Jerusalem, Israel, and Jordan Adventures!

Hello dearest family and friends!
We wanted to have a chance to write about our Jerusalem adventures before too much time goes by. We LOVED it. Here's a from our day by day itinerary.
Day 1 - Jerusalem
After sleeping off the jet lag at our friend Kyler's place (excellent accommodations - we recommend it to all!), we headed into the old city through Jaffa Gate. Norah's eyes nearly popped out of her head seeing all of the colors in the market and just the energy and intensity of the city. We spent the day taking in the old city, wandering through the Jewish Quarter, down to the Western Wall, through the Christian Quarter and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and through the Armenian Quarter and St. Mark's church, where the last supper possibly took place. It was incredible. Other highlights of the day included tasting the most incredible Turkish Delight we had ever had, munching on the big loops of sesame bread that they sell with a zatar spice that you dip it in, and eating what turned out to be our favorite falafel of the trip! That evening we met up with Kyler and went to a tucked away little Jewish restaurant for Mike's birthday. It was delish, and we ended with chocolate molten cake, complete with a sparkler for Mike! On our walk home, we saw a huge fireworks display over the old city; everyone wanted to celebrate Mike's birthday! :-)
Day 2 - More Jerusalem
The next day we entered the old city through Damascus day, which put us in the Muslim Quarter. The markets there were equally as fascinating. We lunched on a chicken schwarma as we wandered, and then were caught up in the stream of Muslims coming down from the Temple Mount after the mid-day prayer - it was Friday. What a neat experience! Afterwards we made our way down the beginning part of the Via Dolorosa - the path that Christ took as he carried the cross to Golgotha. Along the way, we visited the pools of Bethesda and sang in a church there that had such amazing acoustics that our voices floated up in the arches for a good 10 seconds after we sang each note! It was neat!
Our afternoon was spend visiting Gethsemane - the gardens with olive trees and the Church of All Nations, reading in the Orson Hyde Park, and then heading over to the Garden Tomb. Much of Christendom recognizes the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the old city as the place where Christ was crucified and buried. Some faiths, however, recognize it as 'the place of the skull', which is next to an incredible, adjacent garden with a single tomb hewn out of rock. A British organization maintains the site, which is such a little miracle, because only the British could create a garden that peaceful and lovely in the middle of bustling Jerusalem. We had a wonderful experience there. Afterwards, we wandered back over to the Western Wall and spent a couple hours watching thousands of Jewish worshipers come to celebrate the beginning of Shabott and pray at the wall together.
Day 3 - Shabott in Jerusalem
Our church in Jerusalem holds services on Saturday instead of Sunday to accommodate any local members who only have Saturday off work. Church was up at the BYU Jerusalem Center, where Mike did a study abroad 11 years ago. It is an incredible building up on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the whole city. How amazing to sit in a Sunday school class and talk about Gethsemane when it's right down the hill from you!
Afterwards a really nice couple who know our friend Kyler invited a group of us over for lunch. It turned out to be an 8 course Chinese meal that was divine! That afternoon, we went with Kyler to the St. Peter of Galicantu church, which has incredible mosaics, and caves below where Christ was thrown in prison. We also did our fair share of singing there, and then had a mini-tour of the city from a current Arab-Israeli conflict perspective as we stood on an overlook with Kyler. Throughout the visit, we feel as though we learned so much about the conflicts and issues there from our friends (who work on these issues every day), and from the locals. It was so eye-opening.
That evening we attended an embassy/USAID wine and cheese at Kyler's neighbor, and afterwards had a few of Kyler's friends over to sing Happy Birthday and eat cake with us! Norah made an adapted version of the traditional Wasden family cake for Mike, and we must say, it was rather delish! :-)
Day 4 - Masada and the Dead Sea
In the morning, we headed off with another couple who work with Kyler to visit Masada. It's about 1.5-2 hours from Jerusalem, along the Dead Sea. The air was incredibly hot down there, but Masada was incredible. King Herod build an extensive palace there on the very top of an isolated cliff. Later, in about 66 AD during the Jewish rebellion against the Romans, a group of Jewish people took refuge at Masada. The Romans found them, and they were under siege for about 4 months. Amazingly, the survived that long because of the supplied Herod had left at Masada, and what an amazing position they had defensively. Finally, the Romans found a way in, but the arrived to find that the entire group had committed suicide, rather than be taken into slavery. Amazing story!
We left from Masada and drove to a spot on the Dead Sea where we could go in for a dip. That, we must say, was so fun! We floated on top of the water, covered ourselves in Dead Sea mud, and left feeling very smooth, and very salty! Finally, that evening, we attended a stunning string quartet concert up at the Jerusalem Center.
Day 5 - Heading up to Galilee and Tel Aviv
This day began with a rather amazing adventure. We rented a car in the morning, the logistics of which took quite a long time, and involved switching cars just as we were headed off. Finally, we left and drove to this breathtaking monastery built into the cliff that is about 45 minutes outside of Jerusalem. It was at that point that we discovered we were missing our camera - we had left it in the other car!
Well, we called them, drove back, and found they had already rented out the other car. The manager at Budget was so kind and actually drove around with us for a half hour, trying to track the other guy down. Finally, he got hold of him by phone, and this other very kind man agreed to drive all the way back and return the camera. We are SUCH lucky fish! Mini miracle!
Well, we finally did head out and drove through Jericho and up to Nazareth. It was a beautiful drive, after which we headed down to Tel Aviv to meet our other friend, Matt Cameron. He also works for the state department here. Matt treated us to a delicious Israeli dinner in an orange grove, and then we stayed with him for the next couple nights.
Day 6 - Galilee
After leaving Tel Aviv for the day, we headed off to Ceasarea. It was an amazing city of Roman and Byzantine ruins, and we loved it! Next we visited Mt. Tabor, which is probably the mount of transfiguration. Afterwards we visited the 'Jesus boat', an ancient Galilean fishing boat that was discovered just a few years ago, and then the Beatitudes mount and finally drove along the Sea of Galilee up to Caperneum. There we relaxed and read at a gorgeous Greek Orthodox church. Finally that evening, we went to Akka. It's a beautiful walled city on the ocean, and we loved visiting it in the evening because we got more of a picture of real life there. We stumbled upon an Arab engagement party and spent about a half hour chatting with a man we met there and his finance (not the couple who was having the party) - it was so fun! It was a wonderful day, but it should be mentioned that Norah was running a fever for most of the day, and was somewhat miserable by the time we got to bed!
Day 7 - Sick day!
Well, we finally took an R&R day. Norah woke up with a tummy that wasn't very happy with her and a fever, so we stayed at Matt's place for the day. We felt so lucky to be with friends and to be able to do that! It was a very relaxing, napping, snuggling sort of day :-) Mike was able to go or a job with Matt's dog down to the beach by their house. By evening, Norah's fever had broken, so we went down to the old city of Jaffa with Matt and wandered around, winding through the alleyways, visiting the ruins, and hearing a private opera concert floating down through the streets.
Day 8 - Drive to Jordan
Despite our sick day, we decided we could still fit in our visit to Petra in Jordan. So we packed up and headed off for the day! We visited Qumran on the way, where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered, and made a few other little stops - one to snap a photo of Lot's wife! We were lucky and made it to the border just in time, crossed over, and began our Jordanian adventure!
That night, we took about a 2 hour cab ride to get up to Petra, and stayed in a hotel right by the entrance to Petra.
Day 9 - Petra and the Red Sea
This was one of our most favorite days on the trip! We jogged into Petra in the morning and through the canyon until we reached the Treasury. It was amazing! Stunning! Indescribable! Then we jogged and hiked up the mountain to the monastery at the top. Petra is just unbelievable! All of these temples built into the cliffs - they go on forever! After enjoying our time at the top, we made our way back down, past all of the Bedouin merchants, took lots of pictures, and then reluctantly left. We ate a quick lunch at a local restaurant, and then hopped in our cab to head back.
On the way, we decided to go a little past the border so that we could go snorkeling in the Red Sea. That was awesome! The place where we rented our masks gave us a free guide, so we had a hour guided tour in the 'Japanese Gardens' in the Red Sea. The coral was beautiful, and it was so refreshing!
Finally we headed back to the border, crossed, and drove straight back to Jerusalem to Kyler's place again. What a day!
Day 10 - Shabott again
We went to church in the morning and enjoyed the services very much. Afterwards there was a 'munch and mingle' with all of the students studying there, and we spent the early afternoon chatting and enjoying.
After church, Kyler took us to a very orthodox, Jewish neighborhood. We covered up and wandered around - it was fascinating. After a relaxing lunch on Kyler's balcony, overlooking the Dome of the Rock and the old city, we headed to Bethlehem, where we had a wonderful tour of the Church of the Nativity, and then drove to see the Shepherds' Field. It was a really fun evening!
The only shock of visiting Bethlehem, which is in the West Bank, was getting a close up of the wall the Israelis are building to separate the Israeli occupied territory from the West Bank (and to push the border further in their favor). It's appalling. A huge concrete structure that the locals call the 'apartheid wall' - it just stings of the reminder of the Berlin Wall. Very sad to see.
Day 11 - Our last day :-(
We had a really fun last day, taking in the old city one last time. Our morning was spent browsing the markets and making a few fun purchases that we sent home! Mike became an expert negotiator, and we learned a lot about the local merchandise. We took a break to eat lunch at a cafe, and treated ourselves to some Turkish Delight again.
In the early afternoon, we were able to go up on the Temple Mount. It was so beautiful and peaceful up there - it seemed very removed from the bustle of the city below. We really enjoyed walking around, taking pictures of the Al Asqa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. It's gorgeous, and there's a beautiful feeling of worship and wonder being there.
That afternoon, we visited Hezekiah's Tunnel in the City of David, just beyond the old city walls. That was amazing! You walk through and then head into the ancient tunnel system where you wade through the water for about a half hour! Fascinating! After leaving, we rushed to make a couple more purchases at the market, buy one last falafel, and then head to another concert at the Jerusalem Center. We enjoyed it very much. Finally, we had managed to book a late night tour of the tunnels of the Western Wall, so we did that as well. It was fascinating to see the wall under these huge arches, and very interesting to hear the Israeli perspective on the history of the city and the wall.
And that was that! We reluctantly got up the next morning, packed, and headed to the airport for our next adventure - Thailand!

Croatia

In the immortal words of Peter Ellis, we had a "Whale of a time" in Wales. This, despite the fact that we learned from the local family history expert at church that the name Wasden is in no way Welsh. Well, as can be imagined, this was quite a shock. I'd been telling Norah from our first or second date that if we had children together, they would emerge from the womb and enter the world with a Welsh last name - although my wording might have been a bit different. It was a big disappointment for Norah and me along with the Ellis clan that I don't have a Welsh name. Our burdens were lifted and we were in good spirits in no time however after we ate some chocolate covered McVities. It goes without saying that we need to have a chat with mum and pop Wasden. It appears that the Wasden family has a bit more family history to do.

One other notable before launching into the Croatian travel log is the incredible birthday party that the Ellis clan, led by Norah "my last name is not Welsh" Wasden, threw for yours truly. After dinner on our last day in Wales the lights suddenly dimmed, and a deliciously frosted piece of shortcake suddenly appeared, ablaze with two grand candles that formed "30." The family erupted into a chorus of happy birthday, I blew out the candles, everyone was served, and we snarfed down heaping portions of the yummiest strawberry shortcake ever. We ate berries we picked a day earlier and drowned our cakes in fresh cream - delicious! After dinner I had a scavenger hunt that ended in a pack of gum and 4 Cadbury crunchie bars. Then, we wend out to the cliffs and I hit 2 golf balls into the ocean and played a hole on the local (and beautiful!) golf course. I boogied the whole. Oh well.

So, on then to CROATIA!!!!

We arrived on the 29th of June around 10 pm. Upon deplaning onto the tarmac, we realized that it is much warmer in Croatia that it is in Wales. This made us very happy. Jeska, a very nice man who runs the apartment that we stayed at with his wife, met us at the airport and drove us the 15-20 minutes to the old city of Dubrovnik, which is located at the southern end of the country. It was beautiful! (see pictures :)) Dubrovnik is considered the pearl of the Adriatic Sea, and many claim that it is the finest walled city in the world. It sits between scruffy, fairly Idaho-like mountains and the deep blue Adriatic Sea. After a quick loop of the old city, he took us to our apartment, which we had to ourselves, including a nice sitting room, full kitchen, balcony, and bedroom that overlooked the harbor (this harbor is about a 20 minute walk from the old city and ferries leave from here to islands in the area). We were thrilled. (although our first reaction was - wow this isn't as nice as Maryland (the home in Wales). We then, however, quickly realized what a find this place was given the price of $50/night.)

The next day we decided to explore the harbor area and take a ferry out to some close by islands. We determined to save the old city for when Fiona arrived the next day. After a 15 minute walk, we found a ferry service that shuttled people to the Elfati islands (a string of three islands an hour or so off the coast of Dubrovnik - there are hundreds of islands off the coastline and they are called the Dalmatia islands, named after that region of the country). After purchasing tickets for the ferry for an outrageously high price, we learned that another ferry company offered the same service at a fraction of the price. A bit deflated, we nevertheless approached the original ferry company about getting our money back and they acquiesced. We then purchased the cheaper tickets an hour later we were on our way.

After about an hour's journey we arrived at Lopud. The island has a very quaint harbor area on one side of the island and a nice, sandy beach on the other side. After taking in the harbor town for a few minutes, we hiked up a mountain on the island and explored an old church at the top. We then descended the other side of the mountain to the beach and spent the rest of the afternoon taking in sun interrupted only sporadically with dips in the warm water.

Later that night, back in Dubrovnik, we jogged to the bus station to pick up Fiona, who was due to arrive at 9:45 pm. To our surprise, we learned that we'd jogged to the wrong station, and so set off at a fast jog in the correct direction. We arrived in time to intercept Fiona before she boarded a city bus headed toward our apartment. It was great to see her and she was thrilled to be in Dubrovnik (and see us, of course!)

The next day we opted for more islands in the morning to be followed by the old city that afternoon. We loved our experience from the day before! We failed to get off the boat in time, however, and missed our stop on the island that were were going to - Kolucep. Picture Norah and Fiona rushing out to the bow of the ferry while it's pulling away from the dock, frantically looking for Mike on the shore, and then a minute later looking over and seeing Mike coming out of the bathroom, scanning the shore and looking quite perplexed! It was quite the debacle We made due and got off on the next stop, which was the island that Norah and I had visited the day before. We were only able to stay for 30 minutes, however, because the next ferry came 5 hours later, and we didn't want to spend the whole day there. It was a really nice, albeit quick, stay.

Once we got back, we headed for the old city. Upon entering the city walls, the first thing we saw was the amazing main street of the city. It is a wide street made out of shiny marble that spans the length of the city with white buildings on either end of the road - it was so arresting visually!!

We got lost in the narrow alleyways of the city as we explored. Before long we noticed the bullet holes and scars left from the war that ended in 92 - it was amazing to realize that such a beautiful and historic city had been under a year long siege not too long ago by Milosevic. Finally we succumbed to the heat of the day and headed out to a beach right next to the old city. After a few hours Fiona took off to meet her friend Christine, who was arriving from Slovenia. We then wandered back to the old city, spent 2 hours walking around on top of the city walls (great views!), found a great gelato shop (Dolce Vita - yum!), and took in a charity orchestra Tchaikovsky concert put on by the Imperial College of London in the main town square. Norah also wants me to mention here that she got an amazing pistachio and orange chocolate cone. I can back her up on that...it was very good orange chocolate. We then raced back home to cook some fish and eat dinner with Fiona and Christine.

The next morning we said our goodbyes to Fiona and Christine and caught a ferry around 9 for Mljet, which is written up as the most beautifully seductive of all the Dalmatia islands. Our hotel was situated in the Pomona harbor, about a 15 minute walk from a national park that takes up the bulk of the island. We read and slept for a few hours after our arrival to recharge the batteries. Following a quick lunch at the pizzeria in town (this part of Croatia is very influenced by Italy), we headed out on bikes for the national park. The centerpieces of the park are two salt water lakes (big lake and small lake, aptly named) that are fed by the Adriatic. We rode our bikes around the large lake and made our way out to the open coast. On our way, we passed a monastery that is situated on an island in the big lake. Once to the coast, we hiked around on the rock, relaxed, and watched the waves. We then biked back to Pomona, swam in the sea as the sun set, ate at a harbor restaurant, and called it a night.

We awoke around 8 the next day, went for a jog to the small lake, and then came back and ate a lot at the buffet breakfast. We also took some food with us for the day...we're pretty sure they lost money on us. Before leaving the island at 4 that afternoon, we fit in a boat ride out to the Benedictine monastery and walk around the small lake. Upon finding ourselves all alone we went for a swim in the small lake au natural. It was very refreshing! Upon arriving back in Dubrovnik we were met at the port by lots of old women looking for people to stay at their house. Finally we settled on a really nice lady to stay with, took our stuff to her home and spend the balance of the evening in the old city eating gelato.

For our final day in Croatia we made it to the old city one last time before packing up and heading to Israel. We loved Croatia and were excited for our next stop - SHALOM!

Leaving Croatia for Israel

Hi all!
We've had a fabulous time in Croatia. The water is amazingly clear and the islands have been so much fun. Dubrovnik is an amazing city and we'll post photos soon! We're off to Israel in a couple of hours.

Hugs to all!

Love,
Norah and Mike
XOXOXOXOX
čćžšđ

Leaving Wales and Heading to Croatia

Well, our time in Wales is drawing to a close. Here's the final updates!
Yesterday we woke up really early to head to Rosilli beach where you can do a hike across this island called "Worm's Head", but only at very low tide, otherwise you are stuck there! Our family did it a few years back when we were here, and we were all very excited. Unfortunately though, once we walked down to the edge of the causeway to walk over to the island, we could see the storms coming in across the ocean, and decided it would be somewhat miserable to keep on going. Drat this Wales weather!
Instead, we went to Mewyslade beach, which is now Mike's new favorite. It has tons of caves to explore and amazing rocks to climb. But, you also have to be there around low tide, otherwise the beach disappears! (Wales has the 2nd longest tides in the world!)
Today we had one of the most beautiful days so far! We went for a beautiful jog along the cliffwalk to the lighthouse, got back home and had some strawberries and cream, as well as the fresh strawberry rhubarb jam that Mike made yesterday, and then headed off with everyone for a walk on the cliff walk in the other direction! The afternoon was topped off with playing a few rounds of our new favorite card game, "Big Two", before heading back home from our walk.
Tonight we're actually having surprise birthday party for Mike (he doesn't know yet!) with a scavenger hunt, the grand finale to which will be him hitting golf balls off the cliffs into the ocean. He's been wanting to do it all week!

LOTS of love! Next time we write, we'll be in Croatia!

Love,
Norah and Mike

Week 1 in Wales

Week 1 has drawn to a close! (Sorry, we wrote this a couple days ago, and then the wonders of the blog technology eluded us and we didn't post it!) We can't believe it! Although jet lag should be over by now, Norah is still finding it hard to wake up in the mornings! :-)

Our Uncle Tom and family left, and our new-found, cutest cousin Julia came for a visit over the weekend. We've had lots of fun walking around beautiful gardens, walking along the cliffs, walking into the village, walking around the strawberry fields, walking around castles, walking on the beach, and generally walking. If we weren't eating so much of Margie's amazing food, and TONS of European chocolate, we would have lost 5 pounds already!

Here are a couple photos from the week!



Lots of love and hugs to all. We keep thinking about how much fun it would be to have each of you with us!



Love,

Norah and Mike

Wales is a beautiful place to get over jet lag!

Hello all!
After a minor 3.5 hour incident at the airport during which everyone had to deplane and then reboard because of one guy who decided to get off, we slept very happily on the flight and arrived in the UK! I imediately got a craving for licorice allsorts , which we found before hopping on our train to Swansea. We've been enjoying time with our family, including a beautiful hike from Three Cliff's Bay to Caswell Bay (where our house is). In typical Wales fashion, the hike was gorgeous, but was accented by a 15 minute downpour that soaked us through! Luckily we were almost home at that point. :-)

Lots of love to all!
~Norah

Our Very First Post!

Norah and I are so excited to start our trip around the world - we leave tomorrow evening! This is our first post, and many more will follow. We've decided to use this forum to keep family and friends up to date on our travels as well as keep a travel log for ourselves. Next time we post, we'll be in the UK!

Cheers,

The Wasdens