Today we did a lot better at keeping our schedule. Our drivers picked us up around 8:20 and we started our journey to the Pyramids of Giza.
Our first stop was a papyrus and fragrance shop where the owners told us a little bit about the history of the pyramids. The kids were so out of it and not really listening to what he had to say. I found myself mentally correcting him but kept to myself. I wasn’t expecting the papyrus tour as I’d thought we were only going straight to the pyramids. However, drivers are in the tourism industry and always like to hook up their friends with customers. The shop owner organized a tour inside the pyramid complex where we could ride horses, camels, or small carriages up to the pyramids. I chose the carriage thinking it would be the smoothest option. Oh contraire. The animals can miss some of the big rocks but the carriage wheels do not. Sarah came with me on the small carriage. Our carriage operator kept referring to us as Nefertiti and Cleopatra. We asked him what the horses name was and he told us Cappuccino, but in the evenings they call him Pepsi. When the driver made the horse speed up, Sarah and were flying everywhere because of all the large rocks in the sand. Matt chose the camel option. He looked totally natural on it. Zack and Coco followed on camels and Diaa, Nat, and Zoey rode horses…. Well that’s how everyone started at least.



We took a lot of great photos and posed in every which way. The kids were so excited and looked so cute doing their poses! It’s crazy how massive these things are in real life and how long ago they were made. The shop owner tried to debunk the myth that ancient aliens built the pyramids by saying that they are all different shapes and sizes so if it were aliens, they would all be identical. It seemed to make sense to him. I’m not claiming for certain that aliens did it but I just think that it’s possible they would also enjoy variety when it comes to burial tombs. Just saying…. He also said that because the Nile flows from south to north that the region close to the Mediterranean Sea was south. Hence my mentally correcting him. The truth is that northern egypt is called Lower Egypt and the south is called Upper Egypt.

Anyhow, on the way out of the pyramids, we had a little animal switcheroo. Zack went in the buggy with his mom Marian. Diaa switched from horse to camel. Sarah hopped on a horse. It was all fine until one of the camels didn’t want to get up. Both carriage operators stepped down to try to encourage the camel to get up. My carriage was in the front and “Cappuccino” decided it was Independence Day. He must’ve taken off two or three times with me in the back and the operator not around. One time he immediately started running. Though they have voice commands for the horses, they don’t always listen. The operator had to run after us and hop on very fast while running. Some of the other horses were starting to follow but not as fast as Cappuccino. Also I found out later that all (or none) of the horses are named Cappuccino. That’s just something they tell tourists that ask for horse names. Tour operators apparently aren’t as emotionally attached to animals as we are in the states. Once all the animals went back to normal, we headed to Khufu’s restaurant behind the middle pyramid. We saw the restaurant on social media a while back and had a reservation for lunch. Wow! What an experience. Talk about all the Egyptian foods you could imagine. We stuffed ourselves before the entrees even came out.

After lunch we hopped in the car to catch a tour of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC). I think most of us passed out hard in the car on the way there. In our car we were all asleep with mouths open. The museum was nice and cold which already made it enjoyable. It also had lots of mummies from many different dynasties in Egyptian history. Other than that it felt a little small. The timeline setup was flawless but I was expecting a few more exhibits.



Our next stop was khan el khalili—the infamous bazaar for souvenirs. Mom and Dad met us there along with some other family members. We haggled and haggled until the sun went down and our feet started hurting. On our way out we had to walk to our car in the parking garage. It was so far away. We were walking up and down sidewalks, in and out of streets. We were stalked by some folks begging for cash. The cars and motorcycles were honking loud. People were yelling. The pollution from the street traffic along with the cigarette smoking and strong perfumes were becoming overwhelming. A million thoughts started racing through my head. I turned around to see if Matt was still close by. I locked eyes with him and then BAM! All of a sudden tears filled my eyes and I couldn’t breathe. In a conservative city where close contact is all but forbidden, he grabbed me and let me cry on his chest until I could catch my breath again. My parents both saw me and got worried. Matt and Sarah are the only ones who have ever seen me get this way before so it was hard to explain what was going on to them. Eventually my mom decided she couldn’t walk anymore so we sent my dad and Sarah towards the garage while mom, Matt and I waited at a coffee shop to be picked up.

Finally, we got on the road again and made a quick stop at Uncle Albert’s apartment to say hello, drop off my parents, and steal some snacks. Time for some much needed rest.