Day 188 - Day at Concorde El Salaam Hotel and Shopping Mall
Monday, January 7th, 2019
We got up late and got ready to go visit my mom at her hotel. I invited them to our apartment but I was sure she just wanted to relax in her hotel. I can’t imagine them taking an Uber and getting here. It takes a good 45 minutes. We are very far away from everything but we are in an area called New Cairo and it is modern, clean, and looks like a decent civilization. Not that the rest of Cairo isn’t but it is very overwhelming to see the poor people, the trash, the noise, the smells and more… [Gregory's note: what she means is that everything here looks more Western, new, and rich.]
It is hard to describe Cairo and I will do it maybe later when I’m not emotional and can be more objective, but for now, let me just say that I’m happy to be in the modern side of Cairo.
I told Gregory that the children and I didn’t want to do anything for the 3 days we have left in Cairo. Sounds like a waste being so close to Memphis and Alexandria or even going back to the Egyptian Museum. The truth is that we are tired of moving around and not having a nice place to relax. I know I write about some stay-at-home days but we have had very few of those. We still haven’t had many days where we get to do what we want.
I long for a day where I can just read and read what I want, not about where we are going next, or about the country or the culture, just read a fun book or write for fun. I do like writing my blog but many times seems like a chore and then I get more frustrated that I can’t publish right away because it needs to be proofread.
Anyway, going back to our day, we took Uber to my mom’s hotel which is near the airport. We got there in 30 minutes but the driver was going really fast. He dropped us at the gate and we thought the hotel was right there -- but no. We had a walk about a kilometer, went through two security checkpoints, and then a van from the hotel gave us a ride halfway.
It was definitely a five-star hotel but what seems to be fancy for Egypt is tacky for us. I would have painted all the pink walls white and replaced the brass banister with wood but aside from that, it looked nice. The best part was that Gregory had reserved her an executive room. This gave her the right to free breakfast and the executive lounge. Of course, we took advantage and we all ordered cappuccinos.
The pleasure didn’t last long because the waiter told us that my mom had only one night at executive status and the other night in regular. And that’s because she had booked a regular night with her travel agent in Mexico. My mom was willing to pay the difference but I told her that it wasn’t worth it especially if they were leaving tonight!
We left the lounge and went back to her room which was about to be cleaned and the girls, who had been in the pool, were about to take a shower. Believe it or not, there was a heated pool and my sweet mermaid finally had a chance to use the pool. My mom ended up paying for Sunshine's bed, which included breakfast and the right to use the pool with her bathrobe. Sunshine was thrilled!
We went downstairs and waited for the room to be cleaned. My mom treated us to lunch in the hotel's Italian restaurant where we had (again) soup and pizza -- mostly because it was expensive. Daniel was so sweet because he wanted to get a soda and kept looking at me and Gregory for approval but my mom just said, order what you want, I’m treating you! I just love my mom, she has been so generous overtipping everybody in Egypt and saying that they need more the money than we do (and she is right). [Gregory's note: Daniel wasn't concerned about the price of the soda: it was $1. He was concerned that we wouldn't allow it, which was true. But Lili is obsessed with money these days, so she sees everything from a financial perspective.]
The hotel offered a free ride to a large, Western-style mall and my mom wanted to take advantage. Ali wanted to go, of course, and Sunshine wanted to be with her. I couldn’t believe that Gregory wanted to go but he needed jeans and malaria medicine. We left Daniel resting in the room and took the shuttle.
As much as I wanted to go shopping with the girls [Gregory's note: Lili never wants to go shopping, with or without girls], I stayed with Gregory looking for the malaria medicine for our next destination and for new jeans that he needed for the Rotary meeting which took place at my mom’s hotel. Ironically, he did find a pair of jeans at H&M for a decent price. The shopping mall was huge and upscale and had all sorts of American & European brands like Victoria's Secret, GAP, Bebe, Armani, and more.
We took Uber back to the hotel. My mom was willing to pay triple for a taxi instead of waiting outside for the Uber to find us. It might sound simple but waiting for Uber in Cairo is tricky. First of all, there are very few sidewalks. Second, there were a lot of people waiting outside the mall for rides or who knows, and third, it was dark and you better know your Arabic numbers so you can identify your Uber license plates.
I explained to my mom that it was always safer and cheaper to get Uber than a taxi, so we waited while Gregory tried to find our driver. At one point, we almost got in the wrong car! We felt bad for the man when we opened the doors.
We made it back to the hotel with lots of traffic and horns beeping. There was no trace of the Rotary meeting that night so there was no point in staying. Instead, we sat in the lobby listening to a pianist who had become my mom’s friend last night. She stood next to him and sang many of the songs. I love her, she is so positive, full of life and enthusiasm. I have so much to learn from her. I’m so happy that she came when I needed her the most. She recharged my battery and now I’m happy that she goes back home where she doesn’t have to worry about where to stay and what to eat. I don’t think she was ever worried about that but I was! Sigh…
We had a very good day with my mom. Around 8:30, I noticed that she got a little anxious and started to pack. I told everyone that it was time to say our goodbyes. I thought I was going to cry but I didn’t. I got her blessings and gave her a big hug. I told her to let me know when she made it home the next day. The hotel shuttle was going to take them to the airport at 1:00am because their flight to Rome was at 4:00am!!!
We will be doing the same crazy thing in 3 days to go to Ethiopia with a 2am flight! We took an Uber back home and it took an hour! Sunshine was happy to see a nice home with heat. We had a light dinner and read for a bit. We couldn’t enjoy our huge TV because there is nothing on in English and we have no internet! When are we going to get a home with everything that we need?! I’m mostly worried about Sunshine’s assignments. Today was supposed to be the first day back to school. I told them that we would start tomorrow, we will see!
We got up late and got ready to go visit my mom at her hotel. I invited them to our apartment but I was sure she just wanted to relax in her hotel. I can’t imagine them taking an Uber and getting here. It takes a good 45 minutes. We are very far away from everything but we are in an area called New Cairo and it is modern, clean, and looks like a decent civilization. Not that the rest of Cairo isn’t but it is very overwhelming to see the poor people, the trash, the noise, the smells and more… [Gregory's note: what she means is that everything here looks more Western, new, and rich.]
It is hard to describe Cairo and I will do it maybe later when I’m not emotional and can be more objective, but for now, let me just say that I’m happy to be in the modern side of Cairo.
I told Gregory that the children and I didn’t want to do anything for the 3 days we have left in Cairo. Sounds like a waste being so close to Memphis and Alexandria or even going back to the Egyptian Museum. The truth is that we are tired of moving around and not having a nice place to relax. I know I write about some stay-at-home days but we have had very few of those. We still haven’t had many days where we get to do what we want.
I long for a day where I can just read and read what I want, not about where we are going next, or about the country or the culture, just read a fun book or write for fun. I do like writing my blog but many times seems like a chore and then I get more frustrated that I can’t publish right away because it needs to be proofread.
Anyway, going back to our day, we took Uber to my mom’s hotel which is near the airport. We got there in 30 minutes but the driver was going really fast. He dropped us at the gate and we thought the hotel was right there -- but no. We had a walk about a kilometer, went through two security checkpoints, and then a van from the hotel gave us a ride halfway.
It was definitely a five-star hotel but what seems to be fancy for Egypt is tacky for us. I would have painted all the pink walls white and replaced the brass banister with wood but aside from that, it looked nice. The best part was that Gregory had reserved her an executive room. This gave her the right to free breakfast and the executive lounge. Of course, we took advantage and we all ordered cappuccinos.
The pleasure didn’t last long because the waiter told us that my mom had only one night at executive status and the other night in regular. And that’s because she had booked a regular night with her travel agent in Mexico. My mom was willing to pay the difference but I told her that it wasn’t worth it especially if they were leaving tonight!
We left the lounge and went back to her room which was about to be cleaned and the girls, who had been in the pool, were about to take a shower. Believe it or not, there was a heated pool and my sweet mermaid finally had a chance to use the pool. My mom ended up paying for Sunshine's bed, which included breakfast and the right to use the pool with her bathrobe. Sunshine was thrilled!
We went downstairs and waited for the room to be cleaned. My mom treated us to lunch in the hotel's Italian restaurant where we had (again) soup and pizza -- mostly because it was expensive. Daniel was so sweet because he wanted to get a soda and kept looking at me and Gregory for approval but my mom just said, order what you want, I’m treating you! I just love my mom, she has been so generous overtipping everybody in Egypt and saying that they need more the money than we do (and she is right). [Gregory's note: Daniel wasn't concerned about the price of the soda: it was $1. He was concerned that we wouldn't allow it, which was true. But Lili is obsessed with money these days, so she sees everything from a financial perspective.]
The hotel offered a free ride to a large, Western-style mall and my mom wanted to take advantage. Ali wanted to go, of course, and Sunshine wanted to be with her. I couldn’t believe that Gregory wanted to go but he needed jeans and malaria medicine. We left Daniel resting in the room and took the shuttle.
As much as I wanted to go shopping with the girls [Gregory's note: Lili never wants to go shopping, with or without girls], I stayed with Gregory looking for the malaria medicine for our next destination and for new jeans that he needed for the Rotary meeting which took place at my mom’s hotel. Ironically, he did find a pair of jeans at H&M for a decent price. The shopping mall was huge and upscale and had all sorts of American & European brands like Victoria's Secret, GAP, Bebe, Armani, and more.
We took Uber back to the hotel. My mom was willing to pay triple for a taxi instead of waiting outside for the Uber to find us. It might sound simple but waiting for Uber in Cairo is tricky. First of all, there are very few sidewalks. Second, there were a lot of people waiting outside the mall for rides or who knows, and third, it was dark and you better know your Arabic numbers so you can identify your Uber license plates.
I explained to my mom that it was always safer and cheaper to get Uber than a taxi, so we waited while Gregory tried to find our driver. At one point, we almost got in the wrong car! We felt bad for the man when we opened the doors.
We made it back to the hotel with lots of traffic and horns beeping. There was no trace of the Rotary meeting that night so there was no point in staying. Instead, we sat in the lobby listening to a pianist who had become my mom’s friend last night. She stood next to him and sang many of the songs. I love her, she is so positive, full of life and enthusiasm. I have so much to learn from her. I’m so happy that she came when I needed her the most. She recharged my battery and now I’m happy that she goes back home where she doesn’t have to worry about where to stay and what to eat. I don’t think she was ever worried about that but I was! Sigh…
We had a very good day with my mom. Around 8:30, I noticed that she got a little anxious and started to pack. I told everyone that it was time to say our goodbyes. I thought I was going to cry but I didn’t. I got her blessings and gave her a big hug. I told her to let me know when she made it home the next day. The hotel shuttle was going to take them to the airport at 1:00am because their flight to Rome was at 4:00am!!!
We will be doing the same crazy thing in 3 days to go to Ethiopia with a 2am flight! We took an Uber back home and it took an hour! Sunshine was happy to see a nice home with heat. We had a light dinner and read for a bit. We couldn’t enjoy our huge TV because there is nothing on in English and we have no internet! When are we going to get a home with everything that we need?! I’m mostly worried about Sunshine’s assignments. Today was supposed to be the first day back to school. I told them that we would start tomorrow, we will see!
To see pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zqdt65ChUqC655od6
Comments
Post a Comment