The Journey!

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After arriving at Gatwick around 6am, I caught the shuttle to Heathrow and sat around waiting for the counters to open. After a raft of police and sniffing dogs checked the area, El Al opened up and promptly informed me that no, I could not check in early and ditch my bags with them. Undeterred, I paid through the nose and left them with the Heathrow service. I had a lovely afternoon wandering around London: through Hyde Park, up to Marble Arch, along Oxford Street and through Mayfair, followed Regent Street to Piccadilly, down to Pall Mall and the Mall and over to Trafalgar, just in time to get caught in a torrential downpour. I caught the bus back to Piccadilly, then a long, soggy bus tube back out to the airport.

After some long, nauseating, but probably inevitable encounters with El Al's formidable but polite security officials, I got on the overnight flight and woke up as the sun rose over Israel. Once on the ground, I was out of the airport in 30 minutes and on the shared taxi to Jerusalem. We took the highway out of Tel Aviv and into the foothills, past settlements and little towns - it was gorgeous and weird and fascinating. Then after a quick detour past the Old City to drop some people off, I was at the apartment in Ramat Eshkol and safe in Heather's care.

After a delicious breakfast, we wandered around the neightbourhood until I crashed HARD from exhaustion. Heather let me sleep in the afternoon, then we had an equally delicious dinner in the apartment and sat and talked as the sun went down and the call to prayer went out (I was so, so thrilled to hear it again - it's a singularly beautiful sound)

Now it's bedtime, but tomorrow - Nablus! Can't wait...
- Jordan

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Photos

After the rain
In the park

Regent Street
I Heart Georgian Architecture

Piccadilly Circus
Under construction

Long, patriotic view
To Buckingham Palace

Trafalgar Square
A little wet

More Sunrise in Israel
The foothills of the mountains (ancient Judea) come rising out of Tel Aviv's coastal plain

Warning: Construction
An Israeli settlement continues growing

Old City Walls!
Out the grimy back window of the shuttle van

Courtyard!
Of my apartment

Front Door
+ garden

View out my bedroom window
at mid day

Bedroom View
Late afternoon

Dusk
Listening to the call to prayer out the living room window

Comments

[Margaret]

Wow (and thk god u r safe)
Wow that sounds like a long trip. I'm glad you got to see London a bit. I'm very jealous remembering back to our time there and how amazing London is. I would love to go back. You brief introduction to Jerusalem sounds very cool and very surreal. I can't wait to see more pictures and here more about your life there. We all miss you and glad u r safe and soundly in J-town.