We had a wake-up call at 5:45, packed, dressed, and went down to the lobby at 6:15. Boxed breakfasts were to be delivered to the front desk but were sent to our rooms instead. The desk clerks hurried to have them boxed up and sent to us in the lobby. They finally got there just as Fabi arrived to take us to the airport. The boxes contained enough food for an army - 2 croissants, 2 scones, danish, 6 jellies, 2 cans of oj, 2 bananas, and 2 apples. We ate in the van on the way to the airport and left the rest for Fabi to take home.
When we got to the airport, the A&K guy met us, got our tickets, checked our bags, got us through immigration, and sent us on our way. We only had 1 1/2 hours to wait for the 8:40am flight to Cairo. On the flight we had fruit cocktail, a roll, and a croissant.
We landed and were met by Mohamed (most Arabic families name their first-born sons Mohamed which is why there are so many) the A&K guy who got us through customs and immigration and out quite quickly. We drove in the van to the Fairmont Nile City Hotel which took about a 1/2 hour. There Mohamed walked us through security into the lobby where he got our passports and checked us in. While we were waiting, Bill went to use the facilities while our luggage was being scanned at the front door security. Dot came inside saying security needed Bill's luggage key to open his bag and hand over his dagger. Since he was not available, I had to go out, use my key, open his bag, and try and find the dagger. Dot and Sandy also had purchased daggers which the hotel will keep until we check out.
We had a beautiful room (724) with a view looking right down on the Nile River. We unpacked, sent some laundry out, and washed some underwear. Since we had the day free, we went up to check out the Sky Pool deck. Two British girls were leaving saying it was too cold. A waiter met us and told us we could sit anywhere, and he would bring us menus.
We had a lovely view of the Nile from up there, and I could even see the large pyramid at Giza in the distance. Baha’a was our waiter, and Bill ordered a cheeseburger while I got a croque-monsieur and some stuffed grape leaves. Everything was great and priced reasonably considering where we were. We ate and enjoyed ourselves. At 3:15 we returned to the room. Bill made an appointment in 20 minutes to get a pedicure at the Spa, and I went to the Business Center to send an email - 1/2 hour for $8.
After the internet session, I grabbed my Kindle, jacket, and travel stuff and went back to the Sky Pool deck. Baha’a gave me my coffee choices. I ordered and went to 'my' corner table, read, and watched the Nile traffic. One of the staff, Ahmed, was pulling staples out of the pillars from a wedding held a while ago. Not a fun job. In a few minutes, Ahmed came over to chat. He is the youngest of 7 kids, and his father died before he was born. His oldest brother lives in Kuwait. He has worked in pool management for 10 years, the last 3 here at the Fairmont. He worked for a year at the American Embassy, but tips are better at hotels.
Bill arrived and ordered a beer. A bit later Ahmed came up with a beautiful fruit platter - grapes, apples, oranges, kiwi, plum, and a fruit he called caka (persimmon) along with a yogurt/honey/mint dip. This was a gift from him for our chat and 'my smile'. Bill had a girl (Siska) from Bali do his pedicure, and they had a nice chat, too. Everyone on staff here is so friendly.
We watched a beautiful sunset, listened to call to prayers, and left the pool at 5:30. We went to the room, watched some TV, and went to bed at 10.
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