Egypt

Hello again! Sorry that we didn't write in Barcelona but we were just too busy having a great time. Sorry to all you poor souls slogging away at work back home, but it's true. Barcelona was ace. It's one of the greatest cities we have visited so far. It was a lively place whose main parade, Las Ramblas, led down to the beach. This thoroughfare was constantly packed full of dread-locked beach bums, mullets as far as the eye could see (it's fashion here, seriously!), buskers and mime artists, tourists, skaters, and young arty types all doing their thang. Funk-ness was the name of the game.


Barcelona's main claim to fame is that it has been the home of many famous modern artistes. Namely, the architect Gaudi, who created bizarre, organic cathedrals, hotels and parks that have created a uniquely eccentric city skyline. At times, it seriously felt like we'd joined Alice down the rabbit hole. Barcelona has also been home to Picasso and Dali - both of whom have major museums showing their avant-garde works. Needless to say, we gorged on culture and the arts until it came out of our....well, eyeballs really!


From modern art to ancient artefacts. We left Spain (again!) and flew to Cairo. Egypt is the place to see genuine antiquities. We spent a day in the Egyptian museum. It is a shabby, old, builing with display cabinets that looked like they haven't been cleaned since they had been installed in the 1930's. But the jewels of ancient Egypt that are kept there are amazing. Most impressive were the artefacts found in the undisturbed tomb of Tutankhamen. Lucky enough to avoid being plundered by grave-robbers over the centuries, his tomb was an insight into the richness of that time. It contained a multitude of exquisite artefacts for his exclusive use in the afterlife; from household items to the royal Pharoan treasures.


Our second day in Cairo was spent re-living our Indiana Jones wanna-be days. We spent the day exploring the Giza Pyramids, which are just on the edge of Cairo city. It was a mind-blowing experience to finally see these ancient structures that have stood firm for the last 4500 years. We got to see them inside and out, which was just spectacular. We dodged the zombified mummies and poisoned arrows (well, we pretended to anyway) and made our way to the royal tombs which lie within. We were sorely disappointed to find that the tombs had been ransacked before we got the chance to get our greasy mitts on some loot, but it was nice to see anyway.


Tonight we are taking a train to Luxor where we hope to explore the Valley of the Kings, and if we have time, the Queens.

Chess Championship Result update:
Dennis: 2
Andrea: 1 (50 pushups/situps per day until scores even up)
Stalemate: 1

Congratulations to Louise and Rene on the birth of their daughter Zoe Bridget. We hope that you are all well.