Cairo - January 2010

There you go. I have been back in Cyprus since Monday, and the weather has been very Comoxy. The rain has been coming down in buckets and when those buckets have been emptied, they found more buckets. Our pool has overflowed twice this week and there is rain in the forecast until Monday. I know that I am always saying how much Cyprus needs the rain to fill the reservoirs - but enough already! Or at least spread it out over a week or two. What is amazing is how much sunshine appears between downpours.

Anyway, just thought I would mention a bit about the week before in Cairo. Dale was on call, but all was quiet on his schedule so we managed to get several games of golf in. I even took my own clubs with me this time, and it was amazing what a difference that made - in a good way! We also had a lovely visit with MJ and Neil and another set of their company from the valley. Here are some pictures from our Felucca ride - which MJ is so famous for hosting.

And then it was off to a quaint little place in Ma'adi for dinner. A great time was had by all.

Our next sojourn will be in Brighton in the UK in February, as Dale will be taking his annual recurrent training in Burgess Hill. I am hoping to get a little shopping in and look for a dress for the wedding. Wish me luck - I do need it.

Take care and I'll let you know how it all went.

Love,

Laurel

Dale's Birthday - January 9th

Had a lovely day. I gave Dale a new hybrid fairway club called a Cobra Baffler. We tried it out at Secret Valley driving range. It was the first time we have even used our clubs in Cyprus. It seemed to work, so Dale is pleased. He will be taking his new club to Cairo where it will get more use. We had dinner out with some good friends and now Dale is back to work again for the rest of the month.

January 2010

I am back. I know I left you hanging, but all is well now that I am almost over my cold too. I did take a couple of days to get the laundry done and the house cleaned, and now I can sit down and fill you in on the last week or so.

We were in Geneva over the New Year. The best part had to be the breakfasts at our lovely little boutique hotel which was called the Eastwest Hotel. Everything came in little glasses including fruit salad, smoked salmon, cream cheese, orange compote, etc. while the scrambled eggs came in cute little ceramic pots with lids, or you could order an omelette if you preferred. There was a choice of fresh orange juice or a mix of grapefruit, raspberry and orange. They had the best fruit/nut bread as well as pumpernickel and several other kinds. And then of course there were chocolate croissants among the variety of other pastries. To fill things out, there were several choices of cheeses and prosciutto, and did I mention the cappuccino? If we weren't so full, I am sure we would have stayed there all morning drinking cappuccino.

Not that that is all there is to do in Geneva. The hotels give you a bus pass that took us everywhere we wanted to go. From the United Nations and the three legged chair that was designed as a monument to ban land mines, to the Red Cross Museum. We also found St. Peter's Cathedral in the old town as well as the Maison Tavel which has been turned into an historical museum. And shopping galore! If I didn't know name brands before, I certainly do now. Geneva is very expensive and caters to the very rich - we did a lot of window shopping. This is a good site for some highlights - http://pgoh13.free.fr/geneva.php

We did manage to get tickets to Cirque Eloize - Rain. It was a very bizarre and much smaller version of Cirque du Soleil, but certainly entertaining (even in French). Here is a youtube clip if you are interested - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a9nvmjzePY&feature=related

Our New Year's Eve was very tame. We found some delightful goodies at a very posh grocery store, which we enjoyed with Jeff when he arrived. After a little walk around the old town we called it a night. There was no chance of missing midnight though with all the noise in the streets. It was hard to believe that we had been out there just minutes before when it was so quiet.

So that is it in a nutshell. I hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2010.

Love,

Laurel