We started our day with a food tour (found on Viator) led by Ahmed. The whole experience was terrific! Pickup at our hotel was smooth and on time. Our guide’s vehicle was clean and comfortable and he was both knowledgeable and friendly (and a great driver in the chaos that is Cairo traffic). We ate three really delicious meals – nothing fancy or touristy – just ordinary food that people here like – so good! As always in this part of the world, between meals we visited a few shops just in case we could be persuaded to purchase something. And, well, I was – but it’s a spice blend (ras el hanout) so maybe that’s okay. We sampled koshary at El Akhowa – just as it was opening. This is the dish eaten by everyone here – lentils, chickpeas, rice, noodles and fried onions. One adds some tomato sauce or chile sauce if desired. Cheap, very filling and really tasty. Falafel (from El Taeab) wrapped in just-made Egyptian bread was absolutely wonderful. Crispy, light, a little cucumber and sauce and just the best falafel I’ve ever had. This was a complete hole-in-the-wall that was frantically busy serving the take-away falafel, and for good reason. I stood to watch the cook scoop up the dough and toss it into the huge bubbling pan of fat, then turn to slice eggplant, then turn back to drain the fries then back to the falafel. . . no wasted motion. Last food stop was Realiz for chicken shawarma. A little sliced fresh chile on top of the chicken in a roll with a tomato-y sauce was delicious but thankfully our last stop.The food plus the pyramids in the background and the calls to Friday prayers really made this excursion a great way to start this journey.
Checked in with Viking this afternoon and we start with the group in the morning.
journeys 