The drive to Alexandria took about two and a half hours. For some reason, the drive back took almost four hours. There are two really neat toll plazas along the way, a Pharaonic one just outside Cairo and a Greco Roman one just outside of Alexandria.

The first day we visited the Greco Roman Museum and the new Library at Alexandria (Bibliotheca Alexandria). What a phenomenal building. I know I won't do it just by trying to describe it, but it is a perfect example of "good design".

We stayed at the Sheraton Montazah, which is at the east end of the Corniche near the Montazah Palace. Alexandria is more similar to a European city than to Cairo. The corniche (think Pacific Coast Highway) reminded me of Italy, but if you go a few blocks inland, you are reminded of Cairo. It was "garlic season" - I have never seen so much garlic. Bails of it on carts pulled by donkeys. Swags of it hanging on balconies. Mounds of it for sale in the outdoor markets.

The second day we visited the Montazah Palace grounds, the Roman Theater, Pompeii's Pillar, and the Catacombs.

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