This was the first day of our trip that we had no obligations (besides leaving for our flight at 3:30pm from the hotel).  We could do whatever we wanted.  We had said good bye to our group leader and group members the night before.  We woke up around 8:30am and wandered down to the breakfast buffet.  It was the best one we had seen all trip.  There was a guy who handled all the bread (if that gives you an idea how much bread there was), which was an entire wall with drawers that slid out.  I could go on about that amount of food, but it was pretty tasty.  

Instead of just lying about in our room, we decided to go out to Prince Mohamed Ali’s Palace.  It was a recommendation from our tour leader.  He also recommended to take an Uber.  The ride cost us $3 and it took about ten minutes.  My husband chose Uber comfort.  I know in the States the difference is the car that they drive.  I’m not sure what it is here, but I didn’t want to check out the lower level, which was a dollar less.  We made sure to tip the driver as well.  

We were the only people wandering around the palace grounds that were tourists.  We checked out the residence first. Prince Mohamed Ali designed everything himself.  It was quite opulent.  I loved all the carved wood and bright colored tiles.  The ceilings are also always a favorite of mine in highly decorated places.  In the fountain hall, you can see a painting of his father Mohamed Ali.  You can also see the area in which the woman can look through and overhear conversations, but not be in the room with the men.  We were not allowed to go upstairs.  One of the guys stationed at the door wanted to take our picture, but we declined.  They are always more excited to help you when you say you are from the United States.  A dollar is worth a lot.  We saw no one else looking at the residence.  

We walked over to the receiving hall. 

Then there was a building in which they had meetings.  All three places we had to ourselves. 

The next area was a museum of some of his treasures.  It was very sparse, but the guy made sure to explain everything to us.  His English was not perfect, but it was good for him to practice and we thought he deserved a dollar tip.  He was happy.

There was a large area of the gardens that were closed off with barriers.  We had to circle back to check out the clock tower, mosque, and hunting museum.  The mosque was so beautiful. We had to take off our shoes, but I didn’t have to cover up because it is not used anymore.  The guy there explained everything.  He showed us where Mecca was facing, where the Iman taught the children, and claimed everything was gold.  It looked like painted wood, but I wasn’t going to argue.  He had us put our hand on the Koran and close our eyes and asked us what we felt.  I said peaceful and he was pleased with my answer.  Then he brought us over to the spot and had us kneel and explained how we would get married and had us hold hands.  It was pretty neat.  He deserved a tip too. 

The hunting museum was not my cup of tea.  My husband was ahead of me and a guy was talking to him about it, so he had to give him a tip, but it wasn’t useful information.  There were a lot of stuffed animals, skeletons, and butterflies.  Some of the animals were both very old and not stuffed well.  I didn’t like it. Therefore, I have no pictures. 

It took us about an hour to tour everything.  We sat on a bench and a cat came over and stood on my lap while we waited for our Uber back.  We relaxed until check out and decided to eat at McDonald’s.  We had to cross four streets to get there.  I think that is the most unsafe I have felt in Egypt.  There is a pedestrian walkway, but no one stops…ever.  You have to weave your way through the cars.  Sometimes there is a break in traffic, but not always.  It was scary.  

We managed to get back in one piece.  Our transfer to the airport arrived on time and we had to sit in a lot of traffic to get there.  It was the first time we saw an accident.  I was surprised because the way people drive, I thought there would be more (we saw seven in one day in Costa Rica). As I said before, this trip was the best one we have ever taken. It could not have been better. I loved Egypt so much, as I knew I would.