Schizophrenic Pharaonophile

I can be quite schizophrenic at times. Today was one of those times. Alongside the usual domestrivia, there were only two notable things we did.

Firstly we spent an hour or so looking at our finances, seeking out ways to cut expenditure and increase savings so that we have half a hope of being able to buy a house of our own in twelve months’ time.

Then we went down to town and picked up a selection of holiday brochures so we can plan a fortnight's holiday to Egypt at the start of next year.

Contradictory aims don’t you think: Foreign holidays and saving money? Ah, but then consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative and, if nothing else, I have a good imagination.

Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Egypt is one of the countries that I’ve had on my wish-list for a long time; I’ve always been interested in its ancient history and monuments, but I never got to go there when I was guiding tours, so I want to do this holiday properly. Not being some rushed tourist taking a quick snap of a pyramid, a sphinx and a temple so I can tick them off a list before hurrying back to the coach, rather I want to have some time to linger and soak things up a little. We’re aiming for several nights in both Cairo and Luxor to do some independent sight-seeing as well as an unhurried seven-night cruise down the Nile exploring four thousand years of history.

Peru could have been on the agenda instead, as one of my other must-do experiences, but Brett was keen on Egypt and realistically exploring Peru would be a much bigger deal both financially and in terms of time than we can afford in the next year or so. So it’s the Land of the Pharaohs.

I haven’t been as excited as this in a while.

Just leafing through the brochures, looking for the best itinerary, with flexible hotel-stays in the right places and the right flights, all gave me a sense of adventure I’ve been missing for a while. Maybe it’s my mid-life crisis finally kicking-in, but I really fancy doing this again. Maybe time for a career change; maybe I should head out on the road again.