CStephens

We woke up way earlier than anyone should on Spring Break today. About 5:30, to be precise. We hopped on a bus with about 40 other people at 6:30 for a hike with an alternative travel company. An hour and a half later, we were deep in the West Bank, the semi-desert hills. Most of the other hikers were ex-pats living in Israel, although a couple were also just visiting the area. Some were American, some Canadian, one or two British, Belgian, or French, and a few more from around the world. All of them were very nice people and wonderful to talk to, and made for a wonderful hike! All in all, we did about 16 km, or about 10 miles, while climbing about 2000 feet in elevation. There was approximately 0 vegetation apart from ... read more

Today was another homework day. Luckily, there are worse places to do homework. Although Marie had to leave early for work, I slept in until about 10:00. At that point, I went to Xoho, a cafe a couple blocks away where I got beer bread. I’m still not exactly sure what it was, but I think it was beer-battered bread with a salmon shmear on it. Regardless, it was delicious. I hung around and worked for a couple hours before moving to an even better place for homework. On to the beach it was. There are several bars on the beach along the Tel Aviv coast, so I picked the closest one. Like most places in Tel Aviv, I picked my own seat, so logically one close to the water and in full view of the ... read more

The reason I got up so early this morning was that today is a day for rejuvenation and learning! I booked a tour to visit Masada and the Dead Sea. Visiting the lowest point on Earth at 1400 feet below sea level was worth it on so many levels (pun intended). The bus picked us up at 7:30, and then ran through Jerusalem to pick up a few more people, before heading towards the Jordanian border and the Dead Sea. On the bus ride, I met a great group of people: 2 other Vermonters, a Houstonian, 2 Canadians, and a couple Californians. I spent the day bouncing between them for conversation and entertainment. First we stopped at a private beach on the north shore of the Dead Sea where we dropped off a few people that ... read more

I mean, when you've only got two days in Turkey, you have to start them both right. Another breakfast of burek and baklava was the way to go. From there, we headed up to the Hagia Sophia (again), this time actually getting there while it was open. The first Hagia Sophia was built in 360 AD under Roman rule. Twice it was burned down and rebuilt, with the final iteration built in 537, wisely out of stone instead of wood. For the next ~100 years, it was either an Orthodox or Catholic cathedral, until the Byzantines invaded in 1453 and converted it. Thanks to its history and the Byzantines nicely not destroying it upon conquest, many mosaics and murals of important Christian figures remain, including pieces centered around Mary and Jesus - unsurprising, given that Jesus ... read more

Because my flight took off at 11:00 pm Boston time, took 9 hours over a 7-hour time change, and Marie and I couldn't find each other in the airport (and to use airport wi-fi you had to have a functioning phone number, which really seems like poor planning for an international hub), we didn't actually get to our AirBnb until about 5:00 Istanbul time. We finally did get there and met our host, who let us in to a very cute space -- nothing I'd want to live in, but plenty for a weekend. Things we learned along the way include: the drivers are crazy, do notjaywalk or you will get run over, and the drivers are insane. Istanbul, if you don't know, is a city built on hills. Perhaps not as much as Rome, but ... read more