Shalom Plaza Neve Ilan Jerusalem

... thee aan, toen ik de enge arabierenwijk in wilde vluchten..

Maar goed, op de Olijvenberg het graf van Maria, dr ouders, Josef, Yitzhak Rabin gezien.. En de gave kitchige gouden Russische kerk. En de kerk waar Jezus huilde (hij voorspelde de vernietiging van de Tweede Joodse Tempel, blijkbaar... ook heel belangrijk). En natuurlijk weer een fijne gids aan je broek. "Nee hoeft Echt niet!" "Ik loop Alleen nog mee tot de volgende!" Jaja.. Een ...

... the walk went better than expected given that it was hot and it took us around an hour. Most fun for the boys was scampering up the hill of Mount Zion and finding olive trees. After a cool beverage in the Jewish Quarter and some frisbee playing with Adin, we touched base with Rabbi Benarroch and arranged to meet at lunch time. Then off to the Kotel.

The boys did not seem to connect in any visible way to the Kotel, though they did not ...

... a service that felt exactly like a charismatic church in the US. Very much like home. Rabbi/Pastor Ron Cantor gave a great message. Ron is cousin to VA senator Eric Cantor and he is also from Richmond. The worship was great…half English, half Hebrew, with words projected mostly in English, Hebrew with English letters, and pure Hebrew. Once over we talked to a few folks including the number man from the bookstore. I felt comforted ...

... side for either of us. But it’s an area we’d definitely like to explore more one day.

On our way back to Jordan, we saw more buses... or the same ones, stuck on the side of the road waiting. Unfortunately this time there was an ambulance there as well.

From the Jordanian border we were given a very interesting ride back to Amman by a guy who was travelling on a Peru passport, but was Palestinian born and raised ...

... whereabouts. So the film isn't all about gorgeous Israeli spies standing around with mud on them.)
At any rate, the mud is in these huge wooden bins that you stand around and reach into to smear it on yourself or on each other. It's full of minerals that are supposed to be good for you, so they encourage you to smear it everywhere. You're in the full sun of the Dead Sea, so the mud dries quickly, and then you shower it off in sulfur showers. (Sulfur is a salt, and again ...

... on the bus adjacent to a wonderful couple who have a nine-year-old and an older child living in France for a few months. Right off the bat we had a lot in common. I've enjoyed getting to know some of the other folks in the group as well. Overall, it's been pleasant. I have to confess, I haven't been working too hard at the relationships. It's just not what I've been here for. So I think I've gotten ...

... me off. We are dropped off at the border, go through security, then over to get our passports stamped and pay the 5 JD departure tax (we actually get a paper stamped rather than our passport). Then on a bus and wait for any others that might come. We talk with 2 couples from Utah who are doing a 1 week tour of Jerusalem and Jordan. The bus takes us across no man's land and into Israel. We get out and our passports are checked, back ...

... order and off to Aroma we went for coffee and sandwiches.  Yummy!  After that was a walk through the Souk/bazaar of the Old City, going to see the Western Wall, getting out the umbrellas as it was raining, dropping off our shopping treasures and then dinner at Amigo.  We were all quite exhausted by 9:00pm and bed was a welcome site! Check out the pictures of the day!  Fun was had by all!!!!