TravelStream™ news feed for member abristol on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/abristol en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:38:23 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/8/1225272660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/8/1225272660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/8/1225272660/tpod.html Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:38:23 -0400 Czech me out!

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Prague, Bohemia, Czech Republic

So I arrived back in Prague after being in America for only 4 days. My interview for P.A. school went great and I was accept into Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. I was quite jet lagged as I had such a quick turn around and my body didn´t know what time or day it was anymore. So I went to check in at the hostel and meet up with the girls but to my surprise I no longer had my wallet with me when I went to pay for the hostel and the girls were already out and about on the town. So I had to call and wake my mom up at 3a.m to tell her to cancel my cards and send me a new one. That day was pretty miserable since I had no money, no way of getting money, and my friends and I had miscommunicated so they were no where to be found. I spent that day sleeping to get rid of the jet lag and starving since I had no money to buy any food :( Luckily when my friends got back to the hostel they took me to get food and my new debit card arrived the next day! While Prague started off a little shaky for me...I eventually grew to love it and it was one of my favorite cities! We spent one week there partially because we loved it and partially because we were still waiting on Siho´s credit card to come in since she lost hers in Berlin. So while in Prague we did many things like tour around the Prague castle, walk along the Charles Bridge which has lots of entertainment, artists, and different things for sale. We wrote our names on the John Lennon Imagine Wall, took in the nightlife, and had a few fun day trips. The day trips included a trip to Kutna Hora where they have a bone church. The church is filled with real human bones. The people had died in the Plague and there were no more grave sites in the church so they asked a half blind man to clean the bones and put them in the church. He did all sorts of artistic things with the bones. Everything from chandeliers, shields, columns, ect. We also took a day trip to Cesky Krumluv which is a little town that looks like a picture out of Disneyland. There was a castle that we were allowed to go inside to see the dungeons and climb the tower. Other than that we went to local pubs with people we met at the hostel, as well as a friend who is living in Prague. We went to a club that had 80´s and 90´s dance videos and it was a blast. From the second you walk in everyone is screaming every word to our favorite songs and the videos are being played on a video screen. We were all drenched in sweat from dancing the night away. We also got lost one day trying to get to the castle and ended up in the gardens behind it. We took this as a photo opportunity and spent half the day taking photographs that we now look back at and call our engngement pictures because the scenery is so perfect. Our last night in Prague we realized we had not tried the ever so famous fried cheese that the street vendors sold. So after a few beers at the hostel bar, we thought it would be a great idea to call a taxi to drive us to a street vendor. We finally found a street vendor with these fried cheese patties on a bun with tartar sauce and bought some. However, the rest of the girls didn´t think that was enough so they also bought brats and whatever else we could afford. We had the taxi take us back to the hostel where we devoured the ever so healthy fried cheese. Later that night Siho slept walked off the top bunk and was sitting cross legged on the floor yelling that the leaves were attacking her. I luckily tried to save her by risking my own life climbing down from the top bunk that I was paranoid of falling off in the first place. The next morning we had a good laugh about the craziness from the night before and it was a fun way to say farewell to Prague.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/7/1225051140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/7/1225051140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/7/1225051140/tpod.html Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:15:25 -0400 Amsterdam

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Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

So upon leaving Munich and the craziness that was Oktoberfest we headed to Amsterdam. We originally were suppose to head to Vienna, Austria but our friend, Jason, that we met in Greece while staying at the Pink Palace in Corfu was going to be in Amsterdam before flying home to the states. So we switched our plans and decided to meet up with him in Amsterdam. That is the beauty of traveling spontaneously throughout Europe...you can switch your plans very easily when you meet fun people that you want to travel with. So to Amsterdam we went. I had already explored much of the town during a 10 hour layover Stephanie and I had while flying to Cairo. So Steph and I guided everyone else around the town. It was pouring rain the entire time which made it difficult to walk around the city for long periods of time. We went to the Anne Frank house and explored the attic she and her family lived in during the time of the holocaust. Of course we went down to the red light district and walked around which was quite the shocker even coming from Nevada where everything is legal. As crazy as Amsterdam is, we were so burnt out from traveling and Oktoberfest that we didn't do a whole lot. Luckily, Stephanie's aunt and uncle live in Amsterdam so after staying for 2 nights in a hostel we went to Stephanie's aunts house. It was such a nice change to have a home cooked meal and be in a home. We did the simple things like watch a movie, and eat like a family that you take for granted. It was fun to relax and stay in a home. While I was there I found out that I needed to fly back to the states for an interview. So one day I am in Amsterdam and the next day I am packing and heading back to the states. The other girls were going to relax for another night at Stephanie's aunts house and then head to Berlin. I was sad to miss this part of the trip; however, if I had to miss any part of the trip, this would be the best to miss. As it turned out, Siho's purse was stolen while they were at a club the first night in Berlin so their entire trip to Berlin was spent getting Siho a new passport, eurorail train pass, credit cards, etc. So all in all, I didn't miss much while I was in the states!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/5/1224930420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/5/1224930420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/5/1224930420/tpod.html Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:50:59 -0400 Oktoberfest 2008

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Munich, Bavaria, Germany

So we arrived in Munich ready and prepared for the craziness of Oktoberfest...or at least we thought we were ready. We got to our "tent" which was the only place we could find to book since all other accomodations were sold out months prior to our arrival in Europe. So we show up without sleeping bags or blankets and it was freezing. Luckily we were given 4 wool blankets each and the tent was actually one huge tent with 160 bunk beds. I had to go and buy a sweatshirt, gloves, and a hat to wear because anytime you weren´t covered in blankets you were shivering cold. The first night we hung out at the bonfire which was our only hope to be warm. We met a ton of people and everyone said to be ready at 7:00 a.m. to hed to the tents the next morning. I didn´t understand why we had to go so early but then again I underestimated the craziness that Oktoberfest would be. So the next morning we woke up freezing before the sun had risen and started walking to Oktoberfest. As we arrived at 8:00 there were already thousands of people outside each tent waiting for the doors to open at 9:00. Oktoberfest looks like a huge carnival for adults. There are all the rides and games that a normal carnival has but there is a beer tent everywhere and drunk people staggering all around you. So we made our way to the Hoffbrau tent and somehow squeezed our way near the front. It is important to get inside and get a table because that is the only way you can order a beer. So when 9:00 came around a ton of huge German guards pushed the doors open and started knocking people down. Everyone was pushing forward and the guards were pushing back so you could not move, you just swayed with the crowd. The guards were yelling at everyone in German, they would close the doors and make it seem like they were´not going to let people in and then laugh and push the doors open again and knock everyone down. When they finally let us in they were still yelling at us in German while searching us. I was scared and I told Siho just put your hands up and walk by. So we got in and found a table and the mayhem began. The beer maidens immediately started bringing 1 liter steins and the drinking began at 9:00 a.m. 15 minutes later everyone is on top of the tables singing and dancing. It was a blast. Everyone was buying us pretzels, chicken, and brats telling me that you have to keep eating in order to sustain the craziness and 1 liter steins if you plan on making it all day! Well, by 3 p.m. we were back at the tent passed out. We repeated this same process the following day and at the end of the day we went to the real Hoffbrau house where Hitler use to hold his meetings to get some culture out of our trip to Munich. Oktoberfest was completely out of control, but well worth the experience. I had so much fun and we want to go back in 2 years for the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/4/1223850180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/4/1223850180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/4/1223850180/tpod.html Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:49:07 -0400 I love Italia!!!

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Cinque Terre, Italian Riviera, Italy

So...it has been awhile since the last time I have sent any updates. But since Rome we have gone throughout Italy and visisted Florence, Cinque terre, Pisa, and Venice. We have ate our weight in pasta and drank/ate enough cappucinos and pastries to last a person a lifetime. I have loved everything about Italy. I can't wait to come back and I recommend everyone takes a trip to Italy!

So Florence started out a little shaky. As we pulled into the station we were unaware that there were two train stops in Florence. So we hussled to put our bags on and get off the train; however, two other girls were trying to get off at the same time. Stephanie and one of the other girls got tangled up and one of them dropped something so this caused myself, Stephanie, and one of the girls to get to the train door only to have it shut in our faces while Siho, Gina, and one of the other girls were standing on the platform outside the train waving goodbye. I was hysterically laughing at the circumstance as we tried pushing every button to get the doors to open back up so that we could get off. Everyone on the train was laughing at us and I thought we were going to be going to another town. Luckily someone told me that the main station was the next stop. So Stephanie and I got off the train (we had the directions to the hostel with us) and didn't know how we would find Siho and Gina. Oddly enough, they had taken a bus into the main part of town where we were and happen to see me walking down the street towards the hostel. They frantically got off the bus and ran in our direction. When they walked in it was a miracle out of a movie and we were reunited once again LOL...we definitely got lucky!

So while we were in Florence we went to the Academia which has the statue of David. It is unimaginable how Michealangelo created such a perfect replica of a human body and he made it using marble. Every detail is perfect down to the veins in his hands and every muscle in his body. We also had a little taste of the nightlife and went on a pub crawl and to some clubs at night. We went to a club that was all very upper class fashionable locals. We looked a little out of place in our backpacking clothes and flip flops since we were the only non-italians there and they were all in designer clothes, but it was fun anyways. There was also an amazing flea market that had everything a girl could ever want from Italy. I was in heaven and went there everyday....I was going through shopping withdrawals since I left America...then I realized that I could not fit anything into my already overpacked backpack which put a little damper on my could have been shopping spree! The only downfall of Florence was that everyone started getting sick because we have been traveling so much so Stephanie was pretty much confined to her bed throughout our stay in Florence.

From Florence we made our way to Cinque terre. Cinque terre is 5 fishing villages in a row where you can hike between each village along the ocean. This place was so much fun. They are known for their pesto sauce so of course we started off with some pesto pizza...very tasty! The first night we were there Gina and Stephanie went to sleep at 6pm because they were both sick. Siho and I decided to go to the cafe\bar that was below the apartment we were staying in to have a hot chocolate. While we were there we made friends with the locals who were "pirates" and they started buying us the local drinks of limoncello and sangria and the next thing we know we are the life of the party dancing with everyone. We made friends with a couple from D.C. and a ton of people from Cinque terre. The bartenders decided that the following night they would throw a party at the bar in honor of Siho and I called "the party for beautiness" It made us laugh so we said we would be back. Of course all the same people were back the next night and Siho and I had a blast. We practiced being bartenders, I played D.J. and we had our "party for beautiness" LOL. The night ended with all of us going to the beach with a bottle of wine and hanging out in the sand. It was so much fun. The next day we hiked between all 5 villages which was very neat because each hike was different. One of the hikes was a romantic hike, one had stones, grafitti, and sayings posted all over a cave so of course we carved our names on the walls, one hike was all stairs and another part was what looked like an enchanted forest with waterfalls. The whole hike took about 5 hours but it was well worth it.

While we were sad to leave Cinque terre, we had to hurry because we were trying to make it to Oktoberfest in Germany. So we decided to take a one day trip to Pisa to see the leaning tower of Pisa. We took pictures of us "holding up" the leaning tower of Pisa. Then we went to find our hostel. We walked for miles up and down the same road looking for our hostel for 4 hours. Everyone would say its 50 meters this way..we would walk 200 meters and not see anything. More people would give us directions and we still could not see anything except an open field on one side, a cemetery on the other, and nothing else for miles. While we were walking we would see signs but still no hostel. Everyone acted like we were crazy for not being able to see this hostel, but unless they expected us to sleep in the cemetery there was nothing else around. I am convinced that the town was playing a joke on us and there really was no hostel because we never did find one. We eventually made it back into town and found a hotel but we vowed to never go back to the town of Pisa...it did not treat us very well.

We then made our way to Venice. We were only in Venice for one day because of our time crunch but we wandered around the town, saw the canals, and took in the scenery. The town is complicated to get through because of all the bridges, waterways and buildings that come out of nowhere. It was a beautiful town and I would love to go back someday so that I can have my romantic gondola ride on the canals! But from here it was off to Oktoberfest!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/4/1222453260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/4/1222453260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/4/1222453260/tpod.html Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:41:58 -0400 I love Italia!!!

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Rome, Lazio, Italy

We have arrived in Italy! I love Italia :) Rome is my new favorite place to be! Mark my words...I will go back to Rome someday!
Anyways, we did not get much time in Rome, but we loved every second of it! First off we went to the Colliseum to see where the gladiators had their fights! We went on a guided tour so we were able to get the full history of the colliseum. That night we decided to go on a pub crawl with many other crazy backpackers! The pub crawl included 3 bars and ended on a riverboat. By the end of the night we were so tired we left the pub crawl before it was over...not realizing that you cannot just hail a taxi in Rome. Taxis are only stationed at certain places and the buses were not running in the wee hours of the night. Fear not though, Sihomara, Gina, and I hailed down a car and two nice Italian boys gave us a ride to our hostel! People are so nice in Italy :) The next day we took off for Vatican city. We took a tour through everything and saw the Sistine Chapel. We then went and hung out at the Spanish Steps, threw some coins in the Treve Fountain and ate gelato...which I loved! Every single building and place is so amazing that pictures and words cannot describe it. Not to mention that the food is amazing. I would have thought I would get sick of pasta, paninis and pizza but I definitely have not! We eat all day long because the food and pastries are that good. Then we complain about how we are making ourselves sick eating so much...but then we buy more food and somehow fit it into our gut. I also discovered Nutella...which I did not know they sold in the U.S. but I will be buying some when I get back! Nutella is a chocolate spread that the Italians put on croissants, bread, and everything else. My favorite was the waffle with nutella. I am just going to pre-warn everyone that I will be coming back to the states wearing a size extra large because the food is soooo good here! The atmosphere is amazing and if I could recommend one place to anyone visiting Europe it would be to go to Rome! I fully intend on coming back to Rome to have a picnic on the Spanish steps, eat gelato, and tour the city because I did not even see one quarter of all the beautiful things in this city! Until next time...ciao!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/3/1221477840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/3/1221477840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/3/1221477840/tpod.html Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:22:08 -0400 GREECE

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Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece

So apparently it never rains in Corfu...but we were apart of a massive downpour that left the whole village without power all day. But that's what makes this trip so amazing! So we arrived in Corfu, one of the greek islands, 6 days ago to stay at the world famous Pink Palace. The Pink Palace is like a little world inside a big globe. We started off on an 8 hour overnight bus ride followed by a ferry ride with a group of wild and crazy Australian and Canadian boys. This made for quite the interesting bus ride. Upon checking in...mind you it was 7 a.m. and we were all tired since we hadn't slept the night before, we were handed a shot of pink Ouzo, the famous Greek shot.

After getting a little sleep we explored the beach before preparing for our first themed party at the Pink Palace. It was cross-dressing night. Luckily we had our new Aussie friends to exchange clothes with. We turned into 4 fly boys while our 3 Aussie friends took on the role of being girls. I can't put into words how funny the night was. Every boy was decked out in bathing suits, makeup, dresses, and their hair braided, put in pig tails, etc. Not only did they all look like the best cross dressers ever, they all played the role 110% all night long. It was as if every boy on the island suddenly transformed into a woman. They made better girls than we did! Anyways, the night was a complete blast as we danced the night away and everyone played their roles perfectly. We ended the night playing chicken in the swimming pool/hot tub!

After meeting everyone in drag the first night it was a little weird to see them the next day in their appropriate clothing. Plus, most of the boys had eyeliner still on because they couldn't figure out how to get it off. But it was on to the booze cruise. The booze cruise was a 6 hour boat ride. Our first stop....before the booze started flowing, was a 45ft. cliff. Sihomara and I jumped into the water and made our way over to the most jagged cliffs I have ever climbed. We started climbing the rock. About half way up I started having second thoughts as I was clinging to the side of a jagged mountain with half of the people scraped and bleeding from the rocks. But, with a group above and below me, I was stuck and it looked more dangerous to go down. So I kept climbing and telling myself I would defeat this vicious mountain. Once on top of the mountain Siho and I waited until the last 2 people with the exception of the 2 guys who were in charge. When it was my turn, I didn't waste time because I was getting too nervous and I knew it would only get worse. I lept, closed my eyes, plummeted down 45 ft. and then smack. I hit the water what seemed like 5 minutes later....and then instant pain. I had tilted forward and ended up doing a semi belly flop and smacked my chin. But luckily it was a booze cruise, so I took the pain away with a few drinks. We then went to a bat cave, swam around, and went snorkeling on a private beach. That night it was karoake at the Pink Palace and us girls were the best singers in the place....not very many people sang!

The next day, we were all too sore to do much. We spent most of the day on the beach and walking through the shops in town. That night there was a competitive game of flip cup among the guests at the Pink Palace. Every team played each other 2 out of 3. Siho, Gina, Steph and I were on a team with 2 of the guys who worked at the pink palace, Mike and Jason. We were undefeated until our Aussie who took second challenged us and we lost in sudden death. But we were still the winners!

The next day we took a guided kayak tour to a monastery and did some snorkeling. The clouds started rolling in, but our guide, Jason, and the rest of the workers said, "Don't worry, it never rains in Corfu". It didn't rain while we were on the kayaks, but the wind and waves picked up, so it was a battle against nature to return home. Siho and I looked like pros in our 2 person kayak, but others struggled, flipped, had to go along the beach and drag their kayaks home, it was pretty amuzing. That night was the Pink Toga party. Everyone was given a pink sheet and told to make a toga. With our togas on, we started dancing the night away. We then sat in a circle and watched some greek dancing, took more ouzo shots, and had plates smashed on our heads. Siho was put in the middle and wasn't able to see that they were going to smash plates on her head. The owner took 5 plates and surprised Siho as he crushed them on top of her head. We found out later, he used the wrong plates and the ones he used weren't meant for smashing on people's heads. She had quite the headache afterwards.

Yesterday the storm finally hit and it never stopped. We were soaking wet everywhere we went and the power was out in the whole village. So everyone gathered in the common areas with candles and flashlights to play games. The Pink Palace is amazing because you are surrounded by the same people for a period of time so you really get to know people.

Today we are preparing to leave Corfu. We are so sad because we love it here, but on the bright side...WE GO TO ITALY!!!
-Until next time!-
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/3/1220858220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/3/1220858220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/3/1220858220/tpod.html Mon, 08 Sep 2008 03:30:42 -0400 GREECE

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Athens, Attica, Greece

So...we made it to Greece! Which is AMAZING. We have all picked out property on the island of Santorini that we want to buy when we become rich and famous! So, first things first! The food is amazing. The first thing I had was a greek salad...so fitting! I forgot to tell you all on the last blog that when we were in Cairo, the last 2 days were during Rhomadan which is the muslim holy month where they fast through the daylight hours...not even water in the 120 degree weather. But that also meant that all the restaurants closed down during the days. So unless we wanted to fast with the locals, we had to search hi and low for food. So the greek food has been music to my mouth!

We flew into Athens where we spent the day at the Acropolis seeing the Parthenon. We have now gone to our second, 7 wonders of the world! We spent the rest of the day shopping...not that we could afford to buy anything :( and taking it easy.

We then caught a ferry out to the island of Santorini. It is the most perfect sight in the world! We have been laying on the beach...which is black sand. There is also a red beach, although we never made it there. We have met a lot of great people at our hostel who we have hung out with. We also went to a waterpark! We just can't seem to fight the kid in us! Yesterday we went to a winery and had a wine tasting. I'm slowly developing a taste....more so a tolerance, for wine. We then took a 7 mile hike along the side of the mountains of the island to get out to the farthest peak where they say there are the best sunsets in the world. It was, in fact, pretty spectacular. The whole scene was amazing because there are cute little white adobe homes with blue shutters and pink flowers everywhere you look with the sun setting in the background. Today we plan on heading back to the beach to work on our tans before getting back on the ferry to Athens. We will stay in Athens for a day before heading off to the Pink Palace on the island of Corfu which is world famous for its toga parties! I can't wait! :)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/2/1220881080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/2/1220881080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/2/1220881080/tpod.html Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:54:33 -0400 Egypt in a nutshell

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Luxor, Nile River Valley, Egypt

So....it's been awhile and I have done and seen so much. So where I left off....we ended up going to that "cabaret" to see belly dancers. It was quite the evening. We went to this club which I found out once I was in there that it was an illegal underground club. But since we were Americans they said we were fine. The belly dancing was funny. The girls were fully covered and just swaying their hips and the guys would go crazy and throw money in the air. I was dressed very conversatively and I had on less clothing than the so called belly dancers. I was picked to dance with the belly dancer, so I got on stage and did a belly dance. I was the only person who danced :) We then decided to take a trip to Luxor to see the Valley of the Kings. We waited for hours in the train station because they were sold out of tickets but the tourist police promised they could get us tickets. So after 3 trains left and we still had no tickets we began losing hope. Then the last train arrived and the police brought us hand written tickets and told us to follow them. They put us on the train and made other people move. I'm almost positive they gave us other people's seats because there were people who had no seats and for an overnight train, I would think everyone would want a seat. None the less, we made it to Luxor! We got a tour guide who took us to see the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Queen Hutchepsut. Both were amazing. We were inside the tombs of kings who lived thousands of years ago. We didn't go inside King Tut's tomb, but we saw all of the things that were inside the tomb, including his gold mask when we were at the museum. We also went to the pyramids which was my favorite thing. The pyramids are amazing and huge! It is hard to imagine anyone being able to build them, let alone thousands of years ago. We also rode camels! That was quite the sight to see! Other than that, we hung out with a lot of the locals and ate a ton of different, but amazing food. Some of the places we ate looked like the worst imaginable places that would never meet health code regulations in the U.S. but I survived! I even survived seeing my first cockroach while sitting down for breakfast! :) The conditions were rough, considering we were all drenched in our own sweat the entire time, and if we could have avoided using any of the bathrooms we would have. All in all, the experience was amazing and I would recommend it to everyone! Now on to Greece!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/1/1219966380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/1/1219966380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abristol/1/1219966380/tpod.html Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:47:26 -0400 To Egypt and Europe...let the adventures begin!

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Cairo, Egypt

Hello everyone!
We have successfully arrived in Cairo! This is a place unlike any other I have ever been seen!! It's a little scary since the culture is so different but mostly because of the crazy drivers here. They don't follow any type of traffic laws so where ever you can fit your car is free game! So there are always four or five cars across a two lane road! Plus there are no pedestrian crossings so you have to step out into oncoming traffic and then hop to the next place while avoiding cars until you can make it all the way across. We aren't so good at this! Sihomara and I tend to hestitate and get left on the other side of the street for awhile because we are too chicken to run across! Everything is super cheap here. We just bought some ice cream to try and cool off which was $0.60. And a taxi ride across town was $2. It is extremely hot here on top of being very humid! We look like we have been sitting in a swimming pool all day. We walked through the markets today and went to the Citadel to see some of the mosques. We plan on going to some museums tomorrow and to dinner with belly dancers as the entertainment. They warned us that it is somewhat like a strip club...but we figure, we are from Reno! :) We also have plans to go the pyramids, ride a camel, go to the Nile and take a trip to Alexandria. So to everyone back in the states...I hope you are all well and you will be getting an update every so often!! Assalaam alaykum (Peace be upon you). I'm also working on my arabic! I'm getting pretty good at the four words I've learned so far!
-Ashley
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