Cairo

I was so excited that I was flying Emirates Air out of Dubai to Cairo, first class no less, while Joan and Hector were in business. But our plane was an old bucket and it was no better than some crappy American airline. What a disappointment. I had always heard it was ultra-elegant.

But we're here now. Good old Cairo. Good old filthy, stinking, chaotic Cairo. This is our 3rd time here. Our hotel is the Intercontinental Citystars, attached to the fancy schmancy Citystars mall and in the area, Heliopolis. We have the same sweet, funny driver as last time, Shoukry. He's a hunky former U.N. soldier and I'm certain he carries a gun in the car somewhere, in addition to the 3-foot long club he already showed us. He sees himself as a bodyguard as well as a driver and keeps an eye out for all the Harcourt people here.

We met up with Freddy, our Egyptian friend, last night for dinner. We went to the Four Seasons Hotel for their Lebanese buffet, which was delicious. But the hotel is incredible. It sits right on the Nile and is absolutely gorgeous, by far the nicest in town. As we were walking out of our hotel, trying to negotiate through the heavy traffic, a car ran over my fucking foot! Luckily for me it was a small car and they must have needed air in their tires because it didn't really hurt at all. Mostly my pride.

Today Hector is presenting at the American University of Cairo. I joined them all this morning for the opening but they said I could take Shoukry and get out of there so I did. Outside it's cold and dusty, a rotten combination, so I imagine I'll be staying in the hotel or the Citystars Mall all day.