We are having a terrific time. After Philip's pretty intense grilling by at security in New York, we all made it over to Israel and joined up at the airport. Yesterday was an incredible first day -- hard to believe what we did in just 24 hours. Took a nice walk in the morning with the Crouse brothers, Philip & William (who reminds me of Harry Potter) and the generous and funny Indiana Peter (Mogavero) who is single handedly trying to revive the Palestinian economy with his purchases of dried fruit and nuts and even well crafted ceramics. We had lunch at a French convent outside the walls of Jerusalem whose rooftop provided an incredibly sweeping view of all of the City's topography -- from King David's old ruins (where he looked down on Basheba in her bathtub!) to the Mount of Oliver, Gethsemane, Caiphas' house (where Jesus was first tried) to Calvary.
We walked the architectural ruins outside the old wall and then prayed at the "Wailing Wall" the last intact section of the original Temple. We split into four groups and each toured and reported back on one of the Old City's quarters -- Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Armenian. We had the Christian Quarter and spent most of our time in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (I had been there for Mass that morning). We touched rocks where Jesus had lain after being crucified and a rock where the cross was itself.
Today we go to the mountain citadel Masada and for a float in the Dead Sea. It's our chance to become desert hermits, albeit for a very short while.
Your husband has done an absolutely magnificent job and is a joyful and intelligent presence.
All the best,
Dan
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