Amman

We are now back in Amman doing a few admin tasks before we fly to India tomorrow.
Kirk has become obsessed with the wifi connection in hotels.  He keeps running around resetting the wireless router on each floor and engaging hotel reception staff in conversation about the type of wifi modem they have.  The hotel staff have glazed looks in their eyes and tell him something about the recent weather that has been causing the wifi to run slowly.
I have told him gently that we are now going to India where the wifi also may not be perfect....

Petra

Arrived in Petra yesterday after a trip down the Kings highway stopping in Madaba, Karnak castle and Shobuk castle.
Did lots of walking today at Petra.
The town near Petra is a bit different to how it was 19 years ago when I was last here.
Petra itself is the same stunning place, albeit with a few more trinket sellers and people offering donkey (aka Bedouin Ferrari) and camel rides.

Back in Jordan

Looks like we avoided the large demonstration in Tahrir Square tonight. 
We flew back to Amman this afternoon.
Peace and quiet here.
We are off to Petra via the Kings Highway tomorrow morning.

We went back to the Egyptian Museum today.
After being in Luxor and Aswan it was great to see some of the treasures from the temples which are now in the Museum.  Also we didn't see the mummies last time - definitely a highlight.
Flying to Jordan tomorrow.

Cairo

We are now back in Cairo.  We are staying not far from Tahrir Square.  There are quite a few people camping out in the Square and there is some scuffles between President Morsy's opponents and his supporters (the Muslim Brotherhood).
Went to see the citadel and old bazaar this afternoon.
Driving in Cairo really is in a class of its own.  With 25 million people and mad driving, lanes optional, it makes Rome look very orderly.

Luxor

We are now staying in Luxor and have been doing the rounds of the amazing sights - Karnak temple, Luxor temple, Valley of the Kings.
More sightseeing tomorrow then the overnight train back to Cairo.

Towels in the shape of animals

The staff on board the boat seem to amuse themselves by creating animal shapes with your towels every time you leave your room - very artistic.
We visited Edfu temple and watched the world go by whilst floating down the Nile.

Abu Simbel

After a 4am start in an armed convoy we arrived in Abu Simbel.
Magnificent statues and the temple inside was amazing.
Must say that Ramses II was quite vain - he certainly built alot of statues of himself.
We boarded our cruise boat in the afternoon for our 3 day trip to Luxor.
The boat  holds about 130 people but is only about half full - mainly Germans cooking themselves in the sun and some French people.
Stopped at the Kom Ombo temple for a evening tour.

Aswan

We are currently in Aswan after catching the overnight train from Cairo.
It is a much smaller place,very languid and how you expect to see the Nile.
We did some touring today to see the High dam and the Phillae temple and are now kicking back by the pool.
Weather is gorgeous - about 27 degrees and sunny.
Early start tomorrow morning for the trip to Abu Simbel.

Egypt

Arrived in cairo last night.
Went to the Pyramids and Sphinx this morning.  Amazing site.
Catching the night train to Aswan tonight.
Poor and expensive internet access so updates may be limited.

Took a day trip yesterday  to the Roman ruins of Jerash, Ajlun castle and Umm Quaiis.
Have been eating hommous which every meal which is fine by me.  Alcohol consumption low.
Some protests here but have seen no violence.
We fly to Egypt this afternoon.

Amman

We arrived in Amman in Jordan last night from Rome.
Some rioting here (stone throwing, cars on fire) as the locals aren't happy about an increase in the price of petrol.
Given that the Israelis and the Palestinians are fighting in Gaza, a bit of rioting in Jordan doesn't rate a mention on Al Jazeera.
We are staying in the downtown area of Amman and visited some of the sights today - the citadel, roman theatre.
Total consumption of alcohol, coffee and pork since arriving in Jordan - 0.

It is our second last night in Italy/Europe and Kirk is fortifying himself for the hard months ahead in the middle east and asia.  He is eating his body weight in gelato, red wine, duck ragu and coffee...

Siena

Arrived in Siena this afternoon and stumbled upon the new season's wine festival.
We suffered through lots of prosecco, red wine and "pig many ways".

Being very suave in Soave

Went on a day trip today from Verona to the town of Soave.
The town is 20km from Verona and the home of lots of yummy wines.
Explored the town's castle and then tasted wines at Rocca Sveva including soave classico and valpolicella.

Verona

Here we are in Verona, and it's been a busy day of sight seeing.
We went to the actual house that Romeo & Juliet all happened, & we thought it was just a story.
Not only that but the Italians have technology to send e-mail messages back to them, but only from the ancient computer stations in the House ... AMAZING, and not at all tacky.
There was a beautiful bronze statue of Jules, and all the nice young men got their photos taken next to it, (the left boob seemed quite shiny, and one or two of the young men may have been rubbing it inappropriately).
Verona is a great city, large enough but not too large, and being in the wine area they take wine seriously (but they are Italian .. so it's for drinking).
There is an arena (think colosseum) in really great condition, & I could only count 12 people when we got there (don't think colosseum).

Croatia - the natural home of the tracksuit and words with lots of j, k and z

We are currently in Split after a pleasant bus journey along the coast from Dubrovnik.
The weather here has cooled down and the Croatian men are donning their best tracksuits.
Apart from the sartorial elegance, the Croatian people are very nice and friendly with English widely spoken.  This is lucky as we have been having a hard time saying cevapici (yummy spicy sausages).

Took a stroll along the top of the walls of the old town.  Fantastic perspective from this vantage point.

Croatia day 3

Our cheap wine has proper screw tops. Easy to open, and easy to re-seal.
The old town from above (see pics) looks like a toy, it's hard to believe it's real.
It is filled with the worlds friendliest cats, who seem to like crowds, and getting their pictures taken.
Food is basically Italian or grilled meat, nothing to complain about there (YUMMMY PIG).