Another adventure! Now 11 months out of my TKR (see blog “TKR or, Yikes, Am I Old?” Jan 24) and after months of serious PT, some additional personal training (Bulgarian split squats anyone?), and a weekly summer training hike with my friend Andrea, Greg and I headed to northern Italy for a hut-to-hut multi-day hike in… Continue reading Some People Never Learn, or…Hiking Again!
Jordan
Salaam! Welcome to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. A short 1.5 hr flight from Cairo to Amman on Royal Jordanian Airlines brought us to the beautiful Queen Alia airport. Our group, now reduced to 15, was greeted by our Odysseys Unlimited rep and rapidly processed through immigration, then we were on our way to Madaba. … Continue reading Jordan
Giza and Cairo. Shukran! E5
You’d think that after all the amazing sites we’ve seen that there couldn’t possibly be any more highlights, but, The Pyramids of Giza! A short flight took us from Luxor back to Cairo and the Kempinski hotel. Our wonderful OU tour agency and amazing tour director Ayman managed our travel, porters, buses, and even a… Continue reading Giza and Cairo. Shukran! E5
Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. E4
Ah, Luxor! Capital of Ancient Egypt for 500 years (1500-1000BC), land of the pharaohs, known as Waset in ancient Egypt or Thebes in Greek. We docked at this city of 1.5 mil population for an overnight before moving to our hotel, the Steigenberger Nile Palace. Our first visit was the temple of Luxor, continuously built… Continue reading Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. E4
Aswan. E3
Our Lake Nasser cruise ended at the Aswan High Dam. The High dam was constructed over 10 years in the 60s with financial assistance from the USSR (without US or Western Europe assistance due to nationalization of the Suez Cana years prior among other reasons). A monument to the partnership stands nearby. The High dam… Continue reading Aswan. E3
Life on the Nile. E2
Jumping right into our the trip, we awoke the next morning at 2:30 am for our 6:00 am flight from Cairo to Aswan. We passed multiple security gates for the 1 hour flight to Aswan 500 mi south in Nubia, or “Upper Egypt” (relative to the Nile which flows south to north). From the Aswan… Continue reading Life on the Nile. E2
“Yes, Wonderful Things” at the GEM. E1
Cairo! City of 1,000 minarets and 10 million people (over 20 million in the region), more than NYC. Largest city on the African continent, capital of Egypt, and our next destination of travel. Finally! Our AirFrance flight through Paris landed around midnight, having evaded the snowstorm that paralyzed most of the US the day previous… Continue reading “Yes, Wonderful Things” at the GEM. E1
TKR or, Yikes, Am I Old?
Imagine having painful knee arthritis so bad, or bone spurs limiting your range of motion, and you’re living in the 1800s. That’s a lot of limping. And think of now. Many procedures we take for granted such as knee replacement, or cataract surgery, treatments for GERD or gout, are now commonplace. Sit at a dinner… Continue reading TKR or, Yikes, Am I Old?
Bahama Babies and Pura Vida in Costa Rica
We enjoyed a family holiday in the Bahamas, a gift to ourselves from which our family benefitted. Christina, Dan, Anna, and the twins spent Christmas with us in a house we rented on the north shore of Grand Bahama, west of Nassau. Travelling with 2 toddlers was not as traumatic as you might think, for either… Continue reading Bahama Babies and Pura Vida in Costa Rica
Tour de France, Apotheose
We’ve visited many chateaux and churches throughout this trip. Our fascination stems from the architecture, engineering, craftsmanship, decoration, size, and history of each of these places, not to mention the sheer amount of work that has gone into building and rebuilding them. Especially in southern France, which suffered from the 100 Years War with England,… Continue reading Tour de France, Apotheose
My new reality 