[AD1]

AD will be in Cairo middle part of November. Any interest in getting together over drinks?
First come first served

Cairo residents are especially welcome!

AD

[Joerg]

AD1, on Oct 22 2008, 05:31 PM, said:

AD will be in Cairo middle part of November. Any interest in getting together over drinks?
First come first served

Cairo residents are especially welcome!

AD

I`ll be there for two weeks from Nov 17th!!!
Would be nice if it worked out this time.

[AD1]

Joerg, on Oct 22 2008, 05:13 PM, said:

I`ll be there for two weeks from Nov 17th!!!
Would be nice if it worked out this time.

Will be there until the 21st. Wed 19th or Thur 20th sound good. Let me know and we can fix a time and a place. Maybe Karen can join... and Gogo (if he is in Egypt) ... and MEC and hopefully many others...

AD

[hoppitycow]

Great idea. I hope it all pans out for all of you. It would even be nice to have a group picture to post on the forum.

[Joerg]

AD1, on Oct 22 2008, 09:16 PM, said:

Will be there until the 21st. Wed 19th or Thur 20th sound good. Let me know and we can fix a time and a place. Maybe Karen can join... and Gogo (if he is in Egypt) ... and MEC and hopefully many others...

AD

Wed 19th or Thur 20th is Ok with me. What do you think of Groppi Garden?
As for Karen and Diaa, we haven't heard from them for a long time,
therefore I`ve sent both an email.

[Spark_man]

Joerg, on Oct 24 2008, 11:26 AM, said:

Wed 19th or Thur 20th is Ok with me. What do you think of Groppi Garden?
As for Karen and Diaa, we haven't heard from them for a long time,
therefore I`ve sent both an email.

I feel like I'm missing out on a good party.

[AD1]

Sounds good to me. Groppi Gardens is the one between Adley and Qasr el-Nil streets - not the one in the square, right? (There are two Groppis as you know). I also contacted Karen, but she must be very busy as usual, although with the credit crunch there shouldn't be many tourists in Egypt at the moment! Have you heard from Hoose recently?

Sparkman, there is still time to book a ticket to Cairo

AD

[Spark_man]

AD1, on Oct 24 2008, 05:57 PM, said:

Sounds good to me. Groppi Gardens is the one between Adley and Qasr el-Nil streets - not the one in the square, right? (There are two Groppis as you know). I also contacted Karen, but she must be very busy as usual, although with the credit crunch there shouldn't be many tourists in Egypt at the moment! Have you heard from Hoose recently?

Sparkman, there is still time to book a ticket to Cairo

AD

Unfortunately I've already exceeded my travel budget for the year. So, I'll just have to live vicariously through you guys. Post lots of pictures and raise your glasses once for me! Have a great time.

[~Mintaka~]

Spark_man, on Oct 24 2008, 02:02 PM, said:

I feel like I'm missing out on a good party.

Yeah, me too.....
Luv & huggs,
~Mintaka~

[Joerg]

AD1, on Oct 24 2008, 11:57 PM, said:

Have you heard from Hoose recently?

I`ve sent him an email.
Still waiting for reply.
Last time I saw him was back in 2000.

[AD1]

Joerg, on Oct 25 2008, 06:10 PM, said:

I`ve sent him an email.
Still waiting for reply.
Last time I saw him was back in 2000.

Joerg,

It is going to be Wednesday the 19th at around 7.00 PM in Groppi Adley/Kasr el-Nil. Karen is likely to join us.
If it is cold or raining, then it we would meet inside rather than in the Garden. Will let you know my local telephone number soon.

Looking forward to seeing you two .... then we can resume our argument from last year's


AD

[Gogo]

I'm in Cairo till November 11th. I may travel on the 12th.
Will you be here AD?

[AD1]

Gogo, on Nov 4 2008, 01:35 PM, said:

I'm in Cairo till November 11th. I may travel on the 12th.
Will you be here AD?

That is going to be very difficult Gogo. Are you definitely leaving on the 12th?

It is a shame you can't join our meeting in Groppi.

let me know your plans and where about in Cairo are you?

AD

[AD1]

Gogo,

As per our conversation, have a lovely journey and hope to see you soon either in Cairo or indeed in London.

look forward to seeing the rest of the Cairo gang on the 19th - we will have a drink for everyone on the board and hopefully post a photo or two

AD

[Gogo]

Guys, hope you enjoy.
I'm leaving tomorrow

[Joerg]

AD1, on Nov 9 2008, 02:04 PM, said:

we will have a drink for everyone on the board

Oh dear? For each and every of our 940 members?
Well then! Cheers!

[AD1]

Looking forward to seeing Karen and Goerg tomorrow.

Initial impressions of Cairo after a few days:

- Inflation year on year is about 25-30%. Minimum taxi rides are now LE5. Heliopolis to downtown and downtown to Pyramids are LE20. (Sometimes they ask for more but impertive to agree price first). Drinks and Meals are getting expensive too. Some modern coffeeshops charge outrageous prices from mostly young people.

- Traffic is worse! cars are in their millions here and rush hour is mostly 8am to Midnight. Crossing the road. chicken run style,, is more perilous.

- Museum gets really crowded by mid-day - it may be worth going earlier.

- Weather is gorgeous - 25 degrees and sunny (kind of dusty sunny) and still warm. People go in shirts and T-shirts and it is November!

- Bling (gold) prices are expensive. Although official price is about LE 100 a gram (18KT), shops charge LE 150 for what they call Italian style jewlery, which is everything well made. Haggling is limited and surveying a few shops before buying is recommended. Not only for cheaper options but also for better designs.

- Public transport is getting better. I took a bus and it was funny being on one for the first time in years. Will relate my experience later.

- Noise is a plague. You have car horns and car alarms at all hours in town. Also loud speakers, high volume TVs and radios and people talking in loud voices to overcome the noise.

- Watched my team - al-Ahly - win African Championship in Cameroon and watched Cairo celebrate two nights ago.

AD

[hoppitycow]

AD,

Thanks for your impressions on Cairo.
I hope you are having a nice time basking in the warm weather and sun.

Looking forward to reading more about your visit.

Linda

[Spark_man]

hoppitycow, on Nov 18 2008, 08:41 AM, said:

AD,

Thanks for your impressions on Cairo.
I hope you are having a nice time basking in the warm weather and sun.

Looking forward to reading more about your visit.

Linda

Yes, I especially liked the "Weather is gorgeous - 25 degrees and sunny" part. I saw the season's first snow fall this morning!!!!! AARRGGG!

[AD1]

Hi Folks,

We had a very interesting get together in Cairo (at last!) at Groppi Garden which is a little run down these days. There were five of us: Karen, Joerg and son, Hoose and AD. We had an interesting chat over lemon and mango juice (NO Stella at Groppi!!) for some time. Hoose had to go for another appointment and the rest of us decided to go on a Cairo tour in pursuit of Stella. We finally found it in restaurant at Adlly Street and it was wonderfully quiet and clean.

The chat went on past midnight and we talked about all things Egyptian. Photo to be posted later. One more day in Cairo and then it is back to cold London.


AD