Our time in Aswan has ended, after a peaceful nights sleep, it’s time to take the train to Luxor where another adventure awaits us. In the early morning hours we again drug our luggage through the sand of Elephantine island on our way to the ferry We glided across the water and scrambled through the city streets to the train station in order to catch a 7:30 train.
Day two in Egypt and we wake up at 3:30 am to take our Uber to the Cairo airport. It’s time to travel 12 hours south of Cairo along the Nile to Aswan. We speed up the trip by taking a flight instead of driving. We read that many choose the overnight train instead of flying but that is $100 US per person, Jeff is a pretty light sleeper and probably wouldn’t sleep well on an overnight train so I think it’s best to fly. Some say it saves the price of a hotel but a hotel in Aswan is only $40 a night, so it didn’t seem worth it. I was happy to find airline tickets for $70 each so that seemed like a “win-win”. We talked to other budget travelers who took the day train for only $11 per person but that sounded grueling to be on a train for 12 hours!
On our first day in Egypt we stayed in Giza, a part of greater Cairo, you can read the account of our arrival into Cairo in my last post. I woke up early because our hotel had a beautiful rooftop overlooking the great pyramids and I hoped to see them at sunrise. However, alas, the sun sets on the pyramids, it does not rise. But I still enjoyed walking upstairs and casting my eyes on the pyramids looming on the horizon larger than life in the early morning light. I sat there drinking my coffee and checking my Instagram as I do every morning.
Giza and Cairo
During our two and a half years living in Italy, we always said we need to tour around Europe while we are so close to everything. But alas, we just kept enjoying our Italy. I guess first we needed to see everything near us, enjoy the abundant history of Florence, Rome and Naples and savor the natural beauty of Sperlonga and the Amalfi Coast.
Here in Itri, Italy we live among the olive groves, in the months since we have moved here we have walked amongst the groves and enjoyed the suns golden rays between the branches at sunset. The olive trees are beautiful with their silver grey leaves and gnarled trunks.
There are so many things to love about Fall, the leaves are changing, the weather is crisp and cool. But especially here in Italy when food takes center stage, there is always something new to try. I’ve been loving the pumpkins and walnuts, pears and apples. But those are fabulous at home in California also. A few things that aren’t so common for us are Porcini mushrooms and Chestnuts! Here, they call Chestnuts “Castagnia”and “Marone”. I see them for sale in little trucks lining the streets as well as in the farmers market and every vegetable stand in town.
It’s Fall in Italy and the early rains combined with the warm October temperatures have created the perfect conditions for mushrooms! Italians love to forage for mushrooms, it’s practically a national pastime.
As the temperatures drop and nights get longer we crave the comfort of a warm bowl of soup to warm us from the inside out. I like this recipe as a spin on the traditional “Campbells” tomato soup. Its not the soup from the tin can we all think of when we think of Tomato Soup.
I am a fourth generation Italian living in America but we have done a pretty good job of holding on to our Italian traditions after so many years in America. Bagna Cauda, Raviolis and Biscotti seem to be the recipes we have clung to. You can read my past posts on Bagna Cauda (a hot Fondue made of butter, garlic and anchovies, typical of the North of Italy) and our family tradition of making homemade Beef and Spinach Raviolis by clicking the links.
Today is the first of October and already the mornings and evenings are getting cooler and there is a crispness in the air. The fields of pumpkins are ripe and ready for harvest. I couldn’t resist buying one today at the fruit stand that is spilling over with fresh produce.
