OUR CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY ON AN EGYPTIAN BEACH

When we think about our holiday, we generally think of:

1) playing in the sand, going for walks, swimming, and taking it easy at the beach or pool



and

2) interacting with the animals at the mini-zoo and elsewhere.

Another big portion of our time was spent eating at the various restaurants available to us. We tended to frequent those at Alladin where we had our favorite waiters....Big Mahmoud, Little Mahmoud, Tarek, Ice Cream Guy, and Kahlid (pictured on the left side of the third photo above.) Ella had admirers wherever we went. Egyptians are absolutely bonkers about kids! And this little Russian boy (Kai) thought she was pretty great, too. There were even kisses exchanged!

As said in our "tickler" we were in Hurghada, Egypt at the Jasmine Village Resort. It is in the middle of a desert...true desert...it made Nevada look green! But, inside the resorts was lovely. Here is where we stayed - Room 512.

And here is an example of the gorgeous landscaping.

Along with the "mini-zoo", there was also a playground. Ella was CRAZY about these horses.

Unfortunately, we also had the opportunity to see this:

Poor Ella slipped and had a nasty fall at the pool which resulted in us visiting the on-site medical center. (Thank goodness for traveler's insurance!) Nothing broken but she spent the remainder of the holiday on her bum. Now that we're home, she's determined to walk and is getting better every day.

Another "experience" was visiting the city of Hurghada itself. We were able to take a shuttle from the hotel...three hours total in the city including travel time. About two hours too many for us! It was interesting and Jeff got really good at haggling, but we've never felt so much pressure to enter someone's shop and buy something. It was VERY intense...a bit too much when you add a crying baby to it! If we never hear "Where you from?" or "I give you best price, Boss." or "You promise you come back?" again, it will be much too soon. But, we're glad we did it. We had a good laugh. Here's a photo that pretty much sums it up. (Jeff haggled a "Rolex" from 750 LE [130 USD] to 60 LE [10 USD]! But he didn't buy it.)

So how did we celebrate Christmas? You may think that a Muslim country would not appreciate Christmas decorations (or Lionel Richie), but you're wrong. Here's a video of our resort reception area as proof.

Christmas Eve we got up super-early (Ella is a fabulous alarm clock) and decided to see the sun rise over the Red Sea. (Incidentally, sunsets over the mountains were also stunning.)

The rest of the day was spent at the beach. I had a camel ride. We tried to have Ella join me, but she was very unhappy and ended up on the ground with her dad where she could watch from a safe distance. Christmas Eve dinner was extravagant. The food was delicious, the displays awesome, the service fantastic, and the champagne surprising.

Christmas Day we took a glass boat ride and I got to go snorkeling in the Red Sea. Ella and Jeff stayed on-board. We don't have any photos to show the fish and coral, but it was breath-taking! We opened our presents in the afternoon...outside, because we could!

In the end, we would gladly swap ice and snow for sun, sea, and sand...but there's no replacement for family and friends. You were missed.

All the best for 2007!

Maylia (& Jeff & Ella)