Cairo....but first...Amsterdam???

Everyone has their own tale of the terrible Christmas storm of 2010 that took the western world by storm. Most are tales of remorse, some are tales of near misses. Not many are tales of both. Erin and I most definitely experienced both, combined with what I would proudly say is a tale of veteran traveller savvyiness. Also a tale that turned our African Christmas trip into a trip that included an impromptu night in a white Amsterdam.

Our flight was schedule for immediately following the measly six inches that fell on the 18th. In MSP, it probably would've been 30 minutes delayed to remove the snow and the abominable snowmen in the runway. Not to be so, this was Heathrow, whose snow removal plan is to throw a couple old pensioners onto the runway with a shovel to get the runways clear.

As you would guess...flight cancelled. Not a big deal, there was a flight the next night. So we had a chill day in London and a good night sleep. Those watching the news would guess that Heathrow was closed the next day, flight two cancelled. When we contacted the airlines they said they couldn't confirm our trip till the 25th....THE 25TH?!?!?!

Most would despair; we strapped into serious booking mode. In 20 minutes using two computers, a phone and an iTouch with wireless activated, we had rebooked our flights from London City to Amsterdam, with a mandatory night in Amsterdam (which we of course didn't mind - better than missing the trip) before making it to Cairo, only 2.5 days late. I think we got the first flight out of London possible and were probably the first ones to Cairo from London after the storm!

Yes we made it to Cairo, but not before also having to rebook our hotels for the first three nights of our trip, cutting out a day in Luxor, Cairo and Sharm, but still doing almost everything we intended. We arrived at 8pm and immediately experienced our first dodgy Egypt experience, a cross between a rickshaw and a pinto as our first taxi driver. We stayed at the Marriott in central Cairo which is a beautiful hotel built around the turn of the century for a visit from the French Empress Eugiene. We ate at Abou El Sid that night, which is a popular Egyptian restaurant frequented by tourists.

The next morning we got picked up by a great tour guide, Nadia, who Strauss recommended. She first took us outside the city to Saqqara, or the step pyramid, which dates back something like 4,500 hundred years, the oldest large structure I have ever seen. Amazing to put it in perspective as to how ridiculously old this place is. Puts ancient Rome to shame (however stay tuned for Luxor, for the coolest thing I have EVER seen will be revealed).

Following the step pyramid and a quick lunch, we made it to the grand daddy of them all, the Great Pyramids at the Giza plateau, home to the last remaining wonder of the ancient world. It is literally massive, look it the size of the stones. There is also a common misconception that slaves made the pyramids, when in fact they were professional stone workers.

We cruised around the complex, taking lots of pictures and even hopping on a camel (although that isn't me or Erin on the camel). We of course saw the Great Sphinx. All these structures are also at least 3500 years old and have been engrained in our minds in many different ways throughout our lives. To see them in person was remarkable.

Following the pyramids, we got dropped of in Islamic Cairo by our driver and started walking around perhaps the most intriguing part of the historical city. We went to the mosque that is also the world's oldest university, Al-Azhar. It is a beautiful structure with polished marble floors that you can literally see your reflection in. The mosque dates to 961. After walking around we thought about going into a minaret in a nearby mosque, but thankfully they offered us a tour of the university and a trip up the famous minaret in Al Azhar, which was much more of a treat than we could've expected.

We next checked out the local souks of Islamic Cairo and had a mint tea at the famous cafe in the market, Fishawi's. It was a great way to end a long day of touring and a great conclusion to a whirlwind trip to Cairo.