Cairo

Well we just got back from 4 days in Cairo and it was quite an adventure. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and went to our hotel which was right on the Nile with a panoramic view of Cairo and the Pyramids in the distance. We hired a private guide and tour guide for Friday and Saturday. On Friday we visited the Pyramids and two other sites. The Pyramids really are as fantastic has people say. On Saturday we visited the Egyptian Museum where we say King Tut's mask and coffins as well as tons of beautiful jewelry and artifacts dating back thousands of years. It is really amazing. We also visited a the most famous mosque in Cairo and the market. This is just a few of the pictures we took while we where there....

View of Cairo and the Nile Rive from our hotel balcony

Faint view of the Pyramids in the distance from our hotel room

Sign on the ceiling of our hotel room pointing toward Mecca

Us at the foot of the largest Pyramid

Me on the Pyramid

Panoramic view of all three Pyramids

David "touching" the Pyramid. Our guide thought this was so cool and was so excited to show us!

David on a camel. We totally got setup by our tour guide. We thought we were going to just sit on them but instead they walked us around and then we we got off charged us a less than reasonable price which I am sure he got a take of later.

Us in front of the 2nd largest Pyramid

The Sphinx

View of us in front of the Pyramids and the Sphinx.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Love from Athens....

2008 USMC Ball

This past Saturday David and I went to the 2008 Marine Corps Birthday Ball here in Athens. This is our second USMC Ball. The first one was in 2006 when I was working for the Navy in DC. There was a great turn out and of course the Marines at the Embassy did a wonderful job. The ball was held at the best hotel in Athens so David and I decided to treat ourselves and spend the night too. In the morning we had the most amazing American breakfast (which is hard to come by over here outside of your own home). Below are a few pictures! On to Cairo next week.....

Us at the Ball

Vicki, Stacey and I

Dan and Stacey

Vicki and I at the USMC Ball

Delphi

This weekend we took a trip to Delphi with Dan, Stacey and Colin. It was a beautiful fall day in Greece with the temperature reaching into the mid 80s. This is this first time we have been out of Athens in a while so it could have been 40 and raining and it still would have been nice. Some of you may need to delve into your Greek Mythology to remember but...Delphi was the site of the Delphic Oracle, the most important in the classical Greek world, and it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo. It is now thought that the Oracle was actually sitting on vent which produced vapors which caused hallucinations which were mistaken for "visions." They also have a great museum where you can view all of the artifacts that they have found while excavating the site. After the site and the museum we went down to the very cute little town and had a great lunch complete with ice cream and coffee. In the winter there is a ski resort open not too far away which we may check out this winter. That is if I can get David back up on skis again! Below are some pictures from our trip!

View of Delphi

David and Colin at Delphi. David convinced Colin there was a monster in every little cave we saw and he loved it!

This is a huge bee we saw on the path.

This is a turtle we saw when we were walking that David, Colin and Dan were all equally excited about.

David in the old stadium