Alexandria, Egypt

Cairo

Personally, I would not recommend people to go to Cairo unless you have a private tour guide.  This place is crazy.  And not in the crazy awesome place like Barcelona.  This is a crazy place that makes a person feel nervous and scared. As Mark, my co-worker, put it that it is place for only every seasoned travelers. 

The people are the pyramids of Giza are terrible.  If you ever decide to go there, I would recommend that you put a few one dollar bills in your pocket and ONLY that.  These people will pickpocket you, take money out of you, claim to give you change and then refuse to do so.  Here are a few horror stories from people on my tour group to illustrate my point:
People would take camel rides and told that it was $10.  Then the person would lead them far away and say $10 was one way, it is $20 to go back.
Someone on my tour bus was hit on the head by one of people at the pyramids.
My mom pulled out her wallet to pay the person at the pyramids for their "gift" and they took money out of her wallet.
Someone else on my tour bus was pickpocketed.
Someone else on my tour bus was blinded when the people covered their faces with the white cloth and put the bind around their head.

The worst part of all this is that there are tourist police at the pyramids but they are paid off by the people who pickpocket and all that stuff. 

While I had nothing of things happen to me and no horror story while I was at the pyramids. Thank God!  But I will say this, I found it very hard to enjoy, appreciate, take in the wonder of the pyramids because those people were constantly harassing me.  So it seemed to defeat the purpose of going to the pyramids.

My mom refuses to leave the bus after we visited the pyramids because she felt so violated. 

So if you say to yourself I would like to see the pyramids of Giza, prepare for it to be not the best place on Earth. 

At the Giza pyramids.



My parents and me in front of the pyramids of Giza.

My parents on their 30th wedding anniversary.

Now with their 28 year old daughter.

The Sphinx.

My dad and me in front of the Sphinx

One more time.

Close up of the Sphinx.

To show how tall the bricks are.

Again, to show the size of the bricks.

Pyramids ofr Giza.

Crete - The unplanned stop

We were supposed to go to Athens but there were protests so the cruise stopped at Crete instead.  The weather was beautiful and so were the views. 

Palace of Knossos

Palace of Knossos

Vatican City - the smallest country in the world

Saints lining the entrance to the Vatican

Ceiling of the

The floor

Swiss Guard - they look like jesters

Rome - First spot on the cruise

Trevi Fountain.

Trevi Fountain. One coin = you will come back to Rome, two coins = you will be in relationship, three coins = you will be married or get a divorce.  :)

Trevi Fountain

Pinocchio - the original one.

I did not see much of Rome but what I did see was beautiful.  I am a huge fan of structures from the Baroque period. 

Izmir, Turkey

Column... there is a hole in the middle so metal could be melted and put inside to join several columns together.

The sweetest kitty ever.... Kittens were roaming all over the ruins.

Mosaics that still exist

Marble toilet.... yes the seats are close to each other.  Meaning it was a social event.

The library of Celsus

My parents and me in front of the amphitheater

Malta - the last stop on the Cruise

Christmas is on its way

The Maltese Cross

Marble Mosaic floor

At the bar where Oliver Reed died.  He was in Malta filming the movie, Gladiator.

Malta was an okay place.