Saturday, February 22nd – Tuesday, February 25th, 2025
World Tour Days 111 – 114
After six amazing days scuba diving in the Red Sea Nick and I made the long journey to Alexandria. We first got driven ten hours to Cairo, then another 2 and a half hours to Alexandria. The drivers were all so friendly and generous, the customer service in Egypt was nothing short of exceptional when we were there. Our accommodation was a bedroom in an apartment in downtown, a short walk from the waterfront. The room was cozily decorated with its furniture but otherwise frigid in temperature and without heating.
Our first full day in Alexandria we spent the morning exploring a few areas near the ocean. First stop was the Bibliotheca, which is a modern library dedicated to the Library of Alexandria. To be honest we were underwhelmed with the inside but the outside had great architecture. We made our way down to the water after enjoying a fika at a cafe outside of the library. We walked along the Corniche which is a waterfront promenade from 1870. We continued past it all the way to the Citadel of Qaitbay, which lays exactly where the lighthouse of Alexandria once stood, a 7th wonder of the ancient world. The Citadel was large, the views of the ocean were spectacular, and the courtyard was huge.
After all the exploring we stopped at the Fish Market restaurant on our way back to our apartment. The food was a major highlight for all of our time in Alexandria. We ended up eating at the Fish Market twice. They have fresh fish you choose from a large display of fish on ice, amazing fruit juices, and great seafood soups. We ate cheap, fresh, delicious seafood everyday. On the walk along the seaside we also had an amusing interaction with two local women who knew little english. They asked, “Married?” to Nick, and then when he said yes their follow up question was, “Brother?”. We laughed lots and had to break the news to them that sadly Nick only had a sister so no brother we could introduce them to.
Another day we went to the Serapeum of Alexandria. Underneath the Serapeum we visited the ruins of the Library of Alexandria. The only surviving parts were the storerooms. A short walk away we stopped at the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa. Nick enjoyed this place a lot. The catacombs had 3 levels and many tombs inside.
Our final day we made the long journey (due to crazy traffic) to Montaza Palace and gardens. It was a large area to walk around but seemed like it was either under renovation, expansion, or closed due to low tourism. We paid the entrance fee but then couldn’t enter the palace. We got our steps in, though, and explored all around the grounds, and saw some places from afar that would usually be places we could have accessed for great views.
Besides seafood we also enjoyed a local hamburger place called Holmes, and a pastry shop that had amazing pistachio milkshakes. The food was incredible in Egypt as a whole, but Alexandria was on another level that’s for sure. Alexandria wrapped up our first leg of the world tour, Africa.