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Back from Cairo

I’ve never been so happy to land in France as I was this Wednesday.  After disembarking the EgyptAir flight, I breathed in a sigh of relief and then realized that I was jonesing for a good cup of French espresso and a giant pistachio macaroon. Ahhh, back in France.  I bet you were wondering where I was. Well, at the beginning of this year, I landed a job as a Middle East journalist.  I’m writing articles for travel magazines for countries like Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Turkey.

As fate would have it, I stayed in the same hotel were Monsieur le President Jacques Chirac resides when he does his Cairo summits. It is also the same one that President George W. Bush is going to stay at this coming week. I asked for a tour and sat on the couch in the Presidential Suite, called the “Luxor Suite” which has its own private elevator.  I opened doors and glanced at the free movies; Desperate Housewives was playing. Do you think Bernadette watched that? The sales manager did tell me that she loved the gift shop.
 

It’s called the Intercontinental City Stars and it is a super-duper fancy five star hotel. (Most hotels are five stars in Cairo, even the really sketchy ones—it’s called “Baksheesh,” or tips, to get them that rating whether they deserve it or not). This one merits it fully, but is surprisingly not super pricey, as 220 dollars a night gets you a standard room and the business suites are only 350. It just opened last year and the spa is still under construction (unluckily for me or luckily for my husband’s credit card) and should be ready by the end of June, they tell me, as they have a delegation of 200 women coming and want to be ready for them! 15 massage beds, a 3,000 square foot Déclor spa, Yoga center, hydro pools, Jacuzzis and squash courts. And get this, it’s connected to one of the largest malls in the Middle East—it was like being at the mall of America only in Cairo.

Cairo is only 4 ½ hours from Paris, really a nice quick jaunt for us so lucky to live in the hexagon. I had a wonderful time and took in all the sights and sound and flavours that Egypt had to offer. I spoke French on a number of occasions while there and tagged along with some French tourists for a little while with their guides before returning to my guided tour in English. But it was not an easy visit; they packed all of a month’s worth of visits into 10 days so I barely had time to sleep let alone digest what I was seeing. It was a whirlwind and I got a little bit of Pharaoh’s revenge on the Nile. The people were generous and nice and it was safe. Now as I glance through my photos I can daydream and take in all those precious moments. But I sure am glad to be back in France.

Copyright © Riana Lagarde