The Travel Thief

OK, the Thief is having serious travel envy right now as Mr. Thief travels for work to Prague. He gets to fly business class because he is a VIT (Very Important Thief). Only kidding, he just works hard and is lucky. We do tend to travel from Newark Airport on United and have visited the lounge a few times. This is the first time visiting since United redid its business class lounge in Terminal C. The prior United lounge there was comfortable, but underwhelming compared to other carriers and airports globally. Previously, the only real pros were the staff and the actual size/layout of the lounge space. The places where it really showed a lack of polish were the bathrooms and the food offerings. It's been going under a major overhaul for what I think was a year and it finally opened this June.  Actually, Newark airport had undergone it's own renaissance recently and with an array of nicer restaurant options available, the United lounge was lagging behind.  You can find some mor...

I say this in an bemused sort of disapproving sort of way of how stereotypes come about. The fact that this guy got out onto the tarmac to chase a plane (Like it was really going to stop) is ridiculous in itself.  THEN after being charged and leaving court on bond, he moons the press and takes a swing at them with his suitcase. I feel my Irish heritage (many generations removed) identifies with this sort of bad behavior and I find it on the humorous rather than horrifying side of things. Oh, and it was a RYANAIR flight from Dublin to Amsterdam  What did that cost him anyway?  like 20 Eur? https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-man-arrested-chasing-flight-moons-photographers

You cannot visit Marrakesh and not visit the Bahia Palace. It is a massive complex with over 160 rooms built for Ba Ahmed over 100 years ago in the late 19th century. It is ornate with Islamic patterns though they are a little simple compared to other Moroccan palaces. What is most impressive is its sheer size. My pictures don't do it justice because I was so tired at this point from the morning touring. Even with all the space, it was still pretty crowded and make sure to leave enough time to see it. The name "Bahia" translates to 'Beautiful/Brilliant" which is a bit insulting to Ba Ahmed's wife when you consider this was built for his favorite mistress and concubines. I mean the wife got an expansion on her residence with him for her and the kids but she would probably like her own space too - like an ancient day She-Shed? ;-) The same French general that discovered the Saadian tombs also made this palace his residence while he was in Marrakesh.  He added...

The Saadian tombs are another must see when visiting Marrakesh. What I most adore about their story is that they were sealed away for 300 years. As the name suggests, they are in fact a burial site for members of the Saadian dynasty. Headed by Sultan Ahmed el Mansour in the 1500 and 1600s, there are something like 200 members of his family group buried here.  In the late 1600s, Moulay Ismail had taken over Morocco and went about erasing all the evidence of his predecessors to solidify his own power.  However, he didn't destroy the tombs and respected the sanctity of the dead intact by instead sealing them off.  There was one entrance still available from inside the Kasbah Mosque, but it was largely forgotten about. In 1917 a French general located the tombs and they were restored from that point.  Why I like that they were sealed off from the public for that long is that there wasn't the opportunity for anything to happen to them over the years, whether it be actua...

 What do you think of the Cathay Pacific spelling mistake on their own plane; mistake or publicity stunt? It's possible someone was lazy, then someone else overlooked it especially considering Chinese and English share 0 letters in common. Buuuut the fact they have someone on social media draped in fairy lights in their first class it is possible they thought it was a way to generate buzz. www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45572275 I really don't care, I'm still excited to fly them this year when I go to Hong Kong and Bali!

Taking a little break from Egypt posts, but staying in the Middle East / Northern Africa neighborhood, I'm shifting gears to my trip to Morocco in this past year.  Morocco is one of those wondrous places that blends multiple cultures while maintaining its own identity. It's a little French, a little Arabic and a little African but totally Moroccan. I'll start with one of the last things I visited on this trip. It's one of my favorite sites, the Le Jardin Majorelle in Marrakesh also known as the Yves Saint Laurent garden. It's a main place to visit but maybe not one you immediately think of for visiting in Morocco. The 'Majorelle' comes from the name of the French artist who originally created it on his property that he lived on. Yves Saint Laurent came on to the scene when he purchased it in 1980 after it had fallen into disrepair over the 30 years that Majorelle no longer owned the villa and grounds. I love gardens, but what was really striking is the us...

Perhaps you've heard of a little thing called The Pyramids..? And we're done here with things to see in Egypt. JUST KIDDING.  The pyramids are great, but there are so many antiquities and other interesting things that sometimes get lost behind these giant 3D triangles. You shouldn't try to just check something off your bucket list and not see the other things Cairo has to offer. Pyramids So there's not much I'm going to say about the history because that is not what I am here for.  I do recommend not to go it alone - book a tour. Yes, you can arrange things while on site to take a camel or horse between the pyramids, but honestly, the sites have gotten a little less relaxed about just strolling though. Even at the first pyramid between the last time I visited and now there was some scuffle about payment and wanting to walk through.  Well, we found out because there is a shopping street between the entrance and exit.  My driver and friend got into a ...