Egypt - 10 October 2010 (2)

Alexandria

Once back on the bus, we headed for Alexandria.  Ruth handed out maps showing places of interest, restaurants and our planned hotel.  The trouble was that there had been a late change to our hotel.  This caused huge problems for our driver, who had to make a couple of frantic phone calls and ask people for directions as we drove around the city.  After negotiating some very narrow streets and invoking some feelings of déjà vu, he found the hotel.  It was quite an upmarket hotel with friendly staff.  We were given some hibiscus tea as a welcome drink.  It was very sweet but quite pleasant.  Caroline and I managed to upset some of the staff though by insisting that we take our bags up to the room.  I hate waiting for my suitcase to be brought up because you cannot use the bathroom as soon as you get there in case the porter arrives at an inconvenient moment.  Caroline travelled light so had absolutely no need for a porter anyway.

The Corniche

The others were going to a fish restaurant, so Caroline and I decided to pass and went for a stroll along the Corniche, the road which runs the length of the bay, alongside the sea.  When I say stroll, it was more a dash as Caroline set a fair pace.  As we flew past, a woman angrily called out to us, telling us to cover our hair.  How Egypt has changed since I was there in 1995!  We turned off the Corniche into Orabi Square and then made our way back.  There was a shop window full of baby dolls.  It appeared quite grotesque, but made a useful landmark for finding the hotel.

Back at the hotel we tried both the cafés near reception and the restaurant, but none of them sold freshly squeezed orange juice.  Feeling the need for some vitamin C, I headed back into Orabi Square in search of one of the juice shops which Ruth had pointed out on our way to the hotel.  I found one that was still open and it had a long list of the juices on offer.  I was not sure of the procedure for buying juice, but a young boy was sitting outside, so I tried asking him.  It turned out that he was the cashier.  He got someone else to translate for me and I discovered that most of the juices on the menu were unavailable because it wasn’t the season for the fruits.  I tried asking for several different juices, but in the end the only one which appeared to be in season was the pomegranate.  So I paid my E£3 and got a large glass, which I had to drink then and there as there was no takeaway service.  I made my way back to the hotel, where we enjoyed the luxury of English television.