Egypt February 2-17, 2025

Sunday, February 2, 2025 - Departure

Logan Way car service picked us up at 12:30 p.m. and we got to the airport by 1 o'clock. We checked in and there was no line at security. We would be traveling business class across the pond to Frankfurt and on to Cairo, something we don't normally do. But on our ill-fated last attempt at visiting Egypt, we had splurged on business class because Craig's Mom was coming with us. Even though she was not able to come with us this time due to her health, we decided to treat ourselves. If we were stuck in economy for the whole flight we would have just been thinking back to "last time" when we would have been more comfortable.

We went to the Lufthansa lounge and had cranberry turkey sandwiches, soft pretzels with mustard, clam chowder, and French onion soup. We were entertained by a busboy robot. A human would clear dishes from the tables and put them on the robot's tray. The robot propelled itself around the lounge and transported the dirty dishes back to the dishwashing area.

We saw a man in black leather pants and a black coat whom we immediately thought resembled Maestro Andris Nelsons from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He went into the first class area of the lounge (we were in the business class section). He took off his coat and had a CW TaeKwonDo shirt on underneath. Maestro Nelsons is well-known to hold a black belt in TaeKwonDo, so we knew it had to be him.

We boarded the flight directly from the lounge and made eye contact with him and smiled. We wanted to say hello when he was behind us in line, but we didn't get a chance.

We got into our lay-flat business class seats and had so much room! They gave us a welcome drink of Lufthansa berry spritzer. We took off at 4:30 p.m. We had smoked duck breast with cherry relish, cucumber salad, and green apple gelee, salad, seared beef filet with burgundy sauce, dauphinois potato gratin, green beans and fennel gratin, a small individual cheesecake with raspberry coulis, and Bailey's Irish Cream.

After eating, we laid back and tried unsuccessfully to sleep. Our heads were spinning, and although Craig actually fell asleep, he quickly woke up with his heart racing for some reason. I was still star-struck regarding Maestro Nelsons. We subscribe to the BSO and exclusively attend concerts that he conducts. He has brought such a youthful energy and vitality to the organization. We wanted to get a chance to express our gratitude.

Shortly before landing, we were served breakfast: brie and salami, and chia pudding with strawberry and peach compote and thyme.

They gave us German pralines and a box of heart-shaped Lindt truffles, which we stashed away for later in the trip.

Monday, February 3, 2025 - Arrival in Cairo

We landed in Frankfurt at 5 a.m., and sat near the elevator just off the jet bridge, waiting for a wheelchair for Craig. Maestro Nelsons was whisked through with an attendant. While they waited for the elevator, I approached him. "Maestro..." He looked a bit surprised to be recognized. "Thanks you for all you've done for the BSO. We've been subscribers for almost 30 years and we just saw the whole Beethoven series. It was amazing!" He was very gracious, gave us a big smile, and thanked us before getting onto the elevator. Mission accomplished! An auspicious start to the trip.

The wheelchair came to get us and we took a bus to Terminal B and then went to the lounge. We had eight hours to kill before our next flight. Even though it was 6 in the morning, local time, our stomachs felt jet-lagged and didn't know what time it was. Craig had a Beck's beer, and I had apple juice. I had a mini pink frosted donut and a Fanta. Later, I had some delicious bell pepper soup.

A wheelchair came to get Craig at 1 p.m. and we boarded the flight. This plane had no real business class...it was all economy, but the folks in "business" had an empty middle seat. So we at least had a little bit of room, but after the lay-flat seats of our prior flight it felt like a let down. We tried to sleep.

We landed in Cairo shortly after 7 p.m. Our tour company had arranged VIP arrival services at the airport. It was great; Ahlam VIP took us in a golf cart to a lounge with rest rooms, bottled water, and food. Meanwhile, they took our passports (with the visas that we had obtained beforehand) through immigration, and took our baggage claim tags to collect our luggage. It was so nice to be able to relax and have someone else take care of the red tape, especially since we hadn't slept in 24 hours!

They came to get us once that was all done. They wheeled Craig out, and we met up with a man who had already collected our checked luggage. We met Shady (pronounced "Shaddy"), our Destinations & Adventures International representative. He was dressed very professionally and kicked right into gear. He led us to the waiting car. The luggage man was singing softly as he pushed the cart to the parking lot.

When we got to the car, we met Abraham, our driver, and Shady presented me with a bouquet of flowers. There was a lot of traffic between the airport and our hotel, even after 8 p.m. Shady pointed our sites of interest along the ride, including mosques, Coptic churches, the Metro, a train station, a palace, the Egyptian Museum, and an obelisk.

We got to the Four Seasons Nile Plaza and checked into room #905. We exchanged WhatsApp numbers with Shady in case we needed to get in touch with him. The room had a bedroom, sitting room, and a walkout balcony with a view of the Nile. Shady called to make sure that everything was ok with the room. It was more than ok; it was frantastic!

At 9:30 p.m., we were ready for some much-needed sleep. One other thing I wanted to mention was just how friendly and welcoming everyone has been. We look forward to exploring this amazing country!