We moved to a nicer apartment

We are still looking for a place to live but were lucky enough to move into a different Apache temporary apartment this past weekend. My spirits have lifted beyond words. We can stay here indefinitely and will be a nice place for the kids to stay when they visit over Christmas. It's across the street from the Cairo American College (CAC) which is the American school, K-12. Our address is 4A Road 253, flat 5, Degla, Egypt.

The apartment has three bedrooms and a study in addition to the living area shown below. Nice tile, nice bathrooms, lots of light. The building is particularly secure because of the school. We are on the 2nd floor which is great because I won't use the elevator unless I absolutely have to (as they resemble little metal coffins). I am now using the air purifier in the bedroom 24/7 and our bedroom smells great. It smells great because it actually doesn't smell like anything at all and by that I mean we smell less of the wood smoke that starts up at night. I believe it's people burning things to heat their homes although the smell was there in the summer so I don't think this is the complete reason. The smell usually lingers into the morning and then disappears.

Cairo is starting to feel like home now. I know where and how to shop for the basics; Mr. Fouad picks ups and delivers Dave's shirts and dry cleaning items; I go to exercise class (occasionally) and have made tentative plans to work with a personal trainer; have found a great hairdresser named Charlie; have discovered a lovely young lady named Nadia for pedicures and such; have a great part-time Filipino maid named Gemma; and play canasta every Tuesday and Mahjong every Thursday with a nice bunch of ladies. I especially love canasta and am determined to become a really good mahjong player. This week I went to a LOVELY welcome back luncheon and wore one of my new dresses that I bought just for such occasions. My days are as busy as I want them to be. I am now looking into several charities to see which one(s) I want to spend my time with. There is so much need in Egypt.


Great kitchen, eh? I love it. So much light. When this apartment was renovated they knocked out the kitchen wall and opened it up. We have a refrigerator and freezer on the left side. Lots of cabinets as well.

Our living area as shown from the terrace. It's a large room with a nice square dining table--perfect for canasta! The stairs lead to a long hallway where the bedrooms are located. The master is at the end of the hallway. 

Another view of the kitchen. It's just wonderful.

 

Our terrace and my beloved giraffe.

Our master bathroom. It is so light and spacious, with a real shower. Although there is a half-inch gap between the shower door and the ledge and water pours onto the floor. I'm going to see if I can fix that.