Adventures in Egypt: Part I

Hey guys!

We're back from Egypt and we've had a great time. There were so many experiences I made and interesting cultural differences I observed that I decided to write a somewhat in-depth report of our trip. If you have any questions, just drop me an e-mail or comment here and I'll try to answer them :)

I was strongly advised not to take my expensive DSLR with me to Egypt so all pictures were taken with a point-and-shoot camera(Canon PowerShot SX200IS). Sorry for the rather plain pictures. 

The flight was amazing as there weren't many clouds and we could see pretty much everything - the Alps, the Greek islands, the Nile...

Our hotel was called the "Grand Hotel Hurghada". The majority of guests were Germans, Austrians or Russians. We hardly ever book hotels recommended by German travel agencies so I felt quite weird talking German - in an Arab country, 3000km away from home.

The hotel itself was clean, roomy and with a huuuge garden. Best features? The beach and the hammocks.

The windows in the hallways were beautiful, too. Here are some examples:

     

Aren't they just beautiful? I love art and traditional designs incorporated in hotels.

There were three different restaurants in the hotel with buffets. The variety of breads offered was soo amazing. Getting vegetarian food was no problem at all as most Arab dishes includes many vegetables, bread and rice. We didn't eat any fresh fruits or vegetables that we couldn't peel due to bacteria in the tap water ––> danger of diarrhea.

Tomorrow I'll post something on our trip to Luxor, Mubarak and poverty in Egypt.

Egypt

credit

Yesterday we booked a trip to Egypt. As a reward for finishing school. We're leaving on Thursday. YAY. I'm off to do the laundry and pack :)

The end...

...of my school career. Let's move on to uni life :)

Handmade/Homemade gifts

Today is my Dad's birthday and here's what I've made for him:

A mini book/gift card.

It's a gift card for a trip to IKEA to buy CD shelves and expedit shelves to store his vinyls. His CDs and LPs are all over the house and we wanna change that. We'll put them all into one room, neatly organized. I've been thinking about organizing them by artists. How to you store your CDs?

My sister made these delicious cupcakes. They taste like triple-chocolate cupcakes (I don't wanna know how many calories one has :D) and the topping is perfect!!

My mom sew this project bag for him. He loves orange (every time he sees orange shoes he wants to buy them. We always tell him not to. He usually listens to us :D) and as nobody in our family looks good in orange clothes, he has to be content with owning orange accessories. Did I mention that my dad knits, too? I love being part of a creative family :)

And handmade/homemade gifts are the best, aren't they?

These days...

Yesterday we've had a knitting picnic with our local ravelry group. Although we were only six+1 people, we've had lots of fun. The weather was beautiful and I can't wait for the next occasion to knit outside in the park. Let's all hope for a great summer :D

These past weeks I have realized that I can go several weeks without washing clothes. And still have a full closet. I think it's time to get rid off some clothes... and do some laundry.

Now I'm off to read Je l'aimais by Anna Gavalda. Isn't it nice to read a book you've wanted to read in a long time in preparation for an exam and not feel guilty? I love exams that you can't really study for like e.g. French finals :)

Biology related knitting patterns (aka procrastination)

As I have my biology finals in less than 24 hours I'Ve been looking for creative ways of procrastination. Searching 'biology' on ravelry has made my day. Just look at these, I really have to stop myself from grabbing my needles + some yarns and knitting the awesome lab rat (did I mention that I hate biology? and that I'm a vegetarian? and that I had to dissect a rat myself in bio class in Canada and that's been the point in my life when I not only disliked but very strongly disliked bio class?)

(credit: click on the images)

Nooow I really should stop procrastinating and try to not fail my bio exams tomorrow...

Happy knitting!

Spiritful Spring

 

I love quiet evenings outside on the lawn, watching the sunset and observing the cat. We've had the most gorgeous spring one could imagine so far. But I'm ready for summer with lots of heat and sitting outside in a t-shirt until it's dark. I'm ready to leave school behind and have a carefree, adventurous summer before I'll move to Vancouver in late August. I'm ready for quiet evenings at home with paper and glue. I'm ready for adventures with friends and vacation.

I'm working on a list of things to do in summer. Can't wait to share all my plans with you :)