Hello, Zamelek!

The view from our hotel room, of the Chinese
ambassadorial residence.

The dig season is finally over and we are finally in Cairo!  We didn’t make it to our hotel until after midnight, so we were pretty goofy tired and not really processing much until this morning.  Our hotel is in Zamelek, which is an island in the middle of the Nile.  It’s a really safe community, where the majority of the ambassadorial residences and embassies are located.   We have a great view of a few of them from our hotel room.

Chili's.  On a boat.

A lot of foreigners live here, which is great for us since pretty much no one gives us a second glance.   It’s fantastic to be able to go walk around and no one stares at you, or asks if you want a taxi, kalesh, or a boat ride.  We walked all over Zamelek today.   Our first order of business was the Chili’s.   The most important thing to know about the Chili’s is that a) there is American style food, including free refills on drinks, and b) it’s on a BOAT.  Seriously. Strangely enough, this is the only Chili's I have ever been to in my life.

After a fantastic lunch, we hit up some of our favorite shopping spots, including Nomad (jewelry and scarves), the Sudanese Refugee Center (lots of handmade house stuff and jewelry), and the Fair Trade Center.  We make a point to only buy gifts and souvenirs from places which are fair trade.  It’s nice that we can get the story behind what we buy, and we know that the money we spent supports the makers directly and that they receive a fair price for their work.  I bought a lot- two necklaces, a keychain, a wooden duck, earrings, and a magnet.  Oh, and another scarf.   I think I may have a problem getting my suitcase packed if I keep buying stuff at this rate.

Our wallets considerably emptier, we also hit up a cupcake place that was absolutely fantastic.  Nola’s Cupcakes had really interesting cupcakes, including Blueberry Buttercream and Chocolate Raspberry.  I had a Cookie Dough cupcake, which had real pieces of cookie dough and chocolate chips in the cupcake, plus in the frosting.  It was fantastic.  I suspect there will also be a trip there tomorrow.

 

Tonight’s plans include a bottle of wine (bought at the aptly named Drinkies) and dinner at a local café.   Tomorrow, Saqqara!