Settling In

We've been slacking a bit putting up posts since arriving in Syros. We can tell you that we've just been so busy, out and about, exploring the island, but that wouldn't be the complete truth. It's been rainy and cold and that's made us lazy. We realized that we haven't written anything about our time in Egypt - just threw up all those photos. So, we thought we'd have a bit of story time to go with our picture posts.

If it wasn't clear with the previous posts, we both left a piece of our hearts in Cairo. It was a dirty, trashy, hot love affair that ended all too quickly. Let's put it this way: the hotel changed our mattress half-way thru. (Perhaps we should start with a quick story of the hotel to explain.) Upon arriving in Cairo at 5 in the morning, we were whisked away to our hotel in the heart of Cairo. From the outside, it looked something like this:

It's advertisement stated it's "guest rooms retain an ambiance of faded grandeur" and we both laugh at the accuracy of this description. It only felt fitting to be in such a hotel in such a city. Unfortunately, we have no photos of the interior to share. Previously a British officer club built in 1901, we believe everything to be original, including the bartender in the salon.  This statement extends to the mattress we slept on for the first two nights. We tossed and turned as if we were at sea trying to find a resting spot that didn't involve springs digging into our ribs. Evidently, the universe heard our complaints, for when we came back on the third day, not only was our bed made and the room tidied, but our mattress was replaced! The irony of this story is that the second mattress was secretly a brick of concrete and were quickly begging for them to bring back the springs!

We promise tomorrow to post further love stories. James thinks it is "less daunting" to post shorter, and more frequent posts. We'll see if we actually do.