My Next Vacation

Yippee!  I finally know what my 2010 vacation will be.  I thought I probably wouldn't do a vacation this year, but a few weeks ago a friend at church asked if I wanted to go on a November cruise with her that includes a couple days in Israel.  So today we finalized our plans to join a bunch of others from Bountiful, UT. A professor from Brigham Young University, who has lived in Israel and travelled extensively in the eastern Mediterranean area, will be our guide and give lectures on the sea days.

I did a cruise in the Mediterranean in November 2007 -- Turkey (3 ports), Greece (2 islands), Cyprus, Egypt, Sardinia, Tunisia, Mahon (Spain) and Barcelona.  This trip starts in Venice and ends in Athens. New ports for me will be Dubrovnic, Patmos, Port Said (Egypt) and Athens, with repeats in Alexandria, Kusadasai (Turkey), and Venice.  Technically the two Israel port cities are new to me -- Haifa and Ashdod, but I spent a week in Israel when I was in college so have been to Nazaraeth, Galilee, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem.

I love cruises -- unpack once and not have to schlep suitcases everywhere you want to go. And even though I love eating at fun restaurants in the places I visit, it's nice to not have to worry about it. Just get back on the ship and enjoy their yummy food. Finally something to look forward to in order to get through the next few months of intense work at my full time job!