Walk like an Egyptian...

It seems to me that there used to be a song years ago with those words--- walk like an Egyptian. That's about all that I can remember of it. I thought of that phrase because we went downtown yesterday to have lunch with K and B, and to see the pictures of their December trip to Egypt.

Amazing photos.... the pyramids are much larger and wider than I thought they would be. And did you know that the Sphinx has a tail? And the water of the Nile is more blue than brown-- somehow my mind's eye just thought the Nile would be brown. During their trip, K and B rode camels for miles and miles to get from one place to another. And they took various boat trips and even a hot-air balloon ride. I told them their vacations are more like "The Amazing Race" than relaxing getaways.

The trips they take to all these exotic locations are arranged by Overseas Adventure Tours. Small tour groups--- 16 people in their tours, and K and B say you feel very pampered. (Riding on a camel for four hours is pampered?)

Now they're deciding where to go next--- either Bali or Morocco. K wants Bali because it will be cleaner. B wants Morocco because it's more exotic. K is tired of breathing in dirty air, and having to wear face-masks during most of their travels. In the past few years, they've been to VietNam, India, Egypt.... all lacking in the cleanliness factor. They will have to make a decision very soon, as the small tour groups fill up fast, and December is a busy month for that "Adventure" company.

The four of us had planned on going to a downtown Italian restaurant yesterday, but it was closed when we got there. Plan B-- a Thai restaurant. We drove there, and it was also closed. Why is it that all of these downtown restaurants are not open on a Sunday? Plan C-- a Turkish restaurant. Bingo! They were open, and the food was delicious........ lots of vegetable choices on the menu, and their bread was so warm and fluffy that I broke all my rules about not eating white bread. Oh well... it was worth every bite. And the tea--- hot tea after the meal, served in the cutest little clear glass tumblers. That alone was worth having to drive to three different restaurants.

On the way back to K and B's, we saw a bookshop that my husband and I hadn't been to before--- "Murder By The Book." K spotted it first, and was happily surprised that they were open on a Sunday. Before she could say another word, my husband pulled into the parking lot and we all went inside for a look-see. What a wonderful little bookshop! Not so big that you could get lost in it, and not so small that you felt cramped inbetween the stacks. They sell only mysteries, and their shelves were packed with every imaginable mystery writer you could think of.

They had one shelf filled with classics, and I found a beautiful old copy of "Wuthering Heights" for just $20..... such a nice volume, with gold-eding on the pages, and gilt designs on the blue leather covers. Before I put this pretty book on my own shelves, I will read it (again). Right now, it's in my pile of books-to-be-read (which never seems to diminish). As I've said--- I can buy books faster than I can read them.

I've been reading "World Without End," by Ken Follett...... another amazing historical novel about the Middle Ages. There are parts in this book, as there were in "The Pillars of The Earth," where I have to put the book down and walk away from it for a little while. That's when I pick up one of my decorating books so my eyes have something pretty to look at-- to give my brain a rest from the violence and the filth of the knights, and the deceptions of the monks and the bishops. (Nothing pampering about the Middle Ages, that's for sure.)