Petra

This weekend I was Indiana Jones, searching for the Holy Grail.
We traveled by camel, of course.And bought some goats from the back of a truck when we got thirsty.We arrived at Petra.Wait a minute, that's very pretty, but not what I drove 6 hours to see.
Ah, here's what I was looking for. We walked 1500 meters along the Siq...(keep going)
and saw lots of great colors.Finally we turned the corner and saw the Treasury! It was amazing.Of course we took many pictures. Look how small the people are. By the way, they carved them from the top down, and those holes on the sides are where they attached the scaffolding. Our guide explained to us all the symbols, but as I am not your guide, you can Google it if you're interested.There are more facades in the city, the Treasury is just the most famous (and with good reason).We climbed lots of steps.But the view of the desert from the top was worth it.I even made a friend along the journey.We finished the day by taking a quick tour of Aqaba, Jordan, on the Red Sea (before we crossed the border back to Eilat, Israel).I didn't end up finding the Grail. But it was a great trip nonetheless!

Hanukkah

Tuesday night was the start of Hanukkah.

At the hotel that evening, there was a big celebration (which made CNN the next morning). There were hundreds of people in the lobby awaiting the lighting of the first candle. A rabbi sang to us, and then everyone sang (except me, I still haven't learned Hebrew, except to count from 0-9 and say "hello" and "thank you"), and then they lit the candles. An angel led the kids away; apparently the Jews have angels too... with pointy ears. And then they handed out free donuts and chocolate. And when I say chocolate, I mean huge chunks of chocolate that they used a hammer and chisel to hand out:
When I went upstairs to my room, there were more donuts waiting for me! Mmm, free dinner.
Last night we ate dinner at Mike's Place. It is pretty much an American bar, on the beach. They had a Christmas tree! It was exciting for me. I am having a slightly difficult time getting ready for Christmas here, because it's warm and sunny and I live on the beach. Not that I'm complaining though!

Baha'i Gardens

Today I visited The Shrine Of The Bab Terraces And Gardens. They buried the Bab here, who is one of the central figures of the Baha'i faith (you didn't know that, did you).
First there were some cacti.

Then lots of pretty flowers.

I suppose this is the shrine. It was closed so we couldn't check it out.

Then we stopped for lunch. On the way to lunch, we had a good view. I think I would like to live in that house.
Then we saw the gardens from the top. Perhaps we should have stopped up there first... oh well, now I know that for the next time I need my first look at the Baha'i Gardens.
Also I love lampposts, and this was a cool one. I wanted to wait until it got dark to watch the lights come on, but I am not that patient.
It was very green. Also there were some black and gray birds.
This is my artistic shot. That is the city of Haifa in the background (well, part of it).
Check this out! Upon closer examination I believe it is normal, real grass.