Back to Where it all Started

Our return trip to Paris took us over 30 years, so it was definitely time to re-visit the City of Light. With light rain all 3 days it was a good thing we opted for a light schedule. Our first target was a 45 minute walk to the Musee d'Orsay, one of our favourite art museums. The museum, known for its impressionist painters (Monet, Matisse, Renoir. and many more) inhabited the former man railway station (1900-1977) and has 6 floors of impressive works. There was also an Edvard Munch (The Scream) exhibit going on, which made it clear that he should be known for much more than his most popular painting. The next day we took a train to Versailles to visit the Palace, which had escaped us the first time. The Palace is massive and features some of the finest French art from the 17th century with multiple paintings in the 50 or so rooms we were allowed to see (2300 rooms in total). Successive Kings enlarged and embellished the palace with every reign. but Louis XIV really put his stamp on the palace. It would take a full day to explore the palace Grand 'Apartments', the vast Gardens area (formerly a royal hunting ground), and the Estate of Trianon (which we ran out of energy to see). The opulence was a bit absurd, but displayed the power of the reigning kings at the time.

From Paris, we took the high speed 3 hour train, westward to Basel, Switzerland. We have been there more times than anywhere else in Europe, and rightly so, with our first born daughter living there with her Swiss partner. We were greeted with fondue dinner at their home, a nice Swiss start. The next day we visited the Tinguely Museum to discover more about this curious artist, who sculpted mechanical objects using recycled materials, mostly metals. His intent was to satirize automation and over-development waste. We had seen his famous Tinguely Fountain and were interested in finding out more about this creative soul. Our final day included a one hour trip to Zurich for a concert by the Irish rock band, Kodaline. They put on a great show in front of a sold out (1,500) crowd in a standing room only venue. A good time was had by all.

After our good-bye hugs, we flew from Basel to Amsterdam, where this journey started 2.5 months ago. At that time we spent our days roving around the Netherlands (south), saving some Amsterdam highlights for our final few days. The first of those was the Anne Frank House, which still needs to be booked in advance in order to gain entry. The former house where she hid from the Nazi's in the annex at the back of the home was crowded in the tiny rooms but like us, everyone wanted to capture every detail of this young icon's short life. It was haunting as visitors moved through the attic rooms in complete silence, with reality sinking in as the walls told the stories. While history is supposed to prevent us from repeating horrific events in our past, it is sad to see racial and cultural divides on the increase in today's world. Perhaps we need to listen to John Lennon's 'Imagine' non-stop for a few years. Museum day was destined for our final full day, as we headed straight for Museumplein (plaza). Rijkmuseum, the national art museum, featuring a vast number of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age (1584-1702). With over 8,000 pieces we tried to keep our focus  on Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Vermeer, but there were many other great Dutch artist's works to be found. Overall, we spent close to 2 weeks in the Netherlands, and we really enjoyed our time there. With it's easily walkable terrain, picturesque canal scenes, cheese heaven and much more, a return visit may be in our future.

That brings to a close our 10 country, 77 day adventure to Europe and Egypt-Jordan. It was a wonderful experience involving many different cultures, and left us a bit weary by the end of it, but we have more special memories that will last forever. We are thankful for the opportunity we have been given to explore this wonderful world of ours.

The interior of the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. built in an old railway station. The art was displayed in rooms on 3 floors, at one end of the impressive structure. It featured art from 1848 (when the Louvre's collection ends) until 1914.

The front courtyard of the Palace of Versailles. With each member of the King's family having their own apartment (each consisting of 4-5 large rooms), they sometimes went weeks without seeing each other, even though they were all in the same palace.

The Hall of Mirrors, inside the Palace of Versailles. Built in the early 1680's, it replaced a former terrace. There were 357 mirrors in the 75 metre hallway were meant to showcase France's capability of matching the Venetian monopoly on mirror manufacturing.

The Gardens area at the rear of the Palace of Versailles, which seemed to stretch on forever. It would have been a lot more colourful in the spring and summer. We did hear some shots being fired in the former hunting grounds on the left side, but we wisely decided to keep our distance.

A smaller version of the Tinguely Fountain, situated at the front of the Tinguely Museum. I'm not sure we will ever know haw this man's mind worked, but his art certainly reminded us of how our 'toss out and replace' mindset is not in the world's best interest.

Moving day from an upper floor. With so many city Europeans living in older apartment buildings, with small rooms and narrow hallways, this was a common scene. Large household items often had to be brought out through one of their large windows and then lowered (or raised) by a crane like this one.

In a city know for its incredible amount of bicycle traffic, this was a lovely Amsterdam street sighting.

The Rijkmuseum in Amsterdam, one of the world's great art treasures. To improve the lighting and feel of the museum, a 10 year long renovation began in 2003. During that time the people fought to maintain the bicycle underpass through the centre of the museum.

Rembrandt's famous painting, Night Watch. It was well protected, with a glass shield 5 metres in front of the painting, and a museum watchdog nearby. The painting was meant to depict a time in history when night guards were on duty to protect the city from raids.

One final canal shot at the end of our trip. This was a typical Amsterdam canal neighbourhood, with narrow one way streets on either side of the canal. Apartment buildings, often with shops on the ground floor, accompanied these scenes.

Salaam Alaikum (Peace be upon you)

 Our 14 guest group swelled to 15 upon arriving in Jordan, with 4 out and 5 more in, including our oldest daughter who flew in from Switzerland. We also met our new CEO (Chief Experience Officer) who provided a bit of humour along with his history lessons. On our first full day, we drove from Amman to Jerash, one of the largest and most well-preserved Roman ruins (2nd century) outside of Italy. It took us a half day to wander around the large site which included 2 main temples, 3 amphitheatres, a main street with shops and much more. After that we drove over to the Dead Sea (430 metres below sea level)  for a unique visit. We floated in the sea....it was hard to do anything else in the heavily salted water. Pails of mud were also available for us to coat ourselves in mud, believed to have medicinal and therapeutic benefits. There was also time to lay in a lounger and worship the sun god, Ra. Unfortunately, the Dead Sea is losing a metre of water every year and could disappear within 50 years if changes are not made.

The next full day included visits to Mount Nebo (Moses' death), Madaba (Byzantine mosaics) and the well constructed Karak Castle (built by the Crusaders and where several battles took place). We finished off the day at Little Petra, allowing us to visit the main Petra site at 6 am the following morning for an 8 hour walkabout. While it was amazing to see the Little Petra's buildings hollowed out of limestone cliffs, the main event was 10 times better. We seemed to walk forever along a narrow, slot canyon with impressive stone  temples, tombs and monuments, carved into the sandstone walls on both sides. The walkway was also used by caravan groups passing through the area who also spent overnights there and goods were traded between both parties. The highlights were the Treasury (used in an Indiana Jones movie) and the Monastery (800 stone steps which took 8 kilometres to reach). Another 15 minute walk led to an observation point where the deep canyon below could be observed. Petra was our Jordan highlight.

From Petra, we drove further south to Wadi Rum. The southern part of the country is full of sandstone and granite mountains with a very rocky soil, making it pretty much inhabitable. As a result over 90% of the Jordanian population lives in less than 10% of the country (primarily in the NW). The Wadi Rum region has a few rocky hills but mostly a desert landscape. That led to a day roaming around the desert in a 4x4 jeep, recreating Star Wars scenes, followed by an overnight stay in a Bedouin camp. Our indigenous hosts baked a traditional underground (sand covered) feast for us, that we thought was our best meal of the 2 week tour. With no city lights around our small encampment, the sky put on an impressive night show for us, with more stars than anyone could ever count.

Our next stop was Aqaba, a Red Sea resort city, that was within 20 km's of the borders of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt......leading to all vehicles being stopped at a highway checkpoint heading north, for a security check. My better half, and daughter, opted for a snorkeling trip to a Red Sea reef. I preferred a walkabout, visiting some of the city highlights, including the Sherif al-Hussein Mosque (visitors welcome), the Mamluk Castle (16th century) and stroll along a popular beach.  On our final day we made the 4 hour drive back to Amman, our Jordan starting point. We made a short stop along the way to visit Safi Kitchen, a non-profit agency supported by G Adventures. Their goal is to preserve the local culture and they use disadvantaged locals to help promote the cause. A farewell dinner was held that night as we bid goodbye to our tiny community that developed over the past 2 weeks. It also meant the end of our second encounter with our first born who was returning home to her Swiss partner and job. Fortunately, we will get to see them both, when we visit them in their home city at the end of the week. In the meantime, the two of us will get to relax for a few days in Paris where we will have a light schedule during our return visit.

Summing up our 2 week Egypt - Jordan adventure, we preferred our time in Jordan over Egypt. While both had amazing ancient history and ruins, Jordan offered more activities diversity. There were visits to the Red Sea and Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, the Bedouin desert camp and even a Turkish bath. Jordan's better economy resulted in less street garbage and much less aggressive touts than Egypt, creating a safer environment for travelers. In the end we were still glad to have experienced both countries.

The well preserved Roman ruins at Jerash. This picture was taken from the Temple of Zeus and an amphitheatre next to it. Beyond the Oval Palace in the centre, the ruins continued for at least another kilometre, with more temples, palaces and amphitheatres.

Floating in the Dead Sea, something everyone can do whether you want to or not. It was a weird experience since it was even difficult to lower your feet to the seabed unless you were close to shore.

The view from the top of Mount Nebo. According to the Bible, it was where Moses lived out his final days and was granted a view of the Promised Land before he died. I hope the 'promised land' he observed had a lot of golf courses and sandy beaches.

The Treasury at the Petra ruins. All of the structures there were carved into the sandstone walls. We were told that they were all created starting from the very top and working down. The masons were definitely underpaid for their incredible efforts which took years to complete.

The Royal Tombs where the Kings were buried. The Urn Temple on the right still had remnants of a ceiling painting. The tombs were situated away from the main road at the bottom of the valley, where caravans traveled between countries, trading their goods.

The Monastery at the Petra site. It was situated high above the ancient city which over 2,000 years ago had 25,000 in habitants. It was a good trek to reach there, climbing the 800 rock stairs. You also had to watch carefully for the donkeys carrying passengers who preferred that method.

A natural bridge in the Wadi Rum desert. Our group climbed on top of the bridge for a group photo. The climb up was easier than the scramble down.

Our Bedouin 'zarb' dinner feast. As we watched, the sand on top was cleared and then a carpet and metal cover, covering the food container was removed.  Two Bedouins then hauled the food up which had been contained inside metal tubing. The original method was to surround the food with stones and palm leaves, and use the earth's oven.

The top deck of the yacht that was used for the Red Sea snorkel and dive trip. The marina was definitely built in one of the nicest parts of Aqaba, reflected by the nearby homes and buildings. Two members of our group did a deep dive to the 'museum' where jeeps, tanks and even an airplane had been planted on the sea floor.

We were taken to a special Amman restaurant for our farewell dinner at the end of our tour. This was the appies platter, intended for 4-5 people. The main platter that followed had just as much food, including chicken, beef and lamb. A smaller dessert serving finished off a meal that left on one hungry.

Every Ending is a New Beginning

Leaving Athens, we flew to Cairo anticipating the start of our 2 week Egypt - Jordan tour with G Adventures. We were brought down to earth quickly staying at a hotel that the Pharaohs would not have wanted their name associated with. Cairo, with it's 10 million citizens, busy streets and a layer of smog hanging overhead, was not a city you would want to spend a lot of time in, and two days was plenty for us. Our tour group of 14 was comprised of 7 Americans, 4 from the UK, 1 from Germany, and us two gypsies. Our Egyptian guide was well versed in Egyptian history and kept us all out of trouble with his excellent advice. Our initial activity was to visit the Pyramids in nearby Giza, part of the reason we all came  on board. After seeing so much fifth to sixth century BC history in Greece, we were now standing in front of the majestical structures dating back to the 26th century BC. The 3 pyramids, Khufu, Kharfa and Menkaure, were built as tombs for the 3 Pharaohs.....a bit extravagant considering it took approximately 100,000 labourers, 20 years to build just Khufu's pyramid (Great Pyramid). We have told our children we wish for something much simpler. From there we returned to Cairo to visit the Egyptian Museum which housed thousands of ancient treasures, including many from the tomb of Tutankhamun, a more recent discovery (1922).

We left Cairo in the evening and took an overnight train south to the city of Aswan, arriving 12 hours later, the next morning. A small boat took us across the Nile to the Philae Temple on Agilkia Island. As impressive as the temple was, its recent history was even more so. The Aswan Low Dam was created in 1902 to prevent the Nile from flooding Egypt every rainy season.  With the completion of the High Aswan Dam in 1970, its previous location on Philae Island was about to be mostly submerged, so they built sandbanks connecting the two islands, disassembled the stone block temple and moved it to higher ground, where it stands today in its original form. The High Dam also displaced some Nubian villages, causing some unrest, but homes were built for them across the river from Aswan. Later that day we were treated to traditional dinner in a Nubian home by a local family. On our second day in Aswan, with a 4 am start, we took a 4 hour bus ride south to the Temple of Abu Simbel, 60 km from the border with Sudan. With several checkpoints along the way, it basically became a road race amongst the drivers with everyone attempting to improve their spot in ensuing line-ups. Abu Simbel is one of Egypt's grandest temples and at the same time a modern marvel, since it also had to be moved to higher ground due to the creation of expansive Lake Nasser, resulting from the High Dam. Built during the reign of Ramses II (1279 - 1213 BC), this Pharaoh had a bit of an ego. Temples were built to honour the gods but the Great Temple at Abu Simbel features four massive, seated Ramses statues at the front, 8 Ramses column statues inside and in the sanctuary at the back, he is seated in between 3 gods, seemingly indicating he is at their level.

A new experience started the following morning. Checking out of our hotel, we walked 100 metres with our bags to the Nile and boarded a felucca, a small Egyptian sailboat, heading north towards Luxor. Our group was split onto two boats, allowing everyone to spread out on the mattress deck which was also going to be our starlit bedroom overnight. A companion boat followed us, providing meals, alcoholic beverages (a rare find in Egypt), and bathrooms. There was also a short stop, providing an opportunity for everyone to swim in the Nile, which was refreshing on a hot day. After breakfast the next morning, the sails were raised but only for a short trip across the river, where we boarded a bus to take us the rest of the way to Luxor. Along the way to our hotel, we stopped into two temples. Kom Ombo, on the banks of the Nile, was dedicated to 2 gods, one being a crocodile god, and there was even a crocodile mummy in the museum. (This temple sat at a bend in the Nile. Every flood season, crocodiles camped across the river, resulting in many lives lost, animal and human. It was believed that if they deified the crocodiles, perhaps fewer lives would be lost. Hence the crocodile god.)   The massive Karnak Temple in Luxor was more impressive, once being the centre of all religious life in ancient Egypt. The site was constantly expanded by successive Kings, each wanting their own temple to the gods to be built. Our second day in Luxor was a tour highlight, with a visit to the Valley of the Kings. The New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) realized that pyramids had become a target for tomb raiders, so they decided to secretly hide them, carving tunnels (hallways) leading to a sanctuary inside the stone base of the valley hillsides, and then covered them up to protect them. They were eventually discovered and while the jewels and gifts have now been moved to various museums, it was still a treat to enter the tombs with ancient paintings extending 50-100 metres into the hillside. King Tutankhamun's tomb contained his mummified remains and we can only hope that we look that good 3,000 years from now. That evening we had a dinner celebration for the end of our Egypt time with our CEO (Chief Experience Officer) and 4 other group members who were not continuing on to Jordan with the rest of us. Our group had gotten along well and we enjoyed the camaraderie. Once we arrive in Amman, Jordan today we will be met by our Jordanian CEO and at least one special addition to the group, our Swiss daughter who will be rejoining us once again on this adventure. More excitement lies ahead.

The Pyramids of Giza, built in the 26th and 25th centuries BC. Easy targets because of their size, they were plundered in ancient times and the treasures inside the tombs for the kings have never been recovered.

The colossal limestone statue of the Sphinx (lion's body and human face) in a relaxed mode. The Egyptian sphynx's role was to protect temples. Perhaps this one was a bit too relaxed, since it didn't prevent the Pyramids from being robbed.

On our way to catch the small boat ferry to the Philae Temple. There was never a wait for a ferry since they were plentiful and eager to get the business. One poor fellow's engine died shortly after takeoff, and he had to turn our business over to a competitor, who was happy to help out.

Noticed this while walking through the Nubian village on our way to dinner at a local's house. Beyond goats, we observed chickens and other friendly creatures living in the small backyards of homes lucky enough to have some private space.

The Giant Temple at Abu Simbel, with one of the 4 enormous Ramses II statues in front partially damaged by an earthquake. Since this temple was built into a hillside rather than stone blocks, its relocation to another island was even more remarkable.

A storage room inside the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, that was still worthy of some artistic work. Ramses II also built a temple for his wife next to his, but he made sure it as a lot smaller.

While in Aswan we visited the souk (market) and came across these pigeons for sale. While it would have been nice to think they were being purchased as racing (messenger) pigeons, they seemed to turn up on a lot of our menus.

One of our two feluccas being tied up during a periodic visit from our companion boat. It was always a good relationship because it meant a washroom was available, a meal was about to be served, and adult beverages were available.

Our arrival at the massive Karnak Temples. Successive kings had added their own temples to the complex, enlarging it with every new ruler. The protective Sphynxes didn't have any issues with us passing through

The Funerary Temple of the  of Queen Hatshepsut, one of the very few female Pharaohs in ancient Egypt. The three tiered temple backed into the cliffside and featured elaborate hieroglyphics, reliefs, paintings and statues.

The Ramses V and VI tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Due to their hidden nature in the cliffsides, they were well preserved and the wall art condition improved the further you walked along the tomb hallway.

King Tutankhamun himself at the endpoint of his tomb. When discovered in 1922, the treasures were all recovered and most have been moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The treasures have been featured in exhibitions around the world over the years since.