La Vie Niçoise

I guess I got lucky with my timing, hey?

Well, don't worry. I'm well away from the Israel-Lebanon border, in the Holy City of Jerusalem. I've cancelled my plans to Haifa (luckily, since it just got bombed) and the Sea of Galilee. See? I'm playing it safe.

It also could be worse. Take Mattias, the super-nice gay pennsylvanian whose family owns a well-known hotel in Nice. Also my knowledgable Jerusalem-discovery companion for the day. He was working in Beirut for the last 6 months, and just happened to take a trip here for the week, where meanwhile his town was being bombarded with missiles from Israel. Now, with an israeli stamp in his passport, it's impossible for him to get back to his stuff in Beirut (forget about the whole Beirut airport terminal being demolished thing). Now he's kinda stuck. So really, it could be worse!

Jerusalem's Old City is magnificent. From the rooftop terrace of my hostel, I can watch the sunset over a view of the Mount of Olives and the beautiful golden Dome of the Mount. Sunday, I'm heading south to a desert town where I'm gonna try to score a camel ride.

This is the most unorganized I've ever been, but it's caused me to talk to everyone I meet. Traveller's are always happy to share information. Other must-do's:

- hike up for sunrise on the hills of Masada
- go to the spa at Ein-Gedi for a Dead Sea mud bath and a float in the famously mineral-laden water
- sleep in a bedouin tent

The last one will be the most challenging, but nothing's impossible eh!