After a VERY early bus trip from Petra back to the airport at Amman, we were all checked in and ready for our flight to Cairo. Fortunately, the airport had us Westerners covered.

After an uneventful flight and an interesting trip through Customs & Immigration in Egypt, we were on our way to the Cairo Marriott. Along the way, our guide explained several of the landmarks that we were passing, we would be back to tour several of them in depth, so I will skip it for now.

Upon arrival at the Marriott, we got our room keys, had some time to freshen up, and wandered the hotel for a bit. It is really a beautiful place.

After a bit of a break, we were off for our first meeting with the whole group. There were a couple of people that did not start their trip in Jordan, they just did the Egypt part. We also officially met our guide for the rest of the Egypt trip.

Mohamed was absolutely fantastic! I have said many times that I would love to do this trip all over again with my kids, but only if I am sure of getting this guy as my guide again. He was so much fun and added plenty of cultural knowledge and background to everything we did. Also, he never laughed at my stuttering attempts to learn his language.

Dinner that night was on our own, and Mohamed had offered several nearby options for us if we wanted. During our tour of the hotel, however, we had already picked a place for dinner:

Yep, a good old British Pub, right in the heart of Cairo! Inside looked fairly pubbish as well.

They even had soccer on TV. We did, however order the local beer…as you do…

The beer was fine, nothing amazing or terrible. The real bonus to this beer is that it is a double bottle size. Almost like a 40 (Really big beer, if you are not familiar with the reference!). Moving on to food, the menu looked like they tried to cater to Western preference, but just came up a bit short.

This is their version of a Pasta Sampler. It wasn’t very good. Fortunately the giant beer is pretty filling! Everyone’s food came in these little bowl trees. It was strange.

After dinner, I had thought about checking out the casino, but since we had been up since before 5am in order to catch our flight, an early bedtime was in order instead. The casino would have to wait.

On the upcoming agenda for tomorrow: The Cairo Museum! Also, our “Welcome Dinner” and a discussion of Contemporary Life in Egypt.