As we arrived at our hotel (the Movenpick in Aswan) last night under cover of darkness, it was a very pleasant surprise to wake this morning to stunning views of the Nile directly out our hotel room window. The weather is simply perfect; cool in the mornings and evenings; a bit warm, but not uncomfortably so, in the afternoons. Also quite dry, which is a nice change from Houston's high humidity.
The Movenpick in Aswan
View out our hotel room window
After breakfast, we headed for our cruise ship, the Oberoi Philae.
In the afternoon, we sailed the Nile aboard a felucca, a traditional Nubian wooden sailboat.
The feluca took us to Aswan's botanical gardens, located on an island in the Nile.
We toured the gardens for a while, then set sail again. The sun set while we were still on the water:
We enjoyed a cocktail hour in the Oberoi's lounge, and then dined with fine china to the sounds of live piano music. I am currently in the reception area, working with frustratingly slow wireless internet (I suppose I ought not complain about this, though, as the fact that we have it at all is quite a luxury). Although most of the cruisers have already retired, the piano is still being played downstairs - very soothing. I'm off to bed now, as we have quite a full day planned tomorrow.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteWow...what wonderful pictures!!! I am so glad to know you arrived safely. This is really great to be able to see some of the things you are seeing right away, so thanks for taking the time to do it. I love the sunset picture.
Love, Mom
What? No cat in the garden to befriend and take a picture of?!
ReplyDeleteLol, there were a lot of cats roaming the garden, actually. I just restrained myself from taking pictures of them. I'll have to look at Jerry's pics to see whether he got any shots of them.
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