Holy Cow - it's sad to look at this thing and realize how much time has passed... again.... So we had a good summer, but were apart for much of the time, as Mel only had 2 weeks off.... Marc arrived back in Cairo in late July and we were both in a full-out sprint (those of you who have seen us run know this is figurative) for since then. There was one exception - we had a 5-day Eid break in Bugaria, and tried something new - to stay in one place. We explored and enjoyed the town of Veliko Tarnovo, and here are some pictures from there....

a decent view of the town

(reflection)

we got lost soon after this....

old Ottoman houses
an alley in the town

from the wall of the fortress

(icons in Sophia)

(the changing of the guards at the Presidential Palace in Sophia)
the end!

Well... mom and dad are growing impatient to see some pictures of our trip, so here goes (close to reverse chronological order):

Our old Ramallah home in the background is now a kindergarten!!!

(we had a great lunch with Donn in Ramallah)

in Jerusalem....

outside Jerusalem University College - where I spent a great semester in college

the last night of Passover at the Western Wall

graffiti in Bethlehem

at the Dead Sea - we had to do it!

the path up to the top of Massada

after climbing up... and down

at the Arbel Cliffs near the Sea of Galilee

very close to where we stayed along the north coast of the Sea of Galilee

in a market in Nazareth

We really did have a great trip! In a way it's hard to believe there are only 5 weeks remaining this semester, but in another way, it's been an incredibly long stretch since January....

The next morning, four of us went down to Tahrir Square to experience the celebrations first-hand....