Mid Summer Book Review

I love summer vacation because I have time to read!  Here are the books I have read so far this summer and my thoughts.  Click on the titles to go to Amazon and read the whole review.

1. I started Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. 
   I started it.  I couldn't get into the storyline at all.  I kept trying to get into the story, and maybe if I had kept going, but I didn't.
   
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. 
   I read it with Colleen & Sarah for our "book club."  I loved it.  I cannot wait to see the movie.  I hope they live up to each other.  I couldn't put the book down.  It takes place in Jackson, Mississippi during the 60's - right in the heart of race problems.  My favorite part of the book...were the story telling moments.  That doesn't mean much I guess, but I enjoyed the characters talking about their processes for the stories. 
   
3. The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen.
   LOVE LOVE LOVE.  It was a story about a family and how it changed, expanded, and survived.  It was a book about a daughter's love and the evolution of that love.  I couldn't put it down to save my day.   
4. Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
   OMG - this book was so beyond intriguing.  The story is similar to the movie 50 First Dates, with Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore.  A woman wakes up and doesn't know who she is or how she got there.  And then she is much older than she remembers herself being.  There is a phone call and a notebook but I am not going to tell you anything else about the plot because it will give away the whole book.  This was my favorite book of the summer!!!!!!!!
5. Sarah Addison Allen.  Garden Spells, The Peach Keeper, The Sugar Queen 
   I love this author.  Her books, the words leap off the page.  I cannot stop reading them.  I loved loved loved both The Peach Keeper & The Sugar Queen and I cannot wait to start reading Garden Spells.  What I have noticed so far is that the supernatural exists in her books and there might be some small tragedy in them as well.  Oh I cannot wait for another one of her books!  
6. The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean.
   This is my current book.  I have started this and I am loving it.  It starts with a family disaster and goes way uphill from there.  I cannot wait to keep reading it!

and those are my books so far.  not bad.  have to run though, my books are calling me

I am trying very hard!

What is my nemesis, downfall, pitfall, the one thing I wish I could do better?  ORGANIZATION!  And well, in general keeping my stuff put away and down to a minimum.  You know, the stuff I do that drives Matt up the wall and out the front door pulling out his own hair. 

It is no secret that I have recently grown to love blogs and reading about other people's lives - sounds creepy, but it isn't.  And I love reading about how all these other families are staying organized.  And they all have children, which I do not.  So if they can keep their houses organized and not live in chaos, I feel that I should be able to also.  And without much effort.  Okay, well with some effort because if it was really "no effort" I would theoretically already be doing it. 

So I was reading a favorite blog, A Year of Slow Cooking, and Stephanie has written a book, Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life.  One of the things she has included in her book is a Daily 7 - 7 things to do every day (as a start I believe) to keep your house looking organized and put together.  I am definitely going to invest in this book and see what I can learn. 

So I have started with 7.  Seems manageable enough.  In fact, I started 4 days ago.  I have been able to get at least 4 done each day - which is more than half! So I think I am on my way to success.  I didn't use all of Stephanie's because they don't all jive with me and our house.  Matt & I came up with 7 items for me to do every day to make our lives better.  So here are my 7:

1. Make the bed.  I do this anyway, so it felt like an instant win!  I included that the sheets get changed every Wednesday and the towels get changed on both Monday and Thursday.  
2. Garbage cans.  This is Stephanie's idea and I like it.  Empty all the cans first thing in the morning.  So I grab the garbage can from our bathroom and empty it into the kitchen garbage.  This way all the cans get emptied with some kind of regularity.  
3. Kitchen sink - also not a stretch.  But my list on my desk also says "DON'T COMPLAIN!"  Matt does a lot of the housework (because it bothers him before it gets a change to bother me).  He is pretty good about dishes getting into the sink, but not the dishwasher.  I can do the last step without complaining.  
4. Kitchen table.  EVERY DAY!  This is the one thing that Matt wishes I did without ever being told.  I cover the kitchen table with stuff as soon as I walk in.  If I turn around right now... I can see our bowls from dinner, the pool bag, my purse, a bag of stuff that needs to be returned, an old purse, and some stuff for decorating cupcakes.  And that is not all of it.  So I am trying to keep my stuff to a minimum on the table.  I am actually trying.  It is not easy, let me tell you.
5. Chores - shoes, clothing, electronics.  Those are my big three that I carry with me and leave behind.  I get to the couch and take off my shoes.  When I walk in the front door after work, I leave my sweater on the table instead of taking it upstairs when I change clothes.  And my laptop, it goes everywhere and stays there.  
6. Bathrooms - wipe them down.  I am not sold on this one.  I get it, it makes sense to me to do this every day to keep it clean and then keep the cleaning day short and sweet.  I haven't gotten to this yet.
7. Right before going up to bed, take 10 minutes and clean up the house.  This has helped me get the last dishes into the sink (to be washed in the morning) and make sure that there is nothing else that could be easily done.  In these 10 minutes I have also started making my "to-do" list for the next day.  Normally I wake up and have no memory of what I want to get done.  

So, those are my 7.  I have been good at getting numbers 1, 3, 5, & 7 done every day.  That is halfway there and all odd.  So I think I may be getting good at this.  So now I am focusing on that table and making sure I don't leave it a mess.  I lump it in with number 7.  It is making a dent if not a difference.

Chicago Visit 2011

Chicago skyline from our view
at the park for music

So after 6 days at home, we went away again, as if 6 days was enough to be at home... We were back to Chicago to visit with Janna & Dan!  We flew out and landed in time for lunch with Dan.  We had hummus, because it had been over a week and Matt was going through withdrawal.



This was a packed trip, but then again, it wasn't because we had a lot of down time (a new thing for us).  During this trip we went to the Art Institute, zoo, aquarium, Broadway in the Park, BareNaked Ladies block party, and swimming in the Lake.  We had a wonderful time - wait that doesn't even begin to cover how much fun we had.  We also ate a lot of great food.  Dan cooked breakfast, went out for brunch at Sprout (Dale from Top Chef's restaurant - YUM), Thai food, BBQ, delicious.  I feel like we might have been eating for days.  Oh and frozen yogurt and cupcakes.  DUH!

BareNaked Ladies!!!!!

We are barely home from this trip and we are already talking about what we will be doing next year in Chicago - Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me...

Home. Lovely.

So we got home!  We made it all the way back to MD!  And the grocery store.  And read the mail.  And paid the bills.  It was lovely and boring.  And we did so much laundry.  We have also woken up at 6:30 every day since we got home.

We went to Happy Hour on Friday.  And were asleep when we got home. 
We had everyone over on Saturday also.  There was a ton of food, cornhole, and other things that make us happy.  It was nice.  I really want to be able to write something worth reading, but this is kind of what my brains feel like - still tired. 

So Sunday I woke up really early and drove to Pittsburgh for Emily's birthday!  We tailgated and went to a Pirates game.  They beat the Cubs 9-1.  It was a fun game to watch.  Then we walked along the river and met Josh for dinner.  I have missed them so much.  I also got to meet Emily's BF Steve.  Initial reaction - I liked him. 

Then I met Josh for breakfast in the morning and came home.  Now we are getting ready for the second trip...

Home (almost) (Trip Day #15)

Honestly, I thought this trip was longer than 2 weeks.  I thought it was more like 3 weeks, but according to the count at the top, I am wrong.  Oh well.  

This morning we woke up at 5:45 and got out of that awful bed for the very last time.  Oh thank goodness!  We checked out and went to the metro, then to the train, and finally got to the airport.  Italian airports, actually just the one in Rome, is bizarre!  All the terminals are separate and you need a bus to get to each (not that weird granted).  But then you check in for your flight more than once.  First they looked at our passports for a whopping 15 seconds and identified that we only had 1 suitcase (the other went home with my parents).  Then we waited in another area to actually check in and get rid of our suitcase.  Bizarre.  Onto another bus to get to the gates.  Seriously? Overkill much?

Wait for an hour.  Try to get rid of euros - kind of successful (we still have 4).  Plane.  Plane. Plane.  The two Italians in front of us were very popular - other guys kept coming over to hang out and bounce their seats.  And they smelled.  Sorry, I needed to complain.  10 hours later, we arrived!!!!  Customs, luggage, found my mom. HOME! Well, almost.  Tomorrow we are waking up and driving home.  We have to pick up our pool passes, go to the grocery store, and .... there was something else I think. Eh.  We are home for a total of 7 days before we leave again for the next leg of our plane travels this summer. 

Here are some things we have learned on this trip.

1.     Israel has strange sized beds - generally wide enough, but length is questionable at best

2.     Israel has one sheet for the bed, medium weight, definitely not long enough

3.     Too much hummus exists, but only for a little while (2 days most)

4.     Hot is a relative term and changes even though the temperature didn't

5.     Israel has amazing breakfast!

6.     Italian breakfast is lacking in so many ways

7.     Tour guides are important and they take care of knowing everything so you don't have to look like a tourist with a book in your hands

8.     You need good walking shoes and a backup set of inserts

9.     Armpits smell really bad

10.  This trip was too long by a day

11.  Bring shampoo and conditioner.  No one gives you conditioner and only some give you shampoo. Everyone gives you body soap and says it's okay to use on your head.  Weird.

12.  I only took 1995 pictures.  And I deleted about 75-125 on the plane on the way to Rome.  My camera & memory card are AWESOME!

Rome, Day #5 (Trip Day #14)

Day 14/5

Is it me or are these getting shorter?  It might have something to do with wanting to go home. 

Yesterday afternoon it was overcast, did I tell you that? Oh yes, I did.  This morning when we got up around 9, it was POURING!  And beautiful.  We got breakfast and then went back up to the room to figure out what to do.  After about 90 minutes it stopped and we headed out. 

Today we had two places we wanted to visit.  First, the Coliseum; then Castle Sant'Angelo.  We took the bus over to the Coliseum and headed straight in skipping all of the lines.  We found out that yesterday's ticket to the Forum would also get us into the Coliseum - sweet!!  We decided that after all the other days of disappointing ruins, this one we would pay for a guided tour.  It was definitely worth all $5.  We learned that after the Coliseum was no longer used for sporting events people started using it as a quarry and looted the hell out of it.  Granted it had been badly damaged during an earthquake and that's why they stopped using it.  So steal away!  It was looted continuously until Napoleon came and said it should be revered and cherished.  And that it has.  We wandered around.  I took lots of photos.  Then we made our way towards the Piazza Venicia, where the Venicians stayed for diplomatic purposes.  Or something like that.  We toured the whole thing.  It was big.  There were a number of small exhibits inside, but I don't think I looked at any of them; I was just happy to be out of the sun because it had gotten very hot and muggy.  Then we walked towards the island in the river and our bus stop, but went down the wrong street and ended up near where Julius Caesar was stabbed to death.  Cool.  Small pizzeria across the street - AMAZING!! I had eggplant, Matt had potato pizza.  Delish!  Onwards (again with that word) past the Synagogue  - very pretty.  On the bus towards St. Peter's and the Castle.  The Castle was huge, so much bigger on the inside than I thought on the outside.  It was used as a mausoleum, a prison, a fortress, and the papal residence (not all at the same time, but close).  We went the whole way up and could see the whole city from the rooftop.  Gorgeous view.  I took our last picture of the two of us (Matt made me pinky swear I wouldn't take another) and we started climbing back down.  Then we came back to the hotel, realized we didn't have any cash left and showered.  Now we want to find somewhere cheap for dinner before going to bed and getting up at the crack of dawn to go to the airport and GO HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Out for dinner.  Had one last pasta meal.  Matt likes minestrone with rice in it.  I can make that.  Met a couple on their honeymoon from Dallas.  Talked with them about Rome for about an hour.  Gave them our inside tips to Rome:

I.      Buy tickets for the Vatican ahead of time.  Then skip all the lines.  If you have tickets you don't need to be in the line!

II.    Get your ticket for the Coliseum at the Forum - there is NO LINE and the same ticket works at both places for 2 days

III.  Audio guides - YES @ the Vatican, NO @ the Forum & Palatine hill.  Guided tour @ the Coliseum

IV.  Pompeii - it's cool.  We could have done without it.  There were no bodies we could look at.  And it was a LONG DAY.  We could have done without it.

V.    The hop on/off buses - if you are there for an extended period of time (i.e. 4 days) they are worth it because you don't have to pay for taxis/metro.  They get you there, eventually.  But are super convenient if you are not in any rush.

VI.  The water in the sketchy fountains is very clean & fresh even though the fountain itself looks questionable.

Rome, Day #4 (Trip Day #13)

This just keeps going doesn't it?

Day 13/4

Happy 4th of July!  We are soooooooo beyond ready to go home.  It brought me to tears last night thinking about it.  And we tried to change our flight - that's how serious we were about it.  But with today being America's birthday and everything, black out dates and for $1000 we can do anything, and stay here.

So we did NOT set any alarm clock today and slept for a whopping 11 hours.  We got up at 9:30ish and went about our day.  We bought a two-day pass for a hop on/off bus and saw the rest of the city.  First stop, the Coliseum.  But the lines were forever long, so we abandoned ship to the Forum and Palatine hill.  Again we were spoiled with Danny and found the ruins here in Rome to be impressive and yet still lacking.  Where are the plaques with information?  We did get an audio guide, but found it dull.  It didn't answer any of our questions or make us think at all.  The Forum, also cool, huge, impressive, and boring.  It didn't help that I didn't eat breakfast and it was hot as hell.  Well it was until we left.  Then there were these things called clouds that we haven’t seen in 2 weeks and had to be reminded what they were.  Ha-ha. 

Back on the bus to the island in the river.  It was formed by Romans throwing crap into the river and it built up.  Then it was a hospital.  We walked over it to the other side and got lunch.  Close to 3.  Back on the bus, past St. Peter's, the Church of Sant'Angelo, and back to the hotel.  Showers.  Chilling in AC.  Felt some rain on the balcony.  Thinking about dinner.  Done.

Hello, it's July 4th - so we went up the street to the Hard Rock Cafe.  Burgers and club sandwiches!  They even sang the National Anthem, well Whitney Houston did, at the 1991 Super Bowl, and they played it.  Everyone clapped.  Then we passed out from a food overdose.

Rome, Day #3 (Trip Day #12)

Day 12/3

So I guess today started at some time in the middle of the night.  Matt stubbed his toe really bad and there was blood everywhere.  He is fine.  Neosporin and Band-Aids.  Then he had stomach problems for the rest of the night, which we cannot account for because we shared everything yesterday and I am fine.  So today had a rough start to say the least.  But we got up and had breakfast and got on the metro and train and headed towards Naples.  Sadly, we didn't do anything there.  On the way in Matt wanted to get to Pompeii (the plan for the day) and on the way back he wanted to get home.  Makes sense, he felt like shit but was a real trooper.  Way better than I was the first night in Israel.  So 2 hours to Naples.  30 minutes to Pompeii.  Attacked (figuratively) but the tourist shops after getting off the metro and walking 100 feet to the entrance of Pompeii.  Stopped for lunch.  Matt had bread.  It was 12:30 and I had not taken a single photo.  Inside Pompeii, I took enough.  We saw the Basilica, the forum, two theaters (one amphitheater) and enough houses.  I didn't know Pompeii was so huge.  And so hot!  We poked around for about 2 hours (same as the Vatican) before Matt was too exhausted to continue.  Not to mention that his contacts had been bothering him since we were on the ATVs.  So halfway through he threw out his contacts and put on his glasses - since he is much happier, well in terms of his eyes.  30 minutes metro. 2 hours train.  Back at the hotel.  Still sweating and happy to be back only to still hate this bed. 

Rome, Day #2 (Trip Day #11)

Day 11/2

Oh my this was a seriously long day.  We woke up and had breakfast, which was nothing like Israeli breakfast and therefore sucked.  We had tickets for the Vatican at 9:30 this morning and so we got a taxi and were off.  It dropped us off in front of St. Peter's Basilica, which was not right and we spent the next 15 minutes trying to find the museum around the back.  The Vatican museums are intense to say the least.  We spent the next 2-3 hours there and were overwhelmed by the volume of stuff they have: Egyptian, statues, baths, old art, new art, and the Sistine Chapel.  And we being dummies decided to go today, on Saturday, when anyone and everyone was there.  We were overwhelmed by the volume of the people there and couldn't enjoy it at any pace.  We did splurge on the audio guide, but it was nothing like Danny or Arthur.  It was in fact boring. 

We decided to walk back towards the hotel with as many stops as we could along the way.  Every time we turned down another street there was another gorgeous old building.  But without Danny and Arthur we had no idea what it was.  We stopped at Castel Sant'Angelo (where the crazy Christians were in Angels & Demons); we walked across the bridge, through Piazza Navona, to the Pantheon.  We got all the places where you needed to be covered up out of the way.  Somewhere in there we stopped for delicious Panini for lunch. 

It's two o'clock and we headed back towards the hotel.  We were sweaty and in lots of clothing.  Shower #2 of the day.  And then we napped.

Around 4 we headed back out.  We are getting on the train tomorrow (for a secret trip, well until tomorrow) and we wanted to figure out if we were going to walk or Metro.  I don't think we decided.  Eh.  Then we walked around.  We saw the Republica, Santa Maria Maggiore, Giardini Piazza Vittorio, and then took the metro to the other end of the city.  And saw Piazza del Popolo.  Here there was a beautiful fountain and above it an overlook we just had to climb to see.  That was sarcastic.  Matt wanted to see it, I loved it when we got up there and could see the whole city below us.  Then we walked towards the Mausoleum Augusto (but we couldn't find an entrance), and onwards to Piazza Colonna and down the street.  It is Saturday night and the main street was blocked off to cars, so we walked down the center.  We saw the Spanish steps again in the distance and walked on towards a giant something that looked like a wedding cake.  No name that I can find on the map.  Then hunger struck.  And hard.  I rejected, he rejected, and I rejected a few more times before we found pizza for dinner.  Then we walked on to the Colosseo.  It was spectacular.  We walked the whole way around it and discovered that lots of people go there for wedding pictures.  I started to follow the wedding dresses and Matt was not pleased.  Then we metroed back to the hotel.  It is 8.  We have been up and moving around for 12 hours, well 10, and we are exhausted. 

Rome, Day #1 (Trip Day #10)

Day 10/1

We slept in, but couldn't. Our wake up call was for 8:45, and we were at breakfast at 8:15.  We were ready to go and so we went to the airport.  They wouldn't let us check in because we were too early.  So we waited.  Then we went through security, checked into our flight, and then went through security again.  More time to wait.  Checked out duty free, it was huge and had different shops as well, including household appliances.  Explain to me why I would buy an appliance that uses different plugs than I have at home... seriously!  Okay, flight to Rome.  It is one of the planes with 3 seats on each side of the aisle.  It has a total of 32 people on it, including flight attendants.  It is also the smallest plane I have ever seen.  Matt's legs didn't fit in between the two rows and his head is higher than the seats.  He has no headrest at all.

When we arrived in Rome, we went through Customs.  This was an interesting experience.  We waited in line and then showed our passports and all he did was look at our county (maybe) and say go ahead.  I don't think he even stamped them.  And we were off.

We found the train, and tried to use the automated tickets but they wouldn't accept our credit cards.  Grrr. On the train.  To the metro.  The train and the metro are technically in the same building, but getting from one to the other, I think we might have walked a half-mile in tunnels.  Out of the metro, found the hotel across the street.  Our plane landed at 4:30 and we got to the hotel at 7.  Crazy.  Next time we are taking a taxi.  Up the elevator, down the stairs, and up the stairs to our room.  It is small.  The bathroom is miniature and there is a faucet on the wall.  We tried it; it is a bidet.  Awesome.  However, for no reason whatsoever, we have a huge interior terrace.  I don't know what we are going to need it for.

Out for dinner.  We walked and found our first piazza and fountain.  Then up another street towards the Piazza de Spagna.  We ate dinner at the bottom in another piazza.  Caprese salad, gnocchi, and walnut & truffle ravioli.  Delicious!  We walked around and turned a few times and by accident we found the Trevi Fountain.  We stopped in a grocery store for water for tomorrow and headed back to the hotel.  We passed 13 gelato places on our walk.  Then we got help figuring out what we needed for the Vatican tomorrow and got an insider's guide to Rome from the concierge.  It is 10 and we are exhausted.

Israel, Day #9? Yup.

Day 9. 

We slept in.  At least it felt like it.  Last night the dogs slept on the porch protecting us and barking that they were still there throughout the night.  We slept in until 8 (the same time we have been getting us these last few days) and lounged around.  The goat farm people brought us the tools to make breakfast and we started getting ready.  We waited for Arthur (whose alarm did not go off on time) and then I made scrambled eggs with cheese and salami left over from last night.  Yum.  Then we were off. 

First stop was in Avdat.  It was a city with a few villas during the ... it’s not Napoleon, but something else that started with an N and from the same time period as Petra.  I'll find out later.  Napatean, maybe, something like that.  Must be.  I'll go with that and maybe I will look it up later, maybe not.  Anyway.  They built their city on a mountain (like they do) and hid their water source so that if they were attacked the opposing army would die out because it was in the desert.  Friendly folk.  The Romans eventually conquered them as history goes.  The Romans then built a huge fort.  The Napatean stuff was stronger than the Roman and survived better.  More of their structures were more intact than the Roman.  The Napatean's also carved their houses into the mountain and into the rock so it was cooler in the summer (like now) and then warmer in the winter, from the warmth of the Earth.

For lunch we had more leftover food from dinner and breakfast.  We ate at a gas station on the side of the ride towards Tel Aviv. 

The last stop, before the hotel, was Machon Ayalon.  Here is the full story.  There was a kibbutz at the site that was used to train people how to start their own kibbutzim and understand agriculture.  So people transitioned through it on a regular basis.  A very important guy brought over unused ammunition equipment in 1938 from Poland, right before WWII started.  Then in 1945, right after WWII ended they set up shop to start manufacturing 9mm bullets underneath the kibbutz and right underneath the noses of the British.  So every morning 45 workers climbed into the basement underneath the laundry and made a ton of noise.  So to keep the excuse for laundry going, they had a laundry service that was based in the city; they even washed the British uniforms, sometimes with intelligence still in their pockets.  Real smart.  Since people transitioned out of the kibbutz every month or so, no one was there long enough to get wise and understand what was happening.  They made over 4 million bullets over the next 3 years.  It was a completely secret operation, not even the government knew they were doing it or where.  It was the difference between winning the Independence War (which they obviously did) and not.  After they declared independence, the machines were brought up from underground and taken to Tel Aviv to continue, but no longer a secret.  It was wonderful.

We arrived back in Tel Aviv tonight and checked in.  Duh.  Then we went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea.  Matt was happy.  Then it was goodbye to Arthur. :(  Our rooms were upgraded, we didn't do it, and so we had access to the lounge and had snacks there, which ruined our dinner.  We walked down the beach towards Old Yafo (Jaffa) and wandered around.  Still not hungry we came back to the hotel.  Unfortunately, this brought us to the end of this trip.  We packed our suitcases - one for Rome and one going home with my parents.  And said our goodnights and goodbyes. 

Tomorrow we are sleeping in (until 9!!!!) and then having breakfast and going to the airport.  Then we are flying to ROMA!!!!!

Israel, Day #8

Day8.

We met Arthur for breakfast and then we began our nature day (this is Arthur's specialty, aside from the desert).  We went snorkeling at Coral Beach.  It was not the most spectacular snorkeling I have ever seen, but it was pretty enough.  Morning spent in the Red Sea looking at fish.  Our last stop in Elat was at a statue commemorating Elat being included in Israel.  That came out wrong.  The story is that a brigade from the Israeli Army ran down to Elat during the Independence War, to stick a flag in the sand and call dibs.  They got there and realized they forgot the flag.  So they took a sheet and drew the Magen David and stripes and it worked.  The original flag/sheet is in a museum somewhere.  A few years ago an artist made a statue to remember them by.  We saw that. 

From there we went to Hai Bar, a nature preserve.  They are trying to revive the animal population from the time of the Torah.  We saw three different types of gazelle like animals, all with different shaped horns, lots of ostriches, wild donkeys and wild horses.  Those animals live in the "wild," they are not caged in.  They live in one large multi-acre enclosure.  We also toured the smaller cages.  My favorite, and Arthur's also, was the leopard.  There was a long story about the leopard that Arthur caught (in his bedroom) and so he would visit it while it lived at the nature preserve.  His leopard has since passed away.  While visiting his leopard, he became friendly with the female leopard living in the enclosure.  So while we were there today, she talked and chatted with him.  It was magical. 

Then we were in the car and heading north.  We passed a hippie commune and stopped for lunch.  This is when we heard the leopard story.  We were so enamored with the story that an hour passed and we still hadn't eaten.  When we thought we were ordering, they thought we were telling them what we had ate, so they never brought us food.  Oh well.  It all worked out in the end.  We had fresh goat cheese, hummus, and salad for lunch.  It was delicious.  Food coma settled and we passed out for the next hour in the car. 

Last stop of the day was the Ramon crater.  It is a crater only in appearance.  Otherwise it is not actually a crater.  It was a huge mountain range formed by the wind.  The wind is so strong there that it eroded the mountain and made a valley or canyon in the middle.  It was spectacular.  There were so many different colors in the rock that it was truly breath taking.  The best part of the crater was that Arthur drove through the whole thing.  He popped his car into 4-wheel drive and off we went.  He drove up and down and over and that way and this way over the rocks.  It was the craziest driving experience.  It was a little nauseating.  But it was a very good time. 

Onwards, towards the goat farm we are staying in tonight.  We called ahead, and they were not serving dinner, so we stopped at the grocery store and bought pita, hummus, salami, cucumbers, and beer.  Then on to the goat farm.  Yes we are staying on a goat farm.  I don't think typing it more helps with anything.  This goat farm has guesthouses.  We are staying in the guesthouses, which are more like cabins in the middle of nowhere looking out onto the mountains.  Spectacular views.  As soon as we got out of the car, Matt made best friends with two golden labs.  They have been following us around for the last 4 hours.  In fact, they are sleeping on the porch of our cabin.  They walked me back to our cabin after hanging out at my parents' cabin.  It is lovely and heartbreaking.  I miss our dogs.  Although, they wouldn't protect us as well, from what I don't know.  Matt also played with the young goats.  They sucked on his fingers and he thought it was great.  I thought their goat cheese was amazing.  But now its bedtime. 

Israel, Day #7, AKA Jordan - Day #1

Day 7.

Early morning.  Well not really.  We got up after 7 and were out of the hotel at 8:30.  Today we went into Jordan.  That's right, we left the country and went to Jordan.  Going through Customs is interesting.  Apparently you need a guide to make sure you don't screw it up (?) who walks you through the whole Israeli side.  Then you walk through no man's land towards Jordan where you are met with another representative who takes your passport and does the whole thing for you without Customs having to look at you once.  I guess they trust that the Israelis are only letting valid people through.  Okay, we were through Customs and met our guide for the day, Qussai (Ku-sai).  We toured through Aqaba (the city on the Jordanian side next to Elat) and then drove through the mountains towards Petra.  Petra is an ancient city that carved tombs into the sandstone.  It was also used in one of the Indiana Jones movies.  I thought that it was the city itself carved into the sandstone but I was wrong, they are ALL tombs.  The bigger the tomb the more important you were.  It was really beautiful and weird kinda; I mean all that is left of the city is the cemetery because they didn't build anything else that lasted.  But that could be because squatters lived there until 1984 when it became a national park.  It could also be because the Jordanians have not done a lot of excavating or preserving in the area.  They use it for the tourism money.  We were there until 3 in the afternoon.  Our guide brought us 2 hours into Petra through the ravine and past the tombs.  Then we had an hour and a bit to get ourselves back at whatever pace we wanted.  Let me tell you, it was hot in the sun.  It was great in the shade, but hot hot hot in the sun.  And the last half-mile was entirely in the sun.  So we trekked back.  Then we had a typical (maybe) Jordanian lunch.  At this point our guide had lost interest in us completely, although I might have something to do with that.  I asked a question badly and he answered it aggressively.  I asked about how women were dressed.  I did not assume that they had to cover completely but we saw Arab music videos on the TV and they were both dancing and dressing seductively, which is not what I know about Muslim culture.  So I asked and he did not like it very much.  He did say that he would want his woman to cover up and not share any of herself with anyone else... whatevs, moving on.  Long ride back to the border and see ya.  Back in Elat.  Back to swimming in the Red Sea.  Shower. And then we walked on the promenade//boardwalk behind the hotel.  There are a ton of shops here.  We ran into a family from MD that was at the Bedouin tent the night before.  We ate more hummus for dinner with kebobs and pita.  Arthur, our guide for the next 2 days, met us for dinner and we talked about this and that and what we are going to do for the next two days.  I don't remember anything except that we are meeting for breakfast and going snorkeling.  Good night.

Israel, Day #6

Day 6.

It was an early morning.  Up for breakfast at 7.  So damned early.  It was for a very good reason - Masada.  The first car up was at 8; I think we got there at 8:15. Matt wanted to climb the snake path, but it was too late, he would have been miserable.  But as he says, if I didn't want to be miserable I wouldn't have gotten married.  **You should know he just leaned over and bit me as I was typing that, no it is reciprocal.  Back to the story.  We toured Masada, Herod's fortress, his bathhouse, the fortress walls, and the cisterns.  We walked all over the top and around the sides.  There were moments up there that I was writing this in my head - I have forgotten anything I was thinking earlier.  Inside the synagogue they have installed a scribe to write a Torah on Masada.  While we were there he was taking a break and writing the insides of mezuzot.  Masada makes me sad.  Aside from the fact that lots of Jews died there, I wish that the story had a better ending.  I wish that they had not decided to mass suicide - it feels so entirely not Jewish because preserving life is the most important.  It feels hypocritical to Judaism.  After touring Masada we went back down the mountain to the museum, which was hysterical.  It had an audio tour that was activated when you walked into a room.  In the script two people are talking to each other and having the most ridiculous conversation.  "Oh hey I didn't see you standing there!  Want to know about some artifacts we found on Masada? Wonderful let's take a walk through the museum!" stuff.  More funny than anything else.  They did find lot of neat stuff - wow that sounded like I am still in 6th grade.  Try again.  Some of the artifacts are very interesting.  The ones they made the biggest deal over were 12 tiles, pottery shards, with people's names on them.  They thought that this was how the men drew lots to see whom would be the last man standing.  Let's see they also found a braid (like a full braid), a comb, makeup stuff, lots of pottery, pieces of scroll including parts of the Torah, and a Tallit.  They found food and a receipt of some kind also.  The desert is amazing for storing things for long periods of time because it is so dry and hot.  Nothing gets damp and disintegrates.

Okay morning is over and into the car we go.  We are driving down to Elat.  This is the first time any of us has been that far south - it is as far south as you can go.  It is also about 3 hours from Masada with nothing between them.  Just hot Arava.  We did stop at McDonalds - because it was the only option - for a McKebob.  Seriously.  Unidentified meat and deliciousness.  All the way to Elat.  Then it appears out of the desert, almost like Las Vegas.  The desert plays tricks on your eyes.  It is hard to tell how far away things are because you can see them for a really long time before you get anywhere near them. 

Elat.  Elat has a beautiful beach and promenade and a ton of shopping.  It is the import capital of Israel - I might have just made that up.  There is a ton of shopping.  We got in around 3 and were in the Red Sea as quick as we could.  This is also when we said goodbye to Danny.  He starts teaching a course tomorrow so he had to get back.  We have 2 days down here without a guide.  So today we went into the Red Sea.  It is so clear that you can see your feet and the bottom even after you can no longer stand.  And you float more than in the Atlantic or Caribbean.  Not as much as the Dead Sea but still more than anywhere else we were.  We actually relaxed for an entire afternoon! 

We, I mean, I wanted to go to a Bedouin tent for dinner.  And so we did.  They were not authentic, I mean they were but they were not out in the middle of nowhere.  They were at the edge of the downtown area.  We had cheese, hummus, veggies, and pita for dinner.  Matt smoked a hookah.  We all had beer.  It was a good night.  Tomorrow is another new experience.  We are going to Petra.  This should be really good!

Israel, Day #5, seriously? Already?

Day ...5? I had to go back and look to make sure.

It is hard to believe that we have only been here for 5 days.  We have seen so much of the country, well most of the Northern parts already and have headed south. 

So today.  Breakfast.  Checked out of the cabin and onwards we go!  First stop of yesterday, Capernaum.  It is the supposed home of Peter (Christianity) and also the site of a gorgeous White Synagogue.  It is the most exciting synagogue that we have seen.  There is evidence of great wealth in the synagogue, which makes it very different from all the others.  Beautiful ruins, beautiful mosaic floors.

Then we continued on to Tiberius.  It was hot as hell and I almost don't remember anything about it.  No, that's not true.  We jumped the fence and climbed on the ruins of Tiberius.  There was a water park and marina across the street that ruined some of the excavations.  But we were able to see a large supposed meetinghouse and a jail cell.  Then up the hill, we broke into the theater, which had just been excavated.  I know we broke in because there were a number of people hanging around outside the gate that we drove around to the back.  Beautiful.

Onwards.  That seems to be the word of this trip.  To Bet She'an.  Bet She'an is an old city from the time of the Romans (shocker).  It was at the crossroads between Tiberius and Jericho and a major intersection.  None of the residential homes were uncovered (because there is a city in the way) but the city center has been uncovered.  We saw two bathhouses, the main street, and the side street for prostitutes, and where the market stood during the Muslim time period after the Jews were gone.  This city was leveled first by the big earthquake of 749 and completely disserted.  Then the Muslims came and lived there much later.  Oh and I forgot, they had a theater that was HUGE!  It had 3 levels of seating and could house 7000 people!  CRAZY.  Of course the earthquake destroyed most of that also.  The bottom level still exists and most of the stage.  Nearby they found the coliseum.  Danny drove the car straight into it and growled, like a camel. 

We had lunch at the Kibbutz where Danny grew up.  It is famous for having a kosher meat plant.  The food was delicious.

Southwards - instead of onwards - towards the Dead Sea.  I don't know what happened next as I quickly fell asleep.  I do know that we decided not to stop and go into the Dead Sea, yea it is an experience but we didn't really have the time.  We decided instead to stop at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.  Qumran is an old community composed entirely of men who wanted to live as holy a life as possible, in the middle of the desert.  They bathed and studied and worked and bathed and studied and worked and bathed.  The Romans also killed them.  It is thought that they saw the smoke from Jericho burning and then hid their library in the caves near their settlement and that no one lived to find them so the scrolls remained hidden until 1952 when a Bedouin went looking for a missing goat and stumbled upon them. 

Then we continued until reaching Ein Gedi, a nature park.  It was closed but we drove through looking for the mini goats/deer anyway until the gate.  In there, there are the remains of an old synagogue, which was also closed, except for the gate.  So we went in.  They were digging a pipe and hit a mosaic floor - surprise it’s a synagogue.  I need another word for beautiful, gorgeous, stunning.  It was. 

Okay to the hotel.  We are staying at Kibbutz Ein Gedi.  Checked in. shower.  Geez we smelled pretty bad after this morning.  And dinner is around the corner.  Okay stopped at the gardens on the way to dinner.  This kibbutz is crazy beautiful.  It is in the middle of nowhere and has the most beautiful gardens.  It is an oasis.