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​Niles from The Nanny reveals the one thing he never understood about the hit show

<p><span><em>The Nanny</em> had six wildly successful years between 1993-199 and ended with Fran Fine (who was played by creator Fran Drescher) married to her boss Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy).</span><br /><br /><span>Niles settled down with his former arch rival — and Mr Sheffield’s colleague — C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane.)</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7836777/meghan-markle-the-nanny-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/9ae6191afaa04b8cb9cd33131dc26076" /></p> <p><em>The Nanny</em><br /><br /><span>However it is the latter love story that Davis couldn’t quite wrap his head around.</span><br /><span>“That’s the only part that I never really bought, to tell you the truth,” he admitted to news.com.au.</span><br /><br /><span>“C.C. and I had been so oil and water — I didn’t buy that we would end up married. But I had to play it, because that’s what they wrote ... I don’t think I’ve ever expressed that to anyone before!”</span><br /><br /><span>The 70-year-old originally thought that the odd pairing may mean an extended future for C.C. and Niles.</span><br /><br /><span>“The only reason I thought it could have worked would be if they were planning a spin-off, like The Niles and C.C. Show, which I would have loved — but they didn’t go with that idea.”</span><br /><br /><span>He may not have liked it, but Davis can still understand why the writers felt the need to have the butler and C.C. live happily ever after.</span><br /><br /><span>“I guess they were just wanting to tie up the loose ends.”</span><br /><br /><span>The characters small feuds in the show became a cornerstone of the program - making it the unforgettable classic that it is today.</span><br /><br /><span>“The luckiest thing that could have possibly happened was that we knew each other for six years before<em> The Nanny,</em>” Davis said.</span><br /><br /><span>“Once I realised she was going to play that part [C.C.], it was just so natural. We had an ease so we just were the perfect fit, right from day one.”</span><br /><br /><span>Niles was famous for his quick quips and one-liners, and a lot of that wit was actually inspired by the actor’s true self.</span><br /><br /><span>“The writers watched me carefully in the early days of the show,” he explained.</span><br /><br /><span>“They started to write in my voice. And because I have a wicked side to my humour, they picked up on it.”</span><br /><br /><span>While Davis loved his experience on the show, there was one star who didn’t quite agree.</span><br /><br /><span>“It wasn’t a fun experience,” Madeline Zima, who played little Gracie Sheffield, told The TV Page in 2013.</span><br /><br /><span>“There was just a kindness and a sensitivity that didn’t exist on the set of<em> The Nanny.</em> They treated me more like a prop than like a human being.”</span><br /><br /><span>Davis believes it boiled down to Zima’s attitude.</span><br /><br /><span>“There was always the sense with Madeline that she was just an unhappy child — it was her nature. It was noticeable,” he explained.</span><br /><br /><span>“I think the writers picked up on her unhappiness, and they wrote it into her character ... It’s why Gracie always seemed unhappy and was in therapy.”</span></p>

TV

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Why you MUST visit the Nile in Egypt

<p>Are you ready for an adventure like no other? Could the Nile be the alluring getaway you have been waiting for? A river that stretches through 11 countries might just be the trip of a life time you have been waiting for.</p> <p>For many who travel down the Nile, it is a life source – giving water, fertile land and a means of transport through 11 countries.</p> <p>For others, it is the destination of a lifetime and a connection to the past for its rich culture and mysterious antiquity that has and continues to gravitate historians, archaeologists and tourists alike.</p> <p>Travel expert Catriona Rowntree has travelled the world for over 23 years, exploring the sights each place has to offer and seeing the world through the lens as host of <em>Getaway</em>.</p> <p>In the hundreds of trips and countless journeys she has experienced, Rowntree has decided to share her favourite trips by water.</p> <p>Here’s why, according to <em>The World of Cruising</em>, you should travel to Egypt and the Nile.</p> <p><strong>There are views everywhere you turn </strong></p> <p>One of the best parts about taking a scenic trip ashore down the mystique river of the Nile means everywhere you turn is a picture-perfect postcard view.</p> <p>It’s not just a home that is overwhelmingly reminiscent of your History textbook – it is the place where temples have risen and fallen, where tributes in honour of pharaohs have been carven from the lands soil.</p> <p>Rowntree wrote: “But the river itself … glorious! You won’t take a bad photo. The light is exquisite. Little children in tiny feluccas, sliding up next to your boat to sing for you or ask you to buy belly-dancer costumes.</p> <p>“The difference with this tour is that the devil is in the detail. It’s not the castle in the distance, or the rising vineyards snaking up the castle in the distance…</p> <p>“But it is the lone fisherman by the river’s edge, the elegant birdlife, the animals gently roaming in and out of the water…”</p> <p><strong>It’s a historical treasure </strong></p> <p>Without the serene waterway that is the Nile, there would be almost little to no ways to access the antiquities of Egyptian life there is on offer today, nor any way to see them.</p> <p>The Nile is not just a life source nor a large and magical chunk of history to hook your talons into – it is a basin that covers more than 10 per cent of Africa and spreads through 11 countries and holds an otherworldly connection to locals that has existed for over thousands of years.</p> <p>Being able to undergo a journey like a cruise along the Nile is stepping into a part of the Egyptian way of life.</p> <p>The historical river hosts connections to temples centuries old and heirlooms virtually untouched. It’s an easy glide from the waterway to marvels that rest on the banks of the river plains, including the Kom Ombo Temple and finally Aswan for the unfinished obelisk, Qena and Hathor’s Temple at Dendera, Luxor Temple, the Temple of Horus at Edfua, a felucca cruise to a Nubian village, and the Osiris temple complex at Philae, raised from the floods.<br /> </p> <p><strong>The ports are magical </strong></p> <p>From the banks of the Nile in Cairo to the tomb of Tutankhamun and the Valley of the Kings, cruisers will get the opportunity to explore it all at each of the handy ports created to take you as close to the wonders of Egypt as possible.</p> <p>Tour the Egyptian Museum which hosts the world’s largest collection of pharaonic antiquities and experience the significant artefacts that have stood the test of time. However, if you’re interested, you better get in fast! Queues start early.</p> <p>Luxor is another key port and is the home of the Temple of Karnak and the Valley of the Kings and Queens. Just a short trip from the main part of the city lies a little piece of earth you will never quite see ever again, with over 100 rooms to find yourself in and 63 tombs to see for yourself.</p> <p>The city of Luxor also features the Mummification Museum, giving you a whole new understanding of the age-old culture that enamours Egypt and gives insight just as to why it’s considered “the cradle of civilisation”.</p> <p>“Luxor, for me, is where that reputation all fell into place,” Rowntree writes.</p> <p><strong>Whether you’re a solo traveller or a big family – Egypt is a getaway for all</strong></p> <p>Both a wonderful holiday for both single travellers looking to explore the world of Egypt alone and families ready to take it all on together – cruises on the Nile cater to everyone.</p> <p>Would you like to take a scenic tour along the mystical Nile river? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

Cruising

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Sailing the Nile by dahabieh

<p>No trip to Egypt is complete without a cruise, and in the months of planning preceding our visit, we decided to avoid the big liners and instead take a more traditional dahabieh.</p> <p>Dahabiehs are smaller boats, powered by two sails and able to dock at small off-the beaten-track places that big liners can't.</p> <p><strong>One day on the Nile</strong></p> <p>The top deck of our dahabieh catches the early morning breeze. It's the perfect place to take in the changing views as we move slowly upstream.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36499/in-text-1_497x280.jpg" alt="In Text 1 (6)"/></p> <p>In the distance fishermen throw out nets. Small villages with traditional mud brick homes dot banks. Water buffalos wade in water beside fields where sugarcane is harvested.</p> <p>One small boy pulls a heavily laden and stubbornly resistant camel. I'm not sure who's going to win, but as we pass there's little evidence of progress.</p> <p>A little further upstream, date palms line the bank with reeds dominating the marshy foreshore. The water is blue and beautiful.</p> <p>We have Nile fish for lunch that's been bought from a passing village. As we eat we see more fields, lush with green plantings of corn, sesame, figs, pistachios, bananas, mangos and onions.</p> <p>Occasionally we spot birds, sometimes against the sky, sometimes on branches among marshes.</p> <p>Ten year old Nona and her Belgian family joined us just yesterday and she has a book called Birds of Egypt which we all rush to and consult whenever we glimpse something interesting. She's very rapidly becoming our resident ornithologist. So far we've identified, egrets, hoopoes, lapwings and kingfishers. I'm sure there'll be more.</p> <p>After lunch we dock at a small village and walk to El Kab. Before we even land we're besieged by a running, shouting mob of children, holding up small woven dishes. They've been made by village women, who have then sent these small emissaries to sell them.</p> <p>As we walk through the village I stop to look at one girl's small paper plaited plates liking their blue and green colours. But I have no money with me, and so have to shake my head and walk on. I glance back and see her eyes full of tears.</p> <p>At the day's end I sit on the small balcony that our cabin opens onto at the stern of the boat.</p> <p>We've moored for the evening and a village track parallel to the shore feels so close I could almost reach out and touch it.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36500/in-text-2_497x280.jpg" alt="In Text 2 (5)"/></p> <p>Two boys pass on a donkey. They see me with my camera and stop and laugh. I had no idea I was so funny, but it makes for a good photo. And in stark contrast to the day's earlier experience, I'm glad to see children being children.</p> <p>Light dims and evening draws in. As the sun sets the call to prayer resounds through fields that are now empty. But here on the Nile, life never stops.</p> <p><strong>Getting there</strong> Air New Zealand flies into Cairo and then we used Air Egypt for our internal flight down to Luxor, the departure point for our cruise.</p> <p><strong>Sailing there</strong> We sailed in a small traditional dahabieh. See <a href="http://lazulinil.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>l</strong><strong>azulinil.com</strong></span></a></p> <p><strong>Seeing there</strong> Life passes before your eyes as you sail. There are also daily stops at small villages and temples, such as the Temple of Horus at Edfu. We also docked at places inaccessible to larger liners, such as the ancient stone quarry of Djebel Silsila.</p> <p><em>Written by Marjory Woodfield. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>. Image credit: Marjory Woodfield via Stuff.co.nz. </em></p>

Cruising

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Cruising through antiquity on the Nile without the crowd

<p>On the top deck of the cruise ship River Tosca, the swimming pool was cool and inviting in the afternoon heat. Below, the fabled Nile River was wide and blue and calm. Palm trees dotted the shoreline where farm animals grazed.</p> <p>And I had the deck of the 72-metre ship all to myself.</p> <p>That's emblematic of cruising the Nile in a time when Egypt's tourist industry has been decimated by fears that the turmoil of 2011's Arab Spring lingers. The ship, designed to carry 82, had only 16 passengers for a week's journey in late February. We enjoyed hand-and-foot service and had no crowds to fight as we strolled through some of the most famous and spectacular remains of the land of pharaohs.</p> <p>Beth Misakonis and her husband, Leo, retired information technology professionals from the US, decided 2016 was the year for them to rebook their Egyptian cruise that was cancelled during the Arab Spring protests. Friends and relatives urged them not to go. But Beth noted that mass shootings happen in the US. "I think there are risks anywhere and everywhere," she said. Added Leo, "It's always been on our bucket list."</p> <p>A river cruise isn't always the best way to see a country's highlights, but it works perfectly for Egypt. The Nile's valley is Egypt's heartland and breadbasket, and the river itself is the main highway of Egyptian history, from Cairo in the north to Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel in the south. It's a tour where your clean, cool, spacious hotel room follows you from place to place, with no luggage to haul.</p> <p>Today's Egypt seemed a calm enough place when we visited. The country's military-led regime overthrew an elected Islamist government in 2013 and has since cracked down brutally on all forms of dissent, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the main Islamic social-political movement.</p> <p>Our small group with Uniworld river cruise line - all but two of us Americans - was often discreetly accompanied by armed guards. Whether that made us feel safer is up for debate, but no one in the group seemed concerned about our security, except perhaps when approached by locals desperate to sell us souvenirs. That wasn't always pleasant, but given the tourism decline it's easy to understand. A firm "la shukran" (no thank you) was usually enough to turn them away.</p> <p>The itinerary began and ended in Cairo, where the Four Seasons Hotel was our refuge in the sprawling, chaotic, dusty metropolis. We spent a full day at the beginning of the tour, and another at the end, in Cairo, at the same hotel. On the first day we saw the Egyptian Museum and Tahrir Square; on the last, we visited the pyramids.</p> <p>After an hour's flight south from Cairo we embarked on the River Tosca at Luxor, site of the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes. Many of the great sites of Egyptian antiquity are within a short bus ride of Luxor, including the temples of Karnak and Luxor, with their rows of massive columns. Only a bit farther away, on the Nile's west bank, lies the Valley of the Kings, burial place of Egyptian rulers over five centuries. The tombs showcase chambers with well-preserved paintings and hieroglyphics.</p> <p>From Luxor we sailed to Aswan, a little more than 161 kilometres south. We took a ride in a felucca, one of the nimble boats with triangular sails that have plied the river for centuries. On the way to visit a Nubian village, we stopped at a small sandy beach, where I walked down a plank lodged against the boat and waded into the cool, clear waters of the Nile.</p> <p>In British colonial times, Aswan's Old Cataract Hotel (cataract is an old-fashioned term for waterfall) was a favourite stop for tourists, including Agatha Christie, who wrote Death on the Nile there. We dropped in for high tea and a tour before returning to the ship.</p> <p>These days, Aswan is the southern terminus of Nile cruising - the Aswan High Dam, built with Soviet aid in the mid-20th century, cuts off river traffic there. Aswan is also the jumping-off point for what might be Egypt's most spectacular ancient site. And no, I don't mean the pyramids. A short flight south took us to Abu Simbel, the cliff-side temple complex built by the pharaoh Ramses II nearly 3300 years ago.</p> <p>Eighteen-metre-high statues of Ramses guard intimate temple chambers carved from solid rock. Even more amazing is the temple's recent history. When the construction of the high dam threatened to submerge the temple beneath Lake Nasser, the whole complex was carved into pieces and reassembled nearby on higher ground, grafted onto artificial cliffs custom-built to hold it. It's an engineering feat to rival anything the pharaohs accomplished.</p> <p>But the trip's most memorable moment didn't involve a temple, tomb or pyramid. On the last full day of the cruise, in late afternoon, my husband and I took a bottle of Egyptian red wine up to the top deck. We had the space to ourselves. The setting sun painted the western sky pink and blue behind streaks of clouds as we cruised north toward Luxor. Red, sandstone cliffs rose in the distance. A light breeze took the edge off the fading heat of the day. The only sound was the thrum of the ship's engines.</p> <p>We sipped our wine, read and watched the riverbank panorama for at least an hour, perhaps two. Then, from the direction of the rising moon, the Muslim call to evening prayer sounded, first from one brightly lit minaret in a riverside town, then another, and finally a chorus of rhythmic, fervent chanting.</p> <p>It was a sound that had been heard at this time of day, in this place for more than a millennium. And the pharaohs of Egypt had journeyed down this stretch of river two millennia before that.</p> <p>Perhaps there was a pretty sunset and a gentle breeze for their cruise, too.</p> <p><em>Written by Terri Colby. First appeared on <a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/international/2016/08/my-first-ever-solo-trip-since-my-husband-passed-away/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>My first ever solo trip since my husband passed away</strong></span></em></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/07/5-of-the-longest-rivers-in-the-world-to-cruise/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>5 of the longest rivers in the world to cruise</em></strong></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/travel-tips/2016/08/5-more-international-cities-you-should-never-visit-alone/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 more international cities you should never visit alone</strong></em></span></a></p>

Cruising

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