April 9: Goodbye Cairo; Overnight in London

We used frequent flyer points for this trip and the somewhat convoluted route meant we had a long layover in London.

Our flight left at a reasonable time from Cairo, around 5pm, and Ahmed Hamed Yousif arranged for us to check out late of the Mena House Oberoi. We enjoyed a good breakfast, packed up everything except what we'd need in London, and strolled the grounds and hotel before our driver (along with a security guard) picked us up for the trip to the airport. Ahmed stopped by to say goodbye and we were glad to see him one last time. We do hope we can visit Egypt in his care again.




Beautiful lobby

There were loads of old photos adorning the hotel

Relaxing before we got picked up to go to the airport

Mena House bell captain.  The staff were all great!

One more view of the pyramids from the Mena House!

 

The security guard, on the right, was required because we're american 

Driving in Cairo is never dull

 



 So we arrived in London around 8pm.  Checked into our hotel at Terminal 4.  Were told by the concierge that it was a bit late to go into town by public transit( we might not make the last return train) so we hired a driver to go into old London.  We just wanted to find a nice pub to have a couple of beers, see some lit up important sights, then come back to the hotel to sleep before our departure at 11am the next day.

Unfortunately, all the pubs were closed by 11pm and the few open places were bars/dance places and super crowded.  We saw a few of the lit up sights but it was a disappointing night in London.

Our flight to Houston was smooth and easy--first class really does have its advantages.  Egypt was amazing and Ahmed HamYousif did a wonderful job planning the trip for us.  We look forward to going back one day!