Home sweet home

I made it. I'm in Houston, and I'm glad to be back. Thirty one hours of being on planes and sitting in airports makes being home that much sweeter. Three weeks is a long time to be gone. They say it takes two full weeks of vacation to get over work burnout. I believe it. I had one over that, and by the time I got back, I was ready to get back into my normal routine. 

Don't get me wrong...I love traveling and it was a fantastic trip. But that's one of the glories of travel and vacation, isn't it? You get to leave your every day life and step into the life of someone else. You eat their food, shop in their markets, and mingle with the locals. For this trip, I got to experience several cultures and an entirely different part of the world. Some of the most amazing things we did I couldn't possibly have planned for, while others, like seeing the Pyramids, I had dreamed about for my whole life. We went on a cruise down the Nile, haggled all our (well, my) money away at the bazaars, went grocery shopping at the local markets, learned to count in Arabic, bought spices, met the assistant director for the Egyptian Museum, saw some of the infamous World Wonders, ate more hummus than we ever care to remember, bathed and bobbed in the Dead Sea, climbed over ruins, said a prayer at the Western Wall, and visited some of the holiest sites in the Christian religion. 


I purchased way more than I should have, but my bank account is consoled by the fact that nearly all of my purchases were representative of the area traveled (or given to my mom...that lady made out like a bandit!. And in case anyone is wondering...I never once pulled out any of those Marlboros I brought to barter with. I know, I'm disappointed in me, too.)

I had an incredible time and am so glad that I saved and planned for so long and had the opportunity to have such an amazing adventure. And even though there was a lot of doubt about my going due to the instability of the area, in the end I'm glad I got to see the Holy Lands while they still exist. Would I go back? Absolutely. But not any time soon. There's too much of the world to explore first :). 

*The Blank*, aka a letter opener disguised as a dagger

Thanks to all of you who've followed my blog. I appreciate the comments and the messages. And because so many people have asked, I have posted a picture of the *blank*:Why didn't I reveal the object before? Simply because it was a gift for my father, and I didn't want him to know what it was before I could give it to him :). The blank is actually a super-cool letter opener with a very dull blade that looks like a small dagger. I purchased it in the town outside of Petra, and was distraught when I was told it was "illegal" (he said in Israel, but I think he meant at the bus station) and I thought it was going to get tossed. 


Wrapping up, thanks again for following me on this journey to an old world. Stay tuned for future accounts of my travel-savvy adventures abroad.