AWESOME!!!!

So yesterday we visited Karnak and Luxor temple. They were right in town so it was nice not to be on a bus all day like we were for Abydos and Dendara. We had a good time and decided that the Egyptians used cookie cutters for the glyphs, though our guide, who I didn't realize is a reknowned archaeologist and Egyptologist - he was there when they CAT scanned King Tut! Anyway - he says there were no cookie cutters. I told him I disagree. Actually I'm very infatuated with this guy Wah-lid (pronounced waa-leed). He has not said "I don't know" to one single question anyone has asked. He's so full of knowledge and nice and funny. Great guy. So we went to the temples and had fun. Very relaxing.

Then we visited the papyrus shop and saw a demonstration on how they made it. Then I saw this breathtaking painting. It had gold paint and was HUGE - like 4 or 5 feet long and at least 3 feet wide. I was drawn to it like a moth to flame. I can't describe what its pull was - it was just a temple afterall. Then the guy told me it was the Temple of Phalie - Isis's temple. I get teary eyed just retelling the story now. In that moment I knew I needed to have it no matter what the cost. Lets just say it wasn't cheap. The shop, which was ironically named Isis Papyrus, immediately identified me as a high roller and brought out drinks and lavished gifts on me. They let me take 700 pounds (I think that's about $150 US dollars) worth of papyrus paintings for free. The painting is amazing. After all that we were done spending for the day. And week. And month. :-/

We checked in to the cruise at about 4 and had a late lunch then watched the sunset by the pool on the deck. It was nice to dip in the water. The boats here are all docked together right next to each other. Ours is really nice. The bathroom shower has over 5 water spouts that spray at hip, chest, and head level plus a detachable head. The rooms are amazing, the food is delicious, and the staff are very nice (and cute). Egyptian men are just plain gorgeous. That's all there is to it. We got all dressed up for dinner and then watched a show - a male bellydancer that I'm going to marry. He was like 6'5 and build like a horse. He spun around like a dervish (Google it) for 15 minutes straight!! And then spun a skirt thing over his head, it was awesome. Then we watched a female bellydancer that was not that great. She looked bored and was chewing gum during her performance. Nice.

After dinner we danced for a bit and snuck our vodka and rum in "water" bottles and got tanked. We stayed out on the top deck till 3 am begging Wah-Lid to tell us more Egyptian stories - we were like a bunch of kids. TELL US MORE!! THEN WHAT HAPPENED!! OMG!! Victoria broke a canvas chair when she sat in it, which is funny because she's not heavy at all. Very beautiful. As she says, she split it from bow to stern. Hee-haw-larious. We got Wah-Lid to cut loose and drink a lemonade. Those crazy Arabs. We actually had a great, great time.

Today we shoved off (we were actually docked all night) at 7 am so that's when I woke up all hungover. I went to the sundeck to cook my hangover away. Spent all morning in the pool, watching the Nile float by. We have been ported for the past 3 hours waiting for our turn to pass the lock. It's great because vendors come up on little dingy boats and literally throw items on the boat at you and get you to buy their wares. You try stuff on and then throw it back and say "No way!" Then they throw something else at you. We really got our haggle on today - great practice! ***We interrupt this story to tell you that What Child is This - yes, the Cmas song, is playing overhead in the ship*** Dane and I had a lot of fun with our vendor Ali and ended up getting a male and female Egyptian garby thing, two Nefertiti towels, and a flying carpet (I wish) for too much money. But we haggled him down. We felt it was a fair price for what we got. We've spent so much money on this trip, OMG. We are going to be sooooo broke.

So today is really a day of rest. No plans, no activities, just rest. Lunch is in 20 minutes then I may take a nap then we will have tea, then a bellydance show (our group) then cocktail hour, then dinner, then party. I think tomorrow is Edfu then the next day is the Temple of Phalie. I could be way off on that though. I really have no idea what day it is.

This trip has been so nice. Everything has far surpassed our expectations and we have had nothing but first class accommodations, top notch service, and the best of the best with everything. I would recommend Guardian Travel to anyone and everyone.

Well that's about it for now. Again, sorry we can't post pictures put I can once back in the States. I will do a whole picture essay. We miss everyone. Wish you guys could see what we are seeing. It truly is an enchanted land.