Day 10

10/20/10

Jordan River! Stopped to visit the baptism site where Jesus was baptized. It was sooooo pretty and an awesome stop. Just watching the people line up in white linens talking into the water, one by one, waiting to be baptized. Sort of emotional, actually. After that we visited Nazareth and the church of Annunciation where Mary was told by an angel about her immaculate conception. Super beautiful. Then we visited Beit Shean and another Roman Theater/National Park. Had some falafel. Yuuummmyyy! Then we headed for Jerusalem passing the Dead Sea, Jericho and then parked on top of the Mount of Olives where we had a beautiful view of Jerusalem and Dome of the Rock and the wall that blocks off the Old City. Then the hard part…. Got to the Grand Court Hotel and they told us that they were overbooked and had no room for us!! We probably waited around the lobby while they tried to figure out what to do with us. Sound Familiar? “Sorry, no room here.” A few of our group members made the Mary and Joseph joke and suggested we sleep in the nearest manger. Finally got settled at another hotel in the Islamic Quarter. Our group including myself…. PISSED! Goodnight.