The Great Pyramids of Giza

Yeah! I think I'm finally really ready to get this Egypt album going! I made two more layouts last night and this morning. They are made to lay beside each other, and they are both layouts using photos from our visit to the Giza plateau.

This first layout shows some "we were there" photos in front of Khufu's (aka Cheops) pyramid. Alton and I both tend to take very few 'people oriented' photographs when we are on vacation. But every once in a while we take a minute to get pictures of ourselves to prove that we were actually there. These are a couple of those photos. I think you can tell how very bright and sunny it was that day. And hot. Quite hot and quite dry. You may also notice that the sky is a bit hazy, although that may be more obvious in the next layout. The pollution was noticable much of the time that we were there.

The pyramids were the very first site we visited, at the beginning of a very long day of sightseeing. We stopped at each of the three pyramids, and took a bus between them. While you could go inside of Khufu's pyramid for a small fee, we elected not to pay the extra money because our guide promised us that we could go inside of a step pyramid later in the day for free. In light of later events, I regret not having taken the opportunity. More on that later.

Words cannot express how amazing it was to stare up at these ancient structures. It didn't impact me emotionally in the same way that Stonehenge did, but it was powerful all the same. And check out the tourism policeman on his camel:

Hee hee. We quickly learned that they would cheerfully pose for a photo... for a small fee. Luckily, I was able to use my zoom lens, get a decent photo, and avoid having to baksheesh the guy.

I'm not positive about this, but I think the story I'm about to tell may have been the highlight of the day for Alton... As we were walking around the side of the second pyramid, climbing over ruins and looking for the most interesting angles to capture the pyramid, we saw quite a few camel guides. One gentleman asked us if we wanted to ride, and Alton said no. When he asked again, Alton replied, "I said no camels!" This line is from one of the Indiana Jones movies, and Alton had been hoping that Egypt would provide the perfect opportunity to work the quote into a conversation. And it happened on the first day! Of course, Alton might say "no camels," but my opinion on the subject is an entirely different matter. More on that later too.

While my scrap mojo is heating up, my stitching mojo seems to be in a bit of a slump. I was going to work on charting my stag this afternoon, but it's so overcast that I decided to put it off in hopes of a sunnier day later in the week. I don't know what's going on with this weather, but it's driving me a bit nuts... tank top weather on Monday and sweater weather on Tuesday. So crazy! And with regards to the stitching mojo, maybe it'll come back when I get an order I'm waiting on from Shakespeare's Peddler. Somehow, I doubt it'll stay dormant for too long. It never does.

Til next time, stay safe, stay creative.