Alexandria

It is difficult for me to pick out my absolute favorite of just about anything.  Favorite husband, favorite son, favorite mom – now that I can choose.  Ice cream flavor, decorating style, car – I just like too many different things in each category.  So, I’m not sure I can pick only one thing in Egypt that I like above all others.  However, the Bibliotheca in Alexandria has to be quite near the top.  I love books, I love learning and I love technology.  The Bibliotheca embodies all three in an architectural and construction masterpiece.  I can’t believe I haven’t written about it before now!  The library has the capacity for over 8 million books.   They are in the process of digitizing all the books.  You can view historic documents just like they were sitting right in front of you.  Most of the books are in Arabic, English or French.  There is an entry fee to the library and none of the books can be checked out.  However, they have a high speed machine that will print and bind a book for you to purchase (about $12.00) in approximately 20 minutes.  I recommend visiting the website at www.bibalex.org.

The rest of these pictures are pretty self-explanatory.  The harbor is beautiful.  The Corniche, the road running along the water, is 30 kilometers long.   But, the city is only 2 km wide.  The population is around 6 million.  Alexandria is cleaner than Cairo and the air is easier to breathe.  The architecture is newer, as Alexandria has been the location for many battles throughout the centuries and subject to earthquake damage.    In fact, much of ancient Alexandria is currently being excavated from the harbor.  Regardless, it is a beautiful city and one I hope you get a chance to visit.

Outside of the Bibliotheca -representations of alphabets from around the world

The Bibliotheca reading room windows from the outside

Carefully designed windows let in natural light without direct sunlight

Reading area

The Reading Area Inside the Bibliotheca – Seven Floors of Reading Space, Four Floors for Administration

The connecting Planetarium

Statue recovered from Alexandria Harbor in the underwater excavation currently going on

Qaitbay Fort

View of Alexandria Harbor from inside Qaitbay Fort

Boats in Alexandria Harbor

Whimsical Boat

Largest Mosque in Alexandria

King Farouk’s Summer Palace – It overlooks the Sea and has acres of beautiful gardens surrounding it

Another view of the Palace

Greek Amphitheater

The Greek Amphitheater – Since this picture was taken, you can no longer climb the steps.

Seat number carved into the stone

Columns

Columns Unearthed at the Site

Intricate Tile Work – Up until a couple of months ago, tourists tramped all over this day in and day out. Now it is roped off.

Amazing Craftmanship – So precise and no machines!

Remains of a classroom

Column yet to be unearthed

Excavating the Roman Baths near the Greek Ruins… pail by pail

Woman in the window. Love this!

Horse Taxi on the Corniche in Alexandria

Cars Driving on the Trolly Track WITH the Trolley! It makes for an interesting experience.

Positano, Pompeii and Capri

It is hard to beat Italy as a destination for celebrating your anniversary.  This year Ron and I celebrated our 28th year of wedded (mostly) bliss in the southern part of the country, staying along the Amalfi Coast.  The bed and breakfast we stayed at was named Villa La Quercia.  Quercia is the name of a tree common to the area and there is a gigantic one on the property, hence the name.

I booked Villa La Quercia on the internet.  I knew it was well up the mountain because of the pictures that were posted on the website.  Well up the mountain was a bit of a misinterpretation on my part.  It was WAY up the mountain.  In fact, the road going up the mountain ended suddenly at the parking area for our accommodation.  What was NOT on the website is the fact that there are SEVEN sets of stone steps and a quarter-mile cobblestone path which must be navigated to get to or from the residence.  Oh, the huffing and puffing.  About half-way down with our luggage I got the giggles.  Of course the more I tried to stop, the worse they became.  How on Earth do we always seem to have these “adventures?”  Going down was the easy part.  Although we weren’t planning a “fitness” vacation we got one anyway and didn’t even have to pay extra for it!!

The road along the Amalfi Coast is known for its hairpin curves and steep drops.  Less known, perhaps, is the narrowness of the road.  We had a tiny Fiat called a Panda.  If we’d been in anything bigger I don’t think we could have passed the busses or trucks.  It is easy to see why many residents in the area prefer a motorbike in terms of ease in making your way through traffic.  I have not researched the “death on motorbike” statistics, however.  It looks a tad dangerous.  Anyway, the road is not for the faint of heart, fearful of heights or those prone to motion sickness.  But the views are stunning. 

I have never seen an ugly part of the Mediterranean Sea.  Southern Italy is no exception.  The water was super clear and gorgeous.  The Grottos are beautiful…. the Blue Grotto has turned into a populated tourist attraction and, as such, didn’t interest us.  But we swam in the Green Grotto and went into the White Grotto. The island of Capri was nice.  It is very hilly and extremely upscale in terms of shopping and dining.  After all the hype from books and movies, I was expecting something a touch more spectacular.  No movie star sightings but it was a fun day trip. 

Pompeii is a history buff’s or archaeologist’s dream come true.  It is eerie walking through a whole city that existed two thousand years ago just as we see it now.  First, the city experienced an earthquake in 62 AD.  Residents were still in the process of rebuilding when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.  The volcano cloud, with temperatures of approximately 250 degrees Celsius, is what killed most of the people.  Soon after, the suffocating ash began to settle and it covered the city entirely.  The city stayed buried until 1748, when excavation began.   It is ongoing.  Amazing!

Our Bed and Breakfast, Villa La Quercia

Path leading to the B&B

Grapes on trellis at entry to B&B

Entrance for Villa La Quercia

Sign for our bus stop. “citta’ romantica”

Positano in the morning.

Positano at sunset.

Positano at night.

Pompei

Statue of Apollo at Pompeii

Outside the Amphitheater

Inside the Amphitheater

Amazing colors still evident at Pompeii

Gorgeous painting inside one of the homes. “Fourth Style” decorations for all of the art historians.

Architectural Details in Marble. How did they DO that?

One of many areas where food and drink was served “on the go” in Pompei.

Capri

Ron on boat approaching the Grottos

Swimming near the grotto – very clear water.

Rock formation at the top of the Green Grotto.

On the boat to Capri

Looking up the mountain from Positano

Flowers over downtown Positano.

Gigantic lemons!

Ron and Teresa at Positano

One of SEVEN sets of stairs leading up to the parking lot.

Schlepping our bags up the hill.

Part of the quarter-mile cobblestone path.

Positano at night.