Armon Yam Hotel Bat Yam

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Among all of the amazing things about Israel, the ease with which you can move from city to city by public transport is high on the list. I left Noga and Rehovot on Tuesday on a bus and arrived in Beer Sheba, situated right at the northern tip of the Negev Desert, in two hours. All the buses and trains are packed full of soldiers--kids my age--coming or going, some carry M-16 rifles slung across the shoulder. It makes you feel safe. My friend ...

... Airlines will give you. I've arrived--out of Europe and into this little bastion in the Middle East of democracy, technology, and Judaism that is ISRAEL. Funny feeling, going from one of the most Catholic countries in the world to the most Jewish one on the planet.

I arrive at my good friend Noga's house in Rehovot, a small city about forty five minutes out of Tel Aviv. I give her a massive hug, stumble in my tiredness up to the bed she has ...

... 2010.
I could have easily slid a piece of scrap paper in my passport and had the Israeli
customs agent stamp it , precluding me from inevitable trouble at the Malaysian border later in the year, however I did not want to deny that I visited this ancient land. My first order of business was to retrieve my Israeli cell phone that I had ordered on line a few nights ago. It was in a town named Lod, which is only understood by the locals if ...

"Gazoor" is Hebrew for "cut". In reference to a person, it's slang to imply he's cutoff from reality i.e. in a world of his own. I learned this from the receptionist at my hostel in Tel Aviv after Arynn called me that in an email, albeit not seriously -- at least not yet (another person I'm glad hasn't met Goldie).

I could also say it's a tad rich coming from someone who invited what looks like an ...

... run back up to Jerusalem I could have done without. The highlight of the highlight was seeing a deer being hunted by a fox, which was trailing the deer at about 35 meters when I saw them. They both saw me and the deer took off in one direction, and the fox, after sussing me out for several seconds turned and trotted off in the other. Aimee later pointed out that I probably saved the deer’s life.

After breakfast we made an unsuccessful attempt ...

... in the area. The people are very welcoming and really benefit from tourist dollars.

On the way back through, we decided to walk to the West Bank border along the security wall. Seeing this and reading the messages was definitely an eye opener and was very similar to the one that used to be in Belfast. Hopefully one day they will see peace in the area.

We really enjoyed our short stay, even if it was a little too intense on the ...

... dinner on the patio (this one was dairy, so I had a salad and an arak-amaretto-mint cocktail), jazz standards wafting about us, as the near-sunset light gave meaning to the term "Jerusalem of Gold," as it is often called, for the way the light plays off the sandstone that fronts nearly every building in the city. Perfection--again...

We decided to see "Betrayal," a British film from 1983, although it didn't ...

... in which God would reside. I think the roots of that determined faithfulness are clearly present in this place today. I went next to the Dormition abbey, one of the places that claims to be where Mary fell asleep/died. I found a quiet place to sit before the shrine and pray with Mary for this place. I imagined Mary looking lovingly at all these people and wanting them to know peace and grace. After that, I had decided to go back to St. Peter in Gallicantu. This is the ...

L'Jerusalem. Making our way to Jerusalem we drove from Safed south along the Jordanian border. We passed through several Palestinian areas. There was a sudden change of landscape as it went from lush Golan/Galilee to desert. BTW, we did not spend much time near the Sea of Galilee because many of the beaches were closed. It reminded us a lot of Bear Lake.

... colombo (goat curry). My friend says I should try because nowhere else in the world will I be able to taste meat prepared that way. Indeed, the first bite proves good, and I finish my share although with a guilty conscience. I find a spice shop that looks tempting. We buy kibbeh spices: the owner, another Palestinian Christian, mixes them right in front of us. The smell is amazing. I will have to throw away all my kibbeh spices bought at Shemali's in DC! We walk -I stop every 15 ...