Luxor, Egypt

It feels like another time when we left for Egypt. COVID-19 was around - I mean I had literally written an article about it before I left, so I clearly knew what was happening, but it wasn't like what it is now. 

We were still able to go on my dream trip - which I feel ashamed to be grateful for. Even more importantly, we didn't get stuck. Beyond getting asked at the Dublin airport whether or not we'd been to China in the past 2 weeks, it was business as usual. 

We had a redeye out of SFO with a stop at IAD. After a nap and some food in the lounge, we went to board our nonstop to Cairo! Amazingly, we had the flight to ourselves - we each got a row (poor man's business class!) and slept about 8 hours of our 10-hour flight.

When we arrived in Egypt, we had a long layover (our original flight had been canceled a few months prior), so we arrived late into Luxor. We grabbed some alcohol at the duty-free (priorities!) and were taken to our hotel for the night, the Hilton Luxor. 

We had dinner at the hotel and woke up early to workout since our internal clocks were off. Waking up to views of the Nile was pretty surreal - we were really in Egypt!

While I'm not a big "cruise" person, the most efficient and cost-effective way to see the sights is by taking a Nile River cruise. We were picked up and transported to our home for the next 5 days - the Farah! It was a small boat that holds about 80 people, but it was only 1/2 full as we were there in the shoulder season. 

After lunch on board, we met our private guide for the next 5 days, Abdul. Luxor (aka Ancient Thebes) is known as the largest outdoor museum in the world, so we knew we were in for a great couple of days! 

Our first stop was Karnak Temple. The sheer number of remaining columns in this temple is what makes it stand out from any other we saw later on in our trip. Since the Nile originally came right up to the entrance, the mud and sand eventually covered the columns and protected them for thousands of years!

I say originally because once the Nile had a dam put in place, it doesn't flood and is much smaller than it was historically. The dam and its effects will be a common theme throughout our trip...

Next, we saw Luxor Temple in the evening as the sun was setting. This temple was so hidden by mud and sand that a mosque was built right on top! The mosque was left in place, but everything else was removed to show the original temple.

That evening, we had dinner on the boat and enjoyed a drink upstairs on the deck. The next morning, we had breakfast and met our guide at 6am to miss the crowds on our way to the West Bank (or Land of the Dead) to see the Valley of the Kings!

Holy cow - I mean, we expected this to be cool, but it was by far the best thing we did during our time in Egypt. It was unbelievable to walk down the long hallways and see the color still on the walls after 5000 YEARS. There are 60+ tombs that have been discovered, but only 18 or so are open at any one time. We were able to visit 4.  

We saw Ramses VII, Ramses the IV, Ramses IX, but the best one was Ramses V & VI (but we did pay extra to see this one). Also, previously, you couldn't take pictures inside, but thanks to changes made in 2020 (we were right on time!), you can use your cellphone for free!

Our next stop was the Temple of Hatshepsut. She was a female Pharoah who had one of the most prosperous times in all of Ancient Egypt! Her son was a jerk though and basically tried to erase her from history - too bad it didn't work.

Her tomb was obviously magnificent, but she also erected more temples and monuments than any other Pharaoh! 

After a jammed-packed morning, we went back to the cruise boat to have lunch at set sail for Edfu! 

Up Next: We'll continue our Nile Cruise in Edfu, Kom Ombo, & Aswan!

A Long Weekend in Cambria, CA

Well, we're currently on "shelter in place" mode here in the Bay Area. For the next 3 weeks, we'll be leaving the house only to walk the pup and buy groceries. It's a great time to slow down and give our healthcare workers a fighting chance to tackle this virus!

On that note, it also gives me a chance to catch up on some of our recent travels! Back in January, Jason and I took a trip down to Central California for 3 days to check out Cambria. We had driven through there on our road trip from Texas to California a few years prior and knew we wanted to return.

We drove a few hours south to Paso Robles and stopped in for a glass of wine at DAOU. The wine was fine, but the views were incredible! Sadly, it was shockingly cold and windy, so we only lasted about 30 minutes, even with blankets!

On our way through Cambria, we stopped at Moonstone Cellars for a much more enjoyable tasting experience! We got a few bottles to go --- we actually opened one a few nights ago!

We checked into our hotel, the Fogcatcher Inn, and walked across the street to catch the sunset on Moonstone Beach. Indy REALLY wanted to go swimming, but dogs aren't allowed below the boardwalk. He got to swim the next day, don't worry!

That evening, we had a fabulous dinner at Robin's. We had called ahead that afternoon to make reservations and I'm definitely glad we did. We left Indy in the room and we came home to one wiped out pup!

The next morning, we had tickets to go tour the Hearst Castle. We did the "Grand Rooms" tour and I think it was the perfect introduction to the place. There are tons of different tour options though. Jason thought he would hate this tour, but it was honestly really interesting. It's a State Park and definitely worth a stop.

The most impressive bits might have been the outside areas though. You can explore these on your own and we happened upon ancient Egyptian statues, imported Thai wood gables, and authentic Spanish tiles. All with views of the Pacific ocean.

We went to check out the Hearst Winery and San Simeon Beach afterwards with Indy. Here, we actually met our very first elephant seal! As we were walking towards it, it barked a few times to let us know it was there, so we safely kept our distance, but still got to see it pretty close up! Indy wasn't bothered at all, ha.

That evening, we went to the Sea Chest for dinner, which is definitely the most well-known place in town (with a waitlist to match!). I think we preferred Robin's, but the vibes were definitely cool!

The next morning, we had breakfast and then drove to the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve on our way out of town. We walked along the ocean for a few hours and soaked up the amazing weather and views. 

Cambria was such a great weekend away from the Bay Area! Great hiking, ocean views, dog-friendly, amazing wine, and state parks! Doesn't get much better for us!

Up Next: I'll start the recap of our Egypt & Jordan trip from February.