 12 hours.  The next day we rode for a bit longer and rode together.  The tracks out there are amazing and the Little Lorry passed it’s first test, us on the mountain bikes not so much.