Jordan Part II

After spending the morning bobbing in the Dead Sea and trying to see across to the Promised Land it was time for an afternoon in the Spa. We had decided to spend a day relaxing and it was one of the best ideas I have had!!!! I had the Dead Sea package which consisted off: salt scrub, dead sea wrap, massage and facial. It was fantastic! Very relaxing and I am convinced I look 20 years younger......I am sure our guide felt 20 years younger after having a day free of the two of us!! We were off to Petra-one of the reasons for the trip! We drove along the Dead Sea and saw the phosphate, sulpher and Dead Sea product factories. We also stopped off at one of the crusader castles in the middle of the country. I can't even describe the amazing landscapes throughout the whole country. I have never seen so many different types of land formations. We spent the day traversing the country, shopping and eating before arriving in the city that is right outside of Petra. We were up early the next day and met our guide who would walk us through Petra. We walked about 2 kms from the visitors center through the "Siq" which is a narrow walkway that has been carved out by water throughout the years. It also served as a natural defense throughout centuries. Petra is also a "lost city" and was not rediscovered until the early '30's. Just when you think you will never get there the "Siq" opens up and you are staring at the Treasury which was carved out of the face of a giant slab of rock. I will provide pictures because it is impossible to describe....until I had made the plans to go to Petra I had thought the Treasury was all there was to Petra...little did I know. We needed two full days there. We walked through city, seeing all of the tombs, the collanade where shops and houses were until we reached the steps to the Monastery. While walking we were offered donkey rides, camel rides and postcards for a dinar! There are still two bedouin tribes that live in Petra. I have decided my retirement plans must include living in Petra and being in charge of the donkeys-camels seem too tempermental! The monastery is at the top of 950 steps, for some reason when I heard this I pictured 950 steps straight up to the top but I was wrong. The steps wound through a mountain-and there were some rather precarious moments. Off course we had to give the donkeys carrying people to the top the right of way. The donkey's were led by 5-6 year old bedouin children-I'm still not sure who was in charge-the donkeys or the children! After about an hour we made it to the top and it was fantastic. The walk up was part of the adventure-once again the views were absolutely stunning. After reaching the top we continued to explore and I was thrilled to find a diet coke! We headed back down and wandered back to the Siq-it got dark at about 4:30 and we wanted to be out before it was dark-but that was not the last we saw of Petra. That night at 8:30 we joined 458 of our closest friends and went to Petra after dark. The Bedouins set up candles through the Siq and we were all asked to quietly make our way down to the Treasury. It was amazing to walk through the Siq-the moon was full, it was quiet and so peaceful. Once we got back to the Treasury candles were lined up on the ground in front of the monument and we all sat on the ground, were given tea and listened to two musicians play old Bedouin music. It was fantastic.
Unfortunately we only had one day left......but as they say the best is often saved for last. We went to Wadi Rum-which is where Lawrence of Arabia was filled. We loaded into the back of a Toyota pickup (no such thing as OSHA or toilet paper in Jordan!!!) and were driven through Wadi Rum-once again it was indescribable-so I have included pictures....I have already decided that I am going back to Jordan in the fall. You can stay overnight in Wadi Rum at a Bedouin camp (they may even let me take care of the donkeys!!!).

Well I am thrilled that it is the New Year-lots of changes in store for me this year. Off to Italy for some skiing in a couple of weeks-not to worry I will be a much better blogger this year!!!

Another New Year, Another Resolution!

I seem to remember making the resolution last year that I would be better at keeping my blog up to date. Unfortunately, as with most of my other resolutions, that did not seem to happen. Why don't I try this again????

I just returned from an absolutely fantastic trip to Jordan. Jordan (especially Petra) has always been on my "bucket" list. When I thought my next posting would not be anywhere near Jordan I convinced a friend to join me in leaving winter in The Hague behind and heading to Jordan. I had been looking forward to this trip for months and was worried it would not live up to expectations....the trip was fantastic and not only lived up to but exceeded all expectations!!! If you ever have the chance to get to Jordan the country is amazing. As always when traveling there is one major draw back: toilet paper is considered a luxury not a necessity! Of course this is easily remedied. I think the best part are the marriage proposals! My friend and I each had an offer..we joked that our guide would be the marriage broker. My friend was worth 150 camels and I was distraught to find out that I was worth 2 camels and a kidney!! If only the bedouin had realized how knowledgeable about all things to do with Cowboy sports I would like to think I would have brought in 5 camels and a pancreas....sigh....

We left Amsterdam on Christmas day and were welcomed to Jordan with enthusiastic "Merry Christmas" greetings. We had a guide who also acted as our driver- the poor man had the patience of a Saint, he carried our shopping, answered all of our questions as well as insisted we hold out for goats to go with our offer of camels and kidneys! He probably needs a vacation from our vacation, but he helped make the trip to Jordan one of my favorites! Our first day consisted of a trip through Amman, up to an ancient Castle and through the ancient ruins of Jerash and then over to the Citadel to see some of the dead sea scrolls. We then had a typical Jordanian dinner-it was possible to have hommous for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I took full advantage. It was fantastic to actually see blue sky and the sun!! The next morning we concluded our tour of Amman and drove past the Embassy and saw the modern part of Amman. The homes were huge and a world away from the older part of Amman we had seen the day before. Everywhere you looked you saw a picture of the very popular King Abdullah. Spotting new and different pictures of the King became a favorite past time of mine-the poses varied from cheering on the Jordanian soccer team, a plethora of pictures in military uniforms and with his family. I was tempted with a life size rug with the picture of the King's face but decided it would have to wait! We headed out of town, saw world famous mosiacs, Mt. Nebo (where Moses first saw the promised land) and shopped!!! Upon hearing that the Dead Sea products will make you look 20 years younger I pulled out the VISA! If only they could make you look 20 pounds lighter! After filling up the trunk of our car our long suffering guide dropped us off at the Dead Sea for 2 nights.

After starting the day with hummous we moved down to the hotels private rocky beach on the Dead Sea. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip!!! Prior to "floating" in the Dead Sea one must slather on the Dead Sea mud (still hoping to look 20 pounds lighter!) then it is time to wade into the Dead Sea. As they say a picture is worth a 1000 words so I have included a picture-you literally float. The Sea has so much salt that you can't even walk in the water-you are carried away! I have never laughed so hard!!! It was a great time....it is recommended that you only stay in the water for 15 minutes or you will be dehydrated!

More to follow tomorrow (one must slowly wade into resolutions + dinner is ready!)

London and Valencia...so many places not enough time

Well still no bid list I have about given up and figure I will be in The Hague forever! All is well except for waiting on pins and needles. All mid-level and senior level got their lists last night which makes the waiting even harder! I am having a quiet evening tonight, watching the rain coming down in sheets. Going away parties on Monday/Wednesday/Thursday and then to the Army base this weekend. It never stops!

I just got back from a trip to Valencia, I emailed my travel agent and asked what he recommended. All I wanted was sun, sun and sun! Valencia was recommended as cheaper and just as charming as Barcelona so off I went! I went done on Thursday and one of my friends met me on Friday afternoon. I enjoyed a relaxing day and a massage earlier in the day and then did some exploring. Valenica is a fantastic small city where you can walk almost anywhere. It was fantastic. The sun shone the whole time-I even had to buy sun screen and a hat! On Saturday we went to the aquarium, my cab drive had told me it was one of the best in Europe and it was great, I felt like I was twelve. I watched the penquins, the dolphins, sharks while being in the sun!

Two weeks before Valencia I went to London. I have a friend who lives there and another friend who had never been so off we went! It was perfect timing-Wimbledon started on Monday and it is one of my favorite things in the world to do. It is so nice to stay at a friends house, you can sleep in, take your time getting started in the morning the bad thing is that no one makes the bed for you and no free shampoo! We went to high tea at Brown's on Sunday. I hadn't thought ahead and didn't bring any dressy clothes for tea so I had to wear my jeans. I decided that if they wouldn't let me in because I was too casual, I would just tell them I hadn't arrived that day and the airlines had lost my luggage! Luckily they didn't care what I looked like, as long as I spent my money! It was great fun, they even bring you more scones if you want them (and we did!). On Monday I got up at the crack of dawn and travelled across London to Wimbledon...the first day of the Championship no less! You can "queue" for the 6000 tickets that are reserved for general admission. The gates open at 9:30 and the doors open at 10:30. I was number 2851 when I arrived at 7:00 am! I couldn't believe the queue. People had started queueing on Saturday afternoon.

When you arrive at this giant field set aside for queueing you get in line. An usher comes along soon and gives you were ticket-you have to have this to get your actual ticket. People kept coming and coming and coming. We finally began to move at about 9:00. The field has a great atmosphere, people are happy to be there, the weather was great-everyone was convinced Andy Murray was going to win (little did they know). We were probably a mile back, I met a Canadian couple on their honeymoon and an American mother and daughter who had tickets for center court the next day. Everyone wanted the queueing experience (and we got it!). As soon as I got in the gates I headed over to court 3. I had planned my day around watching the Americans play. James Blake was on court 3 and I was really excited to try and get a seat. Luckily I was early enough to get settled in-James Blake was not so lucky and was the highest seed to lose on day one. After cheering with no luck I headed over to one of the smaller courts to watch Mardy Fish. I finally got a seat, at this court I was literally on the court, it is amazing how close you can get. I was watching Mardy play an Italian, the Italian was not faring well, I didn't realize how poorly until the guy I was sitting next to stood up in disgust and left. As he was leaving I looked at his badge and realized he was the Italian guys coach! All of this fun for 20 pounds sterling! I then wandered over to the practice court-but didn't see anyone I recognized (and no Italian coaches). I watched a few more matches and just enjoyed the fantastic atmosphere. A day at Wimbledon is something I would recommend to anyone and everyone.

Well I am going to continue ignoring my blackberry and continue to hope for a bid list to appear. As soon as I know anything I will post!

So many stories-so little time

So much for my New Years Resolution to be better about my blog! Things have been busy. For Easter I went to Malta with 7 other friends. Can you imagine 8 women and we were all still speaking after we returned home. Then my family came to visit and it was off to Ireland. They left on Wednesday and the following Saturday I was off to Florida for a HRO conference. It was great to hear stories from other posts and meet my colleagues. I got back on Saturday (a week after I left) and the next weekend headed to Florence. From Easter until June 2nd we have so many holidays that we literally only have one 5 day work week in that time! This week is going to be llloooonnnggg!

Florence is an amazing city. I had a hotel right in the middle of town-the hotel actually had FOX NEWS. I was in heaven! I have to admit I was astounded at the differences between the Dutch and the Italians. It isn't really anything you can put your finger on-but I l saw the first difference as soon as the plane landed. We weren't even to the gate and people were already up, in the aisle and ready to start disembarking! It was willy nilly-no structure for the rest of the trip (except when watching FOX NEWS). The first day I just enjoyed eating gelato, walking around the markets, eating gelato, seeing the churches and then I had a last gelato before bed. Sunday I woke up and headed to the Uffuzi gallery. Luckily I had made reservations, the line is two hours long (that is a lot of gelato). The gallery was amazing. Not only are the pictures fantastic and there is a fantastic view over the Ponte Vecchio. After a couple of hours I was getting the shakes-I needed a gelato. I headed out, got my gelato and wandered over to the Medici chapel, a little church in the middle of town and home to three Michelangelo's. There are no words to describe it....I then headed over to a little trattoria for lunch and a glass of wine. I then made my way over to the Academia to spend a little time with David. Once again I was smart enough to have reservations-no line for me. I headed through the metal detector, into the museum and turned the corner....at the end of the hall-past all of the tourists in their bermuda shorts and black socks was David, in all of his glory. I just sat and soaked it all in. In the hall leading up to David are the "prisoners" sculptures that Michelangelo had started but never finished. I then followed the Italian tradition and went back to my room for a little nap before heading out to dinner. Restaurants don't even open until 7:00-luckily gelato is considered an appetizer by those in the know.

Most of my waking moments are now consumed with getting ready to "bid". This is the list of open HR positions in Embassies around the world. After I get the list I will have about 2 weeks to research, submit my choices. I now have two criteria: labor laws and weather. For instance take Islamabad: great weather, labor laws easy to work with. Do I care if I would have to ride to work in an armored vehicle? Not if the sun is shining and employee's are expected to work....Khartoum-once again great weather, understandable labor laws. I can live with an evacuation or two. One night I dreamed I was sent to Copenhagen-I promise I woke up in a cold sweat and was shaking! As soon as I get my list I will let you know. I am hoping for Africa-where they have.....good weather and.......workable labor laws.

I will work backwards on my Spring trips for my next blog.

Another day at the office!!

So much for my New Year's resolution of writing more often. Life has been very exciting around The Hague. The Hague hosted a conference on Afghanistan, which meant the boss was coming! It was an amazing experience getting ready for a visit. I was the "Kurhaus site officer" the Kurhaus is an old hotel 5 star hotel at the Beach where everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) stayed. The preparation for the visit starts as soon as we hear rumors that the Secretary is coming. There is a movement officer, a luggage officer, a control officer for every VIP (of which there were many), then a site officer for every location that the Secretary visits. As the Kurhaus site officer I was responsible for the book signing the night she arrived and the Embassy Meet and Greet. We began having countdown meetings early on, I consider countdown meetings about 30 hours of my life I will never get back! A week before the visit the advance team arrives, this is the poor soul from Washington who is responsible for everything. Every detail of the visit is discussed, and then discussed again, and then since we have only been in the countdown meeting for 2 hours we discuss the details again. Since I was responsible for the M&G (meet and greet) I had to find a location for it, then plan the 15 minutes down to the last detail.....the podium had to have water and a stemless glass, and we had to have masking tape on the floor so everyone would know where to stand and where NOT to stand, which side does the Dutch flag go on and which side does the American flag go on. There was even an elevator manifest, so everyone knew when to get their VIP to the elevator and who was riding in the elevator. I have decided that my goal in life is to be the elevator manifest operator.....who says a girl can't dream. On the big day as the clock was ticking down towards my 15 minutes of M&G fame, all of the Embassy families were waiting behind the infamous masking tape line and I was sweating bullets. My biggest concern at that point in my life was making sure security told me when the Secretary was leaving her interviews so I could make sure the microphone was on and working (at least one sleepless night thinking...what if the microphone is on TOO early and runs out of juice??? No promotion for me). I was wandering through the hall when I heard a voice I recognized-believe it or not you would to-it was the Secretary on her way to the M&G. I racewalked through the halls, double checked the podium, water and stemless glass and turned the microphone on just in time to slide behind the masking tape, I had about a second to spare! I then got to shake the Secretary's hand as she walked through the crowd (everyone remaining on the correct side of the masking tape) and then "poof" it was all over! Then the best part of a VIP visit-the wheel's up party-which can't start until you know the plane has taken off and won't be coming back! All in all a great experience.

I am off to Malta tomorrow, there are 8 of us going!! Will Malta ever be the same. I am really looking forward to it, a friend is coming from London and she just had the BIG BIG boss for 3 days, so I am sure she will be ready to kick back as well.

More from Malta next week (I promise!)

AAAHHHHH Spa Weekend!

Well I am back from Baden Baden and had a wonderful, if not "eye opening" time. It was a planes, trains and automobile type of trip. I left from Amsterdam and flew to Strausbourg and then took a train to Baden Baden and a bus to the hotel, by this time I was ready to spa. I dropped off my bags and walked around the town, it is a beautiful, cold, snowy town. After some exploring I went to the Fredrichsbad spa-it is billed a Roman Irish bath. When you first arrive you go to the locker room and strip down to your birthday suit-the only suit allowed! You are given a sheet like object, and you can tell all of the non-Europeans, we have that towel wrapped around us as many times as possible! There are 17 stages at the Fredichsbad spa and I was ready for all 17 (on Saturday's the stages mix on stages 7-12)! The first starts with a shower, then on to the "warm air bath" which is a room that is about 129 degrees, so you lay down and relax (towel still firmly in place). Stage 3 is: 154 degrees, towel not as firmly in place. Stage 4 is another shower and they take the towel away from you! Stage 5 is my favorite stage: the soap and brush massage. You get a full massage with either a rough brush or a soft brush, I went for the soft brush. Stage 6 (without the towel-or my security blanket) is a thermal steam bath. Stage 7-is another shower (they like showers) Stage 8 is when the mixing begins, both boys and girls and bday suits is the thermal full bath in hot water water. This is the point, keep in mind I am not wearing my glasses-(after all it is a bit creepy to be wearing nothing but glasses), that I took a wrong turn and ended up in the men's stage 6. The only reason I figured this out is because when I walked in the room it went silent-well there were other issues but they were a bit blurry. So after this awkward turn of events I went back to the whirl pool in Stage 9. The rest of the stages are baths that tend to get colder in nature. The final bath is 64 degrees. I was only brave enough to submerge waist deep, it is obvious I am not a true European. Then on to my second favorite stage, the relaxation room. One of my favorite parts is that you are reunited with your towel! The attendants take you to a quiet, dark room and you lay down on a heated table and they wrap you up like a cocoon and you relax! Of course this was not enough of a German spa experience so the next day I went to the Caracella spa. It is right next to the Fredrichsbad. One of the selling points is the fact that swimsuits are a requirement (on the first floor at least). At the Caracella spa there are more thermal baths, one of best parts is that you can swim from inside the spa to the outdoor pool. It was great fun to be sitting outside in the hot thermal water while it was snowing. There was also an area with sun lamps, you could spend as much time as you wanted under the sun lamps. Since I don't remember the last time I really saw the sun, I spent hours under the sun lamp. Of course I wanted the whole spa experience so I had to go upstairs to the second floor. The second floor is filled with sauna's, whirlpools and sun lamps but no swim suits. I must say I learned quickly to not lay down in the sauna's because if you lay down other sauna goers have to step over you. If you open your eyes at just the wrong time, you could be scarred for life. After venturing outside to the "fire sauna", with towel of course, I decided it was time to join the world of the clothed and I ventured through Baden Baden to the Casino. The Casino in Baden Baden is very well known in this area of the world-men are still required to wear ties and jackets. It is an amazing building, it looks like something out of a James Bond movie. There were a couple of roulette tables and black jack tables going. I bought 40 Euro's worth of 2 Euro chips and took my seat next to the guy with his 500 Euro bill (which I didn't know existed) and his 100 Euro chips. I watched and learned. I learned that if you think you are really going to win at roulette you aren't very smart. I watched my neighbor go through 1,000 Euro's in minutes. I found it all very entertaining and started betting my 2 Euro chips. I was down to 20 Euros and then I won big (as big as you can win when only gambling 2 Euros!!) so I took my 36Euro's and cashed out! I figured 4 Euros for an evenings entertainment wasn't bad! Sadly the next day I had my last spa treatment, last apple strudel and had to head home!!! I have decided that next winter I am planning some trips to places where I can see the sun shine. Sadly we don't have a single 3 day weekend in March. I hope to survive!

Exciting day today

It was a very exciting day today in The Hague-for about 20 minutes the sun shown!! There was frolicking throughout the Embassy, we made plans to have lunch al fresco, I wondered where my sun screen was and then......it started to rain. Sigh....but of course if my biggest worry is lack of sunshine and worry that my umbrella won't last a winter I guess life isn't too bad! We have a three day weekend coming up and I am off to Baden Baden in Germany (hoome of many famous German spas, all of which I will be trying out) I figure if I am going to have to get naked in front of strangers I want to be in another country!

All is well here, I keep wanting it to warm up so I can practice riding my bike. So far bike commuting has been the monkey on my back. When I first arrived I bought a bike from a neighbor, it was stolen (before I could even ride it), so I bought another bike, but it seems to be too tall, so I bought ANOTHER bike. The last bike is my pride and joy. It is a three wheel orange bike with streamers. When I first arrived at the Embassy I spotted this bike from a distance and knew it was the bike I had been waiting for all of my life. The purchasing transaction went something like this: ME: "I have always wanted a three wheel bike as a yard ornament for my house" awkard pause from owner of forementioned three wheeled orange bike "so where is this yard and house that will house my bike" longer even more awkard pause from me "I don't own a house or have a yard, but can't we all have dreams?" very long awkard pause from owner of three wheeled orange bike "just give me fifty euro". So I am now the proud owner of two bikes, neither of which I want to ride! But someday the three wheeled orange bike hopes to grace the cover of home and garden! So my goal when Spring comes (which should be a weekend in April) I will find a bike to call my own and begin riding. I am very nervous about this, I have seen more people get tickets on bikes than I have seen for cars, but biking is a way of life here and when in Rome....

I am hoping I can make it through March-can you believe it is the only month we don't have a holiday? I hope I can make it! In the month of April and May we have 2 or 3 weeks that aren't 4 day work weeks! I love this country.

More after spa time in Baden Baden (no pictures I promise!).