A Simple Fall Day on the Town

It is a completely unique and thrilling adventure to go for a walk around Alexandria.  The "blocks" are not square, like you might imagine city blocks to be.  In some ways, all the streets look alike, so it is easy to get turned around - but the Mediterranean is always basically north and eventually you run in to the tram line that runs parallel to the ocean, or you run into the Corniche, the main road that follows the Ocean, or you get surprised by blocks upon blocks of outdoor markets. It is usually easier to walk down the road than to try to use the sidewalks. It appears that every developer is allowed to decide what they want to do about a sidewalk in front of their building - some are wide and quite nice, other sidewalks are barely wide enough for two people to pass. You never know when a sidewalk might have missing or out-of-place paving squares, or parts of metal posts that once existed, but now just a 3 inch piece of metal sticks up, begging you to trip over it.  So, the majority of people just walk in the streets, dodging cars, sewer caps, garbage, mud puddles, and the street dogs and cats.  Sidewalks or streets - the choice of adventure is yours!

It is now November 12.  In October, the flies arrived.  They are not biting flies - just really annoying sticky flies.  In October, we first saw clouds, too.  Cumulus clouds, then more often stratus clouds.  The winds started in October, too.  We saw our first couple of rain storms since arriving.  The temperatures fell from the 80's and 90's into the 70's - even dropping into the 50's and 60's at night.  It is amazing how quickly our bodies have adjusted and how chilly we are starting to feel just sitting in our apartment!  However, it is glorious weather to go for a walk during the day now.  

This still scares me - but it is not unusual to see teenaged boys hanging off the back of the trollies as they pass by - sometimes as many as 7 or 8!

The beaches are now mostly deserted, but much prettier than they looked when every inch was occupied by beach-goers.  Almost all beaches are private and charge a fee to enter.  

Blocks upon blocks of fruits and vegetables in this location.  You can find almost anything you could possibly want in this area if you know where to look - around the corner there might be fifteen shoe stores in a row, followed by ten stores selling towels and sheets, then another area where every single vendor is selling fish, or rabbits.  Diversifying ones inventory??  Not in this location!

We "discovered" Sol today.  Yummy!  We got to eat on a pier that extends almost to the Stanley Bridge.  We were served curry shrimp with rice and fresh squeezed mango and strawberry juice.  They didn't think it would be enough for us to eat - but I was so stuffed I could not possibly eat it all.  Before they brought out our "meal" - they brought a plate of fresh veggies - tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, and lettuce.  They also brought a huge basket with three different kinds of hot breads.  They brought out 4 different kinds of hummus for the bread, along with fresh beets.

That's the Stanley Bridge behind us.  It is the most iconic bridge in Alexandria.  It is only about 2 miles from where we live.

Here is a look at the pier where we ate.  This is the restaurant "Sol".  All around this area are little cabins - they look more like motel rooms - that people own or rent so they can enjoy this beach.

There are street dogs everywhere, but usually you don't see them in packs, like we did here.  They all look pretty much the same.  And yes, the garbage around here is a real problem.  They have been working on improving the situation - but some places are still disgusting.  It would help if the city actually provided public garbage cans.

We'd sure love to have a little boat like this to pass the time!

Interesting architecture

Gary thought our Kenyan family members would get a kick out of the toys on this beach!

It is getting close to Thanksgiving!  This is the first time we have seen turkeys on the street.  I didn't know Egyptians celebrate Thanksgiving - but these two were spotted just around the corner from the American School - so maybe these two are for us?!! 

Street cat taking a nap on the cement pegs that are used to hold the ocean back.  Egypt needs to spends thousands of dollars they do not have to put in a system designed to hold back the effects of climate change and rising ocean levels.  While we were in Hurghada, we experienced a hail storm on the Red Sea.  This had NEVER happened before.  The crew on the dive boat literally thought they might not survive.  Nine people north of us on the Red Sea that day DID lose their lives.  In our area, roofs caved in and the road became flooded - in some places it was impassable.  You will never convince an Egyptian that Global Warming/Climate Change is a hoax - they see it first-hand.

These cement pegs are everywhere.

About to be served the first course at Sol restaurant.  He's a happy man.  I guess this is his birthday dinner - a day early!