Last days in Paris, first day in Cairo

I'm sorry I'm not keeping this up to date (especially not the pictures) but please note that blogging is not my top priority.

That being said I'll give you the fast version of what I've done since.

Paris day 5
Friday. My only plans were to go to the L'Ouvre at 6pm for free. I woke up around 11 and walked around the neighborhood. Nothing to exciting happened expect I saw some old lady talking to the pigeons. At 6 I took the train to the L'Ouvre and was overwhelmed with people. I guess I wasn't the only cheap student... Anyway the L'Ouvre has huge signs pointing you to the Mona Lisa as if it is the only thing I wanted to see (it was). I walked around, took some pictures, watched the French guys hit on the tourist girls, and eventually left. If you want a decent description of the L'Ouvre you'll have to go yourself, but it's nothing like the Da Vinci Code movie.

Paris day 6
Saturday. I decided that my last full day in Paris should include a lot of walking. I walked to the Moulin Rouge and was severely let down. It was the most lame thing I've even seen since the last time I saw Kirby. Imagine throwing a windmill and some red paint on top of Priscillas on N. Oak. Lame.

I then walked to Sacre Coeur and took some more pictures. I didn't pay more money to go up more stairs to the top since I've seen Paris from above twice already. It makes me think that they should call it the city of stairs instead of the city of love.

That evening I did the most impressive thing I've ever done in my life (including that time I went a whole day without eating). You might want to open Google Earth first to track it. I walked from my church (by Sacre Coeur) to Centre Pompidou to Notre Dame to the L'Ouvre to the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffle Tower. It was basically a montage of my trip, but took a lot longer and didn't have any cheesy music. (but there was a guy playing an accordian in the subway on the way home). This lengthy walk earned me a good nights sleep and a big blister on my right foot.

My last day in Paris
Sunday. I woke up early and went to the shower house. Since Pastor Herald left on Thursday I've been using the local shower house that the city provides for people who's apartments don't have showers. Weird. There were stalls and they were a lot nicer than my dorm's. I then sat through a church service in French and didn't pick up much. The offering was collected by bags on poles, and the communion was done by getting in a big circle in the front of the church. Not many people attended, and the average age was 75, beaten only by Holy Cross.

I then took the train to the airport, walked, waited, walked, and waiting and boarded my flight. The plane promptly broke and we were stuck in the plane on the tarmac for 3 hours. We then took off and landed in Cairo at 1:10am

Cairo - day 1
Monday. I got in early and was sent through customs. Nothing exciting. It is weird being the only white person around though. A travel agent met me and told me of a hostel and arranged a car to take me there. Driving in Cairo is the crazing thing in the world. And I love it. They have no lanes and it is always a race. I think we're doing it wrong in America. Anyway when I arrived at 2:30am people were still bustling about. I was shown my relatively large room for a decent price.

At about 5am some loudspeakers blasted some Arabaic prayers. Then at about 9am the drivers got out and started honking. Cairo drivers use their horns more than the accelerator.

Cairo - day 2
Tuesday. Today. I woke up and had a free breakfast on the roof of the hostel. By the way, it is nearly 100 degrees here and quite a change from Paris. I checked out of the hostel (am in their computer lounge now) and am about to meet with a guy who is chartering my a trip down the Nile for the next 5 days. It should be exciting, but don't expect any blog posts or pictures for a while.

It might not be until Nairobi, Bangkok, or even Sydney before I get to upload any more pictures. I have some good ones of the Eiffle Tower at sunset, so get excited.