May 2010 Wallpaper / Screensaver

"April showers bring May flowers."

A couple of blumenvasen for this month's calendar.

April 2010 Wallpaper / Screensaver

April calendar.

The first photo is an old VW Bus we spotted in Giza. The driver said he thought it might be an old military vehicle. The second photo is a hood ornament, from the car show in West Suffield, CT last summer.

Funkengroovin - Scenes From Giza 1

We had guests here in Cairo, for spring break.  Anyone who visits Cairo wants and should see the Pyramids.  Most famous of all are the Giza Pyramids.  The photos in this first set are our drive from Sakkara to Giza, late morning early afternoon.  Most photos were taken through the window of our car, so the colors / shots are somewhat murky.

Below:  Farmers on a donkey pulled cart pull over to allow a huge tour bus to pass.  The road around Sakkara is dirt, and wide enough for two cars.

Below: A red Bus in Giza.  Most Giza VW Buses are white.  So this is unusual.

Below:  On The Road.

Below:  As usual, a VW Bus (people mover) drives through Giza town with it's side door open, making it easy for passengers to hop on and off.

Below 3 photos:  "White Chickens" (the nickname for VW Buses in Giza) in action.

Below:  Took several photos of this Bus to no avail.  He has a horse on the front of his roof (click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Below:  Finally, the road to the Pyramids.  Another form of transportation.  These buggies are a common site in the part of town near the Pyramids, and at the site, as well.

March 2010 Wallpaper / Screensaver

"About Time!" You Say.

I tried, for several days last week, to load up a VW photos onto the site that makes the wallpaper, to no avail. It kept cropping the Packard photo, and VB just gave up on that and let it be.  Finally today (and with a completely new VW photo) it worked. The first photo is a well cared for Splittie, we found here in Cairo, Egypt.  Unfortunately, VB had to take it with the iPhone as there were just too many boabs and guards milling around.  The second photo is of a 1935 Packard we saw at the annual Congamond Lake car show in West Suffield, CT this past year.

Apologies for the lateness of this posting.

Funkengroovin - Catching Up With Myself

Since VB hasn't posted for a few weeks, it was time to catch up with the photos she had taken. Then after digging through the photo file and finding these, she thought, "that can't be, I've already posted those."  So then she went back through her blogs to determine if she was being redundant, and found she was not.

The photos below start from the most recent ones taken with the Nikon to the last three, which are all taken with the iPhone.

Below: On the way home from Road 9 one day.

Below:  Just across Port Said Street, not far from VB's apartment.

Below:  On the highway.

Below:  The dirt road near Carrefore.

Below 3 photos:  Somewhere on the way home from Carrefore.

(Would like a better photo of this Beetle.  It's kind of cool looking.)

Below 3 photos were taken with the iPhone.  The 2 below are on Road 9.

Below:  Another on the way home from Road 9. (Enlarge this to check out the fan on the dashboard.)

Feb. 17, 1972: Beetle Outruns Model T

February 2010 Wallpaper / Screensaver

Better late than never.

VB forgot to post the new wallpaper / screensaver photos. 

The first is a VW Beetle in an alley at The Khan. The second is a Nash Metropolitan at a Congamond Lake car show this past summer, in West Suffield, CT.

Funkengroovin - Two Blue Buses and Sleeping Dogs

A couple of weeks ago, we walked over to the Degla part of Maadi (basically through the nearby roundabout). Out shopping, we passed two blue Buses (below: 4 photos.)

A new shop selling cheese has opened.  VB's not sure when it opened, as she just returned to Cairo the third week of December.  The cheese selection resembles what VB has seen at the Gourmet Egypt shop, near Carrefore.

Below:  The open refrigerated shelves with pre-packaged cheeses, and jars of yogurt.

Below:  The larger cheeses, behind the counter.

After checking out a few shops, we stopped at the "HubblyBubbly Cafe and Restaurant" for Lattes.  They make it with illy.  No sheesha for us on this date.  Just coffee and conversation.

For some fun, more "dogs on cars".  These photos were taken at The Khan.  The woman in the blue scarf passed VB as she was taking a photo and remarked, 'You're taking a picture of a dog, why not me?"
VB's thought bubble answer, "You're not sleeping on a car now, are you."

 

Funkengroovin To Dimai

Before VB details her trip to Dimai, she figured she'd better get the Funkengroovin part out of the way.  We drove to Dimai/Dimeh just over two weeks ago.  We started out at 8:00 AM and returned home after 4:00 PM.  The majority of our time we spent out in the desert, but on the way, we passed through Giza, the home of the "white chickens."

(Below): A Bus on Dead Donkey Canal Road (no dead donkeys seen this day.)

(Below 3 photos):  Around Giza, as we make our way through.  We hit Giza during morning rush hour.

And it was overcast and foggy.  Some areas foggier than others.

(Below 2 photos):  Bus stops in Giza.

(Below):  Most white chickens have an open door policy.

(Below):  Just before we drive into the desert.

(Below):  On our return.  When we left in the morning, it was foggy, and the Pyramids were hidden.  The sun came out, the sky turned blue, and on our return we could see the Pyramids for several miles.  We were so amazed even though we've visited them, and in trying to get passing shots, VB almost missed this broke down bus.

(Below 5 photos):  Shots of buses and scenes from Giza.

(Below):  Leaving Giza, and spotting a nice blue van.

(Below):  VB turned to get a frontal photo of the blue van, but the combination of a sand covered window and a brilliant sun, totally obstructed her view.