Taking Off...

Happy Saturday to you, Blogland! Last week I made my official return to this world I love so much...putting pen to paper (or you know, typing words to the blank, blog screen on my computer), and pouring out my thoughts is something I love to do, and I know there is at least one person out there who enjoys reading...

HI MOM!!!

But seriously, I have wanted to tell you about my trip to Israel ever since I got back! Well, I have wanted to tell you about the trip ever since I got over the flu that I brought back with me. In all honesty, we got back on a Friday morning (Jan 31), Sweetie had full-blown flu symptoms, I was starting to cough and calling the doc for a Tamiflu Rx (which I did get, and it did keep me from getting the fever), and we were down for the whole weekend (and then some...lol). I have no idea if it was jet-lag, illness, the daunting task of 10-day-old laundry and unpacking or the pile of work on my desk that wiped me out, but I had barely enough energy to knit for almost two weeks...so I did not try to throw blogging into the mix!

Now that I am back, I want to tell you about the trip! Trust me when I tell you that there are travel bloggers out there who will do a much better job telling you about the places I visited...but only Pretty can tell you what Pretty saw. My world and this trip are colored by who I am, and it is the same for you and your experiences. It is important that we tell our stories somewhere. So, here I go!

Before I even left for Israel, I bought a journal. You know, a spiral bound book, with lined pages inside, for writing in. On January 21st, the day we were scheduled to leave, I opened the journal, and took out my brand-new pen (why have a brand-new journal without a brand-new pen?) and wrote out a bit of my anticipation. There are also hints of anxiety in those first few pages, as I had never before flown over an ocean or been to any country more exotic that Canada and Mexico. 

We met up with most of our group at the Cleveland airport, and the rest met us in Newark for the flight to Tel Aviv. I took my first trip photos as we said, "See ya later!," to Cleveland. 

Then we had 10-and-a-half hours in the air to look forward to, and we were tired. I slept on that international flight with no problem. I skipped dinner, and I hope that I did not snore...!

When we landed, and deplaned, we caught a bus to our hotel in Bethlehem, an hour? ninety minutes? away, and settled in. It was evening by the time we had our luggage and room keys in our hands, and my first views of this new place were from bus and hotel windows. There was not much to base an opinion on quite yet. Then we had dinner.

Hotel breakfasts and dinners were buffet style, and I liked almost everything I tried. Hummus and pita (of course), the best I have ever had. Every vegetable and many of them pickled, and some things that looked vaguely like American food, but tasted far different than what I was expecting. I enjoy new food experiences, so this first taste of Israel was a very positive for me. 

I also love meeting new people, and there was plenty of that on this trip as well!

Shout out here to all of my new friends, especially if  you are seeing my blog for the first time!

These first travel days of the trip were exhausting, but there was so much to look forward to. This was the longest (and farthest from home) vacation Sweetie and I have ever taken, and it has whetted my appetite for more adventures! Traveling has also helped me to appreciate (as Dorothy learned in the magical land of Oz) that "There's no place like home."

I promise this is not the end of the story, but how many words do you really want to read in one sitting? I was gone for 10 days, touring for 8, and I took nearly 1,000 photos! Judging from my journal (I have filled more than half its pages on the trip and in reflection...so many Pretty words!), I could write a dozen posts without hitting all the high points! 

I promise that I will be back with more, but now I have some knitting to do. A certain January sweater (my annual thing) is not finished, and it beckons to me from the knitting bag...

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon, and in the meantime, Knit in Good Health!