December 22 -- CineCite (Lou)

Ever so slightly down this morning what with the hindrance of this arthritis business, keeping me from uninhibited hiking.  So far, small periodic walks seem to be the answer.   Small walks however are for doing chores.  Longer continuous walks are for touristing.  At least the chores are helping rack up the daily miles so, hitting the ATM and the little bodega-like kiosk for water started the day.  A late morning break at the Roma was used to work on the PLD website which was pleasantly distracting.  Pushed myself to go out at noon for tea and the air and sun in the tea alley was stimulating and so began a walk.  There’s an historic 1911 downtown building that I’ve wanted to see so I set off.  Along the way, I discovered 3 previously unknown to me movie theaters and goodness knows how many tea and shisha joints.  And no matter how far I walk and wander, when it’s time to head on back to the Roma, it’s always just 2 blocks away.  Amazing.  After a pleasant foot up read on my balcony, headed back to those theaters and saw Blades Out; £50 for the ticket, £20 for the popcorn which he insisted on making fresh, then topped off for free when the doors opened.  It’s easy to see why the Cairo Film Festival is held in downtown.

With the lower number of miles I’ve been walking, there’s the temptation to eat simpler so, the fruit and yogurt for breakfast was great, especially the persimmons.  This evening I stumbled on a Koshary restaurant that served bowls of chicken and pasta, or a bowl of Koshary (pasta’s, lentils, chick peas, dried onion, tomato sauce, and warmed garlic vinegar to add needed zip) which I decided on along with a soda and spiced vegetables all for $1.25.  Hit the little alley bodega on the way back to Roma for some mocha biscuits to enjoy with some of the last sips of calvados.  I’m hoping to make tomorrow’s walk more ambitious but in reality, despite self imposed walking restrictions, this was a really pleasant day!