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Dec 16-20: Sliema, Malta by Jeff & Cathy

When we were planning our post-Egypt itinerary, we chose Spain because we wanted to see more of it and because Barcelona was a good departure city for our next destination – Cape Town. The problem was, flying directly to Spain (or anywhere really) from Cairo was really expensive. But Malta… we could fly to Malta for under $100 ( total, for all 3 of us!) and then from Malta to Valencia for $36 (again, for all 3). So, that’s what we did. Continue reading “Dec 16-20: Sliema, Malta by Jeff & Cathy”

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Dec 11-16, Egypt: Short trip, LONG post by Cathy

Disclaimer: This is a really, really long post. If I could insert “Continue Reading” more than once, there would be like 15. I love ancient Egyptian history, so a lot of this is for me, so I don’t forget. Please feel free to skim or just look at the pictures. 

Mick reading his mother’s posts

In 1979, Mom took me to see the King Tut Exhibit at the De Young Museum and I, like so many who were lucky enough to see it, was bewitched.

The programs looked like this one I found on Google

Naturally, I was King Tut for Halloween that year, which involved a lot of gold makeup and a difficult-to-keep-on beard as I recall. Although my King Tut poster eventually came down from my closet door (replaced by Andy Gibb I think), seeing the pyramids and the land of the pharaohs remained. At some point (late 30s, 40s?), things that we called “dreams” become items on the “bucket list,” and the Great Pyramid was at the top of mine. Continue reading “Dec 11-16, Egypt: Short trip, LONG post by Cathy”

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“It’s all Greek to me.”

Using the Socratic Method, decipher the below sayings of Socrates.

Socratic method
A pedagogical technique in which a teacher does not give information directly but instead asks a series of questions, with the result that the student comes either to the desired knowledge by answering the questions or to a deeper awareness of the limits of knowledge.

Socrates as Buddhist:
Αν δεν πάρετε αυτό που θέλετε, υποφέρετε? αν πάρετε αυτό που δεν θέλετε, υποφέρετε. ακόμα και όταν παίρνετε ακριβώς αυτό που θέλετε, υποφέρετε ακόμα επειδή δεν μπορείτε να το κρατήσετε για πάντα. Το μυαλό σας είναι η δική σας κατάσταση. Θέλει να είναι ελεύθερη από αλλαγές. Χωρίς πόνο, απαλλαγμένο από τις υποχρεώσεις της ζωής και του θανάτου. Αλλά η αλλαγή είναι νόμος και κανένα ποσό προσποίησης δεν θα αλλάξει αυτή την πραγματικότητα.

Socrates’ Golden Rule:
Μην κάνετε σε άλλους τι σας ενοχλεί αν σας κάνει με άλλους

Socrates on Trump’s Tweets:
Όταν χάσει τη συζήτηση, η συκοφαντία γίνεται το εργαλείο του ηττημένου.

Socrates on Marriage:
Με κάθε τρόπο παντρεύεται. αν πάρετε μια καλή σύζυγος, θα γίνετε ευτυχισμένοι. αν πάρετε ένα κακό, θα γίνετε φιλόσοφος.

Socrates on Gossip:
Τα ισχυρά μυαλά συζητούν τις ιδέες, τα μέσα μυαλά συζητούν τα γεγονότα, τα αδύναμα μυαλά συζητούν τους ανθρώπους.

Do you have a “deeper awareness of the limits of knowledge?” Want to see the translation?

Continue reading ““It’s all Greek to me.””

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Itinerary thru 2017

  • Nov 26-30: Madrid, Spain
  • Nov 30-Dec 5: Heraklion, Crete, Greece
  • Dec 5-11: Athens, Greece
  • Dec 11-16: Egypt (Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Aswan)
  • Dec 16-20: Malta, Italy
  • Dec 20-26: Valencia, Spain
  • Dec 26-31: Barcelona, Spain
  • Dec 31-?: Cape Town, South Africa