Wherever we go, there we are!

Day 19: Siem Reap

2011-12-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

On our last day, we stayed in Siem Reap. We took a tuk-tuk to the gardens in the center of the city, saw the royal residence and walked along the river. We also went to the Angkor Children's Hospital and donated to their facility. We were able to tour the hospital and see all the great things they are doing. They are the only major pediatric facility in all of Cambodia and they provide their services for free to the communities. It was very moving to see all the hard work they do!

We then went to the airport to begin our epically long trip back home. We have a fairly long layover in Seoul, Korea, but not really long enough to go into the city. We are hoping for smooth flights and easy connections all the way back.

We do have some more videos we will post soon - touring Angkor temples and walking the streets of Hanoi.

Day 18: More Angkor

2011-12-21T03:51:00.000-07:00

Prasat Preah Kahn

Add caption

Well, we are reaching the end of our trip. We spent another day touring the Angkor temples, including the famed Angkor Wat. We started our day at Prasat Preah Khan temple. This temple was a monastery and college originally dedicated to Buddha, but was vandalized by later Hindu rulers. It is huge and we wandered around the whole complex. One cool aspect was that it had 4 very long corridors that intersected at one spot. While there, we stopped for a Hindu blessing. A kalava was tied around out left wrists and we received a blessing by the giver of the kalava. The wearer of the blessing, symbolized by the strings should leave them on until it falls off naturally.

Celestial Dancer

Next we went to Preah Neak Pean - it was flooded so we didn't get to wander around much, but it was still interesting to see a different architectural style. The temple is a representation of Buddhist Mythology - and when functioning served as a place for devotees to bath in the holy waters. On the way to Angkor Wat, we stopped at a small temple named Baksei Cham Krong that had this amazing staircase that we climbed. On the way out of this temple and to Angkor Wat, we stopped at the side of the road to take photos of the monkeys hanging out.

Preah Neak Penh

Our last stop of the day was to Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat literally means "The city which is a temple." It was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu (protector of creation). The complex is the largest temple in the Angkor series. Most notable is the central sanctuary. We climbed to the top of this area - really steep - and saw many figures of Buddha. Almost the entire temple is highly carved, but there are areas that were not finished. Some of the carvings are Apsara, celestial dancing girls, bas-relief galleries that tell stories from Hinduism and battles.

Angkor Wat

After Angkor we had lunch then went back to Siem Reap. We wandered around the markets and stopped for coffee and shakes. We then decided to try the "fish massage" that is all over the place. Basically you put your feet in a tank of fish and they nibble on your skin. It is a strange feeling - doesn't hurt but it does tickle a bit. We then had dinner on pub street.

Baksei Cham Krong

Angkor Wat

Bas-relief

Leaving Angkor Wat

Days 16-17: Siem Reap & Angkor

2011-12-19T04:53:00.003-07:00

We are staying in Siem Reap - a bustling tourist town. This is the first time on our trip we have felt surrounded by tourists. Siem Reap really caters to the tourists coming to visit the Angkor temples. There are lots of markets and a pub street filled with restaurants serving Khmer food and Western food. We had a mixture last night of pizza and Khmer fried ginger fish. And of course spring rolls! It was very good.

Bayon Temple

Bas Relief

Today we got up and started our tour of the Angkor temples. There is a mixture of Hindu and Buddhist artwork throughout the temples, depending on exactly when they were built. Many have figures and symbols of both religions. As the religions moved back and forth between Hinduism and Buddhism, you can see many Buddhas removed or re-carved to look more like Hindu gods.

Buddha changed to look like Lotus

We first visited Angkor Thom. The first temple, Bayon, is shaped like a pyramid and has many towers with smiling faces. The bas-reliefs are fascinating and tell stories of the city. We then went by Baphuon, a Hindu temple. However, along the back of the temple is a Reclining Buddha over the whole length. We wandered around a whole host of other smaller temples and then went to the Terrace of Elephants - a long terrace used for royal military reviews and parades. The entire terrace is decorated with sandstone elephants. Next up was the "Tomb Raider" temple - Ta Prohm - made famous by the Tomb Raider movie. This temple is filled with silk cotton (Kapok) trees and baryon trees that are growing out of the walls and over roofs. The trees have become a part of the temple, so during restoration, they left the trees.

Baphuon

We had lunch at a Khmer restaurant and then went on to another set of temples. We drove through a farming village and saw houses up on stilts. We went to Banteay Srei - the temple of Women. This was made of pink sandstone and was a Hindu temple built by Hindu priests. It isn't a royal temple, like most of the other monuments. The carved lintels show scenes from the Ramayana. Our last stop of the day was at Praset Kravan, a temple that was built of smaller bricks - the others were mostly large lava rocks and sandstone for the carvings. We climbed to the top and could see Angkor Wat in the distance.

Terrace of Elephants

Tomorrow we will start at Angkor Wat and go from there!

"Tomb Raider" Temple

Banteay Srei

Praset Kravan

Melanie Biking in the Mekong

2011-12-17T18:21:00.002-07:00

Days 14-15: Mekong Delta & Saigon

2011-12-17T08:41:00.001-07:00

We got up early in the morning to get on a bus to take us to the Mekong Delta. It is about a 3 hour drive (the traffic doesn't move very fast here - the highest the speedometer got was 60 km an hour)! The tour group consisted of us, 2 sisters from Hong Kong, a couple from Holland, a couple from Oklahoma and a couple from California. Everyone was really nice!

The tour started with a cruise around one of the numerous floating markets in the delta. The market we went through was for locals only. The way the boats advertise their wares is interesting. For example, say they were selling pineapple - they would hang a pineapple from a pole on the front of the boat.

After touring the market, we cruised around the delta for a bit and then went into several workshop areas. The first was a place where they made coconut candy (yum!), rice paper snacks and sweet puffed rice (almost like Sugar Crisp cereal). It was fun to see - even if it was the first "tourist trap" of the day! Next we went to a bee farm, where Melissa was brave enough to hold a screen filled with bees. Melanie was NOT brave enough...

We went down a small tributary and got into small rowboats to go further down the river. Next we had a nice lunch, listened to some local music and then it was bike riding time! We had the opportunity to ride bikes through the small stone and dirt pathways of a Mekong village. As Melissa is banned from driving or riding anything with only 2 wheels in foreign countries (motorbike in Croatia anyone?), she hung out with a few others from the group in hammocks while Melanie braved the crazy pathways. It was fun - parts we paved while others were not, Melanie shared the path with people, motorbikes and animals but got to glimpse the Mekong countryside. At the end of the bike ride it started raining and by the time we got back on our boat it was pouring. It reminded both of us of those scenes in Vietnam war movies.

We got back on the bus and three hours later were dropped off at our hotel. The rain stopped and we went to a lovely sushi dinner that only cost us $12!

Today we wandered around Saigon. First we went to the Jade Emperor Pagoda. This is a beautiful house of worship. Next we decided to go to the Saigon Zoo. We saw lions and tigers - but the bears were sleeping! Our next stop was to get Melissa some bao, a steamed bun that she loves. After that we headed to the Reunification Palace, where the South surrendered to North Vietnam and the country was reunified.

After lunch, it was pampering time! We sat at a cafe and had iced coffee and ice cream then headed off to get pedicures - $5 bucks each :)

Tomorrow we leave Vietnam and head to Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat!

Diving video from Phu Quoc

2011-12-16T06:49:00.000-07:00

Video of the diving in Phu Quoc. The video doesn't really do the color justice. There were lots of blue's and red's in the corals and brightly colored fish.

Days 12-13: Phu Quoc to Saigon

2011-12-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

We spent our last day in Phu Quoc lounging on the beach. It was so nice to listen to the waves.

In the evening we went back into the main city and the night market. We had a sugarcane juice while watching the sunset. The juice is made by mashing the sugarcane until the juices are out. It tastes woody, sweet and lemony all at the same time. Very refreshing!

After the sunset we walked back to the main night market. We had an amazing meal at one of the street stalls. Fresh fish, jumbo fried prawns, noodles and vegetables and, of course, nem (spring rolls). We stuffed ourselves, but it was so yummy.

We packed up this morning and headed off to Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon). It is hot and humid here! About 90 degrees and full of moisture in the air. We went to the old post office building - a french colonial design to send off some post cards. Then we wandered to a few of the markets for shopping! The Ben Thanh market is this huge space under one roof that houses probably upwards of 400 different stalls with coffee, clothes, spices, candies, shoes, souvenirs and places to eat. It was fun wandering around, but as it is inside and not air conditioned, it was stifling. We also found the Tax Market which was four stories in a mall-like building. Since it was air conditioned we spent more time here! We went to the grocery store in this market and found Coors Light in bottles and cans on the shelves. One thing that has been very interesting is all the Christmas displays and Santas everywhere. We weren't expecting much of that holiday spirit.

We are heading on a day trip to the Mekong Delta tomorrow.

Post office

Christmas in Saigon!

Ben Thanh market

Days 9-11: Phu Quoc

2011-12-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

Sunset at Paris Beach Hotel

We arrived in beautiful Phu Quoc a few days ago. Phu Quoc is an island off the southeast coast of Vietnam. We were so happy to be in the sunshine and on the beach!

Our first day we swam and stayed by our hotel. We are on Long Beach, about 10 minutes from the main city (or an hour if you walk!). We had a great dinner on the waterfront our first night.

We have spent the last two days diving and snorkeling around the island. We saw some great reefs, but the visibility could have been a bit better. It's been windy, so that stirs everything up. That said, there is some great coral and today we saw lots of schools of fish. We'll post a video of the diving tomorrow. We had a United Nations on the boat - people from Holland, Germany, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, France, Sweden, Vietnam and us.

We spent last night in town at the night market. We met a couple on the dive trip from Holland and they were at our hotel, so we all walked in along the beach together. It's a lot further then it seems by taxi! The night market has fresh fish and vegetables and dinner was yummy. We plan to go there again tomorrow night.

So far, it's been great on the beach! It's so nice to have some color again :)

Phu Quoc from the plane

Turtle Island dive spot

View from the deck of Paris Beach Hotel

Melanie

Fish at the Night Market

Day 8: Hue

2011-12-10T06:35:00.001-07:00

Perfume River

It has been raining all day again, so we didn't get to do as much as we planned. We did still get out and see a bit of the city. Went to the market to do some shopping. It's a small area jam-packed with shops and people. We had to be careful the further back we went because the aisles were very narrow and there were people pushing around you at every step. Very much like the streets, the areas are close together and and a bunch of them sit side by side and sell the same thing. We heard "Madame, t-shirts!" a few dozen times on each row.

Dragon Boat on Perfume River

That said, we still found some fun stuff and it felt good to get out, even in the rain. It's not cold, so the rain is more nuisance then really bad, but the streets and sidewalks are flooded easily. We stopped at a bakery after dinner and had some yummy cakes - a chocolate loaf and pistachio something - it was good, but we aren't sure what it was!

Tomorrow we are heading to the island of Phu Quoc. Hope to have more sunshine and beach time!

Hue Market

Yummy cakes

Days 6-7 Hue

2011-12-09T06:14:00.001-07:00

Dragon on gate to Imperial City

So we left the crazy streets of the Old Quarter in Hanoi behind and made our way to Central Vietnam, namely the city of Hue. Today Hue is known for all the historic monuments, pagodas and tombs within the city. We are not far from both the old DMZ (demilitarized zone) or the coast. During the war, Hue saw very heavy fighting. It is slightly warmer here, but we are getting rain - its not stopping us from seeing what we want to though!

We arrived kind of late yesterday, so didn't see much besides the streets close to our hotel - there are a lot of Europeans in this area. Today we spent most of our time in the Imperial City - also known as the Citadel or in Vietnamese Dai Noi. It is HUGE! It was established by Emperor Gia Long in 1805. There are numerous buildings within the walls of the city. We spent 5 hours exploring different areas.

Looking in on the queen's palace

Tomorrow we plan to hit some historic pagodas and tombs that lie on the amusingly named Perfume River (it does not smell like perfume....).

There are several local bars in the area quite near our hotel that we have spent our evenings at, enjoying the local brews. The names of the bars are funny: The DMZ and the Why Not? bar. As for food (this is for you Dawn) we have mainly been eating Vietnamese style noodles and spring rolls in this area.

Heading in to the Imperial City

A gate decorated with carvings

Yummy crispy noodles

Days 4-5: Back to Hanoi

2011-12-07T18:29:00.001-07:00

After Halong Bay, we went back to Hanoi. We are staying at a nice little hotel on a side street in the Old Quarter. We have been able to navigate all around here and get to tourist attractions, shopping and food. Our first day back we wandered around the shopping district. Each street has it's own speciality of shopping - there is a silver street, paper street, pharmacy street, candy street, etc. In modern times, we also found a sunglasses row, shoes row, etc.

The next day we visited the Temple of Literature, which was established in 1070 to honor Confucius. One of the first courtyards is filled with Tortoise Stele, stones mounted on tortoise pedestals with a brief history of the scholars who passed the examinations - basically it's a big stone college diploma. It was another spot of quiet in the middle of the noisy city.

After the Temple, we went over to One Pillar Pagoda. It's a small pagoda in a lotos pond standing on just one pillar. The area around it was beautifully gardened. We then went back over to the Hoan Kiem Lake area to wander the streets and shop a bit. We went to an area known for Bia Hoy - Fresh Beer. The beer is like a home brew and only cost us 25cents per glass! There was a corner filled with these beer places and you sit out in plastic chairs on the street corner and drink beer!

We spent the evening at a Water Puppet Theater. This type of art dates back one thousand years and it is a authentic Vietnamese expression of culture. The themes relate to rural life. The puppets are controlled by puppeteers behind a screen standing waist deep in water. It was a lot of fun - we didn't understand a word, but the puppets get the point across.

We had a nice dinner and headed back to our hotel. Today we are going to Hue, our next stop in Central Vietnam.

Stone Stele - large diplomas of scholars

Confucius

One Pillar Pagoda

Water Puppet Theater

Beer on the corner!

View from our beer corner

We like our Fresh Beer!

Days 2-3 Halong Bay

2011-12-06T05:37:00.001-07:00

View from Amazing Cave

We took a four hour drive out to visit Halong Bay which is a World Heritage Site. In fact it is in the running for being one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.

We stayed on board the Santa Maria Cruiser (there is also a Nina and a Pinta - lol) for one night. When we arrived we were served lunch. We had 6 courses! We had no idea when the food was going to stop coming out. At dinner we were prepared and didn't eat as much of each course. All the food was wonderful and beautifully prepared.

After lunch we went to Hang Sung Sot - The Amazing Cave. Our tour guide, Trung, was very knowledgeable and pointed out many fun shapes in the cave. We then headed over to a bay with a pearl farm. We were supposed to go swimming, however it was a bit to chilly, so we just dipped our feet in. Then Trung sat with us and gave us a Vietnamese basic language lesson so we could speak more comfortably while here. It was a lot of fun, especially when we came to the word for spring roll - nem. Melanie connected the word nem to the movie "The Secret of Nimh." We told Trung and he started calling it the secret spring roll!

The second day at Halong, we went kayaking. It was so peaceful once Melanie and I figured out how to kayak together... It was beautiful and we kayaked through several caves and bays. We have a great video to play of a bit of our trip (see below).

After the kayaking we had another really big lunch and then got back on the bus to Hanoi.

The pineapple was lit like a lantern

Santa Maria

Shrimp Spring Rolls

The Amazing Cave!

Halong Bay

Day 1 - Hanoi

2011-12-03T06:47:00.001-07:00

M&M at Hoan Kiem Lake

Street traffic

Today we wandered around Hanoi. It's very interesting to walk around the city. The sidewalks are extensions of homes, stores, scooter parking, restaurants, etc. which means you end up walking in the street to get anywhere. Of course the streets are packed with cars, busses, scooters and other pedestrians, so it's quite an experience. We are thankful we had Cairo to teach us that you just walk out into the traffic to cross the street - they will stop or swerve to miss you!

Bridge at Hoan Kiem Lake

This morning we went to the Hoan Kiem Lake. It's in the middle of the Old Quarter where we are staying. It's a peaceful oasis in the midst of all the hustle of the city. There were a number of bridal parties taking photos out by the lake because it is so pretty.

We lunched at big cross street by the lake and sat and people watched. The ladies in their skirts and high heels on their scooters are entertaining. The pedestrian traffic was also fun to watch. After lunch we went to the spa for a traditional Vietnamese massage. It was very relaxing and a great bargain too!

Pho!

Night Market in Hanoi

We had pho for dinner at a street restaurant. We sat at these little kiddie tables with tiny seats and had a wonderful time. We were the only tourists sitting along the ares we could see, so we felt like we were getting a taste of the culture as well. We also wandered by the Night Market, a street that fills up with stalls on the weekends, and it was insanely crowded.

Heading off to Halong Bay tomorrow for an overnight on a junk.

In Vietnam!

2011-12-02T10:20:00.001-07:00

We finally made it to Vietnam. Had a few more delays and another scare about our connection, but it all worked out and our luggage showed up too! The only thing we missed was our layover in Seoul. That just means we'll have to travel back there someday.

Haven't seen much yet but the drive from the airport, which was quite harrowing. The traffic laws are apparently nonexistent, which really shouldn't surprise us anymore, it's just crazy in a different way in each country.

We'll get up and see the city in the morning and post more!

Bumps on the way...

2011-12-01T00:23:00.001-07:00

So, you may be able to tell by the picture.... we aren't in LA and on our way yet.

We hit a couple bumps in the flight plan. Thought we were going to have to worry about snow out of Denver, but it turns out the Santa Ana winds in California were the real issue!

Our flight was diverted to Phoenix. We are now scheduled to get to LA in the morning and we changed our Korean flight to the next departure. If all goes as planned, we will still make our connection to Hanoi.

We are getting all travel issues out of the way now! No more bumps!

Heading to Vietnam

2011-11-23T09:06:00.001-07:00

We are heading to Vietnam via Los Angeles and South Korea. It's going to be a long flight, but we will have a chance to go into Seoul for a day before heading on to Hanoi.

We will post as often as we can. The most recent post will be at the top and you can scroll down to see past posts. The archive is at the bottom.

Please enjoy our chronicle and comment back!

M&M

Underwater

2008-09-06T11:29:00.006-06:00

Here are some of my underwater photos. The Adriatic was pretty chilly, not a lot of color, but there were lots of fish. Still learning how to use the new camera, need more dives and more practice! Our dive master (the Brazilian Juan) is pictured on the right on the boat. Melanie is pictured on the right, with the dive master underwater, and I took a self portrait (nice cheeks). We did a wall dive for this one (and just a off shore dive for our first). Wanted to do more, but just couldn't fit it all in.

London (Or, Find Your Grail)

2008-09-06T10:53:00.007-06:00

We made it back to London safe and sound. Had a bit of baggage trouble (bought to much stuff!) but it all worked out. Kyle met us at the airport and helped with all the bags. The hostel was very nice, but it took until 2 a.m. to get there! The airport we flew into was a bit out of London.

The next day we went to Leicester Square to look for good prices on tickets to see a show. We decided to see Spamalot and kept finding nose bleed tickets for about 20 or 25 pounds. However, when we went to the actual theatre, they gave us 5th row for 30 pounds (about half price of a normal ticket!). It was a great show (Melanie and I had seen it in Vegas, but loved seeing it again, and it was a bit different).

That afternoon, before the show, we went to Harrod's and had tea. It was so yummy and filling. Then we went shopping (of course!).

After the show we had a pint and then went to bed. Mandy left in the morning. Melanie and I hung out with Kyle and Jenny some more, then Kyle took us to Paddington station to catch the Heathrow express. We had a great time in London visiting with Kyle!

The flight home was long, but fine. Now we just have to get caught up on everything else!

Cheese in Pag

2008-09-06T10:35:00.006-06:00

On our last day, we left Omis and headed to the island of Pag to get some cheese. It took a bit of searching, but we finally found a place with giant wheels of cheese. The lady gave us a taste and it was so yummy! We brought some home to eat later.

We drove all around Pag and then went back to Zadar to eat, turn the car in and get on the plane to London.

Coming to the end

2008-09-03T02:33:00.001-06:00

We are heading home today. Haven't been able to post photos from London, but will do so when we return. We did go rafting, get wonderful cheese from the island of Pag, and generally had a wonderful time. In London we saw a show, did more shopping and have enjoyed a few pints and talking to our cousin.

See you all soon, and watch later this week for more photos!

M&M

Dubrovnik... and rafting in Omis. Very exciting.

2008-09-02T05:25:00.025-06:00

Here are some photos from above Dubrovnik. You can really get an idea of the walls around the city. We had a great time walking around.

After Dubrovnik, we drove to Omis to go river rafting. When we booked the rafting trip, the tourist agency described the rafting as a nice trip with lots of little falls... very exciting! We loved the way she said very exciting, and kept saying it the rest of the trip. Well, she was right. It was very exciting. Minor rapids, but exciting because we were back on the water. We rafted with some of the guides. Melanie and Jenny had a guide who didn't speak a lick of English. At one point they stopped because their guide was the back person who made sure everyone made it through. They stopped at a barbecue and were invited to join in eating and having a beer with the group! But, they had to get back in the boat. After a beer of course!

After the rafting, we stayed in Omis, our last night in Croatia. We stayed above the city, which gave us a great view. We had a wonderful dinner in town - giant fish plate for Melanie and Jenny (so sad when it was gone), steak for Melissa, goulash for Mandy. It was great food.

Dubrovnik

2008-08-30T09:24:00.009-06:00

We stayed the night in Mlina. We have two apartments, both with bathrooms and kitchens. It is very nice. Our landlandy, Nada, sat with us while we drank wine on the porch last night. She was funny.

Today we went into the city of Dubrovnik. It is a walled city and we walked around the perimeter of the walls. It's a great view. I got quite a few interesting looks since my leg is scratched up, but I made it up and down the streets. We are shopping around the town now, and then heading back to Mlina. We plan to go swiming this afternoon and then we are off to Omis to go river rafting.

Split

2008-08-30T08:35:00.011-06:00

Yesterday we wandered all around Split. Our hostel was right outside the palace of Diocletian. The walls were right outside our window (there were other things in that area too... see photo!). The palace is basically a big tourist area, shops are built into every corner. It is strange to walk around an ancient palace and be buying postcards there too. We also found a sarcophagus in the middle of the road and the only scooter Melissa can ever drive again.

After we wandered around, we went to the tourist office to arrange accommodation in Dubrovnik. We decided to ask for accommodation outside the city, because we found if we stayed a little out of the cities we got better rooms at better prices. In Split, we had basic rooms with bunks. Shared bathroom and shower area. But when we were on Hvar we had a whole apartment with 2 bedrooms, kitchen and living room. So, we arranged better accommodation, went to have lunch - at a great restaurant and then drove to Dubrovnik. The drive was really pretty.

Food

2008-08-28T13:56:00.006-06:00

I (Melissa) have had very bad luck with food this trip. Not that the food is bad, but that I just can't get a break. We went to one place where my food came out last and it was wrong. We sent it back and it was still wrong, so I ate it anyway. It was good sausage!

Then we went to a nice meal on Hvar at a place called For that had been recommended. My risoto was the last food out and it was crunchy. So they cooked it longer. But it was wonderful when done right.

I thought I would circumvent the problem and have Melanie order my meal at Fast Food Hello. Still came out last. But it was correct this time! Melanie had a mushroom bruschetta and I had a beer. Yummy.

We have seem some interesting foods, but it has been yummy and Melanie is eating well. Pastas, pizza's, fish, breads... it's all good.

Hvar... Dive and vroom, vroom, Ciao

2008-08-28T13:26:00.024-06:00

After our first dive, Melanie and I met back up with Jenny and Mandy. We wandered around town buying souviners (Hvar is known for it's lavendar). Then we had dinner at a "fast food" place called Hello. It was yummy. Drank some of the home made wine and went to bed early as Melanie and I had a dive the next day. (photos are around Hvar).

We dove with a company called Viking Diving. They took us out about 25 minutes from Hvar, through a bunch of the surrounding islands until we got to the island we were diving. It was a wall dive and very nice. The Med is not known for colorful fish, but there were lots of starfish, corals and a few octopus to see. The wall was great, the current just helped us along the side. On the dive out, our dive master Juan (he's Brazilian) told us the five signs we needed. Ok, not ok, air at 100 bars, air at 50 bars and then a stabbing motion for "stab your partner so the sharks eat them instead of you!" But, no sharks. Darn.

After the dive, Melanie and I ate lunch and met back up with Jenny and Mandy. We wandered around for a bit, then we decided to rent scooters. It has always been something I wanted to do while on vacation. So, we get the scooters and do a practice drive, then off we go. I had Jenny on the back of my scooter and Melanie rode on Mandy's scooter. It was great! We drove across the island quite a ways. Stopped in the town of Jelsa and had ice cream. It was good ice cream! Then we went to head out to a neolithic town that sounded interesting.

Unfortunaltly, this is where it got interesting. I was driving and took a curve wrong. Before you read further... I AM FINE and JENNY IS FINE! I ran the scooter into an embankment. We weren't going too fast. Jenny pitched off and I scraped along the embankment a bit. Jenny has a few scratches and brusies, I have a few more. I scraped the right side of my body. Stings a bit and my knee hurts to bend some because of how it's scraped, but it's all good. It was a great ride until then! The wind in our hair, the sea to our side... But again, I am fine. I told Jenny I was trying to kill her, but not really! What a story to tell. But I think it cured me of the need for speed on scooters! (No more vroom, vroom, ciao!).

After I got cleaned up, we went to bed. Took care of the scooter in the morning and headed out on the ferry. We are in the city of Split. Spending the night here and then touring around tomorrow. Heading to Dubrovnik tomorrow evening.

Ferry to Hvar and Hvar

2008-08-26T09:41:00.003-06:00

After we wandered around Zadar in the morning, we drove to Split, where we caught a ferry to Hvar. The ferry photos are below. (Mandy and Jenny in one). We are staying in a private accommodation that is very nice. The couple is interesting! They gave us some wine they home make in a plastic coke bottle (see Melanie's photo). The wine is not as bad as you might think!

Last night we ate a great dinner. Risotto and fish. Had a local wine. This morning, we had Breakfast at Tiffany's - not great, but eggs, bacon and mushrooms for Melanie.

Melanie and I dove today (finally - we couldn't dive due to weather in Porec). We also did some snorkeling. Planning another dive in the morning. The water is very clear, but colder. We had to wear a full wet suit. Took some photos, but need to keep working at uploading them, will keep trying.

Staying on Hvar at least for tonight and then going to Dubrovnik soon. Will post again as soon as possible!

The Porec and Pula

2008-08-26T09:06:00.017-06:00

We stayed the night in Porec in private accomodation the second night. The town was very cute. All the coastal cities are walled cities.

As we wandered around town, we decided to stop for gelato. When Jenny walked up, the guy called her Bruce Lee (then Jackie Chan). She asked how many flavors of gelato she could get and the guy asked if she liked ice cream. She said yes, then craziness started. He scooped up so much gelato it was a big as her head. It was so much fun! Everyone was stopping to watch. I've never seen someone scoop so fast!

Then we went to the church in the area. Some of the signs crack us up. The church was beautiful though. Then we walked through town more.

After we left Porec, we went into Pula. Wandered around the archeological muesum there and then went over to the ampitheater. It was a great place to see. So well preserved. They do have concerts there. That night we drove back to Zadar.

Porec

2008-08-23T04:48:00.001-06:00

We are in Porec today (Istria penisula). Looking at diving tomorrow and then down the coast of Croatia. We drove about 4 hours last night after hiking all day to get to the area. It's the weekend, so all of Croatia hits the coast. Had a little trouble finding a room because we wanted to stick to private accomodation. It's been nice, and cheaper then hotels. However, we had to do a hotel last nigh! Oh well.

Off to schedule the day. More to come later!

Plitvice Lakes

2008-08-23T04:34:00.009-06:00

Plitvice Lakes is a beautiful national park. We arrived about 9 am, started hiking at about 10:30 and didn't stop until the late afternoon. Lots of walking - but it was so pretty. Waterfalls around every corner. Jenny jinxed us. At the beginning of the walk she said she thought one of us would fall. All of us tripped, but never fell, but it was close! You walk along a boardwalk area the entire length of the park. There are trams to the drop off areas, but then it's hiking the whole way. We have TONS of photos from here, because we just had to keep stopping. Below are just a very few.

Plitvice Area

2008-08-23T04:20:00.007-06:00

On Day 2, we drove over to the Plitvice Lakes area. We went to the park to see what we should do, and after some time, Melanie and Jenny found a tourist desk that would help. They set up our second room and it was such a nice little place. The countryside is beautiful!

Melanie, Jenny and I went to get some food and did our quick post on the blog. We also bought wine and bread and cheese and hung out on the balcony that night, enjoyed the weather and some Croatian white wine. We have a bottle of red to try out as well.

Photos of the hotel area are on this post. Jenny is on a swing outside the room.

Getting to Zadar

2008-08-23T03:49:00.006-06:00

Have some time to actually post, so we will start from the beginning. On our way to Zadar, we had some, well let's call it an adventure. We left Victoria Station on a bus headed to Stansted airport. The bus should have arrived an hour and a half before our flight to Zadar. It actually arrived 5 minutes before the check-in was closing. So, I pushed my way off the bus, Melanie, Jenny and Mandy went for the bags and I ran through the airport. I begged the woman to keep the flight open and we dropped our bags. Melanie and I had spent a ton of time making sure our bags were under the weights required, but we were so late, they tossed the bags on and didn't even check. Then we ran for the gate. We made it on the plane, actually had seats together... AND SAT ON THE TARMAC FOR 45 MINUTES!!! At least we got to catch our breath!

The flight was about 2 hours. Landed and our bags were the last off the plane (I think they were punishing us). Got the rental car (see photos) and drove 45 minutes to our first apartment.

It was a nice place and we got plenty of rest. However, this is also when I figured out I had NO idea how to put the car in reverse (it's a stick shift, and I drive one every day so I didn't think it was a problem!) Reverse is actually next to first gear and very ackward to go from reverse to first! Melanie had to stand outside the car, reach across me and throw it in reverse the first time until I figured it out. But we're good now!!!

All and all it was a bit crazy, but it's has improved from there!

Ostrich

2008-08-21T08:40:00.008-06:00

Landed in Zadar last night. Rented our car and headed out to a small town where we had our rooms. The drive was not bad, and the hotel was great - right by the water.

This morning we drove to the Plitvice Lakes area - north of where we were and are going to spend tomorrow in the national park. Then it will be off to Pula.

Funny story of today... the keys on the computer are the wrong places... amazing how often I am using the letters y and z and they are not where they are supposed to be!!! Other random thing... we were driving and suddenly Melanie says ˝ostrich!˝ I didn't understand, because why would she say that? But, we were passing a tiny zoo and there were ostrich wandering around.

So far, the weather is great. We are finding that most people understand a little German (Melanie is trying her skillz at translating) and we can mostly get our point across. The place we have for tonight, the owner doesn't speak English, but we are doing a pidgen English-German thing and it seems to be working.

We are now sitting in an internet cafe with Star Trek: The Next Generation on in the background. Pretty amusing.

More to come! (If anyone is interested in seeing more about the places we are visiting, look at http://www.croatia.hr/ - the tourism site.)

In London and on way to Zadar

2008-08-20T06:25:00.001-06:00

We are in London now. We stayed in a hostel last night, had tea at Harrod's and went shopping. On our way to meet up with Jenny and Mandy and head to the airport for the flight to Zadar, Croatia.

We'll post pictures when we get to Croatia.

Heading to Croatia

2008-08-10T21:17:00.003-06:00

M&M are one week out from heading to Croatia. Check back often for new posts and photos!

How to View Site

2006-12-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! To view this blog from the beginning, scroll to the bottom and read up. Enjoy!

Home At Last

2006-07-29T08:39:00.000-06:00

Well all, Melissa and Melanie are home in Denver after a wonderful, crazy trip. Thanks to all for reading and commenting about our adventures!!! We will be posting some underwater pics of the diving in the Red Sea and hope to soon have a shutterfly album up as well!!!

Visiting Giza, Memphis and Saqqara

2006-07-23T13:05:00.000-06:00

Today we finally saw the Pyramids, Sphinx and the most ancient step pyramid. We started our day at Memphis, founded in 3100 BC. It was once the capital of Egypt. We then headed to Saqqara where the first pyramid was built. There are other tombs around the area as well. The first glimpse of a pyramid was so fun! After Saqqara we went to a rug manufacturer where we saw people weaving rugs of cotton, silk and wool.

Onto the Giza plateau where the most famous pyramids and the Sphinx are located. Wow was this amazing! We walked around the Great Pyramid first and took lots of photos. It was so overwhelming to be there. You can't imagine the size of these things! We couldn't get far enough away for awhile to get the whole pyramid in the photo. We then went to an area where we could overlook the whole plateau and see all the pyramids.

After that we entered the second pyramid. Ok, so we walked into the entrance, down a little and then we had to bend in half to go down an angled shaft. It was very closed in and of course there is no air circulation. Melissa almost couldn't do it, but then she took a deep breath and kept going. We got to the bottom of the shaft and had a place where you could stand straight. We walked down a corridor that was only a couple inches above our heads and we could walk side by side with our arms brushing the walls. Then came another shaft going up where we had to bend over and climb - going up was easier. At the end of that we came to a large open space where the granite sarcophagus is located. Of course the pharaoh was long ago stolen from his tomb. It was so strange being in the middle of a pyramid!

When then went to where the Sphinx was and took many photos. This was such a great day and the best way to wind up our trip! We plan to do some shopping and a little more site-seeing tomorrow and then we head home on Tuesday.

Pyramids and Sphinx

2006-07-23T12:46:00.000-06:00

The pyramids!

The Great Pyramid was the first pyramid in this area. It is the largest of the pyramids. Built in 2589 - 2566 BC. It's huge!

The Sphinx with the Pyramid of Khafri behind it. We went into that pyramid.

The Sphinx!

Saqqara Site

2006-07-23T12:36:00.000-06:00

The stepped pyramid of Djoser. This is the first pyramid which is the prototype for all others.

In this photo you can see the stepped pyramid in the foreground and two previous attempts at pyramids in the background. Those two were failed attempts and the third is where the pharaoh was buried.

Memphis Site

2006-07-23T12:29:00.000-06:00

This is a large offering mug for liquids given to the king - including beer! That's one big beer mug!
Very big statue of Ramses II.

Arrival in Cairo

2006-07-22T11:47:00.000-06:00

Well we are in our last city in Egypt. We took an overnight train from Luxor to Cairo on Thursday night. We had our own compartment with 2 bunks. The beds weren't that comfortable - imagine that! Also very hard to sleep on a loud moving train. We were fed a light dinner and breakfast which consisted of 4 different types of bread, none very appetizing, and butter and jam. We were glad to arrive in Cairo and get to our hotel to take a nap!

We have learned the true meaning of Inshallah (If God is willing) everytime we step off a curb to cross the street. The traffic is crazy! They don't follow any traffic laws, including stop lights, they don't stay in lanes, they honk at everything and it is INSANE! Melanie and I are in the center of Cairo within in walking distance of the Museum and lots of other sites. Of course even walking on the sidewalks brings it's own problems - street hawkers! They ask you where you are from and try to start conversations to get you into their shops. We've actually become pretty adept at getting around them. But even with the crazy traffic and people on the streets, it's a fascinating city, such a mixture of modern and old.

The museum was great - see photo below for more details. Of course Melanie was proposed to yet again and her beau was disappointed when we left the museum. (Melissa has taken to wearing a silver ring on her ring finger!) Tomorrow we head to the pyramids - at last! We will see the pyramids, the Sphinx, Memphis and Saqqura where the oldest step pyramid is. Looking forward to it and will post more tomorrow.

A day in Cairo

2006-07-22T11:35:00.000-06:00

The Egyptian Museum. We weren't allowed to take photos inside. We visited for 5 hours wandering the corridors. There was stuff everywhere. Fascinating to see, but frustrating as well as half the stuff wasn't labeled. We did see all the treasures from King Tutankhamun (Tut) tomb and that was amazing.

We ate here for dinner tonight. We were craving some homestyle food so we found a Chili's. They tried and it was good - but not quite like the Chili's at home. We did have the molten chocolate cake and it was good! The scene was nice as we dined overlooking the Nile.

A view of the Nile.

Adventures in Luxor

2006-07-20T05:34:00.000-06:00

When we last updated we were still in Sharm el-Sheikh. Sharm is on the Sinai peninsula and we took a ferry to Hurghada which is on the African continent. The ferry took about 90 minutes and then we took a taxi to Luxor which took about 4 hours. We didn't arrive until about 2 a.m. but our hotel is 24-hours so that was nice.

Our hotel is about 2 blocks from the Nile on the main street of Luxor. On our first day we visited the temple of Karnak and we took a horse carriage, or an Egyptian ferrari, to the temple. The next day we took a tour to the West Bank to see the Valley of the Kings and many other temples - see the photos below. Last night we went to the sound and light show at Karnak temple which was interesting. Today we visited the Luxor Temple and rode on a felucca on the Nile.

Tonight we board an overnight train to Cairo where we will be until we leave on Tuesday morning. We have been having a great time. The food has been ok, but we are really enjoying the karkade juice - an infusion of boiled hibiscus leaves. Glad to hear from all of you. Hope you are keeping cool - it's been about 100 - 110 here!

Luxor Temple

2006-07-20T05:21:00.000-06:00

Abu al-Haggag mosque which was built on top of the Luxor Temple in the 13th century AD. The temple was covered by sand. You can see that the mosque is built at a higher level.

Entrance to Luxor Temple with statues of Ramses II flanking the pylon.

A felucca

2006-07-20T05:15:00.000-06:00

This picture was taken from our hotel balcony. We are about 2 blocks from the Nile. We took a ride on a felucca for an hour. It was very peaceful. We saw lots of cranes and kingfisher birds.

Medinat Habu

2006-07-20T05:04:00.000-06:00

The entrance to Medinat Habu, a temple built by Ramses III. You can see a large relief on the left side depicting him in a military campaign - that of course he won.

Those Egyptians sure had a lot to say! This picture is sideways, but almost all the walls we see are just covered in hieroglyphics.

Valley of the Kings

2006-07-20T04:56:00.000-06:00

This is a natural formation in a pyramid shape which is why the Pharaoh's choose to place their tombs in this valley. There are 63 tombs in the valley. The admission to the area allows you to enter 3 tombs. You can't take pictures in the tombs. We visited the tombs of Ramses the I, III and IV. The colors on the walls were just amazing. It looks like the hieroglyphics were carved and painted yesterday.

Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

2006-07-20T04:25:00.000-06:00

The entrance to Queen Hatshepsut's temple. This building dates from the 18th Dynasty about 3000 BC. It has been heavily restored to the point of almost being rebuilt.

A statue of Queen Hatshepsut with her false beard.

This is a relief of Tuthmosis III making offerings to the Sun God Ra-Harakhty. This is in the Chapel of Anubis in Hatshepusut's Temple.

Colossi of Memnon

2006-07-20T04:18:00.000-06:00

60 ft. tall statues of Amenhotep III. These were just out on the side of the road as we were going to the Valley of the Kings. Very big!

Temple of Karnak

2006-07-19T11:17:00.000-06:00

Statue of Ramses II

Obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut - a queen who took over ruling after her husband died. She dressed in men's clothing, wore a false beard and made herself a tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Row of sphinxes at the entrance of Karnak temple.

The Red Sea

2006-07-16T13:38:00.000-06:00

Melissa climbing very awkwardly back in to the boat.
A view from the boat. The light green by the sand is a reef. Tons of stuff!

Diving in Sharm

2006-07-16T13:23:00.000-06:00

We have been diving for the last 3 days and it has been great. So much to see underwater - it's a beautiful garden of coral and there are fish as far as the eye can see. For those of you who have seen Finding Nemo, picture all the fish on the reef where Nemo lived and you can get the idea of what we saw. We saw a blue spotted sting ray and some big tuna as well. Also, today we saw some dolphins while we were on the boat.

The diving has been brilliant and the snorkeling pretty amazing too. We have really enjoyed our time in Sharm. The people have been very nice. Of course the other day Melanie got another proposal. She was told she was worth more then all the camels in Egypt. She also has a nickname - Hey American! Melissa was told she was also worth many camels by another person. It's been quite amusing.

Sharm is a nice resort town. We've found great restaurants and the prices haven't been too bad. The Egyptian pound is about 5 to 1 here. The average meal has cost about 150 Egyptian pounds which equates to about 25 dollars.

Thank you to all of you for your thoughts and comments. We are aware of what is going on and have been very careful. At this time, Egypt is not a problem.

Grandma the witch - it was about the same driving as Greece. The nice thing was that on the open road the traffic wasn't too bad. The camel was interesting - but kinda uncomfortable. They are very large and bulky and move like that. I'm sure if we rode horses we'd feel more comfortable on them, but as it was, the getting on and off was scary!

We head to Luxor tomorrow. Keep you updated as we can.

Sharm el Sheikh

2006-07-14T10:34:00.000-06:00

A couple notes first. There are titles to each picture that sometimes don't show up. Just use your cursor to highlight the area to show the title. Also, we posted a ton of photos so if they don't look like they are all there, click on the archives. The first photo posted in this set is of Tel Aviv beach and they go in order from the bottom to the top.

We had a refresher dive course this morning in the pool at our hotel and then went on a reef dive this afternoon. It was great! We touched a moray eel and saw lots of interesting fish, including a Napoleon fish.

We are heading out to dinner now and will be diving again tomorrow. We are really liking Sharm!

Karen - great to hear from you, it's funny because Melanie and I mentioned you earlier today then we logged on and saw your post! Send photos of Kian! Miss you.

Petra

2006-07-14T10:12:00.000-06:00

The Siq path through the canyon to get to the interior of Petra.

The famous treasury.

M&M in front of the treasury.

Funeral areas in Petra.

Another funeral temple.

Melanie on a camel.

Melissa on a horse with the Bedouin who asked if Melanie was looking for a husband. He actually was nice looking under that scarf.

Watch out for Camels!

2006-07-14T10:08:00.000-06:00

We really liked this sign...

Masada

2006-07-14T10:01:00.000-06:00

The Hanging Palace of King Herod. We hiked down (in the heat!) to get to this spot.
Mosaic floor in Masada.
Bath anyone?

Floating in the Dead Sea

2006-07-14T09:45:00.000-06:00

Random pictures

2006-07-14T09:40:00.000-06:00

YaYa- here is our trusty car. Small, but it took us everywhere we needed to go!
Grandma the witch - this one is for you. Melanie's in the shower at the YMCA and there was barely enough room to turn without hitting the wall. Also there was no lip at the bottom, so the entire bathroom was wet. By the way, where I was taking this picture was as far back as I could get because the entire bathroom was tiny!

Nimrod Fortress

2006-07-14T09:38:00.000-06:00

Tel Dan - A nature reserve with archaelogical sites

2006-07-14T09:32:00.000-06:00

View from our YMCA room on the Sea of Galilee

2006-07-14T09:30:00.000-06:00

The Crusader Citadel in Akko (Acre)

2006-07-14T09:11:00.000-06:00

The beach in Tel Aviv

2006-07-14T09:08:00.000-06:00

We really enjoyed the beach. We sat under umbrellas right near the water.

not working!!

2006-07-13T08:49:00.000-06:00

Photos not working from this place. We'll try somewhere else later.

We're in Egypt - here is an account of the last few days.

2006-07-13T08:20:00.000-06:00

This will be a really long post followed by pictures of our last few days. Sorry it's been awhile since we could get online!

First of all, we drove from Tel Aviv to Akko (Acre) a Crusader town on the coast of Israel. We saw some interesting Crusader buildings and had some really good falafel sandwiches. We then headed toward the Sea of Galilee. We stayed in Tiberias (it's fun to stay at the YMCA!) and we ranged out from there. As you heard from our parents, we visited Tel Dan, a nature reserve with many archeological sites, and really enjoyed the hiking. We also visited the church of the Multiplication, Tabgha. We also went to the Galilee boat so Melissa could see this preserved boat from about the 1st century AD. We went "crusader-like" castle Nimrod which Melanie had been to already. It was cool and it was built by an Arab king in the 12th century. There was a great "secret" passage that we went through.

We went back to Tiberias and met a couple from Canada. We took them to town and then later swam in the sea with them. They were very nice and we hope to hear from them when they get home.

Next we drove to the Dead Sea - so awesome. And Pam - thanks for the advice - many people said the same thing so we were careful! We had so much fun floating around like corks. It was actually kind of difficult to keep our feet under us - they just wanted to float! The sea is kind of oily feeling - but in a good bath oil type of way. We were there very early and didn't see many people, so that was nice.

Onto Masada. This was one of the most amazing things Melissa had seen thus far. We rode the cable car to the top of this ancient palace/fortress built by King Herod. Melanie was right - it was hot as hell!!! We had great views of the Dead Sea and the town is amazingly well-preserved from an archeological sense. We spent a few hours wandering around up there and then got back in the car to finish our drive from the top of the country to the bottom in Eliat.

Once in Eliat we passed out after our long day. But not before eating at the "London Underground" restaurant - pizza and beer! The next day we went into Jordan to go to Petra. It is very hard to describe Petra - so we will post pictures! We drove a jeep to the border crossing, where we met our guide, Ali. We had only 3 people in our group and Ali kept a running commentary for the 2 hour drive to Petra. He gave us a great history of Jordan and of Petra. He reminded us that the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusader was filmed there. He then asked if we had seen the movie Titanic. He said that Titanic was NOT filmed at Petra. He was a funny guy. Later in the day he sold Melanie and I to a Bedouin shopkeeper for 100 camels each.

Petra is a rose-red city carved of sandstone. Most of what is preserved are funeral areas of the city. You start by walking down the Siq - a canyon carved in the sandstone. It is very narrow in some places where you can stand with just about 3 people and touch the sides. From the Siq we got our first view of the Treasury building through the canyon. It was breathtaking. We walked about 3 miles this day and went from the Treasury down to a Roman area where we had lunch. It's impossible to see all of Petra in one day. We had lunch and rode camels up to the Siq. We walked back through the canyon and were met by horses, part of the entry price. The horses take you back to the visitors center. Melissa was asked by her horseman if Melanie was looking for a husband - she said no! We then drove back to the border and did laundry - so exciting for us! We crashed after such a long day.

This morning we woke up and headed to Egypt. Three countries in two days. We went about 10 minutes to Taba where we crossed the border. We took a 3 hour taxi ride to Sharm el-Sheikh, on the Red Sea coast. Our hotel is great, just a couple blocks from the ocean with a dive center attached. We have a room on the pool and have scheduled our refresher and first dives for tomorrow.

Hope you are all doing well. Allison - Melanie misses you already! Glad to hear from you. I'll send a CD to you as soon as I get back (ha ha). YaYa - we saw a crane from the balcony of our hotel in Tiberias and thought of you. Grandma the witch - every shower brings much laughter and thoughts of you and Greece. This one is actually fairly nice and has a curtain! Danielle - thanks again for the kitty watching! Glad they are warming up to you.

Floor of Tabgha, Church of the Multiplication

2006-07-12T07:08:00.000-06:00

What the parents ”heard” about the Excellent Adventure on Monday…

2006-07-11T12:18:00.000-06:00

We had a cell phone call to ask us to call them back…lots cheaper. Tel Aviv was so great to enjoy the Mediterranean Sea warm and sandy. The Sea of Galilee is different; it is a lake that is cool and very rocky.

From Tel Aviv, they made a few stops but “ding dong mom” can remember a hike through some beautiful preserve and archaeological stop and seeing The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. The church has a beautiful tile floor depicting the scene.

Melissa & Melanie sound great, very enthusiastic, and enjoying every minute of the adventure. They had to fill up the “very little vehicle” after many kilometers for $60 – we cannot complain. The car holds one suitcase in trunk and one in backseat!

In Galilee they met a nice Canadian couple at the hotel asking for a taxi to the main city. The girls offered them a ride. They met up later to get back to the hotel and then enjoyed an evening swim in the Sea of Galilee together.

Monday in Galilee found them staying and singing …”we’re in Israel at the Y…M…C…A!! The Y room had a patio and they could look right over the water. They have been so lucky with hotels and having some very good food. In Galilee the restaurant residence cats where right at the table begging for some of Melanie’s large, fresh and delicious trout (missing the kitties at home she willingly shared!).

Tuesday was a long travel day. They will stop at the Red Sea - do NOT shave legs BEFORE swimming, ouch with that salt water!! Eilat is a resort town on the Red Sea. The hostel has arranged their tour to Petra in Jordan for Wednesday.

Some hotels have computers, but they haven’t found one in a few days. The Internet café in Galilee had lost their connection. Melissa and Melanie wanted to keep up their blog adventure, so you’ve heard a different version of their trip. They miss everyone (well just sort of because they are having so much fun); I think they miss the kitties most!

Tel Aviv - Yea for beaches!

2006-07-08T10:32:00.000-06:00

Well we survived our adventures in driving. On Friday we picked up the car and drove through Jerusalem to Yad Vashim (the Holocaust Museum). It was a very moving place. You can't help but be emotional while looking at all the records of this moment in time.
We did pretty good at the driving thing, only got turned around 2 times in Jerusalem. Then we headed out of town to Tel Aviv and the beaches! We made it to our hotel, checked in and hit the beach. We were so excited about getting to the beach that we ran out without any supplies - food, water, books, music, anything! We hung out for a couple hours and swam as well. The water is a great temperature and very blue. It was wonderful just to float on the waves.
Today we did the same thing, only this time we went prepared. We hit the beach at about 10 a.m., found a couple chairs and umbrellas, and had a grand time. We stayed out for about 6 hours. By that time Melissa was a bit pink and Melanie had a few pink spots too. It was just so nice to lay on a beach all day and not have to do anything.
Tomorrow we head to Acre, a Crusader town, and then on to the Sea of Galilee to stay Sunday and Monday. Hope to update with more pictures soon (the place we are tonight doesn't have a USB port).
Miss you all!

TROUBLE!!!

2006-07-06T08:36:00.000-06:00

Sara, Melanie and Allison - also known as Trouble! Girls - miss you already!

Historical Tomb of Jesus at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

2006-07-06T08:33:00.000-06:00

Melissa at the Western Wall

2006-07-06T08:31:00.000-06:00

Melanie and GB hosting the talent show

2006-07-06T08:28:00.000-06:00

Days in Jerusalem

2006-07-06T08:17:00.000-06:00

We have spent the last few days seeing the sights of old Jerusalem. Before we left for here, there was the 4th of July picnic and Melanie helped MC it. They gave silly awards to people and Melanie managed to sing a bit of "The hills are alive with the sound of music..." I think this was her talent! Actually she got a lot of laughs.
A taxi took us to Jerusalem and our hotel is really nice. It is about a 2 minute walk to the old city as we are across the street from the New Gate. We went all around the city - it's really a maze in there. Over the last two days we have seen the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, visited the Western or Wailing Wall, walked the Via Dolorosa (mom if you can't name the song we think of everytime we say that, you are fired!) and seen a lot of amazing things. The shopping is quite interesting and I find that Jerusalem is quite commercialism with shops everywhere full of all sorts of stuff.
Today a couple of the folks from the dig came to meet us for lunch and a little shopping. Melanie enjoyed seeing the girls she was really close to. We ended up back at our hotel where we went to the coffee shop (the M's had beer because it's good after a hot day!). This coffee shop had on the menu "cheese plate - served with cheese" which we all found hilarious.
To answer a few questions - the showers are like Greece, in fact our hotel shower curtain has tried to attack us. Melissa loves playing in the dirt, but not as much as Melanie. Melanie has talent - but it all comes in a very sarcastic manner - she is her mother's daughter.
Tomorrow we are renting our car, heading to the Holocaust Museum, and on to Tel Aviv. Send good thoughts to help us drive out of the city! We'll update again soon.

Overview of the site

2006-07-04T07:09:00.000-06:00

If you recall from one of Melanie's first posts, she had a picture of her square where you can barely see the tops of the wall sticking out. I am amazed at how much they dug out of there. The walls are all much more clearly visible. This picture was taken after the dusting and is from the top of where they excavated down. It's a large area and quite interesting.

Melanie at the site on her last day

2006-07-04T07:02:00.000-06:00

Melissa sweeping dirt to reveal ... more dirt! Oh and some floor too.

2006-07-04T06:47:00.000-06:00

Last day at Gezer

2006-07-04T06:39:00.000-06:00

Melanie had her last day at the Gezer site. I went with her and we dusted all the rocks. They were getting ready to take aerial photographs so the site had to be clean. I got up at 4:15 and went with her to the site. It was fun for me, but got really hot as they had taken all the shade tents down. It was really dirty work, dusting the dirt. It seemed a little strange but they were trying to get the rock as clean as possible for the photos. We headed back at 11:30 and hung out with a few of Melanie's friends. She's now doing homework and I'm updating the blog. Hope to put a few photos up of the last day.
We are readjusting our bags tonight and having a 4th of July party - complete with talent show. We head to Jerusalem tomorrow and Thursday, then to Tel Aviv to lay on the beach!

Ruins of the Temple Mount

2006-07-03T08:40:00.000-06:00

Melissa has arrived!

2006-07-03T08:35:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone - this is Melissa. I made it to Israel this morning after a bit of an adventure in London. Our flight was delayed by almost two hours because we didn't have a ... pilot. Those are kinda important to have, so we waited! I was very glad that my taxi driver was still there since I was so late and had no way of calling anyone to let them know. Before leaving London I wandered around Hyde Park - it was a beautiful day to sit in the sun. I went to Harrod's to shop a bit and watched a bunch of street performers along the Thames. It was fun.
Melanie met me and took me to my room where I napped for a few hours. She then took me with her to wash pottery. I enjoyed it, but she is tired of it! Too much washing. We are about to go to a lecture. We head to Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Hope everyone is well! We'll update again soon.

Weekend

2006-07-02T08:47:00.000-06:00

Hello All. I know you want me to post more pics, and they will be up on Monday. Waiting for Melissa to get here with a card reader so I can post some from my camera. This was a pretty laid back weekend for us. Friday after the dig we were able to go to the pool for the first time. It was wonderful!!! I haven't felt that clean in some time (chlorine really scours dirt). After we were watching some of our guys attempt to play football (please take note of the word attempt) and we were supposed to be cheerleaders, but somehow turned into hecklers (oops). We then ate and played cards into the night. Sat. we first went to the Israel Museum, which is very interesting then had 4 hours to wander around Jerusalem and shop and eat. Hung out with two of my closer friends here (allison and sarah). Spent the evening working on the book for my squares and then played cards again. For sun. we went to the Holocaust Memorial/Museum. It was a very powerful place to visit. Next we went to look at the excavations carried out below and around the Temple Mount. Lastly we had free time again and wandered around the Jewish Quarter. Finishing up my essays tonight and then last days of digging! Melissa will be here in the morning and can't wait to see her when I get back from the dig site. Thanks for the comments, glad everyone is enjoying the blog. We will keep it up while traveling.

Wanda- sorry to hear about Dante, will definitely housesit for you in sept.

Last Days

2006-06-29T05:30:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!!! Thanks for all the comments. It is so good to hear from all of you. Glad you like the pics, will post more Sat. night. Only 2 more days left of digging, then it is clean-up and mountains of paperwork. Pretty soon you will be hearing about the trip, not my dig. I will let you all know about the finds of the dig after our wrap-up talk. Miss you all.

My Square Now

2006-06-27T06:13:00.000-06:00

The grinding stone

2006-06-27T06:09:00.000-06:00

2006-06-27T06:08:00.000-06:00

Roman Siege Ramp at Masada

2006-06-27T06:04:00.000-06:00

Ein Gedi (David Waterfall)

2006-06-27T06:01:00.000-06:00

Cable Car to Masada

2006-06-27T05:57:00.000-06:00

Finishing up the Weekend

2006-06-27T05:47:00.000-06:00

The rest of the weekend wasn't as much fun as Sat., but it was nice. The best part was swimming in the Mediterranean. The rip tide was really bad, but it was wonderful just to be in the ocean again. The rest of the day was more archaeological sites (walls, cisterns, rocks). We got back at a decent time which was good. Monday and Tuesday at the dig were fun. We do have less people now, so it is a little more demanding...but we are finding some amazing stuff. Today we came upon a layer that contained a bunch of pottery pieces and a grinding stone. The stone is really cool (kinda looks like the obelisk in the movie 2001 Space Odyssey). Looking forward to my sister coming up. She will love it here. Thanks for all the comments!!! I miss seeing and talking to everyone. Grandma H (or witch Hazel) thanks for the mail!!! The weather has gotten a little warmer here at the Tel as well (i think Egypt will be quite toasty). I got my "exam" the other day. It will be really easy (too bad it is only the exam for here and has nothing to do with the credit for the classes i am taking). I have to draw a map of ancient sites in Israel, write 2-3 paragraphs on one of the major time periods, discuss the square I worked in and lastly give them feedback about the dig experience. Man oh Man do I wish that was all I had to do. I am going to attempt to upload some pics!

Dead Sea/Masada

2006-06-26T06:29:00.000-06:00

I know I have been asked for more pics and they are on the way, just need to borrow someone else's camera. Let me tell you about my weekend. We started off heading towards the Dead Sea, which takes us through Jerusalem. We then start heading down as the Dead Sea is 1300 ft. below Sea Level. The drive takes us through the Negev desert (also known as the Judean Wilderness). Nothing grows here, but there are a lot of bedouin with their flocks, horses and of course CAMELS!!! (was very excited to finally see some camels, kinda want to ride one...and buy a stuffed camel...okay, moving away from the camel...). As we drive down the sea comes into view as well as an oasis called Ein Gedi. There are palm trees and cultivation here, which stands out from the bleakness of the desert. The oasis is fed by a waterfall called David's Stream (connections with 2 samuel). The temp. difference is quite amazing as you hike up the hill. Too bad a fire ravaged part of the site. After the 30 min. climb it would've been nice to jump in, but alas, no swimsuit. We next went to the Dead Sea. Thought it would smell bad (kinda like Salt Lake) but it doesn't. There is an area where you can go in a float as well as cover yourself with that Dead Sea mud. I did not go in because I thought it would be nice to do something with Melissa that I had not already done. Next was Masada. Now this is an amazing wonderful amazing place that cannot be described in words. Hopefully some pics that I post will help, but...it is breathtaking. The site stands above the desert on a plateau and you can see for miles because you are so high up. Of course, there has to be a downfall, and, there was. I now know what hell feels like and let me tell you...it is VERY hot (please bring plenty of sunscreen). The temp. was about 107 F with no breeze. HOT, very very HOT. But, I will take Melissa there (can't be the only Keerins who has been to hell and back). That was the end of our day so we drove to Arad, which is situated in the desert. It consists of 2 areas. One built for the Bedouin and one built for everyone else. ( you can guess which part is nicer). 14 of our group left in the morning (very sad, miss them already) so we are much smaller now. A few more people leave on Tuesday. Well, I have to go wash and read some pottery so will fill you in on Sunday (Tell Arad, Beer Sheva, Asheklon, Swimming in the Med and Lachish) and hopefully put up some pics. Miss you all!!! Please write comments to me!!! I want to know what is going on and what I am missing.

Food

2006-06-25T09:04:00.000-06:00

I have been asked many times about what I have been eating. Well, it is good, but does tend to repeat often. For Breakfast on the site we get bread, cheese (several types), tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggs, some sort of neon red jelly and nutella spread. Sometimes there is yogurt and pudding. Lunch and Dinner at Neve Shalom has hummus, salads, pickles, beets, olives, potato salad, sometimes an amazing avacodo salad, cooked vegetables and a meat (usually chicken and once a week fish). Bread is always available and often fruit. There is always tea and coffee (instant or turkish), but milk is not always easy to find. I keep milk and juice in the fridge from our once a week grocery runs. On the weekends our food varies widely. Falafel and shwarma (gyros), McDonalds, pizza and buffets at the hotels. I am ready for some Tex Mex and margaritas when I get back.

Taking a Day Off

2006-06-22T03:12:00.000-06:00

Well, I did not go to the site today, stayed back to some of the other work that needs to be done on an archaeological dig. This means I washed bone and marked pottery. When it comes to marking pottery...only the really good stuff that we uncover actually gets kept, the rest goes back to Tel Gezer. We must write on the pottery we keep certain information so that people can always access the pottery for papers, museums and the like. You have to write really small (something which I do well). Tonight is a huge concert by Robert Waters of Pink Floyd. I guess he sings some of his own stuff, as well as Pink Floyd hits. It is happening right below us and they are expecting 35,000 to 50,000 people to show up for the concert. No sleep for us diggers tonight!!!! But there is a plus, we get to watch and listen to a free concert. And...since we are digging around rock walls..."another brick in the wall" really actually fits. So long all!!!

Roman Colonade - Beit Shean

2006-06-22T03:08:00.000-06:00

Very Sorry

2006-06-19T05:52:00.000-06:00

Having problems uploading pics today. I will try again tom. forgot to tell you all that we did go to the Jordan River also. Wish me luck with pics!!

What a Weekend!!

2006-06-19T05:35:00.000-06:00

boker tov everyone!!! I have just had the busiest weekend of my life!! We started out on Friday at 10 am and went to Mini Israel. This place has mini versions of ancient, old and new buildings and the like. I really felt like playing Putt Putt the entire time (that is not allowed by the way). We then moved Cesarea (spelling prob. wrong) Maratima which is a mainly Roman site that the infamous Pilate once lived. Has a great ancient port under the water that I would love to dive on. The aqueduct system is huge and streches across the beach. We then got to Galilee, but it was late so we justate dinner and went to bed. The next morning we went to Hazor, a site that was very impt. during the Middle and Late Bronze Age (Solomon). We also went to Tel Dan, another site similar to Hazor but set in a nature preserve, so it was really pretty. The entrance gate architetchure that is surving is amazing. We then moved on to Cesarea Phillipai (also known as the Caves of Pan and Banias). Here is a sacred pool with healing powers associated with the Greek satyr god Pan. We then got the chance to going swimming in the Sea of Galilee. It is very rocky for a long way out...so you are walking in water that comes only up to your thighs for quite some time. It was refreshing to swim!! I then enjoyed a beer with a few others on the dig (it was about time I could have a beer, but so sorry Coors folks...it was not a Coors product). The next morning we went to see the Galilee boat (or the Jesus boat). I was exicted about this because one of my professors from A&M was in charge of this site. We then set off to see some churches (transfiguation, mount of beattitudes and multipication of the loaves and fishes) then moved on to Caperneum (the home of Peter). We also went to another Bronze Age site of Meggido and a Roman site Biet Shian. I hope this tired you all out reading it!!! Will update soon about the work on my site and what else is going on with the people here, now that I really know them. Amy and Bryanna...it was great to hear from you, keep an eye out for a postcard Bry. Grandma Hazel...I recieved my letter yesterday in the mail. It was great and EVERYONE was jealous (which makes me feel good) Thanks alot!! Keep sending me comments and tell me how all of you are doing.

Quick Note

2006-06-15T08:20:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone...we are heading out to the Sea of Galilee Fri, Sat and Sun. I will try my best to update the site on Sunday. If not, it will be there on Monday. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

My Square

2006-06-15T08:14:00.000-06:00

Back to the Dust

2006-06-14T05:44:00.000-06:00

EnShallah. Well we have been back to work for 3 days now. Up until today, nothing much was happening in our square. We have opened a new 4 meter square below the one we are working on, haven't found much yet. And found that our square had a room in it!! I will send a pic tomorrow (I hope). I have learned to hand draw rock to scale (but i do it very badly). Got alot of sun today since I worked outside of the shade, but no burn...still just getting tan. We have a 'free' day on friday, which means no working on the tell. We have breakfast at 8 am then have 2 hours to pack ALL our luggage so we can store it while we are gone (Neve Shalom is giving us a really good price, so we clear out on weekends so they can rent the rooms). We will leave at 10 am to start our weekend. Don't know all the places we are going, but do know we will be staying in a hotel at the Sea of Galilee (fingers crossed for softer bed and more hot water). My mother (who I have described here as having a wicked sense of humor) asked about classes. A few lectures have been so-so, but most interesting enough to keep me awake. Yesterday's lecture was the best so far, it was about zooarchaeology (study of animal bones in an archaeological context). I was always interested in Forensics so it was cool. Thanks again for all the comments, glad you all are enjoying them!!

Weekend in Jerusalem

2006-06-13T06:16:00.000-06:00

Shalom!! Sorry it has been a few days since an update, but I was under the weather yesterday. The dust at the site is a very fine powder (it could double as lunar dust) and so you breathe alot in. I spent yesterday coughing all that lovely dirt right back out. Fun.... Anyways, the weekend in Jerusalem was fun and annoying all at the same time. We spent one day in the Christian Quarter and walked down the Via Dolorosa and visited the Church of the Holy Speculre (spelling is way off I am sure). That church is built on what some think the hill of the crucifixion was as well as the tomb of Jesus. It was quite interesting and is shared by Greek and Russian Orthodox Christians. We then went into the markets that are open on Sat. (the are the ones run by Muslims as Sat. is the Jewish Sabbath). The markets were so much fun!!! For lunch we ate falafel (chickpea patties) with hummus and vegetables. We continued on to the Mount of Olives and overlooked all of Jerusalem. On Sunday it was time to visit the Jewish Quarter. We started off my going to the Rockerfeller museum (really cool, built on top of an excavated archaeological site) and then headed to the burnt house (a little museum about a 1st cent. AD house burnt when the Romans burnt down Jerusalem). We went off on our own for lunch and I had (surprise surprise) falafel again. We then went on to the Western (or Wailing) Wall. This is where many Jews come to pray and leave prayers in the wall. It is considered a very holy site and you have to be dressed correctly (skirt covering to knees, shirt covering most of arms and head covered). You are supposed to back away from the wall, not turning your back to it for most of the way. It was really cool to go there. We did not get to the Temple Mount, but am hoping to go later with Melissa. We visited the site were they think that King David was buried, inside a beautiful building. We lastly went to the Cardo, a roman "mall" with pillars and a rich history since it was were much of the trade took place, the market I guess. What was annoying about the 2 days was our tour guide. Those of you who have seen Monty Python...please think of the French soldier who taunts King Arthur. Remember his voice? With that really bad French accent? This is what our guide sounded like. He also repeated himself at least 10 times. I now know way to many ways to phrase "this is King David's Tomb". He was horrible!!!! But at least the city was fun!! We are going to Galilee next weekend. Will give you more info. on how the dig is progressing tomorrow.

Jerusalem

2006-06-13T06:12:00.000-06:00

Melanie in Jerusalem

2006-06-13T06:08:00.000-06:00