Sue the tour guide

Wow! What a whirlwind week. I met my friend Robin when we were both working at Washington Adventist Hospital and pregnant with our first children. We gave birth within 5 days of each other and have been friends ever since. Robin decided to brave international travel alone, leaving Chuck behind to watch the dog and hopped on a plane to visit me. She arrived by sherut Thursday evening, right to my door. I had gone to the market and bought a great bread and made soup, figuring that she would be tired. We ate a nice dinner in my home and caught up a bit.

The next day we got up early and started touring. Since it was Friday, I was in a hurry to get going before things started closing down for Shabbat, plus, because of a scheduling mix up, I had to work from 3pm to 8pm. So by 8:30 we were on the road to Yad Vashem and were one of the first tourists of the day. We spent several hours there then rushed over to the kotel since I had made a reservation for her to tour the tunnels under the wall. It is a great tour, one I encourage everyone to do. It gives a great history of the second temple and is the area of the holiest spot for Jews. We gulped a sandwich sitting on the steps and she joined the tour while I sat outside and enjoyed some quiet solitude at the wall. It would be the last quiet moments for a few days.

We then went back to my place where she rested and I went off to work. Robin later joined me to meet my children at the hospital and visit. When I got off from work, we walked down a dark and windy road (making a couple of mistakes along the way) to En Kerem, where there are some good restaurants open on Shabbat. We had great salads, fish and wine, ending her first full day in Israel.

The next morning we were up bright and early again for a tour to Masada and the Dead Sea. We took a bus tour. First we stopped at the Ahava skin care outlet at the Dead Sea and stocked up on lotions and potions. Then we toured Masada, a site where Jews defended themselves against Roman conquerors and rather then be taken, a group of 10 men were chosen to kill all the others (937) and then one was chosen to kill the other 9 then he jumped from the mountain. Grizzly story but they chose freedom. It is also the site of Adam Goldstone's bar mitzvah. It was fun to see the place where we held the service. Hard to believe that it was almost 16 years ago. After Masada we went floating in the Dead Sea. What a hoot! We returned home, rested a few minutes, then when Shabbat ended, took the bus to Ben Yehuda street to wander and eat shwarma. We stopped at a coffee shop and sat and solved all the problems of the world, sipping coffee and eating pastry for several hours.

Sunday, busy again. We started off at Hadassah Hospital to see the Chagall windows. From there we went to the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea scrolls and other sights. Lastly. we ended up at the kotel and then the market. We bought some goodies for dinner and brought it home to share with my roommates. It was a nice evening together with everyone.

Monday we were up early (once again) and rented a car. This was my first experience driving in Israel, but thanks to a GPS, it was fine. We drove straight to Abu Goosh for an early lunch. It is a small Arab village outside of Jerusalem, famous for it's hummus. We were treated like royalty as the owner wanted us to try various items. We left stuffed. We then continued to Haifa. We wanted to see the Bahai Gardens but had missed the public tour. We saw a group approaching for a private tour, and being shy like I am, I went up to the guide and asked if we could join them. They readily said yes so we got to tag along. As it turned out, they were a group of American nurses and paramedics in Israel, studying Israel's emergency response systems (which unfortunately they are good at). So we fit in perfectly since I am a nurse and Robin is a respiratory therapist. The gardens were beautiful and we got to learn about their faith. By then it was after 7 so we walked directly to the German Colony and had a nice leisurely dinner.

But no rest for us! The next morning we were up early again. We went to visit the port of Caesaria and toured Herrod's ruins there. We then went on to Tel Aviv, had lunch in an outdoor cafe and got on Segway's! We had so much fun (ok, we each crashed once). We zipped up and down the Jaffa Port, learning history and having a great time. We crawled back to our hotel, showered and went out for pizza and salad and ended a great week. The next morning I dropped Robin at the airport and drove back to Jerusalem.

We had an amazing time travelling together. She got to see the country I love and we got to visit. I realized how much I miss my friends. I am in the last couple of weeks of my adventure. I am now looking forward to seeing my family and friends again at home. I return in several weeks. Aside from work, I will be attending an Yemenite Seder with Brinda and Ami which should be interesting. I hope to see my nephews again too before I leave. I will keep everyone posted.

Interesting observation: Israeli's use their car horns freely. I was beeped at once/day. Not bad for driving in the country for the first time!

Pictures from top: On the Segways in Tel Aviv, At Caesaria, the Bahai Gardens, dinner with the girls, floating in the Dead Sea, mud bath at the Dead Sea, site of Adam's Bar Mitzvah on Masada, view of the Dead Sea. Enjoy!