There’s Sand In My Eyes! Can We Ride Horses? Do We Have to Wear the Slippers? Why Does It Not Have a Nose? - Pyramids, Solar Boat Museum And The Sphinx

The Great Pyramids of Giza

Naturally you must visit the pyramids.  We’ve been to Egypt twice with the girls and we visit them each time.  They are magnificent and mysterious.  However, the first time I saw the pyramids, I was disappointed – no, not with the actual pyramids, but the approach to them.  I had no idea that Cairo had grown right to the footsteps of the pyramids.  It was heartbreaking to me that the awe inspiring and elegant pyramids did not have the silent desert to themselves anymore.  Depending on where you view the pyramids, you can block out Cairo and pretend you are far away from modern civilization.  Imagine very hard.

The girls are still too young to really appreciate the mystery and the mind boggling feat required to erect these wonders of the ancient world.   Though the girls were interested in going inside the pyramids, I think hoping for a burial chamber full of treasures.  Of course there isn’t one.  You can go inside the pyramids but we opted out.  I understand it is very hot and cramped inside, and no treasures to behold. 

Once the girls knew we wouldn’t go inside, they were done with the pyramids.  Of course there is no shade and it is very hot.  The girls were melting and uncomfortable.  (Make sure to wear hats and bring lots of water.) 

After viewing the pyramids up close and clambering up some way up the pyramids, you should get back in the car and drive around to get a better view of the pyramids from afar.  But before you do that, a visit to the Solar Boat Museum is worthwhile.  To make things interesting for the girls and for us, we hired camels to take us from the front of the pyramids to the Solar Boat Museum and amble around a bit.  Personally, it was just about long enough for me.  The camels are really tall.  The scariest part for me was when the camel, after you get on while on its knees, gets up unsteadily.  It pitches back and forth wildly.  As a tourist and a mom looking for a Christmas photo, the camel ride was a must.  The first time we were in Egypt with the girls who were then 4 and almost 3, we did not ride the camels.  My mother-in-law took so long picking a good looking clean camel (impossible) that by the time she found an acceptable camel, the girls were too scared to ride them.  (By the way, be very clear when you negotiate the price with the camel drivers.  And even then, you might be in for a rough back and forth.  We thought we had a price but when my husband paid the drivers, they asked for more.  This happens a lot in Egypt.)

The Solar Boat!

The Solar Boat Museum is tucked behind the pyramids and there is an admission fee, and not a small amount.  However, I highly recommend visiting it.  The boat is impressive for its size and its impeccable state of preservation.  It is astounding that a full size boat was taken apart with all pieces intact, buried and untouched until discovered.  The boat is beautiful and unlike the pieces in the Egyptian Museum, someone had vision and taste when it came to displaying the boat.  My girls were not suitably impressed.  It is remarkably hard to impress 6 and 4 year olds.  They were most concerned with the shoe cover slippers we had to wear in the museum.  There weren’t covers small enough for the girls, especially for my 4 year old, and she spent what concentration she had making sure the covers did not come off her shoes.

Back in the car, we made our way to higher ground to view the pyramids from afar.  You can get really good shots of the pyramids without Cairo in the background.  With the sand in the foreground, you could imagine a time when all there was in the desert was the cluster of the majestic pyramids.  Now there are hordes of tourists, hawkers, cars and buses.  On top of that add all the camels and their drivers and horses and horse carriages.   You have one busy scene. 

We always try to get shots of the girls in front of the pyramids from this vantage point. It’s always the same.  We coax the girls out of the car, they whine, they refuse to stand where we ask them to, and finally when they do stand, they won’t open their eyes.  Once they do open their eyes, they hold their hands over them while their hair is blowing wildly around their head.  We ask them to smile just once, okay twice, our pleas getting insistent and the girls complaining about the sand and sun in their eyes, try feebly.  And that’s our best shot with the pyramids in the background…I figure, everyone will be looking at the pyramids, not the girls, so good enough!

Horse Drawn Carriage Ride at the Pyramids

There are camels and horses all around.  On our first visit, we hired a horse drawn carriage.  It’s very tame compared to riding a camel or a horse into the desert, but the girls at 4 and 3 enjoyed it immensely.  Like in Japan, and in most places, for the girls, the main attraction of most places is the transportation.  So the camels and the horses win over the pyramids and Sphinx.

The Noseless Sphinx

You can ride a camel or horse to the Sphinx.  You can pretend you are an adventurer in an ancient time…it’s fun; or you can take the car.  The Sphinx is magnificent.  You can’t help but marvel at the skill, patience and sheer force it took to erect these colossal monuments.  The girls – well the girls, just couldn’t get over the lack of nose (and beard) of the Sphinx.  We told them the theory of Napoleon’s men using the Sphinx for target practice and the questions did not end.  You all know what I am talking about.

Can you believe the view from Pizza Hut??

The Sphinx is your last stop.  You can contemplate lunch at this point.  There are options such as The Mena House Oberoi, which was my choice.  It sounded lovely…lunch by the pool of a historic hotel with the view of the pyramids. I was outvoted, however, and we ended up at Pizza Hut, also with a view of the pyramids and the Sphinx to boot.

Cairo Highlights - Especially For Kids

Now finally to what you can do with your children in Cairo!  A lot actually.

One of the walkways at Al-Azhar, with the Citadel in the background

View of a restaurant in the park

Al-Azhar Park 
Al-Azhar Park is one of my favorite places in Cairo. It is beautifully landscaped with wide paths and views of the citadel and the rest of Cairo.  There is lots greenery, space, views, water features, restaurants and cafes and no crowds!  (There is a very small entrance fee which probably acts as crowd control.)  The restaurants have decent food and wonderful views.  You can actually sit and relax.  There is also a children’s playground, maybe the only one in Cairo open to public.  In the end, the reason why I like it is because it is hard to find an expansive, green space in Cairo.  My girls loved that they could run around!   I have to thank my sister-in-law for telling me about it.

Pharaonic Village
I don’t consider it to be worth a visit but others may disagree.  I suppose it is an option if you are desperate for more kid oriented activities in Cairo.  It could have been great but the setting is just so so.  The first part of the tour involves a boat ride on the river.  The boat passes by replicas of statues of gods and monuments and then stops at various educational stations such as pottery making, papyrus making, furniture making, farms etc…The park’s mission is to educate the visitors on how ancient Egyptians lived.  It’s a great concept but poorly executed.  Our girls were bored and hot sitting on the boat.  The second part was even harder on the girls.  We walked around replicas of temples and houses with a guide.  The girls were not interested.  (Perhaps if your children are older, they may appreciate it more than our girls did.)  It was so bad we had to cut the tour short.  Our visit might have been more interesting if the arts and craft center was open.  The girls then could have had a hands-on experience but because it was Ramadan, the center and restaurant were closed.  Too bad.

Al-Foustat Ceramics Centre
Our driver suggested stopping and we were glad we did.  The center showcases ceramics, brass work, gypsum, tiles and other crafts.  You can watch the artisans at work.   The center puts on exhibits and once the exhibits are concluded, one can purchase the handicrafts.  It’s a shame that there wasn’t a store on site because the works were beautiful.  The buildings housing the Ceramics Centre is ‘new’, officially opened by Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak in 2001.  It is definitely worth a visit.

The hook! for the kids!

Coptic Cairo
You wouldn’t think this would be a kid friendly activity but all you need is a hook!  Visiting Coptic Cairo is actually quite pleasant.  The alleyways are clean and car free – one of the few places where you can walk around in Cairo without dodging people, cars, donkey carts, garbage etc…

Coptic Cairo houses a church in which baby Jesus and his family purportedly hid while fleeing from King Herod.  Our girls were fascinated by this story of baby Jesus and this kept their interest level somewhat high during our tour.  The remodeled Coptic Museum is beautiful and worth a visit.

Egyptian Museum
It’s large, crowded, dilapidated looking and overwhelming.  Not the guards necessarily but the people who work there did not seem too friendly.  Just my observation.  The museum has so much to share but it is hard to navigate all the pieces on display.  It is also a shame that more care has not been taken in the way the artifacts are displayed.  You will get more sense of wonder and enchantment if you visit the British Museum in London.  Go anyway because this is the only time you can press your nose against the glass separating you from the absolutely gorgeous and beautiful golden mask of Tutankhamen and no one will arrest you.  The other artifacts from his tomb are equally amazing, for example, the chariots, boats, etc.  Our older girl was very interested in finding out what artifacts were found in the tombs and so she focused on that aspect at the museum.  We didn’t stay long but she remained interested in studying the items from the tombs on display, including the mask of King Tut.  The Royal Mummy Room is another great place to take the kids unless your kids are easily spooked. 

View of the Cairo Tower from below.

View of the Nile from top of the Tower

Cairo Tower
We stopped by the tower, also known as Borj Al-Qahira, before dinner one early evening.  What a treat!  (We learned that it had been recently remodeled and the restaurant and café were under new management.  We did not try the restaurant, although the idea of a revolving restaurant with a view, sounded like a fun experience.)

The lighting was gorgeous, the wind atop the tower was refreshing, the view was spectacular.  We all had fun looking through the telescopes, spotting the pyramids in the distance and identifying landmarks we had visited.  Loved it.

Felucca Ride on the Nile
Sailing down the Nile in a felucca is fun and relaxing for both kids and adults.  We caught a felucca in front of the Semiramis Hotel.  Two obstacles before you can enjoy the felucca.  One, we had to cross the busy street in front of the hotel to reach the waterfront.  This is a death defying experience.  We would have never made it across if it weren’t for a policeman who took pity on us and stopped traffic just long enough for us to scoot across.  It was a potential sacrifice on the part of the policeman…he could have been hit!  The cars barely obeyed the policeman.  Second, you have to bargain.  It took my husband’s cousin, a native, at least twenty minutes to negotiate.  It’s part of the experience.  Once on the boat, enjoy the breeze off the Nile and the sparkling lights of the many hotels that line it.

Gezira Sporting Club
Located in Zamalek, it’s an oasis for families in the middle of bustling Cairo.  It is a private club but I believe you can buy temporary memberships/passes.  We knew some Club members and were invited in as guests.  The girls loved going to the Club.  There are tennis courts, a swimming pool (rumor has it not that clean), squash courts, restaurants, riding stable, golf etc and playground.  We enjoyed sitting in the evenings by the playground, visiting with friends and family.  The girls ran around where they pleased and we knew they were safe (well in and around the playground, they didn’t venture too far…).  If you are looking for squash lessons (the best squash players in the world at the moment are from the Gezira Club!) or golf, check it out!

Other Ideas
You can hire horse drawn carriages in Zamalek.  We did not.  I wasn’t keen about being on a slow moving carriage in Cairo with kamikaze cars all around.  (We did however ride the horse drawn carriages everywhere we went in Luxor.)  You can also visit the Cairo Zoo, but as my sister-in-law put it, “Visit it for a cultural experience.”

Cairo And Where To Stay, By The Way, Don’t Expect Too Much Service…

View of Cairo from Al-Azhar Park

Due to our backgrounds and where we grew up, we have taken our children to Japan and Egypt.  Tokyo is a large and densely populated city like Cairo but that is where the similarities end.  Tokyo is a model of efficiency and punctuality.  It can be overwhelming but there is a sense that it is controlled chaos.  Everyone knows their place and everyone follows the rules.  Cairo is the polar opposite.  No one follows any rules in Cairo.  What traffic laws?  You have to have a death wish to try and cross the street as a pedestrian.  Nothing runs on schedule.  The sidewalks are cracked, the city is covered in dust and it’s hot, really hot.

You don’t have to worry too much about cleanliness in Japan nor about the safety of water and food.  It’s a breeze traveling with kids in Japan compared to Egypt.  I am worried about my children’s safety while driving around Egypt…despite the fact we carted car seats all the way to Egypt.  In contrast to our concern, our Egyptian driver was puzzled by our insistence on using car seats for our kids.

Despite all the inconveniences and the inevitable bouts of traveler’s diarrhea, travel to Egypt is rewarding, educational and fascinating.  My children are growing up in a very sterile world of suburbia USA.  I made fun of the Hilton Waikoloa as Disneyesque but really, compared to the rest of the world, all of America is Disneyland.  I hope by traveling to Egypt our girls will appreciate part of their heritage but also experience another type of life that occurs outside the developed countries like the US.  Of course we didn’t quite have the full experience since we did stay for our first visit at the Cairo Marriott.

The Cairo Marriott is built into and around the Gezira Palace.  Khedive Ismail built the palace to house dignitaries, in particular Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, who came to Egypt to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal.  We enjoy staying in hotels with history and if you do too, this would be a good choice.  I want to be clear that the lobby, restaurants and banquet halls are in the historic portion but the rooms are all in the two modern towers.  The rooms are fine and the rooms we had a wonderful view of the Cairo Tower and overlooked the Gezira Sporting Club.  It was wonderfully relaxing to have an unobstructed and expansive view in Cairo.

We were upgraded to the Executive level, mainly because when we checked in at 4 in the morning, they could not provide us with connecting rooms that we had requested when we made the reservation.  The service was poor.  We were tired with two young kids and the check in took at least an hour!!!  Initially, they were going to give us two separate rooms on the ground floor.  We were not pleased.  There was no way we could stay in two separate rooms with our young girls.  The night manager finally came out to help us and upgraded us to the Executive level.  (One major benefit being at the Executive level was the access to the lounge and free breakfast...so convenient with kids.)  In terms of service, I would have to give the hotel low marks – for the check in delay and the initial unaccommodating stance on our request for connecting rooms.  I also have to give it low marks for not making our rooms on our first day.  We suspect it was due to the lack of tip.  In our jet lag haze we did not tip that first day but boy after finding our rooms unmade at the end of the day, my husband found the housekeepers, all men by the way, and tipped for our entire stay upfront.

The hotel has a very large pool, a necessary amenity even if you aren’t traveling with kids.  It’s a great way to cool off in the Cairo heat.  The downside, the pool wasn’t that close to our rooms and we did have to pass by the outdoor café seating area in order to reach the pool.  We tried the hotel restaurant and it was really bad.  Nice atmosphere, just bad food.

By the way, do not be alarmed at the security measures of the hotel.  All the cars are stopped and checked before entry into the hotel grounds.  Everyone has to go through a metal detector and all bags have to be x rayed, each time you go in and out.  A royal pain plus my bag got really dirty each time it was put on the belt to go through the scanner.

There are many other hotels besides the Marriott but it is the only one I believe with any historical interest. I also like its location in Zamalek, an island neighborhood in the middle of the Nile.  Zamalek is green with lots of colonial era homes, embassies, galleries, restaurants and cafes.

Overlook the bad service and enjoy exploring the grounds and palace wing of the hotel.  Take a deep breath, put on sturdy shoes and walk around Zamalek.  It is one of the few neighborhoods in Cairo that is ‘walkable’.

No Other Way – You Have To Land In The Middle Of The Night, Cairo Egypt

Getting there is half the battle and in this case it’s true.  I am of course being US centric.  From Europe, say Amsterdam, the flight is a little over 4 hours to Cairo.  However, from the US, and for us from the West Coast, it takes forever.  It takes nearly 10 hours flying time from SFO to Amsterdam.  And if you are not spending time in Amsterdam, you are looking at 8 hours or so of layover at the airport before boarding a flight in the evening to Cairo.  (And if you are spending time in Amsterdam, which I recommend, like we did on our most recent trip, check out my earlier posts on Amsterdam under January and February 2010.)

There are other flights to Cairo besides KLM.  Both times that we have traveled to Egypt, KLM flying out of San Francisco, offered the lowest airfare to Cairo.  KLM also offered the lowest airfare from NY to Cairo.  British Airways is another good choice to Egypt, again we went with the lowest fare available.

KLM is very kid friendly.  It offers baby bassinets that attach in front of the bulk head seats.  At the beginning of the flight, all the kids receive little goodie bags containing colored pencils, origami, card games etc…The flight attendants are also laid back, friendly and helpful.  Snacks are plentiful.

The downside of course is the ten hour layover in Amsterdam!  Our solution on our first trip was to get a room at the airport hotel for the day.  The Hotel Mercure, although conveniently located inside the airport, is a bare bones operation.  Our room was a windowless, dark, back packer standard room.  However, we all slept for about 6 hours, showered and ventured out to central Amsterdam which was about 15 minutes by train.  The more civilized solution is to schedule a stay in Amsterdam.

Flights to and from Egypt land and depart at ungodly hours.  Our KLM flight left at 8:45pm from Amsterdam and arrived in Cairo at 1am – yes that’s right, 1:00 in the morning.  On the return flight we left our hotel in Cairo at midnight (we woke our girls up and left them in their pajamas on the drive to the airport) to catch a flight to Amsterdam which left Cairo at 3am – yes, this is not a mistake, 3:00 in the morning.  Yikes!

October 2007, August 2009

Are We In Disneyland Or Vegas? Hilton Waikoloa plus Dinner at Monstera and Pahu i`a

Tram at the Hotel Lobby

One of the boats ferrying the guests at Waikoloa

Beautiful but cold pool at Waikoloa

I don’t recommend island hopping but we had to hop.  Our cheap flight back to the Bay Area left from the Big Island.  I did try to find a flight that would get us back to the Big Island from Kauai in time to catch the flight back to the mainland but wasn’t successful.  I should have tried connecting through Oahu…well the point is we had to spend two more nights back at the Big Island; two instead of one because one night would mean just sleeping and packing up.

Thinking I would try a different hotel and thus a different experience, I booked two nights at the Hilton Waikoloa through Expedia.  It was inexpensive, which was a bonus.  It also looked like a crazy place so I thought the kids would get a kick out of it.

The Hilton is a crazy place so I was right on that count.  Get this…as you walk into the hotel lobby, there is a tram ‘station’ and a dock for a boat!!!  The hotel is so big you could use a ride.  As I suspected, the girls loved the hotel transportation.  We didn’t really need to ride either the boat or the tram to get to our room (luckily ours was not in the hinterland) but we did…I mean why not?  The boat is actually a good looking one.  The tram is very modern looking.  I was told the tram cost $4M!

The room was a little musty smelling and we had a view of the roofs but also of Mauna Loa.  We were also close to the pool, important when you have young kids.  I had prepared the rest of the family…the room probably wasn’t going to be great (which it wasn’t) but for the price and two nights stay, we were not going to complain.

We were all excited to explore the hotel so the next morning, we set out for the hotel grounds.  First of all, it’s unclear what this hotel is trying to be…to me it could be Disneyland or Vegas.  It didn’t matter…either way it doesn’t feel relaxing, it feels very commercial and it is just over the top.  The Hilton has animals behind glass on the way to the pool…ne ne birds, the Hawaiian state bird, turtles and flamingos!  Why??  What is the point?

As the pool comes into view, we see a hanging rope bridge which looks pretty cool over the pool.  There is also a slide which got the girls excited.  However, it turns out, the pool is very cold.  The girls did not last long at all.  After a couple of runs on the slide, the girls find the hot tub and the ping pong table –which is a lot of fun.  I find out that the hotel is getting new pool heaters next year.  In the meantime, the pool is very cold. 

We set out to search for the lagoon but on the way we see the dolphin pool.  The Hilton offers a chance to swim and interact with dolphins – Dolphin Quest.  We passed on the offer since it would have meant being out of $500 for just the girls to interact with the dolphins.  We definitely did not win the popularity contest with our girls.

There is another large body of water on the grounds besides the pool and the dolphin pool.  The lagoon is huge and is filled with saltwater.  You can rent kayaks and can also go snorkeling.  Purportedly, you can see turtles in the lagoon – we didn’t since we didn’t venture too far in.  Again, like the pool, the water was so cold!

After a very bad lunch at the Queens' Market Place Food Court near the hotel, we decided we needed to leave the hotel in search of the ‘real’ Hawaii.  So we headed to Hapuna Beach and remembered why we came to Hawaii in the first place; soft sandy beaches, warm waters and waves and the refreshing breeze off the ocean.   We had had enough of the fake world of Hilton! 

Our last two nights on the Big Island, we tried to find new places to eat.  The first night back from Kauai, we had dinner at Monstera, a Japanese restaurant located at the Shops at Mauna Lani, next to the Fairmont Orchid.  We had heard that the chef was originally the chef at Fairmont’s Japanese restaurant. 

First off, the service slow, very slow.  I think it was the kitchen not our server.  Our server was nice but he didn’t get all our order right…wasn’t a big deal, easily corrected but it shouldn’t happen.  The food was just average but then we didn’t order sushi (except for kappa maki for the girls), which seems to be the thing to order, looking at the reviews online.  We love sushi but we had spent the first part of the summer in Japan and we have a very good sushi restaurant back home so we didn’t feel compelled to order sushi.  I saw some Korean influenced dishes on the menu and the homemade kimchi intrigued me.  That was the hook and I ordered a pork dish with kimchi.  Kimchi was good but the pork was a bit dry and tough.  The lady at the next table ordered a pork dish but not with kimchi and we overheard her complaining about it.  She sent her plate back.  My husband ordered the misoyaki butterfish which was decent but a little heavy.  The girls had kappa maki and udon.  Would I recommend it?  Not really but try the sushi if you decide to go anyway.

On our last night, we decided to splurge on dinner at Pahu i`a at the Four Seasons.  The setting is absolutely amazing.  The view is incredible!  The food is OK.  I expected more from the Four Seasons.  I think my older daughter’s chicken noodle soup was the best thing on the menu.  I had three appetizers for my meal…all some form of sushi and rolls and that’s because nothing else sounded great.  My husband had a fish dish which was average.  However, I am glad we went.  It was incredibly relaxing and beautiful.  The sunset was gorgeous.  It was the perfect place to spend our last evening in Hawaii.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Chance Encounters and Sunset at Beach House

Rainbow in Front of The Beach House, Kauai

Lawn in front of The Beach House

You’ve heard it, “It’s a small world”.   You’re thinking, I’ve visited Disneyland and ridden the ride, so what?  No, not in that context…you know, when you run into people randomly.  We have had our share of unexpected encounters.  You’ve all had experiences running into celebrities, politicians, TV journalists and personalities.  In our family, my husband spots the politicians and journalists and I spot the celebs.  What does that say about us? I guess it’s a function of what’s on our Tivo play list.

My husband spots Senator Schumer in shorts on vacation in Amsterdam (I like him better in a suit), Senator Hatch on a plane, Condi Rice at brunch, Al and Tipper Gore (when they were together) at a club in DC etc…I spot the B list celebs.   And I do that again on this trip.  It is my role in life to point out to those around me “Hey! That’s Roseanne Barr at breakfast!” to which my sister goes, she doesn’t look like her, until of course she opens her mouth and you know without a doubt it is indeed Roseanne Barr.  (One time I sat next to the mayor of Boston on a plane.  Right before deplaning, I assume his aide, nudges me and says “You know that’s the mayor right?”  I look at him and say “No I did not!”  I wonder why he felt he had to tell me…did he think I needed to be enlightened, obviously, but what would the point be at the end of the journey???)

Other than famous people, we also unexpectedly run into people we know when we travel.  Those encounters are the ones that make us feel lucky.  Like the time my husband ran into an old classmate at CDG airport in Paris.  Or this time when I spot a familiar looking face at our hotel in Kauai.  I go up to him and ask whether he went to a school in Philly and of course he did.  A classmate I had not seen for 15 years, now married with three wonderful children.  Who needs Facebook to reconnect???  I’ll take the chance encounters any day!

Probably the most bizarre chance encounter, actually a series of encounters, happened 10 years ago.  This is before kids and we were in Australia around Port Douglas.  We meet a young mother on a dive boat.  She is vacationing with her family.  Then we meet her again, days later, on a street corner in Sydney.  OK…we were surprised but not out of the question, since we were all vacationing and still in the same country.  But we see her again weeks later.  This last chance meeting blew our minds.  We cross paths while trekking in Nepal in the Anapurna region.   Really. She had left her family behind and was trekking all on her own with her own team of porters.  And here we were, my husband and I, and one of my dearest friends, and our porters.  Nothing tops that…Great Barrier Reef, Sydney and then Nepal.  Bizarre!

So I digress…our last two days on Kauai was spent getting in as much time as possible at the beach and pool.  Our last night on Kauai, we enjoyed the sunset from the spectacular vantage point in front of the Beach House.  Even if you don’t eat there (we don't think the restaurant deserves its reputation but the the view is amazing), park yourself on the lawn in front of the restaurant and take in the scene…the waves, the surfers, the sky and this time a double rainbow! and the sunset.  Absolutely gorgeous!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Red Salt At Koa Kea, Not For Us

Another leisurely day was spent kayaking in the saltwater lagoon at the hotel, going down the slide, body surfing (just my husband) at the beach.  Of course before this leisurely day started the girls had a meltdown.  The younger one recovered quickly but my older girl took longer, much longer.  This meant my older daughter and I stayed in the room pretty much the whole morning while my husband and my younger one enjoyed fun pool time. 

I thought I would try something new for dinner and made reservations at Red Salt.  I saw a blurb about it in Kauai’s dining magazine and the chef’s stint at El Bulli.  I was excited!  Red Salt is located in Koa Kea Hotel (used to be Poipu Beach Hotel until a hurricane damaged it).  Described as upscale and boutique, for families with kids, the more apt description is adult, as in parents with kids will not feel comfortable or welcomed.  Undaunted, we ‘dressed up’ for dinner and arrived at the hotel – to an empty dining room.  Yes we were on the early side 6pm (I tried to change to a later time, but was told 6pm was prime time for sunset viewing from the restaurant).  Apparently I was the only one privy to this tip.  We sat down and looked at the menu, which was small and to me, average looking.  We looked at the girls, then each other and knew, this wasn’t going to be fun for the girls or us.  We apologized profusely and left the dining room, empty once again.  I didn’t get to taste a hint of El Bulli that night but enjoyed great music, fun atmosphere and over sauced chicken cashew stir fry at Keoki’s.  The girls enjoyed their cheese quesadilla and fish tacos.  And you know what?-we all shared an amazing hula pie, that was worthwhile.

Friday, August 13, 2010