When it rains it pours

Tonight I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes by Mother Theresa:

"I know G-d will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."

That's pretty much been the theme in our house this past week or so. I try to count my blessings and maintain perspective, but sometimes that is easier said than done. Everything is fine here, just feeling like I have so many balls up in the air that it's only a matter of time before one drops. Sam came down with a terrible case of hand foot mouth disease last week and of course I then got sick and missed a day and half of work which I haven't done in a very long time. Between reg reform on Capitol Hill and my firm's client Cablevision buying Bresnan Communications last week, Brad and I are having the craziest weeks ever at work and are both working past midnight every night.

The lease on our townhouse is up very soon and we're in discussions with our tenants in hopes that they will re-sign for another 6 months so we won't have to worry about it. They've rented the townhouse for the past 18 months and we LOVE them! Our house is a disaster and my to do list is out of control. And of course, the dog started limping while I walked her tonight - no idea when or who will take her to the vet to figure out what's going on. On my way home from work tonight, a member of my synagogue asked me if I would serve on an advisory board for the synagogue - which of course I said yes to. I think I have "sucker" written across my forehead.

But, I'm reminded of all the wonderful things in my life and try to maintain perspective. All I need to do is look outside my window and perspective painfully smacks me in the face.

My neighbor was killed in Afghanistan last week. Ben was only 25, his 26th birthday was this week. His friends went out to dinner to celebrate his birthday and life. Ben joined the military in August and this was his first tour...and he came home in a casket to Dover Air Force Base. Our street is lined with yellow ribbons and has a looming sense of loss. I have felt so helpless and I know I have to do something to help his family through this terrible tragedy...so in my "free" I have organized many people in our neighborhood to contribute money so we can buy meals for his family from a local Korean market/restaurant. Ben is Korean and his family only eats Korean food (which is very hard to make, especially when I don't even know what it's supposed to taste like).

So, as I procrastinate from my work and yearn for my bed, I realize that in spite of everything, I can handle it all and more. As I rocked with Sam tonight, we sang our evening prayers, and our nightly "things we are thankful for," I remember how rich my life really is and treasure every moment of it. No parent should ever have to experience the living nightmare that Ben's parents are going through right now.

Napa & San Francisco without Sam - Memorial Day Weekend 2010

Over Memorial Day weekend, Brad and I went on our first post-baby vacation without Sam. He spent the weekend with my parents and had a fabulous time. We skyped with him and received many videos and texts on our phones, and despite my initial tears when we walked out the door - I did really well for my first time away from him overnight (I was never concerned with how he would do with my parents, i was more worried about how I would do being away from him overnight).

I was ready and am glad we did it. The plane ride was SO relaxing - I can't think of the last time I had 5 uninterrupted hours of reading books, watching movies, napping, etc. It's the small things in life! I read "Baby Love" by Rebecca Walker and "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. Both books made me start thinking again about my long-time desire to to write a novel...in my free time. You never know!

Napa was FABULOUS. When we arrived, we stopped at the town convenience store to pick up a few things and quickly realized we were no longer in DC. It was the yuppiest convenience store ever - with a ridiculously extensive wine selection, gourmet cheeses and meat, dozens of breads with dipping oils and spreads, etc. We quickly realized and embraced the theme of our weekend: GLUTTON.

We stayed at the Villagio Inn & Spa - www.villagio.com - amazing! Our villa had a fireplace which we used at night (it gets chilly there!). The grounds were gorgeous, full of amazing landscapes and roses of every shade. The "continental breakfast" was phenomenal and I quickly fell in love with their mimosas, brie and fig appetizers, and bread pudding with creme anglaise. The pool literally had queen size beds as "lounge chairs" - quite palatial!

We ate dinner at Bottega, restaurant of Top Chef Masters contestant Michael Chiarella. Despite our weekend with Congressman Thompson (we were in Napa for a fundraising weekend for Congressman Thompson - I LOVE Brad's job!) we were far more excited to see a celebrity chef (who we got to see!) than a Member of Congress. :) The food at Bottega was terrific, we had a very creative "green eggs and ham" dish and fabulous lamb with cherries. We sat outside next to an enormous stone fireplace with heat lamps, looking out over the picturesque valley.

The retreat took us to several wineries that were small, family-owned, and fabulous. Some of our favorite wines from the weekend were from Cakebread, Silver Stag, Long Meadow, and Folio (we only shipped 1 case of wine back to DC, talk about having to exercsie restraint!). Long Meadow also had an olive orchard and we tried our first olive oil tasting - which does not involve any bread, just a shot glass of olive oil (and they expect you to drink the whole thing!). The best compliment to an olive oil maker is for you to cough after consuming the oil, apparently it is supposed to burn the back of your throat. Apparently my timid sipping was insufficient to garner this result, but it was pretty darn good olive oil!

The wines were of course incredible, although I never tasted all of the things in the wine that the winemaker says I should taste. Citrus, cherries - yup, i taste those, check check. Cigar box? Black tea? Warm butter cookies? Brioche? Um...no. Didn't taste any of those things (and do I really want to drink something that tastes like a cigar box?). But we had fun trying wines we would never be able to find in DC and bonded with some new friends on the retreat (we became buddies with the chief of staff for the CT casino Mohegan sun and his wife). At one vineyard, we had a traditional pig roast (I wasn't a fan) and played bocce with Congressman Thompson as our referee/scorekeeper (he took the job VERY seriously, although I think he made up some of the rules).

As if the amazing food and wine wasn't enough, we had to sample the famous Bouchon Bakery (by celebrity chef Thomas Keller). Like kids in a candy store, we ordered practically 1 of everything with the intention of bringing them home to my parents. We should have known better than to tempt ourselves. We managed to get the treats home...but we took a bite or two out of every pastry in the box! I mean, we wouldn't want to give them to my parents and have them discover that they were terrible, right? We were doing them a favor!

We spent our final afternoon touring San Francisco. I haven't been there since I was 12 and Brad's never been there - we both absolutely loved it. We stayed at the Palace Hotel - again, quite palatial and reminded us of NYC's Waldorf Astoria. We explored Little Italy and Chinatown which actually has authentic Chinese restaurants and stores - unlike Washington's pathetic Chinatown. We were highly entertained by the women singing opera on the street for money - again, something else you don't see in DC. We saw the crazy turny Lombard Street and Fisherman's Wharf. We had a great dinner at the infamous Scoma's (thank you for the recommendation Kevin!) and ate the traditional San Francisco meal of cioppino, dungenness crab, and sourdough bread.

After dinner, I cajoled Brad to go see the sea lions on Pier 39. Forgetting the lessons about "listening to your wife, she's always right," he resisted and was like "why do I want to see sea lions??" Of course I won the argument, and once we got down to the sea lions, he said "this is SO cool!" He snapped about a zillion pictures of the sea lions and wanted to stay for an hour! We learned more than you ever wanted to know about sea lions. Apparently sea lions have big visible ear flaps, seals do not. Fascinating...

We wrapped up our weekend with a final ode to glutton - with a HUGE and amazing chocolate peanut butter ice cream sundae made with Ghirardelli chocolate at the famous Ghirardelli ice cream shop in Ghirardelli square. YUM.

We had a fabulous trip, but were happy to be back to our baby boy. Although i didn't miss changing diapers or the early mornings, I was ready to come home to his smiley happy face. I think our waist lines were also ready for us to come home too.

Finding balance

Today my friend Jake gave me one of the nicest parenting compliments today - he said "for the son of a lawyer and a lobbyist, Sam really has a Tom Sawyer-like life! Playing in the garden, eating dirt, and swinging from trees." What a wonderful thing to say, it totally made my day! I love this gorgeous spring weather and truly cherish my wonderful schedule. I am at work Wed-Frid and home with Sam Mon/Tues (and the weekend). I feel like I have the best of both worlds and really love taking Sam to playdates, Stroller Strides, walk in the neighborhood, play in the backyard with the dog (his best friend), go to the playground, push him in the swing under the tree, bang on pots and pans together, and just hang out. He has had a bit of a cold this week and has fallen asleep while cuddling with me several times in the past few days. There is truly nothing better than snuggling with your baby. I feel like I’ve found a fabulous balance in my life and feel very blessed!

Sam's new favorite game on the plane

This past week, we spent a glorious 4 days in Orlando FL. Brad was invited to speak at a conference so Sam and I tagged along! The resort was gorgeous - it is Marriott's biggest hotel in the U.S. http://www.marriottworldcenter.com/

We swam, slept, played, and just hung out. While we were there, Sam learned to kick a ball (future soccer player!), clap his hands on command without us making any hand gestures, became very proficient drinking milk through a sippy cup, learned to drink from a straw, and bear-walked everywhere.

The "family" security line at Orlando Int'l airport was ridiculous, tons of screaming/crying kids throwing tantrums b/c they were sad to leave Disney. I hate being relegated to the family line - I want to tell TSA that I am an expert traveler, despite the stroller and I don't need to be in this line for slowpokes. Argh.

When we got to the gate, Sam was whining and crying a bit and wanted to get out of the stroller. We started getting looks from other passengers waiting to board the flight. You knew they were thinking "Great, we're going to have a crying baby on our flight." I joked to them that I promised he wouldn't cry and he's actually quite good on the plane! What an understatement, Sam was the star of the flight and cracked everyone up.

We were giving him crackers to help with his ears popping. He held the cracker out for Brad to take a bite of the cracker and then when Brad went to bite it, Sam yanked it away from him and then threw his head back and howled in laughter. He probably did this about 50 times and laughed hysterically for like 30 min. Everyone around us was laughing too and wanted to hold him, etc. He's such a ham and loves to put on a show. We laughed throughout the entire flight. What a good little boy. The vaca was much needed for all of us.

Letter to Sibley Hospital for Sam's first birthday

This week I took Sam to visit Sibley hospital where he was born and spent the first 3 weeks of his life. We were able to see Rebecca, the wonderful nurse who delivered Sam, and some of the doctors/nurses in the NICU who were SO excited to see him. We brought them cupcakes, pictures, and a letter updating them on Sam's life (since we wouldn't get to see all of our favorite people).

Here's the letter we sent:

Dear Sibley Friends,

It is hard to believe that 1 year ago we were patients at Sibley delivering our precious baby Samuel Geller-Cheney at 32 weeks. His birthday is this week (March 24th) and we wanted to take this opportunity to once again thank you for all that you did to ensure that despite his early arrival, he would have every possible chance for a healthy and happy life.

We are so delighted to report back to you that as he turns one year old, he is absolutely amazing and completely caught up on all milestones (and even ahead on a few). He weighs 22 pounds and loves to eat table food (eats like a horse!). He is exceptionally happy and social – his babysitter calls him Mr. Sunshine. He smiles and laughs all day long at everything. He loves to share (especially giving food to the dog), wave, give high five, stick out his tongue on command, fall down at the end of Ring Around the Rosy, and so much more. He has two words that he uses intentionally (“hi” and “dog”) and is very communicative with his other sounds and gesture.

His favorite activity is exploring everything around him – his favorite toys include opening and shutting doors/cabinets, the dishwasher, Tupperware, the dog’s water bowl (he loves to splash and pour the water on his head), toilet paper, watching his shadow in the sun, and the dog. He is a very proficient crawler and cruises around holding onto furniture. He loves his push toy and is beginning to take a few unsteady steps. He has five teeth and 2 more are breaking through (which he is not enjoying).

We are continually amazed by his endless smiles and sunny disposition. He is an amazing sleeper and an overall easygoing baby. He is very healthy (we survived the winter with only a few minor colds!) and his reflux is completely gone!

We thought you would enjoy some pictures of Sam from the past year. He brings so much joy to our lives. We will be eternally grateful for everything you did to help with his challenging beginning. Your thoughtfulness, attentiveness, kindness, care, love, compassion, and support touched our hearts and our lives. We will never forget the amazing gift that you gave to our baby boy and to our family.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all that you did for our family and for what you do every day!

We hope that you all are doing well. We think of you often.

Best,
Rebecca Geller, Brad Cheney, & Samuel Geller-Cheney

P.S. – We hope that you enjoy the cupcakes!

Reflecting back on Sam's first birthday

This time last year was the most wonderful and scariest day of my life. I'll never forget the sentenced I uttered to Brad on that lazy Saturday morning when I first realized that something strange was going on and I said "Brad, I think my water might be leaking." I read my pregnancy book, called my mom, laid down in bed flat on my back, and then finally called my ob/gyn. He calmly said, why don't you come on in and we'll check things out.

We didn't even pack a bag - I expected the doctor to say that I needed to be on bed rest and send me home. My baby shower was supposed to be the next day, the nursery was totally empty, we had nothing ready (especially ourselves). Our childbirth class was supposed to be the following week (even though I wanted to do it earlier and the hospital wouldn't let me! Argh!) And yet, after examining me, Dr. Footer said, "your water has broken, you will not be able to leave the hospital until the baby is born - in fact, you won't be able to sit up until the baby is born."

I spent the next 3 days having contractions 6-10 minutes apart, praying that we would make it past 48 hours (which is the requisite time needed for the steroids to take its full effect and speed up the development of a premie's lungs). 48 hours came and went. The steroids were in, whew! Friends and family, came and went. The hours ticked by. One minute I just wanted to be done with this prolonged process and deliver the baby already - and the next minute I wanted to keep him in as long as possible. I was filled with hope, fear, excitement, confusion, and anxiety. What would he look like? Would he be able to breathe on his own? How little would he be at 32 weeks? Will he be healthy? Will he have any long-term developmental or cognitive problems? On day 3, it became clear that we couldn't hold off delivery any longer - he was ready to greet the world!

He was small (4 pounds 8 oz, 18.5 inches long) but breathing on his own and healthy - no major problems except being early. I got to see him quickly before they took him to the NICU and then Brad was able to spend time with him. The first time I got to go back to the NICU, Brad had to point him out to me because I didn't know which one he was. Unbelievable - I didn't know which one was my child. Crazy to think about it like that. For the first week or so, I certainly loved him, but as i said to my mom - I didn't know him yet. We felt like visitors, not his parents. Every night we sang the Shema, V'havta, and "Good Night Sweetheart, it's time to go" and cried when we left after spending 12 hours/day in the hospital.

We also spent some time during those 3 weeks getting ready for his arrival home - my wonderful friends gave me the baby shower gifts so we would have a carseat to bring him home in and all of the other stuff. But it was a horrible 3 weeks. One of the lactation consultants helped me process everything and she helped me realize that I needed to mourn the loss of the rest of my pregnancy. I hadn't thought about it in that perspective, but she was right. I was robbed of a significant part of my pregnancy. As much as it may be unpleasant and uncomfortable at the end of 9 months, it's part of the process that I didn't experience and had expected to go through. I expected to be pregnant on my birthday 2 weeks later and at Passover. I realized that I needed to process what had happened before I could move on.

After an agonizing 3 week stay in the NICU with the most spectacular NICU team in the world - Sam finally came home and we began to get used to the idea of being a family with a baby. I still struggle to understand why he came early. Did I eat something I shouldn't have eaten? Was I not taking it easy? Was I working too hard and not getting enough rest? Why did this happen?

My doctor has assured me time and time again that there is nothing I could have done differently and they don't know why he came early. I had seen my doctor 4 days before I went into labor and everything was perfectly normal - sometimes these things just happen and there's no explanation. I hate that answer. I hate not knowing why and not being able to fix it for a future pregnancy. Even though I know I shouldn't, part of me will always wonder why...

All of this is a way for me to truly appreciate the miracle that is Sam and how incredibly grateful I feel on this day, March 24, 2010 - his 1st birthday. He is absolutely amazing and a blessing. He is inquisitive and curious about everything. He is happy, smiley, and laughs all day long. He is energetic and strong. He is social, engaging, and loves to share. He loves to explore and get into everything. He is cuddly and affectionate. He is sweet and easygoing. He is determined and stubborn (wonder where he gets that one from). He has strong likes and dislikes. After a year of being his mommy, I not only love him - but I know him better than anyone in the world and I am head over heels in love with him.

Happy birthday Sam, you are the best thing to ever happen to me!

Grateful for my TERRIFIC Husband

As much as I love my Mondays and Tuesdays home with Sam, taking care of a sick baby while I am also sick is one of the most difficult things. Sam came down with a virus a few days ago and generously shared it with me (not sure how Brad didn't get sick). Sam and I were both up throughout the night coughing and overall feeling terrible.

Being the amazing dad and husband that he is, Brad worked from home today so he could take care of Sam. BLESS HIM. I really don't know what I would have done otherwise. Sam was not a happy boy and I was not a happy mommy today.

I then decided to watch the ridiculous Brad Pitt Nazi movie on pay per view - Inglourious Basterds. Anyone seen it? It was....interesting. And as Brad pointed out at the end - it will most definitely give me nightmares tonight. As if I didn't already have trouble sleeping while I'm sick. Brilliant move on my part.

Anyway, today made me really appreciate how wonderful Brad is and how grateful I am to have him as my partner in life. Sam is a very lucky little boy (even if Brad doesn't notice the food all over Sam's face even after Brad has "washed" his face off.) I also have absolutely no idea how my single parent friends manage - especially days like today. Hats off to you all!

Three cheers for Brad!

Returning to the Wonderful World of Blogging

After a 2+ year hiatus from my blog, I have decided to start blogging again. Those of you who enjoy (or stalk or make fun of) my facebook status updates about life with an infant -- get ready, because here comes a whole lot more!

I have recently spent a lot of time contemplating over how much I have changed in the 10+ months since Sam was born and concluded that a blog would be a helpful place for me to share my thoughts and connect with others who may be experiencing a similar time of transformation.

As I look back over my earlier blog entries (my volunteer trip to post-Katrina New Orleans in 2006, my 6 country post-bar trip in 2007), I'm amazed how different my life is now. What I would give to sleep in again!

As much as I miss some parts of my pre-mommy life (being able to leave the house without spending 30 minutes preparing and packing a zillion things) - I am continually surprised by how much I enjoy being a mom and how much I am totally in love with Sam. Sure, there are days when it's tough - who could possibly enjoy scrubbing a tub full of baby poop (especially for people like me who are "challenged" in the cleaning arena"). But, he is so much more fun, interactive, engaging, and exciting than I ever imagined.

I hope that this blog will become a great outlet for me to record the important happenings in the life of Sam and the Geller-Cheney household...especially since I have mostly neglected my "must write things down in the baby book" responsibility (despite my parents' reminders).

I welcome comments, thoughts, insight, and stories in the blog - so feel free to contribute and participate!

Happy blogging!

Final Travel Update - Bulgaria & Turkey

Much to our surprise, we LOVE LOVE LOVED Bulgaria. We took a train from Thessaloniki, Greece to Sofia, Bulgaria (which is the capital of Bulgaria). Bulgarians are extremely warm and welcoming to foreigners and have a fierce pride of their history. Part of the former Soviet Union, Bulgaria is a very new and sometimes struggling democracy that has suffered from intense inflation and rapid market changes.

However, as the Bulgarians have said themselves - their culture overall tends to be easygoing since they were dominated by a foreign government for centuries. Bulgaria was just admitted into the European Union in January 2007 and is slowly transitioning into the EU. The euro is not yet in circulation in Bulgaria, but they hope to have it there soon.

Perhaps most interesting on our entire trip is the "Bulgarian bobble" as they call it. In Bulgaria, if you nod your head - this means that you are saying "no". If you shake your head - this means that you are saying "yes". Basically, the complete opposite of how you communicate with your head in the U.S. We had no idea how much we nod our heads until we were in Bulgaria and managed to confuse them thoroughly!

We had several conversations that quickly disintegrated into "Abbott & Costello" sounding conversations, as it is very difficult to remember the opposite meanings of the shaking/nodding of your head. "Is that chocolate ice cream?" He shakes his head no. We say, ok, so then what is it? He says, Chocolate! We say, ok and nod our heads. He says "what?" We say "we just asked you if that's chocolate?" He shakes his head. Oy vey!!!

Other than the confusing head gestures, Sofia is a beautiful town. It is full of plazas, fountains, gardens, pedestrian only streets, sidewalk markets, etc. We began with the Sveta Nedelya Cathedral which is a magnificent domed church famous because in 1925 communists blew up part of the church in an attempt to assassinate Tsar Boris III. Over 120 people were killed in the attack including most of the cabinet, but Boris escaped unharmed. We then visited the gorgeous St. Nikolai Russian church which features murals painted in the 11th century and was the church of Bishop Serafim, one of Bulgaria's most important spiritual leaders. He is entombed in the cathedral and worshippers write their prayers and wishes on pieces of paper to leave beside his monument.

We traipsed through Yuzhen Park and saw the "1300 Years Monument" built in 1981 to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the First Bulgarian Empire. Personally, it looked like it could fall over and collapse at any moment...but who knows. We saw the Monument to the Soviet Army which was built to commemorate the Russian "liberation" of Bulgaria in 1944 and is a classic example of the bullish and intimidating social-realism of that time period. It was a stark comparison to the "Sofia monument" which is a 24 meter high monument which has become the city's symbol. It is built on the site where a HUGE statue of Lenin once stood. This statue is a bronze female figure on top of a column, representing Sofia, supposedly the personification of wisdom and fate (yay for having women figures as the symbol of Sofia!)

One of our favorite parts of Sofia is the synagogue which is the largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe, consecrated in 1919. Bulgaria only has a few thousand Jews and the synagogue is very well guarded. We purchased some terrific Bulgarian Jewish music at the synagogue and gawked at the unbelievable 2.5 ton brass chandelier dangling from the ceiling - really incredible to see and well known throughout Bulgaria. We also toured the Banya Bashi mosque which is the city's only working mosque. Built in the 1500s by the Turks it is a beautiful structure in the heart of the city.

And of course, we visited the Alexsander Nevski Memorial Church which is perhaps the most well known symbol of not only Sofia, but of the entire country of Bulgaria. It was built in the late 1800s as a memorial to the 200,000 Russian soldiers who died fighting for Bulgaria's independence during the Russian-Turkish war. The massive, awe--inspiring church is truly exceptional with neo-Byzantine style architecture, domes laden with several tons of gold, intricate mosaics, and chandeliers.

The food in Bulgaria was decent, nothing too exciting. Although we managed to regularly confuse waiters with our head nodding and shaking! Oy vey again! The most famous Bulgarian food is the shopska salad which is made of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions covered with shredded feta cheese. The Bulgarian food is heavily influenced by Greece & Turkey - lots of kebabs, salads, etc.

So, after a terrific time exploring Sofia, we headed for the train station to take the overnight train to Istanbul, Turkey. The train was delayed for over 2 hours so we sat in the train station reading our Turkey travel books. After a few minutes, two young men came over and asked us if we were visiting Turkey? They spoke fluent English and sat with us for the next 2 hours giving us suggestions on where to visit, what to eat (and what to not eat!), how to get around, Turkey's culture, etc. They were both in college and were hilarious and very very helpful.

They gave us their cell #s and emails and excitedly asked for us to keep in touch with them, they would love to have friends in the U.S. The most interesting part of our conversation was when they found out we are from Washington, DC and they immediately asked us what we think of President Bush. Being the good Democrats that we are, we of course told them that we are anti-Bush - which they were thoroughly surprised by. They thought that all Americans support Bush!

They also felt that after the American invasion of Iraq, we would next invade Iran, and then we would invade Turkey! It was absolutely fascinating to hear their perspective on the American government's "blood hungry drive" and our obsession with the military industry and oil. They also told us that although Istanbul was a very modern city, very very few people spoke English. Once we got on the train, they invited us to their cabin to share in their ample supply of wine and vodka (which we politely declined).

The train ride was...well...not quite what we expected. We were in a first class cabin which was by far the dirtiest and shoddiest place we stayed in the entire trip. The train was NOTHING like the very modern, European train we took from Greece to Bulgaria. Rather, this was a Soviet era train that was barely functional at best. But, we sucked it up and made do for the 13 hour train ride. On the train, I was commenting to David that the entire trip had been going so smoothly and not a single problem had arisen. Of course, I spoke too soon.

In Bulgaria, we asked multiple people about the visa fee to travel from Bulgaria to Turkey. EVERYONE told us that we could pay this visa fee with Bulgarian money since it was right on the Bulgarian border. So, we saved enough Bulgarian money to pay for this visa fee (which was $20/person). But, when we had to exit the train at 3:30am at the border to go through immigration - we quickly discovered that they did not accept Bulgarian money!

There was no ATM at the station and our hearts began pounding as we realized that it was the middle of the night in a podunk town on the border between Bulgaria & Turkey. After much pleading with the only vendor that was open at the train station, the wonderful wonderful duty free shop-owner agreed to give us Turkish lyra in exchange for our Bulgarian money - and we were able to purchase the visas! Hurray!

We arrived in Istanbul early in the morning and quickly began to venture out and explore istanbul, which is the only city in the world that is on two continents (Europe and Asia)! It was our first time seeing rain in about a month, so we pulled out our travel ponchos and set out in the storm for our sightseeing!

We began with a lunch at a cafe outside the Ayasofia where we chatted with a newlywed couple from Manhattan on their honeymoon. We tried some terrific kebabs and fell in love with the Turkish dish called "iskender" which is shaved lamb and chunks of pita bread soaked in yogurt covered in a spicy tomato sauce. We ate this dish multiple times in Istanbul it was so good!

But anyway, we toured the Ayasofia which was the largest Christian church in the world from 500 AD to 1500 AD. It was designed to surpass in grandeur, glory, and magesty every other religious edifice ever constructed - and it truly was gorgeous with a soaring dome about 15 stories high that is 100 feet wide, glittering gold mosaic tiles and vast windows

Next we headed for the Blue Mosque which is one of the most defining features of Istanbul's skyline. The goal of the Blue Mosque was to rival the Ayasofia! The successively descending gold domes have created numerous legends, but the place is beautiful. We donned the appropriate scarfs and covering to cover my shoulder's and took our shoes and socks off - as is traditional to do in a mosque.

Along the way we passed the Hippodrome and then toured the Yerabatan Cistern which bears a striking resemblance to a scene out of Phantom of the Opera. It was a gigantic underground fishpond that was used to store water in the city, but now is a historical artifact filled with hundreds of huge fish (like over 20 pound fish!) There are also two famous Medusa heads, one on its side and the other upside down. Mythology says that placing her this way neutralizes her power and caused her to turn herself into stone.

Finally, we headed to the massive and incredible Grand Bazaar - with over 2600 shops, it is incredibly overwhelming to navigate, but very exciting at the same time. We purchased souvenirs and sharpened our haggling skills with the various stores, this is truly THE place to bargain about prices! The sights, colors, smells, etc - just incredible. There are also about 15 gates which all look exactly the same so we also spent quite a bit of time trying to find our way back out of the bazaar as well!

And then we headed for the AMAZING Turkish baths. The men's part of the Turkish baths was more complex than the women's side, so here is David's perspective on the Turkish bath experience:

The Turkish Baths were . . . well . . . interesting to say the least. The women and men both had their own Bath houses, but David's experience seems much more appealing, accurately reflecting the male-dominance in the Turkish society. So, the following is David's account.
As you walk into the bath house, you feel like you are in the lobby of an average priced ski lodge. We both purchased the premium package which included a 10 minute exfoliating soap bath and a half hour oil massage. Then we parted ways and went to our respective baths.

The men went upstairs where everyone has an individual room with a glass outter wall and door that overlooks the common area below. Little did the lucky ladies below know they could get a show if they only looked up! In the room, we (well, now I) stripped and put on red plaid loin cloths (basically) and sandals, both of which were provided. Then, after locking the door and putting the key's strap on your wrist, the men walk back down through the common area (again, those below with wandering eyes potentially receiving a show that usually only those who pay good money can see) and into the first room of the bath house.

The first room is full of men of all ages and sizes dripping with either water or sweat. I'll get back to this room in a bit. After walking through this room, you walk through the next door into the main area of the bathhouse. I have never seen anything like it. It was as hot as a sauna, big enough to hold a Bar Mitzvah, and shaped like an octagon with a fifty foot, dome-shaped ceiling. In the middle of the room was a raised marble platform about three feet high and forty feet in diameter. In the middle of this platform were sweaty men relaxing on their backs, so I joined them.

On the perimeter of the platform were men on their backs or stomachs or sitting receiving their exfoliating soap bath. On the perimeter of the room, about ten feet from the platform, were basins that looked like toilets with a big faucet running into each. Most were filled with water and had metal bowls resting at its foot. Some even had men sitting next to them using these bowls to pour water over their heads and bodies.

Thirty minutes and thirty pounds of water weight later, Ahmed beckoned me to the perimeter to get mine. I remember his name was Ahmed because he reminded me twenty times and spelled it thirty. I wonder if someone was trying to get a tip . . .

Now Ahmed was a very nice guy, but if he were an animal that was regularly eaten by people, he would feed a family of ten for a month, and his moustache would produce three complete wigs. He was one stong, hairy man. Regardless, I was excited because everyone else looked like they were in heaven (I never thought I'd imagine a big hairy man being in my version of heaven . . . ) The soap bath began with cracking my back and ended with a bucket of water being thrown over my head, and I welcomed both equally as much. Ahmed then pointed me to the room through which I had first walked. In there, I took a seat on the marble floor next to one of the same basins as in the sauna room. Ahmed followed me and washed my hair then pointed me to a line for the oil massage.

After a twenty minute wait for the oil massage, upon entering the room, its aura forced a sudden calm over me. After changing into a dry towel and informing everyone in the room that I was not a Bush fan (they asked and gladly laughed at my answer), I endured a thirty minute good massage. It was nothing memorable, but it was definitely worth it. Following a quick shower, I walked back into the hair-washing room where Ahmed (he was all over the place) changed my towel for me and wrapped me in a warm dry towel and gave me a turban on my headwith another. "Yea, yea, yea. You're name's Ahmed." I returned to my glass locker upstairs and changed back into my street clothes. When back downstairs, Rebecca and I were sharing fresh orange juice when I saw Ahmed standing in the middle of the common room staring at me. So, I caved and gave him a tip. I had never been so relaxed, and never had I even had a dream that was as weird . . . What an experience.

We had a terrific dinner of iskender (we love it!) and various Turkish appetizers and headed for the hotel. The next day we TRIED to visit the Jewish parts of Istanbul. After some very very frustrating communication barriers with security guards at the synagogue (which has been bombed twice in recent years), we finally gave up and realized that they simply would not allow us inside!

So, we headed for the Jewish museum which has a terrific timeline of Jewish life in Turkey for hundreds of years. However, the process of finding this museum, tucked away in an alley that was not on any of our maps was quite an experience. As our Turkish friends had told us - very very few people in Turkey speak English. I've been to 24 countries and Turkey was by far, the hardest country I've been in to use English. I was very surprised since Istanbul is such a modern city - but we just tried to adapt and do our best.

After the Jewish museum, we walked across the Galata bridge which is lined with various fish cafes UNDERNEATH the bridge, it was quite interesting. We went to one for lunch with huge bean bag chairs for chairs and tried some of the local fish (which wasn't too amazing to be honest, but worth trying).

Next we headed for the Topkapi palace which is...well, PALATIAL is the best word for it. Residence of the sultans and seat of the Ottoman Empire for almost 400 years, the palace was ENORMOUS. Perhaps most well known was its harem sector with over 400 rooms for the 800+ "concubines" available to the sultan, the last one was released in 1909! As a feminist, it was historically interesting - but i just have to say...YUCK. The rest of the palace was just breathtaking, the kitchen is the largest kitchen in the world and had over 1,000 employees. We bumped into the NY lawyer couple who we had seen several times throughout Istanbul and chatted with them about the palace's grandeur.

We left the palace after quite a few hours and sat in one of the cafes outside. David was playing solitaire while I was chatting with Brad and the man at the next table (wearing a Georgetown shirt) asked him what he was playing. After much conversation, we quickly discovered that the man was from Turkey but lived in the U.S. (his wife had gone to American University!) and he was in the Turkish rug business.

He noticed our Frommer's travel book in my bag and said - turn to page 140 - they interviewed me for that page - and sure enough, it was the page all about "how to buy a Turkish rug!). He kept pushing us to buy a Turkish rug which he says are marked up 5-6x in the U.S. (although they still begin at $1000+ even in Turkey!).

After chatting with him, went to the Spice Market at the top of the Golden Horn. We learned all about the "Natural Turkish viagara" which they are known for - it is basically pistachioes, honey, and some other spices - but they had a million kinds of it and it supposedly has the same impact as taking Viagara. Enough said. But, the spice market was so fun - there were samples galore, you could smell everything, all the colors and scents were quite powerful. We tried some things that tasted amazing, and then tried one candy that was probably the most foul thing I've ever sampled! :) But, such is life in a foreign country.

Well, that's about it! We had iskender for dinner (again) and headed back to the hotel to pack up and head for the airport the next day! It was a tremendous trip and we had a great time!

Fourth Travel Update - Greece

David and I both arrived in the Athens airport around the same time and successfully met up with each other at our "meeting point". As I stood in line to go through immigration, I met two guys who had just taken the New York bar exam and we exchanged our shared miserable stories about that horrid process. :) After I met up with David, we thought it would be fun to explore every possible part of the airport...in our attempt to find an ATM machine that worked and would actually give us Euros! After the 9th machine, we did a little dance for joy upon actually receiving the money. We also ran into the Italian national basketball team in the airport - who were all over 8 feet tall!

Exploring Athens was fascinating, it's really not such a beautiful city. The traffic is terrible, graffiti runs rampant, and there are porn/sex shops galore. However, it's remarkable how the city is built around the ancient Greek structures that are sprinkled throughout the modern, downtown Athens. We explored Hadrian's arch, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the national gardens.

While walking along the sidewalk, you practically run into the Roman baths which were found when Athens began constructing their underground subway system - the baths date back to 5th century BC and literally are in the middle of the sidewalk along the road. The Congressional hall (for their Parliament) is also very interesting - the building once served as a homeless shelter during a housing shortage in the 1900s. Hard to imagine the U.S. capitol ever serving as a homeless shelter...

We also visited the Panthinaikon Stadium which was built in 330 BC and is also right on the side of a very busy street. In 1896, the first modern Olympics were held in the stadium and it was used again for the summer Olympics in 2004. The Greek Presidential Palace is actually very similar to the White House, except for the VERY strangely dressed security guards who resemble the guards at Buckingham Palace. We went to take a picture next to them - they don't move, their eyes are glued on the street, and they are standing as straight as an arrow. They don't even flinch when one of the city's thousands of stray dogs brushes up against them!

Perhaps the most impressive site in Athens is the Acrpolis. We climbed the 500 foot mountain to get to the ancient city of Acropolis that was built in the 5th century BC. Among other ancient greek ruins, is the Parthenon which is the temple of the Greek goddess Athena and is considered the most important surviving building of classical Greece. The U.S. Supreme Court looks remarkably similar to the Parthenon.

The food in Athens has been terrific, we've tried salami and feta sandwiches, calzones, fantastic Greek salad, etc. Greek salad in Greece is very different than in the states - there is no lettuce, it's just cucumbers, onions, olives, and tomatoes with olive oil and amazing feta cheese. We also had pizza with goudah cheese which was actually better than we expected. The waiter also brings a bowl of ice and places it in the middle of the table (w/o tongs) for us to use in our glasses as we choose. Strange. They also bring us the bill and put it on the table whent he main course is delivered to the table - also odd. We left Athens via the Port of Pireaus on a high speed ferry for Cyclade Santorini (cyclade = island).

The ferry was ENORMOUS, like a huge cruis ship - thousands of people and cars travel throughout the Greek islands on the ferry. We watched the sun set over the Aegean sea from the ferry and arrived in Santorini which Greeks consider to be the most beautiful of the Greek islands.

Our hotel in Santorini was only a few meters from a black sand beach that was created from the volcano on the island. The volcano is still active and most recently erupted in the 1950s. The beach was fabulous, David was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was a topless beach! The water was very interesting, it was not blue at all because the floor of the sea is paved in black volcanic rock - there is no sand anywhere along the sea or under it from the volcano.

We had a great lunch at an outdoor cafe at the beach, grilled feta with veggies, tzatziki sauce (which tasted a lot like Costco's tzatziki sauce!), Greek salad, spinach pie, and Greek meatballs. While hanging out at the pool bar in our hotel,we became friends with two American women, Lili & Kathy, who were in their early thirties. One is a family doctor and the other is a medical student. We had a terrific time with them and went out to dinner together. The doctor's story was incredible, she is jewish and was born in Russia and her parents sneaked out to the U.S. and eventually arrived in NYC where they worked 4 jobs and tried to make a living - and now their child is a doctor. Talk about the American dream.

So anyway, our meal was fun and the food was phenomenal - we all shared everything which ranged from stuffed grape leaves, fish roe salad, Greek potata salad, fava beans, smashed yellow peas, moussaka, swordfish, lamb chops, creamed mushrooms, beets, and olive tapenade. While we chatted with the two, David asked our friend Steve, the thirty-something bartender from San Francisco working in Crete for the summer, what liquor was special to Greece. He recommended the Ouzo. So, David partook, and didn't necessarily enjoy. But, when in Rome . . . or Greece! Ouzo is known throughout different parts of Europe, but Greece claims to have the best. It tastes very similar to Sambuko (which tastes like liquorish) is commonly mixed with only water and ice.

Conversation was terrific - Kathy was a life long Florida Republican and has now decided to vote for and even volunteer for Hillary! :) yay! We left Santorini on a 4:30am ferry to head to Crete. It was pitch black when we arrived at the port which is at the bottom of a huge mountain. There are no lights on the mountain road which is carved into the side of the mountain, so from the bottom of the mountain, you basically just see headlights snaking their way through the side of the mountain - it was quite the sight to see!

The ferry was very strange - there are no assigned seats unless you purchased tickets in a cabin (which we thankfully had done!), but people are sprawled out sleeping on the floor EVERYWHERE, there are not enough chairs for all the passengers- I can't believe that people travel like that for hours and hours on the ferry. But we had a cabin and slept quite well on the way to Crete. Crete was great, but extremely hot - as was Athens and Santorini.

At this time of year, the Greek islands usually experience weather in the mid 80s. When we were there, they had a tremendous heat wave and it was between 105 - 110 degrees every day. VERY hot to say the least. In Crete we went to the archaelogical musuem which has artifacts from the Minoan civilization in Crete - dating back 6800 years!!! The Minoans were one of the first civilizations in Europe. We toured the Palace of Knossos which has the oldest spiral staircase, toilet, and chair in all of Europe. The current Greek chair in the Hague is actually designed after the Minoan chair found at the Place of Knossos on Crete.

We had a fabulous time visiting the "Wet Wet" beach (literally, that's the name of the beach, we're not making it up!) which is where the Ionian & Aegean seas merge. The beach was gorgeous, crystal blue water with islands scattered throughout the sea. The local airport was at one end of the beach so every few hours a plane would come roaring down over our heads and looked like it would actually land in the water. One plane missed the runway and had to circle back around and try to land again!

We then took an overnight ferry back to Piraeus which was on an even more impressive ferry than the previous ones! It had escalators throughout and reminded us a lot of the boat in the movie Titanic (except of course - our ferry didn't crash into an iceberg and sink!). But the customer service was entertaining, the cashier refused to let us change our order - he said, once it is punched in, he can't change it. Again, there were people without cabin assignments who slept everywhere, some brought hammocks or blow up mattresses and slept on them in the lobby! The ferry was supposed to arrive at 5:30am, so we set our alarms for 5:15am. But, there was some delay and we didn't disembark until 6:45am, so much sleep we missed out on! :) It seemed that the gods did not want to allow us an easy morning - beginning with our shortened sleep.

The cab ride from Piraeus to the Budget car rental office required two different cars. The first began to break down after two minutes of the fifteen minute drive, so the driver pulled over and arranged for another cab to take us the rest of the way. Upon arrival, we learned that the office was not yet open. Thankfully, we recognized the Temple of Zeus across the street, and we remembered there being a number of cafes close by. Unfortunately when we found them, they too were closed. So we sat on the curb in the 100 degree heatwave that continued and dined on the delicious Special K cereal bars we had packed.

Soon after our fine dining, we headed back to Budget and saw a man unlocking the doors and entering - this made us very happy. Maybe the gods had changed their minds? Nah . . . when we sat down with the man, he told us a price that was considerably more expensive than we originally had been told (and had in writing from Budget). However, we were told that we could either pay the new price or go somewhere else. So, we paid and asked for a good map of Greece since we were driving through Western and Northern Greece the next few days. They had none. Budget, who undoubtedly provides a plethora of tourists with rental cars for vacation every day had no maps of Greece to give us. So, we rented a GPS system that was programmed in German (good thing neither of us knows German!). If the lack of maps was a ploy for us to spend extra money, it worked. Grrrr Budget.

So after finally finding our way out of Athens, we headed toward Delphi and tried to make a stop in Thebes which was right along the way. For those who don't know, Thebes is where the story of Oedipus originates. However, when we drove through Thebes, no road signs catered to us egocentric English-speaking tourists. In fact, this seemed to be a trend along most of the roads. After a failed attempt of a stop in Thebes, we continued to Delphi. Immediately upon arriving in Delphi, we fell in love with the area. The quaint town of 2,000 people rests in the side of Mount Parnassus overlooking the Gulf of Corinth. Our family-run Acropole Hotel was on the road (the town has three) that juts out the most from the mountain. It was separated from the main roads, where the shops and restaurants were, by flights of twenty steps. Every room in the hotel had a balcony with an absolutely breathtaking view. David couldn't stop taking pictures.

After settling in, we explored the ancient Oracle of Delphi which houses the Temple of Apollo, one of the best preserved stadiums in Europe that seats 7,000, and a theater that seats 5,000 and was one of the most respected theaters during its time. After heading back down from touring the Oracle in the 100+ degree weather, we headed toward the Delphi museum and cafe. Unfortunately, the cafe had only sparkling water and no mineral water. On display at the museum were various artifacts, statues, and jewelry from around the 6th century BCE. When we tried taking pictures in the museum where one of us was posing, we got yelled at even though we weren't touching anything. We still don't know why, but posing is not allowed there!

Back near our hotel, we found a little shop that sold traditional Greek products. We befriended the shop-keep, Yurgos, and he gave David a taste of Raki, a liquor with 40% alcohol that tastes like raisins. The stores selection of Greek olive oil, local Greek wine, tapenade, and liquor greatly decreased the weight of our wallets. That evening, we ate at a restaurant, Epikouros, with a view as spectacular as our balcony's, owned by the same family as our hotel, and food to match the aura.

Before our food came out, our waiter, Dimitris, noticed David eyeballing something cake he was serving to the Japanese tour group that filled the place. So, he brought us a complimentary piece, still before our food was served. The other waiter then walked by and, in jest, scolded us for eating dessert before dinner. As we began to eat, we struck up a conversation with our Dimitris. After five minutes of standing and talking, he pulled up a chair and sat down (yes, the restaurant was full of people and he was one of two waiters).

Following our twenty minute conversation, during which he told us he had spent 3 years in prison so he doesn't like lawyers and he was scared of planes so he had never left the area, we noticed many patrons glaring at him. When he got up, he finally went back and retrieved their food. After we ate, we realized that we had ordered, and eaten, too much. Our meal consisted of spetzofai (a dish of toatoes, peppers, onions, and sausage, that is special to Northern Greece), spanakopita, mousaka, zuchinni balls (yum!), baklava, and local Greek wine. What a meal!

As many of you probably have read about in the news, Greece has suffered a national tragedy this week. Over 200 fires are blazing across the country and over 60 people have died (they expect the death toll to climb well over 100 people). The fires have been set by arsonists, they have arrested two people so far - a 65 year old man and a 77 year old woman. The government is offering a $1 million reward to people who provide informationt hat leads to a conviction. The acts of arson are allegedly politically motivated and aimed at influencing the upcoming presidential election (September 16). Currently, the right wing party controls the government, but the election is expected to be very very close. The right wing party has been supporting increased construction and development of land and the arsonists are allegedly trying to stop this increased construction.

The Greek prime minister has declared a state of national emergency and the country has received aid from countries throughout Europe. The Flags are flying at half-staff and the news is covered in this story. It's horrific, but an incredible piece of Greek history which we are living through. On our drive from Delphi to Metsovo, we passed by many of these raging fires and saw the plumes of smoke for miles and miles. The smoke filled mountains were on our right and the gorgeous Gulf of Corinth was on our left as we drove. At one point a helicopter with an ENORMOUS bucket flew right next to us, dipped the bucket into the water and then flew to dump the water into the fires and again and again. We saw tanker planes filling up with water and trying to extinguish the fires but to no avail. It's been a terrible experience to witness and the entire country is mourning the losses of lives, property, and spirit at these unimaginable acts of arson.

We decided to take a detour along our drive to Metsovo and stopped to swim at the beach at the Apollo beach hotel. We basically just pretended we were guests at the resort and enjoyed the beach, swam in the pool, showered and changed. We had a heavenly lunch at their patio cafe overlooking the water with breeze blowing through the trees.

We arrived in Metsovo which is a very quaint town with the focus on the town square. Kids were laughing and playing, hundreds of people were out walking, greeting friends in the square. Our restaurant was clearly a family business as we were served by a 10 year old waiter who was helping his mom. We had a great meal of noodles with various meats, cornflour pie with kale (david was a fan, rebecca - not so much), and smoked metsovo cheese. We befriended the guy at the hotel - Yanis - who looked like he had been crying watching the latest news about the Greek fires. We had a fabulous homemade breakfast of chocolate cake (yay for chocolate cake at breakfast!), local ceralis cheese, bread, and eggs. On our drive from Metsovo to Thessaloniki we almost ran over a herd of billygoats just sleeping on the road, guarded by a dog who looked about as ferocious as Lucy!

In Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Athens, we saw the old synagogue, and learned that the entire city's internet had been down for 2 days because of the fires. We also learned that when a Greek person doesn't know the answer to a question we ask them (most often when we ask for directions), they close their eyes and raise their chin towards us, almost like when you turn up your nose to someone. It is a very rude looking gesture by our American standards and we have been quite put off by it until we learned what it actually meant!

We arrived at the Thessaloniki train station and met a very friendly American named Al who is on a 10 year program in Bulgaria. He and his wife are missionaries with the Free Methodist church - and he befriended us for the entire train ride until his stop. But he was very helpful, even though the conversation was...interesting to say the least. So, we're in Bulgaria and doing fabulously! We'll try to send out another update about Bulgaria and Turkey, but it may not be until we get home.

Third Travel Update - Israel, Jordan, Egypt

After a quiet night in Eilat we headed for Dolphin Beach to scuba dive with dolphins. At the beach we were reminded again how small the world is when we ran into a family from Washington that Becca recognized from one of the DC synagogues.

Scuba diving with dolphins was truly a remarkable experience. The Red Sea is extremely deep and clear, so we were able to just swim into the coral reef and dolphin area. Given that we were inexperienced divers, we both had an instructor assigned to dive with us which was extremely helpful. The added benefit of this was that our instructors have a relationship with the dolphins. The highlight of the dive was when Brad's instructor played with one of the dolphins for several minutes. From our time in the water it was pretty clear how social dolphins are and how much they enjoy interacting with each other and with humans they know. If you ever have the opportunity to swim or scuba with dolphins, it is well worth it. At one point, one of the dolphins swam right into Becca's feet to say hello!

One side note, in discussions with Brad's instructor, the topic of global warming came up. His instructor noted that this summer they recorded the highest water temperatures in recorded history in the Red Sea. If the temperature rises another 1 or 2 degrees Celsius the coral in the Red Sea (some of the best in the world) will die.

After finishing our dive we returned our rental car, said goodbye to Israel and headed for the Israel-Jordan border. The border crossing was opened a little more than 10 years ago after the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan was signed. After exiting Israel we literally walked with our luggage 100 yards or so to the Jordanian border. There was little doubt how different the country we were entering was - there were pictures of King Hussein everywhere and the signs that were previously in Hebrew, Arabic and English now were only in Arabic and English. After clearing customs we arranged for a cab to transport us to our nearby hotel.

Riding through the streets of Aqaba, we were struck by the differences between Israel and Jordan. The roads weren't nearly as well maintained, the cars were significantly older and the houses looked very poor. Arriving at our hotel we were surprised that we had to go through gates and metal detectors just to enter the lobby.

Jordan seemed to be a country of contradictions as well. It was extremely common to see a fully covered woman on the beach with her young children in bathing suits. Unlike Israel, where observant men dressed as modestly as women, most the men at the resort dressed like any westerner would. We also rented waverunners to use on the Mediterranean which were VERY funny

After a couple of relaxing days in Jordan we prepared to fly to Cairo. We were very nervous when our hotel assured us that we should leave at 8 am for our 9 am flight on the day of our departure. We arrived at the airport with 30 minutes to spare and ended up making it through intense security in about 10 minutes - a far cry from airports in the U.S. While checking in for our flight our passports were checked no less than 6 times each, including before our van even entered the airport. Despite this intense security, only Brad was required to pass through a metal detector. Becca was instead just lightly patted down in a separate booth used for all women travelers - apparently they don't feel that females are potential terrorists.. The flight from Amman was interesting, they had a horrible snake movie on the tv the entire time which was not so pleasant. It's also such a contrast from the states where someone who dresses typically "Middle Eastern" attracts significant attention in the post 911 world, we Americans stood out the Royal Jordanian flights

After flying through Amman we arrived in Cairo for the last leg of our trip together. As we rode from the airport to the hotel we were struck by three things. First Cairo is a huge city of 22 million people. Second it is an incredibly poor city, which was very evident during our drive in. Apparently unemployment is over 20%! Third, the drivers are terrible. Lane markings are ignored - they are more like decorations on the road, street lights are never used and really are just suggestions and horns are used all the time. Even the worst American drivers are highly skilled as compared to Egyptian drivers. The scariest part of Egypt was crossing the street - it felt like a game of frogger.

Friday night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner cruise on the Nile River. The cruise was highlighted by traditional Egyptian songs and dancing. The best part of the cruise, however, was the waiters. They seemed to be particularly interested in Becca, waiting on her with great care (especially when Brad left the table). They were very disappointed; however, when they found out we were married, although they continued to blow kisses to her and give her their email address! Becca also re-discovered her favorite Egyptian dish (which she first had when she visited Egypt in 2000). It is called coshery, it is made of lentils, pasta, rice, garbanzo beans, onions, and a sour sauce - quite fabulous! The Egyptians really enjoy their chick peas - they call whole chick peas "hummus" and they even served us chick pea soup (which was actually disgusting).

The following day we met our tour guide and headed out to see the sights of Cairo. We started at the Egypt Museum – an incredibly large museum that houses artifacts dating back over 4000 years of Egyptian history. We were blown away both by the size of the museum and its contents. It was remarkable how well the many sculptures, paintings and other artifacts have held up over thousands of years. The detail work and colors used were unbelievable and we left the museum even more impressed with Egyptian history than when we arrived.

After stops at the Papyrus Museum, where they make the ancient Egyptian art on paper from the papyrus plants that grow in the Nile, and an oil shop that sells Egyptian perfumes and oils, we headed for the Pyramids. While I had been to the pyramids before, Brad had not. He was blown away by their immense size. The largest of the pyramids took over 17 years to build and is construction by over 2 million blocks that were floated up the Nile River from southern Egypt. They truly are a wonder of the world.

Brad and I, being the political dorks that we are, spent a lot of time asking our guide questions about Egyptians' views on the United States, Middle East politics and the Egyptian government. We found the discussion both fascinating and sad. Our guide talked at length of America's diminished reputation in the region. He said this was due to both the war in Iraq, President Bush's perceived arrogance and the U.S.' strong support for Israel. We found it interesting that he viewed Arafat with great affection and Abbas with great disdain. While we didn't share his sentiments, we found the healthy exchange of ideas to be valuable and insightful. At the end of our day our guide thanked us for the discussion and debate.

The next morning Brad and I headed to the airport separately. He flew back to Washington and I continued my journey to Greece with my brother. As he finished he trip he wrote down the following thoughts which I thought you all might like to read:

I found our two weeks of traveling to be an insightful, educational and immensely enjoyable experience. I won't soon forget literally touching history in the 2000 year old tunnels under the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem or having my picture taken on a camel with the great Pyramids behind me. I've wanted to travel to this part of the world for many years. Being able to finally do it was really a dream come true.

My time in Israel left me with great admiration for the Israeli people. I don't think I quite comprehended how small and vulnerable the country is until we started to drive around it. In spite of the daily dangers faced by the Israeli people, I was inspired by their determination to live their everyday lives with as little disruption as possible.

I was also greatly impressed by the infrastructure and development of Israel, especially compared to Jordan and Egypt. In 60 short years they have built a modern state out of mostly desert. While there certainly were parts of that country that were poor, I didn't get the same sense of poverty that I witnessed on the streets of Aqaba and Cairo. I think that is a testament to the ingenuity of the Israeli people and their commitment to the development their country.

It truly was a remarkable trip that we took and we can't wait for our next visit there soon.

Second Update from Israel

We are doing fabulously and having a terrific trip!

So, the last update we left the north and were heading to Jerusalem. Our drive was fascinating - we drove through the West Bank, sometimes in Jewish areas, sometimes in Palestinian areas. When we first got our rental car, we asked the Budget guy at the tel aviv airport if it was safe to drive through the West Bank. His jaw dropped and he said in very Israeli fashion "ehhh, why would you want to go to the west bank?" We explained that we weren't actually visiting the west bank, but wanted to drive through it to get from Tiberias to Jerusalem.

He then opened the map and pointed to the areas of the map which Budget would not allow us to enter into with the rental car (Ramallah, Jericho, Bethlehem, etc) - because they were too dangerous. As we drove through the West Bank and made our way through the many checkpoints on the road up to Jerusalem, we were very aware of "The Fence" separating parts of the West Bank and protecting Israelis from would-be suicide bombers entering Israel from the West Bank.

The Fence was EXACTLY like the AIPAC replica of the fence at Policy Conference 2 years ago and truly is a fence - not a wall as some people refer to it. Only about 1-2% of it is a wall, the rest of it is a fence and has been extremely successful in preventing terrorists from attacking Israelis. However, the poverty in the West Bank is pretty unbelievable and the road was dotted with "camel crossings" as we made our way up the mountains to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was terrific - I really really missed it. For those of you who don't know, I lived in Jerusalem for 6 months in college when I studied at Hebrew Univesrity. When we first arrived in Jerusalem, we went to Yad Vashem - Israel's Holocaust Museum. They opened a new building in 2005 which I hadn't seen - it was truly fantastic and very different from the DC Holocaust museum. There was a very interesting letter from a U.S. Senator to a Jewish constituent, explaining why the U.S. shouldn't get involved in WWII. I will never forget the photograph display of the first Shabbat service in a German death camp after the camp was liberated by American soldiers. The American military Jewish chaplain was leading the emaciated Holocaust survivors in their first Shabbat services in years - it was an amazing moment in history captured in the picture.

Perhaps the most compelling exhibit I have ever seen is Yad Vashem's children's memorial. The memorial displays 5 candles in a building with many many many mirrors - situated so that the flame of the candles are reflected over 1.5 million times so you are surrounded by 1.5 million flames - to represent the 1.5 million Jewish children killed in the Holocaust. Names of the victims are read as you walk through and see your own image dully displayed in the mirrors next to the millions of flames and soft Jewish music is played. Truly a breathtaking memorial - very simple and yet it says so much.

So, after a very dark and difficult afternoon at Yad Vashem, we stopped by the Knesset Building (Israeli Parliament) since we are the never ending political junkies and then headed to meet up with a bunch of my old AIPAC friends who are now living in Israel (Karen Brunwasser, Glassman, Ginsberg, & Baylene). We went to a terrific grill restaurant and enjoyed a terrific dinner of grilled lamb and chicken kebabs with 12 kinds of Israeli salads - carrot salad, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, cabbage, beets, etc - so yummy! We spent hours telling old AIPAC stories and laughing too loudly - our waiter told us that other patrons were complaining about the noisy Americans and asked us to quiet down! :) Hah!

Brad has been very entertained that dozens of people keep thinking that I'm Israeli and stop to ask me for directions (which I am terrible at even in the states!) - it's been very funny. Apparently I look Israeli (or Jewish which is what i think). The cab cars are
interesting - they are all either Mercedes or BMWs - some people say that they are from the German government for continued reparations after the war. And before you get in the cab, you haggle with the driver over the price of the cab ride so you won't get ripped off at the end!

The next day we toured the Old City of Jerusalem with my friend Daniel Ginsberg who has tremendous knowledge of the city. A South African Jew who I worked with at AIPAC, Dan fabulous accent and stories made our tour unforgettable. We loved the story about Neil Armstrong who said that as he walked in Jerusalem along the steps of Jesus, walking on the Jerusalem stone was more meaningful to him than walking on the moon! Pretty incredible. We learned so many fascinating facts about the city - we saw the original green line separating East & West Jerusalem before 1967 and the mezuzahs on each of the gates entering the Old City which are made of shell casings from the 1967 war. Walking through the Old City – we heard dozens of languages and cultures all coming together to tour this magical city.

Israel is such a country of contradictions. 18 year old girls are either in the military for their mandated service after high school and walking aroudn with huge guns over their shoulders - or they are Orthodox and married and probably pregnant (seriously, I think that like 99% of the Orthodox women under the age of 50 are pregnant right now!). There is nothing in the middle. The Orthodox women cover their head in wigs, dress in long skirts and long sleeves (regardless of the heat) and they all have huge families of 8-10 kids. There is also a lot of controversy surrounding the exemption given to ultra-Orthodox men and women who do not have to serve in the military at all. And yet, a number of Orthodox families with a lot of kids are on government assistance even though they don't serve in the military.

As I mention the Old City of Jerusalem, I am compelled to discuss the terrible incident that occurred whil we were in Jerusalem. Friday morning in the Jewish quarter of the Old City, a Palestinian terrorist stole a gun off of an Israeli security guard in the Old City and shot 11 people (only injured them) before he was killed. We were not in that part of the city - but we had been there the day before and were planning to go again that day. It was scary to have something like that happen while we were there - but the rest of the city continued to prepare for the Shabbat which was quickly approaching. We didn't even know that the incident occurred until Canadian tourists told us about it. The Israelis were like - eh, it's nothing, but I think that's just how they cope - especially since it has been SO long since something like this has happened in Jerusalem. Security was definitely heightened in the city over the sabbath and Saturday night and we were a bit more aware, but nonetheless - we still felt quite safe and at home in Jerusalem.

So, onto perhaps a more interesting subject - the food has been quite fabulous. However, there is a new Israeli phenomenon to have pizza with corn and pizza with tuna. We tried the corn pizza which was odd, the tuna one looked gross. We also tried a tuna quiche which was...interesting. It's so different than the states b/c in Israel they have dairy restaurants or meat restaurants - most restaurants are kosher so you can't mix meat and milk within the same restaurant. I also convinced Brad that israeli olives taste different than American olives (which they do!). He attempted to try one...and remembered why he hates olives as intensely as he does. :)

We also visited the Kotel (Western Wall of the Second Temple) several times and experienced its spirituality and magic. The wall was actually busier at 10pm than at 2pm! The entrance to the Western Wall is very secure and you must go through a metal detector and have your bags searched. There is a sign on the wall informing Orthodox visitors that the rabbis have ruled that the metal detectors are ok to walk through on Shabbat. The sign also says that the rabbis believe that Jews are not permitted to enter the Dome of the Rock and informs women to dress appropriately (shoulders must be covered).

We went on a terrific tour of the tunnels of the Old City running along the entire length of the Western Wall (what we see outside is just a tiny slice of the actual Western Wall). The tunnel tour was phenomenal - we walked on original streets from the Second Temple
(about 2000 years ago) and learned how the city was built, destroyed, built, destroyed, and rebuilt. We saw the cisterns which provided water to the city and learned how they erected such a tremendous temple.

Daniel also helped us find our way through the neighborhood of Mea Shearim, the first neighborhood built outside of the Old City's walls and is perhaps one of the most Orthodox neighborhoods in the world. It truly was like stepping several hundred years back into old Polish Jewish communities. The sign at the entrance of the community required women to dress "modestly" and the walls are plastered with posters for their "community board". Some of the people speak in Yiddish because they believe Hebrew is too holy to be used on a daily basis. There have been stories of them throwing stones at Jews who drive their car through the neighborhood on Shabbat - since Orthodox do not drive cars or even use electricity on the sabbath.

In preparation for Shabbat, we visited Mahane Yehuda - better known as The Shuk - or the outdoor market which is perhaps one of my most favorite places in Israel. We first went to Marzapan - which has the MOST AMAZING chocolate rugalach I have ever had - you truly crave them. They're amazing. Yum. There was a kid in there on birthright from New Jersey who saw the crowd at the store and asked me - what's going on? What do I do here? I explained about the rugalach and he got some - and agreed with my assessment of the fabulous pastry. :) We wandered through and bought pita, hummus, babaganoush, cucumbers, nectarines, etc - all for about the total of $5 - gotta love Shuk
prices!

The shuk is truly experiencing a cultural renaissance and was more alive and vibrant than I'd ever seen it before. We were there on a Friday morning and men and women scurried about trying to gather their groceries to prepare for the Sabbath - they carried 10-15 bags in their hands as they hurried home with their 10 kids to get ready for the holiday, as they do every Friday when the country shuts down to celebrate Shabbat.

Experiencing Shabbat in Jerusalem is truly amazing and unique. The buses don't run, shops and restaurants are closed, people don't work, the country comes to a standstill - to pray, eat, sing, and spend time with family. We walked to services Friday night and then to dinner at my friend Michael's friend Nechama. As we walked through the streets, we heard Shabbat services spilling out of synagogues from practically every corner and voices rising in song through the streets. People passed on the street with the customary greeting of "Shabbat shalom" - everyone had the same purpose - to celebrate Shabbat.

Dinner was terrific and very international with Jews from the U.S., England, South Africa, and Israeli. Our host went to the shuk three times on friday to get various things! As we walked back to the hotel at midnight, the streets were filled with people walking home from shabbat dinner, singing, greeting friends, etc. It truly reminded me why I love this city so much and how wonderful it feels to be in a place that cares about Judaism so much and where I feel so much at home.

We also visited the Israel Museum and saw the Dead Sea scrolls which date back about 2000 years old. They are the oldest known written versions of the Hebrew Bible and are very similar to today's Hebrew Bible. It was very humbling to see documents preserved so well and the structure they are displayed in was built right next to the Knesset to signify the importance of this archaelogical find.

The Arab bazaar (outdoor shopping) was fun - the shopkeepers aggressively try to lure you into their stores and haggle with you over the prices - often throwing out prices to you as you leave the store for items you weren't wanting to purchase. You're never really
sure if you're getting ripped off or not, but Brad's bargaining skills have improved drastically after that experience!

After crossing through the bazaar, we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus is supposed to have been crucified and buried. Unlike the western wall, it was tucked away in a corner of the old city and hard to find - another reminder that we really are in a city that caters to the Jewish interests. Brad was surprised by how built up and ornate the structure was. There was mass being sung by Catholic monks walking through the stations of the Via Delarosa.

Saturday night we headed to Ben Yehuda street to do some shopping and dinner - wow, what a contrast between Shabbat and post-Shabbat Saturday night. Unlike the calm of shabbat with empty streets and quiet stores - the city became alive and vibrant. We bought a gorgeous menorah and set of candlesticks with jewish symbols etched into the crystal. The stores offered 50% off discounts to birthright Israel groups! :)

I found my favorite frozen yogurt store that blends together whatever you want to create your own personalized frozen yogurt (mine is strawberry, peach, mango, blackberry, and cherry) and Brad tried the chocolate crepes. Yes, we had dessert before dinner...we're on
vacation. :) We watched street performers and listened to 30 Asian Christian tourists perform Christian hymns on the street. New York influences are certainly present on Ben Yehuda Street as we saw "NY Big Apple Pizza" and "NY Bagel Shop".

Sunday we visited Hebrew University which was difficult for me to see. I studied abroad there for a semester in 2000 and in 2002, the cafeteria which I had eaten in every day was bombed by a Palestinian terrorist - 9 people were killed and over 80 were wounded. There is a memorial there now, but it is still painful to see. The security to enter Hebrew U was incredible, it was the only place where they asked to see our passports and interrogated us as to why we were there. We also had the beloved Israeli "toasted cheese" which is just a big sesame bagel with cheese adn tomato smushed down and toasted in a panini press so it becomes a flat hot sandwich - delish! Hebrew U is
also in East Jerusalem, and overlooks the Arab neighborhoods - many of which are much poorer than the Jewish neighborhoods.

We then left Jerusalem and began our descent into the Dead Sea region. We only went through 1 checkpoint leaving Jerusalem, they don’t really care who leaves - just who comes in. As we descended, we passed signs telling us the "below sea level" markers - until we reached the bottom which was 416 meters below sea level - the lowest place on earth. We went to Ein Gedi which is an oasis in the desert.

We hiked through the mountains and reached the gorgeous natural springs with a freshwater waterfall in the middle of the desert. After a fabulous and refreshing swim in the water and waterfall, we hiked back down and observed ibyx (like an antelope or gazelle) and tons of gophers running throughout.

We stayed at the Ein Gedi Country Resort hotel which is a lush and green resort in the middle of the desert - truly a reflection of the ingenuity and innovativeness of Israeli technology to build a resort in the desert. The rooms were overlooking the dead sea in the mountains and a stone's throw to Jordan.

Today we woke up incredibly early (4 am) to hike Masada near the Dead Sea. For those of you who don't know the history, Masada was an ancient city built by Herod on top of a mountain/plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. It was one the last to fall to the Romans during their conquest of the country in 70 AD. As the city was falling to the Romans, the remaining Jews chose to kill themselves rather than face the harsh death at the hands of the Romans. The story of Masada is one that has inspired Jews for generations and was well worth rising early in the morning to see.

We set out on our 90 minute hike up the very steep 2 kilometer mountain just before sunrise. As we steadily made our way up the mountain we witnessed a gorgeous sunrise above the Jordanian mountains on the east bank of the Dead Sea. By the time we reached the top we were sweltering under the early morning sun and tired from our rigorous hike up. As we started to explore the ruins, we were struck by the size and sophistication of the inhabitants of Masada. The ruins included a system of aqueducts and cisterns to supply bathing and drinking water for the city, filled by buckets brought up the mountain on the backs of donkeys every day. One donkey was actually trained to walk 6 miles into the mountains to a garden where it was loaded up with fresh vegetables for the city (and we can't even train our dog to fetch a ball!)

The ruins also included a synagogue, Byzantine chapel, bathhouse, and several palaces. As we wandered around the 2000 year old ruins we were struck by both the ingenuity of Herod and the city's inhabitants as well as the sadness of their fate. It certainly was an impressive site and a sobering way to begin our day. On the way down, we met a woman who worked at Hillel in DC and told me that my friend Brianne was on top of the mountain leading a birthright group! Such a small world.

This afternoon we headed to the Ein Gedi spa, a lovely complex located on the the shores of the Dead Sea. Swimming, or floating, in the Dead Sea is an experience unlike anything else. Because of the extremely high concentration of salt in the water, it is possible to simply float in the water without treading water or exerting any effort. While it looks like beach from afar, the white ring around the edge of the water is actually compacted salt left after the water evaporated. Because the water burns if it comes in contact with your eyes or face, throughout the water there are fresh water fountains to wash yourself off in.

Given that fact this is the lowest place on earth, in the middle of a desert, it was extremely hot (over 113 degrees on our car's thermometer). After a short float in the Sea we headed up to the mud pits. Becca, not surprisingly, loved getting a mud bath and before long was covered in mud from head to toe. Brad wasn't as enthusiastic and quickly showered after trying out the mud bath. He apparently doesn't like to get dirty! :)

After "baking" in the sun to allow the mud to dry, (supposedly this is good for the skin), we showered and headed south towards Eilat, the resort down on the Red Sea where Israel, Jordan and Egypt are within a few miles of each other. The afternoon drive through the desert was beautiful, though it did feel a bit odd to be climbing up to reach sea level.

Tonight we've settle in our hotel in Eilat, preparing to go scuba diving with dolphins tomorrow and then trek across the Israel/Jordan border as we conclude the Israel portion of our trip. We will have swam in 4 bodies of water (Mediterranean, Sea of Galilee, Dead Sea, & Red Sea) and have had a tremendous visit in Israel - we are sad to leave the country but we know we will return to Israel many times in
the future.

First Few Days in Israel

Our flight from DC was fine and uneventful. However, when we were in the Frankfurt aiport - we bumped into a woman I know from the American University Board of Trustees! She was on our flight to Tel Aviv, she is President of APCO and they were hosting an event for Rep. Tom Lantos (who is a Holocaust survivor) in Tel Aviv which she invited us to. It's such a small world sometimes!

So we landed in Tel Aviv and made our way through security, customs, got money, and our rental car. After we checked into our hotel we went walked down along the Mediterranean Sea and Brad felt the water for the first time! We walked along the boardwalk and enjoyed street performers and headed over to Dizengof tower/mall to meet up with my cousin Merav. Merav is a spokeswoman for the Chief of Staff for the Israeli military. She works crazy hours (8am - 11pm) especially with a new chief of staff for the military. It was fascinating talking to her about politics. When the subject of Iraq came up, she was shocked to learn that most Americans feel that Bush lied about Hussein having WMD. In stark contrast, Merav said that most Israelis (even liberal ones) 100% believe that he had WMD and just hid them very well in the desert. Merav was also shocked to learn that we are visiting Egypt & Jordan.

She said that although Israel is at peace with Egypt & Jordan, it is a very cold peace and most Israelis don't visit those countries and members of the IDF (israeli military) aren't allowed to visit Egypt & Jordan. She said that if she did, the danger of Egypt/Jordan capturing an Israeli soldier would be too great a risk for her to take. She was also fascinated that we were going to the beach in Aqaba because it didn't even exist 10 years ago - it wasnt until the Jordan/Israel peace accords that it became a tourist site on the Red Sea. It was incredibly interesting listening to her, she finished her mandatory military service and is now serving on her own volition.

Merav also told us about the Rep. Tom Lantos event because she was working on it for the military - we told her that we had already been invited to it - such a small world.
The next day we toured more in Tel Aviv, we went to Rabin Square and visitied the memorial where Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. Unlike the memorials of DC, Brad was impressed that this one was small but seemed to truly capture the emotion and significance of a tragic event in Israeli history. The contrast of the picture with Rabin, Clinton & King Hussein on the wall a few yards from the place where Rabin was killed was truly poignant and powerful.


We also went to Carmel Market and ate freshly squeezed orange juice and burekas. Many of our meals in Israel have been highlighted with Brad's questions of "what is this? I don't know what i'm eating, but I like it!"The market is an incredible experience, just rows and rows of vendors with hundreds of varieties of beans, grains, bread, candies, juices, produce, fish, cheese, meat, etc. Everyone is bustling about, running, yelling, shoving (very Israeli!) and the sights and smells are wonderfully overwhelming and diverse.

Brad remarked that if you didn't know that the country has been plagued with terrorism over the last few years, you would have no ideat that such a problem exists just by watching the way in which Israelis conduct their daily lives. They don't live in fear, they are proud to be Israeli and to live in such an amazing country - which has its problems, just like any country does. After having our bags searched just to enter Dizengof mall and seeing a security guard in front of our cafe with a huge gun - we asked Merav if this is something she gets used to. Merav was surprised with the question and replied that she doesn't even notice it any more - it is just part of the daily lifestyle in Israel.

We drove up the coast along the Mediterranean and cut across the country to Tiberias which is right on the Sea of Galilee. The drive reminds us how small Israel is, in 2 hours we can drive from one border to the other - and we remember how vulnerable this tiny place is. Our hotel is an old Scottish mansion that was transformed into a hotel, we are really enjoying it - we are in the mountains and right on the Sea of Galilee. We had a fabulous meal on the Galilee at Decks - which is basically a huge deck on the water.

Brad finally understood why I am a snob about American hummus - he tried REAL Israeli hummus with fabulous bread - it is SOOOO much better than what we eat at home. We had some terrific tuna carpaccio, lamb kebabs, and salad. The restaurant was also catering 80 people for a bar mitzvah - the bar mitzvah party apparently called the restaurant 2 hours before arriving to make the reservation for the party & meal - SO different than the months of plannning for American bar mitzvahs!

Monday we explored the ancient and mystical city of Tzfat. We befriended two tourists from Florida who wandered with us for a while as we all got lost on the narrow streets of Tzfat. We enjoyed the ancient synagogues known for the study of kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) and then spent time in the artist colony which is known for its amazing candle making factory, weaving, painting, photography, etc. Oh yes, Brad says I must tell everyone that I dressed like a lovely Orthodox woman in my long skirt and long sleeves (while it is 95 degrees!) so that I would be appropriate to enter the Orthodox synagogues. Tzfat is a city that you have to know about in order to make the decision and effort to visit - but it is truly a gem to visit. There was very little english on the street signs (unlike the rest of the country which has Ikea, Best Buy, Burger King, KFC, etc) and most of this mountainous community is either very Orthodox or liberal secular artists.

Brad experienced his first tastes of shwarma (shaved lamb in pita with hummus, cucumbers, cabbage, etc) and falafel. While eating falafel - he turned to me and asked "so what kind of meat is in this again?" I laughed and informed him that falafel is just deep fried chick peas ground up - he was so surprised and saddened to learn that there was no meat. :) I was very entertained. But brad has fallen in love with Israeli shwarma and we had it again for dinner tonight.
After Tzfat we made our way down to the Golan Heights Winery and toured and tasted their wines. Brad of course had to buy several bottls of wine for us to bring back, but the wine was excellent - and we made friends with another tourist couple from Florida. We tried some of the grapes from the vineyard which were terrific and so juicy!

From there, we travelled down to Hammat Gader, the hot springs in Israel. The drive down there was fascinating, we travelled along the border separating Israel from Syria and further south, we traversed the border between Israel & Jordan. After taking many many pictures of the military outposts, signs warning of the mines, tanks, etc - we then passed a sign prohibiting pictures of the precarious and dangerous border. Oops! Who knew? Driving along the border with Syria was what we expected - tanks, outposts, etc because they are clear enemies. However, the border between Israel and Jordan was very much the same as that between Israel & Syria - guns, tanks, outposts, etc. This reinforced Merav's thoughts that the peace between Israel & Jordan is a very cold peace and trust is lacking between the two countries.

Hammat Gader was terrific - the crocodile farm was incredibly scary - the crocs just kept getting bigger. There literally were hundreds and hundreds of crocodiles inches from us - they were like 15 feet long!!! We had to cross a series of plastic-like bridges to get through the park, I was quite nervous but Brad was entertained by my anxiety. :) I much prefer the exhibits with ostriches, baboons, antelope, etc. We toured the ancient ruins at Hammat Gader and saw the synaogue, etc which were thousands of years old.

We had dinner at Hammat Gader in their Thai restaurant. We were very entertained sitting in the restaurant eating Thai food in Israel, with the mountains of Jordan out the window overlooking Hammat Gader, listening to the English songs of Simon & Garfunkel & Guns N Roses at the restaurant.

After dinner, we enjoyed the hot springs which were relaxing, rejuvenating, and very very very warm. Think hotter than bath water and that's what they were like. Once you get past the sulfur smell, it's incredible to think that these are the same springs that Israelis have bathed in at Hammat Gader for thousands of years! Check out the website http://www.hamat-gader.com/?curLanguage=eng

Sleeping at night has been interesting. The other night I fell asleep at 11pm, woke up at 1am, and then was up from 1am - 6:30am. I finally slept from 6:30am - 11am. Brad is doing similarly but our insomnia is always on different nights! But our bodies are still adjusting to the jetlag, so we're just making do.

But, the Israeli breakfasts are definitely worth waking up in time for! Our hotels provide breakfast with the price of the room and the breakfasts have been our "meal of the day". Again, the meal is filled with many of Brad's questions of - what am I eating again? But, they are TERRIFIC - dozens of kinds of interesting cheeses (my favorite is a Bulgarian salty cheese), cucumbers & tomato salad, vegetable quiche, granola, yogurt, chocolate cake (what better way to sart off the day than with chocolate cake!), eggs, grapefruit and some fruit we can't identify, and amazing fresh squeezed orange juice. They have terrific machines all throughout Israel that you make you orange juice directly from the Jaffa oranges - nothing else is added. It's fabulous. :)
Today we hiked Gamla which was much more of a rock-climbing and hiking experience than we expected. It was straight down one mountain, then straight up Gamla, and then back down and back up. Gamla was the Jewish capital of the Golan from 87 BCE to 68 CE when it was attacked and seized by the Romans. Its remains can still be seen in the Golan Heights in Israel. The name Gamla comes from the word gamal, meaning "camel", as it is situated on a hill shaped like a camel's hump. The story goes that when the Romans conquered Gamla, 9,000+ Jews flung themselves off the top of the mountain in a mass suicide in hopes that their refusal to be conquered and slaughtered by the Romans would send a massage that the Jews would not fall to the Romans. This mass-suicide occurred BEFORE Masada (another mass Jewish suicide due to Roman armies conquering). We'll visit Masada in a few days - more then.

The hike was very challenging and quite hot - but we were very proud of ourselves after the arduous climbing. After Gamla, we went down to the Jordan River and hiked along the bank for a while and ended the day with a swim in the Sea of Galilee. During our swim, the local Israeli ice cream truck came up to the beach-goers, with the typical ice cream truck music, etc. So many things are just like in the states. :)

Tomorrow we will visit Bet She-án and then head to Jerusalem, we can't wait!