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FINAL THOUGHTS

As in our World Cruise blogs, I'm including our "Final Thoughts" to this blog.   First of all, I can't say enough about Abercrombie & Kent and the excellent service they provided to us.  If we ever go on another land tour to new and exotic places, I wouldn't hesitate to use A&K again.  Their knowledge and professionalism in navigating through the normal hassles visitors experience in foreign countries is worth the price of admission alone.  Their guides are unbelievably knowledgeable, professional and personable.  Each one of our guides, Ahmed, Zak and Moody, brought a wealth of information to us during this trip.   Michael and I have talked about our experiences many times since we arrived home and here are our favorite moments: Michael "I like seeing a guy with an Uzi - it's incredibly comforting."  (This is a reference to the security guard assigned to our group while at the Pyramids in Egypt.   Michael LOVED the pyramids....
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MARCH 1-2 - TRAVELLING BACK HOME

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Our flight home was scheduled on United's 11:30 a.m. flight to Newark with a connection at 6:30 p.m. to Seattle.  George was going to pick us up at 9 a.m. and take us to the Ben Gurion International Airport.   However, in the morning, we received an email from United stating that our flight to Newark was delayed with a new departing time at 4:00 p.m.  We, of course, would miss our connecting flight to Seattle.   I immediately contacted Moody, who, in turn, contacted A&K and George arrived later in the day to take us to the airport.  A&K also arranged for us to have a later check-out time with the hotel.   We made the mistake of trying to check-in online rather than waiting to get to the airport.  As everyone knows by now, I HATE using the cell phone for anything other than making calls and for occasional texting.  I don't do any internet stuff on the phone.  Well, between trying to upload or download (whatever it is) the results ...
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FEBRUARY 28 - NAZARETH AND TEL AVIV

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We left The Scots Hotel at 9 a.m. and began the drive to Nazareth.  We passed Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding turning water into wine.  Upon arriving in Nazareth, George left the three of us off while he went to the park the car and waited.   We walked through the city square where a huge Christmas tree stands.  I think it would be wonderful to be there at Christmas time to see the tree lit and to experience all the festivities around Christmas.       Nearby is a most beautiful Church, the Basilica of the Annunciation, a Catholic Church, built in 1964 on top of the ruins of a Byzantine Church.  It is the largest Church in the Middle East. A wonderful description of the Basilica and its importance in the Christian religion can be found here .  It is really far too big to capture in one photo, but I was able to get one off of Bing. Before going in, we walked around the Basilica under a colonnaded walkway where...
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