Egypt time everyone

OK people. I am going to Egypt. This is because my friends found a great trip deal and my parents rule (that´s right, good work mom and dad).

We leave May 19 from Madrid with a Spanish tour group on a privately chartered plane. (Downfall of Spanish studying without any English studying: I had to look up that word "plane" because it didn´t look right. Wow...) So we fly into Luxor (the artist formerly known as Thebes) and board a riverboat to cruise up the Nile for 4 days.

During these days we disembark all along the way to visit all the most famous temples (Karnak, Kom Ombo, Medinet Habu, Hatshepsut, Luxor and more) and the Valley of the Kings. Stunned faces abound, right? Yes, I will be in the Valley of the Kings in a few months time. I can´t even believe this. I am stunned with my own future travel plans.

We disembark in Aswan and take a short domestic flight into Cairo. We stay here for 3 days in a 4 star hotel (I was a little sketchy about Egyptian hotel ratings but we saw pics and it looks very lovely, although I will feel odd (or fabulous, I don´t know) swimming in a pool in Egypt).

During these few days we will be able to explore Cairo between taking day trips out to the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. Yes, THE pyramids of Giza and THE Sphinx. I really can´t believe this is happening.

Since I boarded my plane (damn that word!) in Reno on January 10th my life has been so surreal that this just adds to the seeming illusion. I am so jazzed about this trip that I am walking on air this weekend. The pyramids are CLOSING at the end of this year and if I ever have children I will be able to tell them how I walked through them. I will have been there and seen them and experienced it all. I am happy beyond words.

Vanessa is in Lisbon this weekend and Irene and Carmen went out last night so I had the apartment all to myself. I took advantage of this by watching Sahara in English in the living room (because I finally found the DVD player remote under the couch so I could change the language settings... I didn´t particularly want to watch Penélope Cruz trying to speak English dubbed into Spanish cause that would be weird). She is like a national hero here, by the way. Everyone in this whole country adores her except Carmen who says she is ugly and talentless. With the exception of Volver, I completely agree with her.

Worst film ever made I think, and this is a spot I usually reserve for Catwoman starring the ever-talented Halle Berry, HOWEVER, I am desperate for some American films AND it took place in the Sahara Desert. The whole time I just couldn´t stop picturing myself wearing those kahkis outfits or wearing those flowy drapy sheet outfits and riding camels. I just kept smiling at the thought that it will be me in that sand in a couple months. YAY!!!