We've got our backpacks! J had his already, from the trip he took several years ago, but I didn't have one. It was a long search because not only did I have to find a backpack that was comfortable (not easy because I have a bad back) but, of course, it had to be cute! I hit the jackpot at a local outdoors store and - BONUS - it has an integrated daypack!
We're making lists of what we want to bring and then will see how heavy that is and pare it down to what we need to bring. First, we have to find proper clothing. We plan to get to the outlet malls and see what we can find in the hiking/outdoors shops. The pants at the store where I got my backpack start at $65/pair and that seems just way too expensive. I don't even think I have dress pants for work that I was willing to pay that much to buy. I do have a couple of long skirts that will work and a few tops. J has pants that zip off into shorts and are made of that "quick dry" material. I hope I can find a couple pair like that, as well. I got a great pair of steel toe shoes that I love. No camels will break my toes now! I found a cute pair of sandals too, in the boy's section of an outlet camping store. I'm so glad I have tiny feet - the sandals were only $11 on sale.
I met someone who went to Egypt about 1 & 1/2 years ago and she gave me some great tips. It got me even more excited for this trip! As J put it, "it's a trip of a lifetime!"
Monday, October 11, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
How did we choose this trip?
Welcome to our trip to Egypt vacation blog! I'm Jen and will be doing most, if not all, of the blogging, and hubby is J. We figured this would be the best way to share our trip planning, photos, possibly videos, and trip journal with our friends and family (and anyone else who happens upon this blog).
How did we choose Egypt? We like to take one "big" vacation a year, it doesn't always happen, but we've been able to take several great trips together. Due to job and vacation schedule constraints, we usually have about 2 weeks for a real vacation. In the past it's been Las Vegas, Washington DC, Mexico, and a few cruises to the Caribbean. This year we were looking at Peru. It sounded wonderful, but, well, it involved a lot of hiking, canoeing, and sleeping in an "eco hut" (guess which one of us was not into that!). So, the search was on for a fabulous vacation. We literally looked at our globe and asked ourselves where we've always wanted to visit. J has been to so many places - more countries than I can count - and I've been to a few places in Europe. We hope one day to go to China, Australia, back to Europe, Russia, Greece, and on and on, but this time we both said: "Egypt!"
Let the planning begin! If we had more time, say 4-6 weeks, we wouldn't bother with a tour company and just do it ourselves, but our jobs necessitate shorter time constraints. We wanted something authentic, but not too authentic (i.e. no "eco huts"). The first company I looked into sounded nice, but upon further investigation, we found they stop at every tourist trap and several of our meals would be at chain restaurants, which we don't even choose to eat at when we're home, so we certainly didn't want to eat there in Egypt. The search continued and we booked with a great company that J has used before. They have small tours that are authentic, but still comfortable. We found flights that are reasonable and at great times for us. I'm not looking forward to the 17+ hours of travel, but it will be worth it when I get to see the pyramids and, hopefully, ride a camel (we'll be taking lots of pictures of that experience!). For now, we're still working on backpacks and proper clothing. Thankfully, we have several months to prepare, but I know the time will fly by!
How did we choose Egypt? We like to take one "big" vacation a year, it doesn't always happen, but we've been able to take several great trips together. Due to job and vacation schedule constraints, we usually have about 2 weeks for a real vacation. In the past it's been Las Vegas, Washington DC, Mexico, and a few cruises to the Caribbean. This year we were looking at Peru. It sounded wonderful, but, well, it involved a lot of hiking, canoeing, and sleeping in an "eco hut" (guess which one of us was not into that!). So, the search was on for a fabulous vacation. We literally looked at our globe and asked ourselves where we've always wanted to visit. J has been to so many places - more countries than I can count - and I've been to a few places in Europe. We hope one day to go to China, Australia, back to Europe, Russia, Greece, and on and on, but this time we both said: "Egypt!"
Let the planning begin! If we had more time, say 4-6 weeks, we wouldn't bother with a tour company and just do it ourselves, but our jobs necessitate shorter time constraints. We wanted something authentic, but not too authentic (i.e. no "eco huts"). The first company I looked into sounded nice, but upon further investigation, we found they stop at every tourist trap and several of our meals would be at chain restaurants, which we don't even choose to eat at when we're home, so we certainly didn't want to eat there in Egypt. The search continued and we booked with a great company that J has used before. They have small tours that are authentic, but still comfortable. We found flights that are reasonable and at great times for us. I'm not looking forward to the 17+ hours of travel, but it will be worth it when I get to see the pyramids and, hopefully, ride a camel (we'll be taking lots of pictures of that experience!). For now, we're still working on backpacks and proper clothing. Thankfully, we have several months to prepare, but I know the time will fly by!
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