Egypt

Egypt was not what i expected. Could be due to the fact that I didnt see a lot of it apart from sand a few roads and mountains in the distance but mainly sand! We did camp on the sand one night by the red sea. Well you have got to swim in it havent you. we found these hot spas in the middle of the sea which is quite nice on aching muscles.
The first day, not my first day but the first day i met the group we went to do the touristy thing. aka the pyramids and the sphinx. a little crowded but still quite bizarre all the same. It was here i encountered my first camel. The group i cycled with were really nice and I made friends quite quickly - seems to be the thing when you are shoved into that situation together. We sweated, cried, moaned and drank together. And when it comes to putting sudocream in places in a tent in front of a group of strangers... well you tend to form some kind of a bond!
My highlight had to be the Mount Siani climb. We were woken up at 0145am which wasnt great but a small group of us managed to roll out of bed. The climb was quite tough. And also very demoralising when you think you are near the top and you can see a line of torches going up further for ever. Anyway we reached the top befor light and sat watching the sky turn from black to red. We knew we had to make a quick decent as soon as the sun rose. It was worth it. And no, I didnt see Moses. Our trip ended in Taba - the very eastern boarder of Egypt, where we could see the boarders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. And after much drinking in our luxary resort we made the six hour journey back to Cairo where I knew I had my 4am flight to look forward to. Must return to Egypt me thinks, though I may chose an alternative form of transport!!!

Madrid

I was very excited about going to Madrid. Firstly I have always wanted to vist (and I know that list is long) and more importantly I got to see mum and dad again. Dad fell into his role straight away when I didn't have quite enough for the taxi, which wasn't done on purpose I swear. All down to aiport tax. I hate hidden tax. I have come across country arrival tax, hotel tax, room tax, city tax.... you get the point. Anyway dad just happened to be peering out the window as I arrived and before I could say hello, good to see you again it was daaaaaaad. He understood.
In Madrid I felt spoilt. It was five days of luxary - meals out, tickets to places etc. The first day we visited the main square (quite similar, we noted, to st. Marks square in Venice only missing the big building at the end which i guess you could call St Mark's Basilica) and took an afternoon stroll through the park. It was sunny, but not to hot - perfect!
The Prado museam had to be one of my favourite moments. There were so many famous paintings - I mean -'walk round the corner, fight through the crowd and think 'hey, i know that one' famous painting'. there were Goya, Velazquez, Bosch, Dali, Rubens, and Picasso, from what I can remember. Guernica was amazing, that garden one, the one with the princess with the king and queen in the mirror, 3rd of may - maybe not 3rd of may but we saw it and it was ace.
I really like the monkey one - was that Goya?
Anyway - we saw alot of art. We also went to a tapas restaurant and afterwards saw a flamenco show - 2 dancers, 3 singers and two guitar players. And I was transfixed, they were amazing. Even down to the expression on the womans face - it felt like she was telling a story. A must do if anyone visits Madrid.
The market was very picturesque. Indoors, not smelly and you could drink wine there! Another of my favourite moments was our first glass of wine there.
What else can I say - the buildings were gorgeous, the food not so great although I can remember two good meals, lots of rioja (well i was with dad what do you expect). I had a great time. Shame I had to leave