Simon and I were in Egypt for four nights, and kept very busy the whole time. It was exciting, and we’ll have more on that SOON, but we also took one day off on Friday to see some sights. Friday in Cairo is like Saturday in the US — it’s a six day work-week and Friday is the one day that most professionals take off. Retail, restaurants and tourist attractions are open. We hired a car and driver, and told him we wanted to see as much as humanly possible in one day! He sighed that everything would be very busy since it was Friday and all the locals would be out shopping and running around as well, but he would do his best. He certainly did, and here are the results:
Our business was in Giza, so we stayed at Le Meridian Pyramids, directly across the street from (you guessed it) the Great Pyramid of Giza. First thing Friday, we headed across to get a closer look.
There are 9 pyramids all in the same general area as well as the Sphinx. It would be a recipe for heat exhaustion to walk between them, so we rented a camel. In this pic, we’re on the camel while talking on the cell to the chums. As François and Johan love the movie Despicable Me, they knew all about the pyramids and when I told them where we were, F’s response was “O-M-G.” By the way, riding a camel tied up in a caravan for 30 minutes on TV = easy. Riding a camel freestyle through the desert like a horse = not so easy.
After running back to the hotel to freshen up, we headed to the Citadel. By the way, before traveling I found a lot of conflicting information on the internet regarding appropriate tourist dress, so here is my opinion. You need to be the most conservative when visiting religious sites (cover head, arms and legs.) Otherwise, it wasn’t necessary to cover the head but pulling long hair back is a good idea. I always felt comfortable when dressed as you see in the pics. Here I am in front of the Mosque of Muhammad inside the Citadel, and Simon is on the other side, overlooking Old Cairo. Also, a beautiful door inside the mosque. I was very hesitant to take photos indoors and of people, but the unwritten rule is that if you are invited to take photos, go right ahead.
Outside one of the Christian churches in the Coptic area – I like the juxtaposition of the old and the new with the church and the Metro station.
A mosaic in the courtyard outside the Hanging Church.
The stairs leading to the Hanging Church.
Next, we went to the Khan el Khalili, the marketplace, both to have the experience and to find a few souvenirs for the family.
Here’s Simon walking in the market.
Here I am making a deal for hats.
While going between the sights, we discussed with our driver whether it was smart to go to Tahrir Square. He gave us a very straight answer. On that particular Friday, not a good idea. A protest was happening that afternoon, and it was the day before the Anniversary of the Revolution of ’52. Anywhere outside the Square is fine on any given day, and Tahrir Square would have been OK on a weekday providing one is careful and respectful. On Friday, this is as close as we came — you can see tents in the distance, but in the foreground people are walking around normally.
Here’s a view of the Nile as the sun was setting.
Here’s the interior of Nile Maxim, the riverboat restaurant we chose for our last night in the city.
While cruising the Nile, I snapped a photo of a riverboat shopping center and had to smile at seeing Chili’s. There’s a Chili’s in Paris as well — they do get around…
Finally, a fellow diner took this pic of us after dinner. Completely worn out, we headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready to fly home.
That’s all we could fit into one day, but I have a feeling we’ll be back…
aww…you guys are just so sweet, beautiful inside and out. Thank you for sharing your wonderful pics. Lovely photos. Looks like you are having a wonderful relaxed time.
Don’t you love how the city comes alive at night! You should take a midnight stroll along the Nile. It is beautiful. I love seeing your photos I loved my time there and can not wait to go back but next time a month was just not long enough! There are too many places to go.
Putting that on the list for next time!
Thank you for sharing those photos and the great descriptions!!! I forgot about that word… juxtaposition…thanks for that, too. Ya’ll are too cute!
Thanks for sharing your lovely pictures!!!
Beautiful pix! Egypt is on my bucket list but I think that we will be heading to Italy next year. We recently saw the movie “Letters to Juliette” and fell in love with Verona! My Australian husband is the most romantic man in the world!
LOVE Aussie men and their romance. Enjoy Verona!
Verona is lovely! This last picture of the both of you looks great. Nice to see Simon in the plain shirt and jeans.
Great pictures !! Thanks for sharing. I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt – I know it’s a bit of an expensive trip so I think I may have to wait for retirement. I wonder if it was as Hot there as it was here in NYS last week. I heard the city reached 106 on Friday. Stay cool . Hope you had a good trip home.
Thanks! The temperature wasn’t as high, but it felt just as hot — it’s on the tip of the desert. Wear cotton clothing that breathes — definitely no jeans.
Thank you for sharing your exciting lives with us! Alex my question is. . .what is your secret to a long lasting marriage? The love you and Simon share is sweet to watch! My husband and I are celebrating our one year anniverssary today. What was your first year of marriage like? I am still learning and if you have any advice please share! Thanks! Oh yes one more thing. . .the comment you made. .”she is a thug in a cocktail dress” should be made into a song and I am a singer~songwriter and I would love to write a song for Simon based on that great tag line! Just a thought! Have a great day!
Hey Marcie — our biggest “marriage mantra” if you want to call it that is “We Were Here First.” Before kids, jobs, life changes and certainly reality TV, Simon and I were here first and have first dibs on each other’s emotions. Thanks for the nice words about Thug in a Cocktail Dress! Will tell Simon.
THank you for the words of wisdom Alex. I am looking forward to the Reunion show tonight. In spite of your crazy and busy schedule, I truly appreciate you taking the time to read and respond to our questions! I am working on a song right now and I will post it on You Tube. You have such great comedic timing with the other women. “Thug in a cocktail Dress” is genius! I saw the cute shirts on your website. As soon as the job market opens up for me I cannot wait to buy one! Have a terrific day and the “chums” are absolutley adorable and have such great personalities and lots of talent as well! More parents should incorporate music in their children’s lives as you and Simon have. Take care!
Or you could wear what you’d normally wear in 106 degree weather in any other part of the world. But you won’t, because it’s important for you to affect respect for Muslim culture…a culture with so little respect for *you* that they’d rather you die of heat stroke than decline the privilege of being smothered in cloth.
Ordinarily, when traveling, I’m all for deferring and adapting to local customs. But not when they’re misogynist. I’m sure if you were traveling in apartheid South Africa you’d similarly refuse to defer to their racism. That’s because racism is a Real Problem, but when women are treated as subhuman, PC wins out.
What is wrong with wearing respectful clothing in a country that does require one to cover the head when entereing their church/mosque or whatever? The black might attract the heat from the sun more than a lighter color but come on.. why would you disrespect an entire culture because of other events that have nothing to do with peaceful people of said culture? If you are foolish enough NOT to cover your head you might very well have heat stroke. That sun is super hot and dangerous if you come out of a cooler climate.
When in Rome do as the Romans do.. or you might find yourself in trouble!
Okay. When in South Africa, would you do as the apartheid South Africans do? I mean, after all, it’s a matter of respect!
I think it’s only fair to say that you owe people the same degree of respect they offer you. In a country where more than 90% of women and girls are brutally mutilated to enforce patriarchal sex mores, it’s difficult to entertain the possibility that a custom requiring women to cloak themselves in black (in 100+ degree heat, no less) reflects “respect.” If Egyptians aren’t going to respect me — if, instead, they’re going to regard me as undeserving of equal treatment because I was born female — then why should I respect them?
FYI, the majority of body heat is lost through the head. While you’re right that a lightweight cloth deflecting sunlight can be helpful, a white cloth covering only the top of the head — hint, it’s easy to picture this, because it’s what many *men* wear —
http://www.magic-city-news.com/artman2/uploads/1/amirfolkdance.jpg
would make more sense for these extreme temperatures. (Contrast this pic of Alex, above:)
http://mccordvankempen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Mosque-Alex.png.
While we’re on the subject of human rights in Egypt, it should be noted that LGBT people fare even worse than women, there. I’m not saying you should decline to visit a country just because its politics are less than ideal, but you know that if Alex and Simon had been blogging about a visit to California post-Prop 8, they would have gone out of their way to demonstrate condemnation for the backwards, barbaric politics of anti-gay discrimination. But because it’s chic to overlook negative elements in Islam, they don’t do that here. The inconsistency is telling.
The two of you have a wonderful relationship and look like you have fun to the fullest and glad you now don’t give a rats bum what others think. I wish u lived closer cause I think I am living vicariously through you. My husband and I ha hugh fight today and am visiting with my parents. Live stinks sometimes but you make me smile watching you with your family. Take care and have fun.
Hope things got better btw you and hubby — you certainly see the real us and I’m glad you do!
Thanks so much for the pix. Egypt is on the bucket list and your photos and description make it seem almost like being there. You guys should write a travel book. I also love love love that big chunky necklace you were wearing in the last photo.
Thanks! Would you believe I got it at the Housing Works thrift shop?! You never know where you’ll find great things.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It is truly a gift. Egypt is the one place I dream of visiting and I have had that dream since I was six or seven! I may never be able to but I enjoyed seeing it through you. I wish you would do a show on international travels. I would be so interested in seeing the world through your eyes.
Believe me I would love to do a travel show; might take us away from teh chums too much though. Hey, there’s always later!
Thanks for sharing the photos, Alex. I am looking forward to seeing the reunion show this evening. And hearing about your announcement regarding why you were in Egypt in the first place!
My friends and I have a drinking game set up to play. Sips for certain words, phrases and shots for others. ” Thug in a cocktail dress” is on the shot list so I sure hope it is said more than once. Slainte, Cheers, Salude
So glad you shared your pics and experience. I have wanted to travel there for years. Hopefully I will get the chance. You look absolutely beautiful in the photos and on the series this year! Just finished voting for you on Bravo.
talk about a couple of IDIOTS abroad..
Hi Alex and Simon! Thanks for sharing the pictures, it’s so nice to see you, Alex, happy and smiling and not being under stress from that show. I’m Aussie, but living in America and was happy to see a fellow Aussie on the cast.
You can see happiness just radiating through yourself and I love it! Oh, and the shopping looks marvelous! Thanks for sharing, so love you 2 on the show, but even more out relaxing in the real world
Hi Alex, you look so happy in the pictures. Thanks so much for posting them. I would love to go to Egypt one day. I live in Barbados, moved from Canada 7 years ago. It’s pretty hot here, so maybe the heat would just a bit hotter. Did you have any problems with scorpians or other insects there? The view from your hotel is fantastic.. I checked out the rates lol will take us a while to save up but looks like a good hotel. Glad you both got away from everything for a few days.. Hope you stay on the show next season, you and Simon both are lots of fun to watch. It is too bad others only show their jealousy towards the two of you. That is what I figure is most of their problem on the show.. just plain jealousy. Either they want to be what they are not, or are what they don’t want to be. The behaviour and lack of good manners from the other women on the show is really sad to watch.. but hey.. that is them.. I am glad you have been able to be way way above all that nonsense. It must have been hard to get slammed by Kelly making rude remarks about you turning red.. omg.. how can anyone avoid a rash/hives or nervous tension rash when they are being lambasted by someone with that many screws loose.. Anyway love you and Simon and your boys are pretty funny too. Don’t try to fix any of the women on that show.. they cannot be fixed.. they are mean spirited fighters and will stop an nothing to ruin things for others who really are not that way. Cindy is okay.. I like her ..she works and I think really got a jolt of housewives reality or was it unreality lol I hope she returns too.. Sonja I could do without, Jill is two faced, Ramona is nuts, Kelly ….is ill, You my dear are a joy to watch.. all the best!
Hi Alex ! OMG, I just love your pics. Egypt is on my bucket list. Next year we are going to Switzerland and then Egypt will be the next trip. I am so excited, it looks just beautiful.
Did you feel safe there? Were there any security issues?
Just wanted to say that in Philly, we all love you and Simon. You keep your marriage alive and that’s the most important thing. I hope you come back to the RHONY next season. It won’t be the same without you.
Hey Carol, no security issues at all. We wrote about that in our he said/she said columns for Metro. http://bit.ly/SimonMetro-7-26-11 and http://bit.ly/AlexMetro-7-28-11
Your pictures are amazing! I would die to go to that shopping market! My sister met your husband at the Chandler hotel a few years ago when she was staying there. Simon was so nice and friendly to her and her mother in law. He even agreed to take a picture with them. Your my favorite on the show!
I can’t believe how much better Simon looks in these pictures than he does in the RHONY shots. More relaxed and less stress. In the show he appears to be more pinched and strained and his face seemed more lined. I like this Simon better, happy, relaxed and enjoying himself. By far, you are one of the ‘real’ girls as in what you see is what you get, but I think all the dumping on you by the ‘mean’ girls is tearing him up. Take care of him…..okay. It’s nice to see that you are a ‘legitimate’ couple and not just a ‘for the camera’ deal. Just keep Being ‘Real’ and to hell with the Housewives if they can’t take it.
The pictures are awesome…Egypt must be so magical with so much history around you (but I’m from California where anything built previous to the turn of the 20th century is rare.)
It’s so great to see an example of a happy, loving marriage on TV, especially one that seems based on a genuine respect and admiration for each other. You two are the only reason I still watch RHONY after Bethenny’s departure. I don’t know how you deal with the brunettes without developing a Xanax addiction. I get tensed and stress just watching.
REMOVED – off topic. Post about RHONY on RHONY threads — this one is for travel.
Good evening Alex: You’ve always been my favorite on RHONY. Now reading this blog, I love your sense of adventure. So Egypt wasn’t dangerous for the average American going on a vacation? I had a personal goal of going there before 2013 and thought I’d have to push back that date. You look beautiful as always and I agree with Virginia that Simon looks much more handsome in these pics than he does on television.
My best to you and your family.
xo
Raymond
REMOVED – off topic. Please keep RHONY posts to RHONY threads – this one is for travel.
Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I applaude you on the show for being more assertive when necessary and defending yourself against the Brunette’s condescending remarks. It really reveals what they are really all about. I am glad you are politcally active and genuinely care about issues that are long overdue for reform. My only suggestion to you is that, when interacting with the “mean girls”, not to let them push your buttons, as they get satisfaction from it. (Your comebacks are very witty as well as entertaining however!) You are an intelligent, logical, sincerely caring woman with a backbone. Your marriage appears to be a very loving and solid one that will stand the test of time. Honesty, respect, mutual interests, and love all seem to be present and strong in your relationship. Glad you are being embraced and supported by Ramona and Sonja, those who really matter. We “get” you and appreciate you for what you are,… genuine.
Really enjoyed your pictures and commentary of Egypt. It brought back many wonderful memories of our trip to Egypt last year. It is a wonderful place and hopefully the tourists will keep coming in spite of the political turmoil. Glad you had a chance to see some of the sights and isn’t it fun to ride a camel…we did so in the same area as you did.