Zen Gardens

We had a weekday off for Egyptian Easter and thought we could take a short trip on the metro down to the Japanese gardens in Helwan. We anticipated a Zen-like atmosphere and quiet reflection...

....boy were we wrong! It was a crazy mad house with hundreds of people, rickety rides, interesting food, paddleboat rides and photo ops. Ruby: That is me picking her nose. 

 On holidays Egyptian families head to the parks and the garden in Helwan was the place to be! Once again we were celebrities and followed around the park for pictures.

They all wanted their picture taken with us…some were cool all on their own. 

There were tons of kids. A group of girls brought Ruby into their circle and they played soccer and “cat blind” and taught each other hand clapping games.  

The fare was far from my beloved Minnesota State Fair “banquet on a stick” but we did partake of real candied apples. A man in front of us in line for popcorn bought us a few bags – he must have sensed my excitement over seeing this favored delicacy!

Obviously the paddleboat rides are a hot ticket item - we didn't have the patience to wait in line!

I love a good ride, but I have hung around enough lawyers to understand “product safety and liability” which makes me (and everyone with me) a non-participant in Egyptian amusement rides. Too bad as it looks like fun!