SEVEN - Alcatraz

Escape from Alcatraz. Well, at least try to.

SIX - Fishermans Wharf of San Francisco

A perfectly sunny day in San Francisco. Perfect for doing the touristy thing of Fisherman's Wharf. The Aquatic Park, Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39, The Boudin Bakery and a stroll down the Embarcadero. Views of the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset. And you just can not beat that!

FIVE - The Shining Ball

Each Halloween The Stanley Hotel has a grand ball. In honor of "The Shining" the hotel puts on a huge costume ball aptly named, The Shining Ball. This year was extra special as 2009 is the 100th Anniversary of the hotel. So I decided to go as Edward Cullen from the Twilight movies. What fun this was!

FOUR - Eating The Best Hummus

A trip to Israel would not be complete without Hummus. And the best Hummus fresh from The Suk, the famous market in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem at Night.

Tea with a Bedouin Woman

Near the end of our hike, we saw a Bedouin rest stop. We all sat down for some hot tea. Hot or cold, it tasted very good. The Bedouin women had two daughters who helped their mother with the cooking and cleaning. The women apparently spoke a mix of Hebrew and Arabic which I partly understood.

THREE - Hiking in the Negev

I met up with my cousin, Sara, to go hiking in the Negev. We hiked for six hours and ended up at the oldest city in Israel that had left virtually intact when it was discovered. Unfortunately, it had been vandalized by a disgruntled employee a few weeks earlier.

Am I related?

So, I found out from Josh that we are distantly related to Shlomo Goren. Apparently, he was my grandmother's cousin both being from Zambrow, Poland.

Photo on the Wall

I placed my Grandmother's picture on the Wall. She wanted to be buried in Israel, so there is a piece of her left there.

A Kohain, the highest priest

All other religious men wore the traditional Hassiadic black attire. One man wore all white.

TWO - The Kotel

To see the Wall was absolutely breathtaking. Both men and women praying. Tourists taking photographs. And Israeli soldiers making sure there are no disruptions during the prayers.

The Walk

After we walked on the wall, we entered through the Lion's gate on our way to the Jewish Quarter. Here we could see many people, many things.

Walking on the Wall

Josh and I decided to go off the beaten path and walk the perimeter of the Wall from above. Here you could view into the various quarters of the Wall- The Muslim Quarter, The Armenian Quarter and the Christian Quarter.