Jenyfer Matthews

We stayed the night at a hotel near Lake Qaroun, a large salt water lake. The salt content of this lake is higher than that of the Mediterranean.

Fishermen on Lake Qaroun at sunrise.

The location of the hotel was lovely, as you can see. Though it looked pretty good on the outside, the hotel was a dump. Our room was unusually large - it was apartment sized and we all had our own beds which I wasn’t expecting. We couldn’t enjoy it however because the room was so disgusting. The walls were crumbling and speckled with bug splats, the tub had dried up mouse turds in it, and one bathroom was missing a window pane which allowed swarms of mosquitoes to join us. The housekeeping couldn’t be bothered to tend to any of those problems, yet they left fresh bougainvillea blossoms on our pillows!

As an aside, having had experiences like this before in Egypt, I have a list of things I bring with me when I travel:

Flip flops
Wash cloth
baby wipes
hand sanitizer gel
bar of soap
mosquito repellent (not that they paid any attention this time!)

I may have to add sheets / sleeping bag to this list! Needless to say, none of us slept much at all.

On the second morning we headed out to Wadi Rayan where we were supposed to go and visit an open air museum where there are some 400 fossilized whale bones preserved from millions of years ago. It was in fact the main purpose of the trip.

This is as far as we were allowed to go. There was some mix-up between the bus company and the tour organizer and argue though she did, she was unable to convince them to drive our buses down the gravel road to get to the site. The drivers were concerned they would get stuck and disappointing as it was to miss the fossils I can’t really say I blame them.

The road the buses refused to travel…

While our tour organizer argued, we wandered in the sand near the bus and picked up fossilized sea shells.

So, instead of whale bones, we visited the waterfalls of Wadi Rayyan. They are formed by the overflow of Lake Qaroun flowing down into lower areas, forming two more smaller salt lakes. They aren’t particularly impressive until you realize that they are some of the only waterfalls in Egypt, period.



Close enough to Cairo for a day trip, this is a big picnic spot for Egyptians - and they certainly seem to be enjoying themselves!

The people in the countryside wear much more colorful scarves than the city





The last place we visited was this Greco-Roman temple, with the remains of the city of Dionysias








My son claimed he liked this last site best of all because we were able to climb on to the roof - though perhaps it was the danger of falling through the open pits into rooms below that thrilled him most. That or the bat we saw.

All in all, it was a good trip. We returned to Cairo on Friday evening, tired, mosquito bitten, and dirty. But there is nothing like a night in a crappy hotel to make you appreciate the comforts of home.

We spent our holiday traveling this year visiting an area of Egypt known as the Fayoum. I’m no expert on Egyptian history, but in a nutshell the Fayoum region is a desert depression into which the overflow of the yearly Nile Valley flooding used to flow. Due to this, the area is incredibly fertile. But it wasn’t until the Greco-Roman occupation of Egypt that reservoirs and canals were built to bring the waters of the Nile to the area on a controlled and regular basis, allowing people to farm there year round, at which time the area, though geographically small, became a very important area of Egypt.

Our first stop were the remains of a village called Karanis, on the edge of the Fayoum region. This was an agricultural village populated by ordinary people. Not much remains of the village because their homes were built of mud brick which has eroded over time.

(click any image to enlarge)

The remains of a mud brick wall in the village. The holes in the wall were where the palm log flooring fitted to make multiple story buildings.






The ruins of the village with the lush greenery of the Fayoum valley in the distance





It wasn’t all mud brick - this simply adorned temple still stands.





The primary god worshiped in this area was Sobek, the crocodile god. There were niches in this temple into which mummified crocodiles would have been placed.



The Pyramid at Hawara, built by Amenemhet III during the time of the Middle Kingdom. It doesn’t look like much now because the outer layer of limestone has been removed over time, exposing the much less durable mud brick structure below. But it is an impressive number of mud bricks! And apparently this pyramid has one of the most complicated internal passage systems, built in an attempt to thwart tomb robbers. Shortly after this period, pharaohs abandoned pyramids in favor of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings down in Luxor.






The entrance to the pyramid. There wasn’t much to see - the water table has risen so you could only go a few yards in before the floor of the tunnel was covered in water. It probably wouldn’t have stopped Indian Jones but the caretakers stopped us!



One of the many policeman that guarded us at the various sites we visited over the two day trip, a necessary precaution.



The decor at the rest stop where we ate lunch was certainly interesting!



Farmland



Pyramid at Lahun, built by King Senwosret II



One of several openings leading to the tombs of the princesses



This pyramid survived somewhat better than the previous pyramid because of the way in which is was built, incorporating the stone of the hillside in conjunction with the mud bricks.

Stay tuned, more pictures tomorrow…

This weekend we had a break from the endless rounds of tennis and soccer. We were invited to go along with a group of my husband’s colleagues to a weekend beach chalet one of them owns on the Red Sea, in Ain El-Sukhna - only about a two hour drive from our home in Cairo.

It was a lovely day, in spite of some threatening clouds and the far off rumbling of thunder. Turns out that while we were enjoying our day at the Red Sea, it was raining in Cairo!

Here I am, strolling in the low tide zone. If you look closely, my children are galloping out to sea behind me…

The sea is not red at all, but actually incredibly clear…

My son at play, in the tide pools.

There were lots of interesting shells and coral pieces to collect at the tide line.

Who needs sand toys when you have a dead fish on a stick?

It’s been nearly two years since we last visited Ain El-Sukhna. We drove out in Friday morning and returned late Friday night, which is doable, but not necessarily ideal. The roads in Egypt aren’t always well maintained or lighted and drivers often “conserve” their batteries by driving with no headlights which makes night travel quite hair-raising! After this weekend, I’ve got new resolve to get to the beach more often - but next time I think we’ll make a hotel reservation and stay overnight. Day time driving in Egypt is scary enough

It’s been a week since I returned from the Womens Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy and I’m still a little high. It was a phenomenal experience.

Picture it: a wildly talented but largely unknown romance author attends her first writers conference, hoping to snag an agent and better yet a book deal for her latest project on the strength of a face to face pitch. She arrives in Rome, exhausted and travel worn after a red eye flight, only to run into another author (YA) and online friend in the airport. YA author friend introduces romance author to her traveling companions: two literary agents, a romance editor, and a Hollywood producer / screenwriter and his lovely wife. Romance author spends the rest of the short flight to the conference town regretting her travel attire and lack of mascara.

Romance author ends up being adopted by the glam group. She ends up pitching her book to one agent over dinner her first night, shopping with the second agent and romance editor another morning - finding the perfect Italian leather shoes for the closing gala for only 10 euro - and tossing around ideas with the movie producer during happy hour. Romance author stays in a quaint cave-like hotel in the historic area of town, requiring her to walk home alone late at night through twisting cobblestone streets, following signs to The Museum of Torture to find her way, often after consuming large amounts of fantastic food and wine. (Insert great potential here for pratfalls and other physical comedy here) By end of conference, romance author is invited to submit her full manuscript for consideration by all with whom she has spoken. She sells the book and the movie rights for a huge advance and lives happily ever after.

Sounds like the premise for a kooky chick-lit book doesn’t it? (The only thing missing from this above scenario is an affair with a sexy Italian man - and that was on offer too, only I didn’t think my husband would approve.) Aside from the thus far fictitious HEA ending (though some might also quibble with the opening), the above is actually a summary of my experiences this weekend while attending the Women’s Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy.

This was my first experience attending a writer’s conference and I have to say I think I’ve been spoiled for all future conferences. The location was definitely a draw for me - not only is it a relatively quick flight from my home in Cairo, Egypt but Matera is a World Heritage Site and has been the backdrop for several films, most notably The Passion of Christ. When we weren’t attending workshops, we were plied with food and drink - I hardly had time to work up an appetite between coffee break and happy hour buffets. But just in case you did still find yourself feeling peckish, the town was also having a food festival where you could sample and purchase local products. (I wasn’t the only one who bought chunks of stinky cheese!)

The most amazing part of this conference however was the opportunity to speak to industry professionals in such a friendly atmosphere. I had arranged appointments with the agents and editors before arriving but in the end I really didn’t need the appointments because there were so many opportunities to talk to people otherwise. The size of the conference - less than a hundred attendees at a guess - was what made that level of casual interaction possible.

If spending time socializing with authors, agents, and editors in such lovely surroundings isn’t convincing enough, here is another good reason to go to Matera - Italian designer leather goods. Need I say more?

Gotta love a greeting that can be used for hello or goodbye

I just returned from the Women’s Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy hours ago. It was my first conference and a totally amazing experience. I’ll tell you more about it later, but for now I’ll let the scenery speak for itself…

(click on the picture for a larger view)

My hotel room was fantastic but difficult to photograph. Imagine a pizza oven - a long narrow passage (with kitchen) then you pass through an arch and into a tall rounded room carved from the stone in the hillside. I can’t remember the last time I slept so well in a hotel room…





The view from my hotel courtyard




As you might imagine, it was a little difficult to find my way to and from my hotel. I found it rather ironic to be walking down the narrow cobblestone alleys on my own at night looking for the Museum of Torture on purpose…





“Turn left at the cat.” That’s what I told a fellow author who was staying at my hotel when I showing her my route back and forth. No matter what time of day or weather, this cat was there. Of course the sign helped too…





I could bore you with pictures of the streets and alleys all day…







One of many rock churches in the historic “Sassi” area of Matera




A lovely intersection…




A view of the Sassi Barisano from the piazza near the conference site





A coffee break on the terrace of the conference site, a converted monastery



I’ve only just returned home and I am already scheming on how I can go back next year…

Always good advice, no matter where in the world you are!

I am in Italy at this moment. Send me good vibes for the conference please. And don’t forget to drop by this weekend when Margaret Carter will be here with an excerpt from her paranormal/thriller romance Prince of the Hollow Hills. See you next week!

While I’m zooming around trying to get everything organized for my trip to Italy tomorrow, I thought I’d share some pictures with you. I’ve been meaning to get these posted for a while, but you know how it goes.

I’ve mentioned that I did a lot of shopping when I was home over the summer - but not all of it was in malls. Some of my favorite places to shop are thrift stores - or as my daughter affectionately calls them “rubbish stores”.

Not all thrift stores are created equally but if you’re patient you can often come up with some really neat things. I still have a few items of designer name clothing that I picked up for pennies at a bag day several years ago. Thinking of my luggage allowance, I was fairly discriminating this time, but I just couldn’t pass up these gems.

I love African art and I couldn’t believe my luck when I spotted these beauties sitting on a shelf amongst a clutter of coffee mugs and knick knacks. They were a steal at $12 - well worth any added weight in my baggage!

When I saw the mug below, I was instantly reminded of being a small child at my grandmother’s house. She had an entire set of dishes in a very similar glaze. I don’t want or need an entire set, so this lone mug was a wonderfully nostalgic find and only $0.35 - and they threw in a free pie spatula.

I’m off to Italy tomorrow but don’t worry - Margaret Carter will be here with an excerpt of her Cerridwen Press book Prince of the Hollow Hills, a magical sounding paranormal romance. I’ll be back bright and early next week, with pictures and news from glorious southern Italy!

If you’ve wondered how much writing I’ve gotten done lately, running around with the children’s various sports activities as well as my own, the answer is not much. I’ve done a bit of editing and polishing on my latest manuscript but new stuff? Who has the time?

I also had a few projects hanging around that needed finishing. One of which was a queen sized quilt that a friend commissioned to give as a gift for an autumn wedding. I like to call it Autumn Fire because it’s so bright:

There is a wide green “fire break” border on the edge to cool it off a bit and the other side is a nice calm beige floral for reversibility.

I also whipped up one other fresh project over the weekend. This one has been living in a my head a while so it was nice to get it out of there! I plan to back it with a light green flannel printed with bugs. Cute for a baby quilt, no?

I’d like to make this one again using blues and a few pops of yellow.

Next on my list of things to make? Scarves and hats for the children. We’ll be making our first ever Christmas visit to the US, back to northern Minnesota. Could there be any more shockingly cold time of year to visit for desert dwellers like us?? I never have learned to knit so I’m going to use remnants of fleece blankets to make them. Soft and cuddly.

My only other pressing UFO? A pitch to present at the writer’s conference…

I leave for the Women’s Fiction Festival in Italy in ten days. In addition to trying to figure out what to pack and mentally preparing myself to meet face to face with agents and editors, I have hair crisis.

I haven’t had a hair cut since the end of June and my regular hairdresser can’t fit me in until the end of September - the day after I return from Italy in fact. My hair doesn’t look terrible exactly, but it is getting awfully long. (Some might even say shaggy) Would you:

1) Try a new hairdresser and hope for the best

2) Trim my bangs myself and leave the rest alone

3) Go as is - why take the risk?

Please leave your vote in the comments. Seriously - I need your opinion!

Last day of vacation photos, promise! Just be happy you got the short version. Friends and family will shortly be sent the link to the extended play album!

The last full weekend I was on vacation, my father and step-mother took us out for a picnic and canoe trip on the Swamp River. I always like to get out on the Swamp River. Not only is it a very lovely and serene spot, but I remember going out there to fish with my own grandfather when I was a child. Even if we didn’t fish, it was a nice circle to take my own children out there.

After a picnic of bratwurst roasted over an open fire on greenwood sticks (yum!) and smores (double yum!) we took a ride in the canoe. My children love the thrill of a speed boat and I’ll admit that speed has its thrill, but in a place like this, a canoe is the way to go.

I could have taken pictures of the reflections of the sky in the water all day…

See that hill in the distance? The next plan for the afternoon was to hike up a trail to the top of that hill (locally known as Camp Five Mountain) in search of blueberries

A lovely little water lily that was growing amongst the wild rice along the banks of the river. Try picking a water lily while riding in a speed boat

A view of Swamp River, where we were canoeing, from the top of Camp Five Mountain

It wasn’t much of a trail up the mountain and very buggy, but we were rewarded for our efforts!

Dessert! My daughter wanted to collect the most berries which is why she tossed in all the raspberries she found as well!

Just in case you thought I was foraging for all of my food while in the woods, thought I’d toss this photo in. I’ve eaten “happy pizza” in Cambodia and buffalo milk latte in Cairo - now I can add moose burger in Minnesota. Not sure I’d go out of my way for another one, but it wasn’t bad.


This weekend author Mona Risk will be here to introduce you to the cast of characters from her recently released book French Peril. If you like a thriller set in an exotic location, you’ll want to stop by and check this one out!