“Where can I have a picnic in Maadi?” Maybe you, like many others, have recently asked someone this question. Or perhaps not, because who in the world picnics in 110 degree weather, but still…perhaps you quietly wondered it to yourself. Well, you are in luck, because I, in fact, do picnic in the summer and know of the perfect spot. Grab a glass of cold lemonade, reposition your fan, and read on.
It all started the summer of 2020. Think about it. Literally everything was closed and there was nothing to do. Desperate to see people, I began searching for a “public” place where even our most Covid-wary friends would agree to meet.
Inspiration struck one day while on a trip to the Volume One bookstore in Maadi. I planned a trip there nearly once a week back when my kids were younger. Let’s be honest: In a country where public libraries are essentially non-existent, you just have to make friends with your local bookstore and just milk that friendship for all it’s worth. Each week we would trek on over to Volume One, buy an eraser or highlighter, and read for hours.
I sat there on that day in early May of 2020 in Volume One, pondering how to practice “social distancing” and still hold a birthday party for my daughter. Clearly a park was needed – but where? My gaze was drawn to the large windows facing the street. The answer was staring me in the face: the median separating the lanes of traffic on Road 206. The word “median” doesn’t do the place justice. It’s an island bursting with grass, trees, and blessed, blessed shade. The place simply begs you to spread out a sheet or a tablecloth and lie down under its canopy of leaves.
And so it was that the first birthday party ever was held in the median across from the Volume One bookstore. It wasn’t the last. That median saw all our 2020 birthday parties, social gatherings, and picnics. Countless picnics! What else were we going to do with our time?
If you’re like me, preparing an adorable picnic hamper is a recurring but unreachable dream. While I still wish I could pull off pitchers of fresh lemonade, homemade bread, crocks of butter, deviled eggs, and thick slices of chocolate cake, I’ve found that my kids are (nearly) as happy with something purchased from the kiosk at the corner of 216 and 206. My kids – for inexplicable reasons – dubbed this particular kiosk “the dinky shack.” I say “inexplicable” because it is, in fact, fully stocked with practically everything. Oh how many times that summer did I burst from our apartment near Maadi Grand Mall with the promise of a picnic at “the park across from Volume One” only to shop for the promised picnic while on our way there. These picnics may not have been insta-worthy, but they were fresh, shady, and a break from our usual routine.
Well, what are you waiting for? Want to brave the weather and have a picnic? You couldn’t find a nicer and more convenient venue. Grab some Schweppes and McVities’s and I’ll meet you there!
