Alexandria, Egypt... not Virginia

We decided today that we would travel to the great sea port of Alexandria... Sans tour guide. Guides are amazing and offer some invaluable insider info, but get a bit pricey. Sara and I knew the kind of things we did and didn't want to do in Alexandria so we figured we could handle it on our own.

We tried to book bus tickets to Alexandria from Cairo last night, but because it wasn't 2 days in advance, we had no luck. So we got up extra early and hailed a taxi and said "bus station. Bus to alexandria". He nodded, and we climbed in the back, as there was an elderly woman already in the front. Like most egyptian women, she wore traditional muslim garb, a long dark dress and head scarf. But she was a brave old lady as she flung open her car door and began to climb out into traffic. I'm sure she does it all the time, but I was terrified, so I climbed out and helped her. A quiet "shokran" (thank you) and she hurried off with help of her cane, and Sara and I were on our way.

The bus station was huge but very easy to navigate, as signs usually have both arabic and english on them. We bought our tickets 25egp each (less than $5) and waited about an hour for it to arrive. It resembled an old "charter bus" minus the bathroom, and adding some ash trays and blaring arabic soap operas on the tv. It took about 3.5 hours and we were able to view so much of the country that many do not get to see. Its truly amazing how they can farm out in the middle of a country covered in dry desert. Their adaptation is fascinating.

We arrive at the bus stop and are the only americans for miles. I suppose that made a scene so we hurried into a taxi, of which the driver spoke absolutely no english. After getting another driver to translate, we were taken to the famous Library of Alexandria.

Ate lunch at an adorable cafe overlooking the Mediterranean. We explored the library and were in awe over its size and history. Its is newly built to replace the original one that was destroyed. And now it is swarming with students who are just trying to do study. Sara said "I know this is nerdy but it makes me excited to go back to school." Not surprising :)

We then walked along miles and miles of Mediterranean, in awe with every step. And of course we had to put our toes in...

We saw the famous Citadel, lighthouses and mosques. The pictures we took turned out amazing, like something off a postcard.

We even came across some of our favorite fish on display... Pufferfish! And of course, we stopped for Egyptian ice cream on the walk back.

Exhausted, we hailed a cab to take us to the "choo choo to cairo" (yes, that's really what we had to say for the taxi driver to understand). The lady at the museum advised us to take the train instead of a bus back because it was "more comfortable" and only $2 more. It was neat to experience both and see different routes between the cities.

Another taxi brought us back to the hostel and our friend, Karim ordered us falafel and koshary (rice, macaroni, vegetables, etc). Yum! We will watch more cheesey movies in english and fall asleep... Very excited for our flight to Athens tomorrow!