We got to sleep in this morning. Still, we were up before 7:00. Our breakfast was rather meager. I expected a lot more from this classy hotel. Ann and I had omelets and various breads and cheeses. Everything was good, but there weren’t many choices.
We met Samy at 9:00 and went for a short walk in front of the hotel. Then we drove a very short distance over to the al-Montazah Palace where we walked around the grounds and took some photos. This was King Farouk’s main palace. The weather was sunny and breezy. A little cool, but very pleasant.
We officially skipped the optional tour of Rosetta. Samy was afraid that the streets would be too wet and muddy to be comfortable. So we went to the Greco-Roman amphitheater. This was originally scheduled for yesterday, but our timing was off and it wouldn’t work.
This archeological site was interesting, especially the bird villa which had several restored pieces of Roman mosaics of birds. The Roman theater was small, but it was well-restored. We had to wait for a Russian tour group to move away from the theater before we could see it. The acoustics were amazing. When you stood on a spot equidistant from all sides, your voice would reverberate clearly like your were in an echo chamber.
There were many carved statues scattered throughout the site. These were discovered during a harbor excavation. They were de-salinated in large tubs and put on display. This practice caused more damage than what was occurring in the sea. So it was decided to stop the process and leave the statues in the sea. Plans are to build underwater observation stations for people to look at the remaining relics.
Our next visit was to the Biblioteca Alexandrina. We had a short guided tour and then had some free time to visit some special exhibits. Ann, being a librarian, considers this as being one of the major highlights of our trip. It was built near the site of the very first library in the world. The design represents the sun rising out of the sea. Even I was impressed with this gigantic reference library and its well-design web site.
We then went to a seafood restaurant next to the sea. Samy ordered a huge meal for us. It included the usual first course of bread with several dipping sauces. Then we had rice that was cooked with a brown base and included fish and shrimp. Our main course was breaded fried white fish with French fries. Dessert was vanilla and chocolate ice cream.
After lunch, we went back to the hotel. Ann and I went for a walk out to the shore and over the Lovers’ Bridge to a jetty just north of our hotel. The seas were rough and waves were spraying us. The weather was nice, though, so we didn’t mind getting a little wet.
Dinner was on our own. We arranged to meet Abel in the bar for a drink and then to the hotel’s cafe for a light dinner. It’s now closing in on 10:00 so we are thinking about bed time.
Here is today’s slide show.
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