I did the same helicopter tour from Vegas into the Grand Canyon last sep for my birthday & was at Lourve in May this year too.. but i was there when it was a public holiday..the museum was close and i missed everything!! lucky you!

Cairo is slightly too much of a mess...almost every stranger who attempted to help with a map reading had a shop/ or know a shop where u could buy anything. My boy & i were glad we got out of that in Luxor after signing up for a Thomas Cook day tour. The guide took care of the touts and the airconditioned spanking new mini van eliminated the tiring need for bargaining with the taxi drivers (but trust me.. we still did paid WAY TOO MUCH even after a long bargain). We climbed Mount Sinai overnight and dived in the red sea visited the valley of kings, the pyramids, & the glorious historical temples..It was an awesome trip!!!! but the touting was such a nightmare we were glad we've been there done that & its time to move on..

If you are in Cairo and have the time, take a flight to Jordan! I totally advocate going to this very  misunderstood country.. it's a very safe country with extremely friendly people. I dare say u will feel safer in Jordan than Egypt! The Petra was amazingly gorgeous.. the hospitality i've experienced in Amman amazed us even till today... Dead sea floating around was so much fun! We even got lost & hitchiked with a friendly Jordanian who sent us all the way back to our hotel doorstep. Simply lots of travel stories from there..

As for the distance, I tink u shld work on Eastern Europe since u're close and flights are cheap.. like how i always talk about finishing South East Asia but never really gotten down to it.. 4 more countries to go & i'm determined to do so by.... 2012? Too many flights a year is detrimental for work :p

Gd luck in ur quest to add more wonderful adventures to 2010.. I look forward to reading your travelogue!