Pissed Off

I don't even know where to start describing this trip. It is more than I ever dreamt it would be.

I had trepidations about taking an organized tour. I'm kind of a free spirit and hate people telling me when to get on and off the bus, when to eat and most importantly, when to pee. Surprisingly, I am minding none of those things. Our tour guide is the best. He is a retired military colonel and a Sabra (born in Israel.) He is smart and funny and runs the trip with military precision. I just finisthed looking at the more than 1100 pictures I have taken so far and am in awe of all we have seen and done. This no nonsense guy (sitting with the women in the front) promised my husband a special medal at the end of the tour for putting up with me. He calls me "the spy" because my camera is aways ready to point and shoot.

The people on this tour are a fantastic group. I dreaded being stuck for two weeks with people I didn't like (as I don't like that many people I was sure that would happen) so the second surprise is that I love everyone in this group. They are bright, funny, have similar interests and backgrounds and show up on time for everything so we never wait.

Right now I am sitting in front of a closed supermarket in Jerusalem stealing internet service. It is shabbos afternoon and almost everything in this city is closed. I did go to the Great Synagcogue this morning to hear part of the Torah reading and then we spent three hours walking through the Arab and Christian sections where things are open. We saw the Tower of David and the Church of the Holy Selpehcur and then ate and shopped in the shuk (market.)

My huband is probably worried so I better get back. Tomorrow is the Dead Sea, then Eilat. I will try to find another place to post in a few days. Again, forgive the typos and grammar errors. The sun makes reading the screen hard.