The sun set, and we all hopped back into our Jeeps. This time, we were headed for the real surprise….

If you missed it, here is part one: Sunset in the Desert

We arrived at this Bedouin site where a national Jordanian dance group was waiting for us. They began singing traditional songs, and some of my uncles jumped in. They pulled PB and I into the middle (the groom & bride) and sang songs about us. This was just at the entrance of the site. The party had not even really begun yet. (Click on the smaller photos to enlarge)

Twenty minutes later we had finally made it up the paper lantern path to the site and were dancing around.. at least, everyone but PB and I were dancing around. Hiding behind one of the tents, PB and I were instructed to put on a traditional abaya (mine is white) and head scarves.

To help you better imagine the party site:

When we were ready to go we took of our shoes, hopped in a truck, and were taken away to two awaiting camels. The scene was right out of a movie. We were driving in the darkness when suddenly in front of us were the two camels, just like that. We hopped on and made our way back to the site. The dance group led us in, and our second wedding celebration began.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group was getting outfitted too. Within 20 minutes our very American and modern Jordanian group became a traditional Bedouin group dancing around. We were all floating on… sand.

And Greygoose, apparently.

The meal was traditional and fun as well. They put lamb meat and potatoes in this wire pots and buried them in the sand to cook. The result was lamb that melted in your mouth and potatoes that tasted like butter. Of course we also had all of the traditional appetizers as well as shish kebab. Finally, my favorite. A man was making a traditional bread called shrak. I am not sure how to spell it, but that is how it is pronounced. It is cooked on a hot metal dome, and it looks kind of like lavash except that it is round and chewy. I would eat it every day if I could. I wish I could.

At the end of the night, after our bellies were full, our bodies danced out, and our hearts full of laughter, we all laid around with the lights off to enjoy the stars. No one could keep quiet, but it made the experience even more fun. PhillyBoy and I saw two shooting stars together, and I made my wishes. I hope they come true.

The evening ended with everyone on the Jeeps back to our bus, chatting about what a magical evening it was. Like little kids who have played all day in the community pool, when we got on the bus to head back to the hotel we all fell asleep.

When I awoke, I wondered.. was it a dream? Or did I really just experience magic in the desert?

Previous Jordan posts:
Planes, Cars & Family
Jerash  & Figs
I miss the Dead Sea
Karak Photo Shoot
Petra, Jordan
Sunset in the Desert

*Note: Photos were taken by various members of our group.

A secret to both you and me… PhillyBoy and I were to have a second wedding celebration in Jordan! My Auntie Grace and Amo Hanna planned the whole thing, and it was an evening I don’t think anyone will ever forget.

I left my heart in Wadi Rum.

A short aside… the first year of marriage for my lovely husband and I was not perfect. We had our moments of pure bliss, but we also had our moments of discord. I believe it all comes with the territory. There were a lot of changes all at once, namely getting married, me moving away from RI, and suddenly living together. Our trip to Jordan, and especially our afternoon and evening in Wadi Rum, solidified our relationship like nothing I could have imagined. I feel like the desert brought us closer together than ever.

The desert.

The desert has pink sand. And camels. And clean, purifying air. And gorgeous sunsets. And stars! Stars in every direction of the sky. Shooting stars every moment.

It was beautiful.

*

Everyone in the group knew there was a surprise related to the desert. However our itinerary simply said “Wadi Rum for a great time” and no one knew what to expect. We arrived at the town at the edge of the desert in the early afternoon and hopped into Jeeps. They actually look like pick up trucks and are quite old and beat up, but they make the desert experience even more fun. We piled into 5 or 6 of them and began our journey into the desert. (Click smaller photos to enlarge)

A fun, bumpy ride later and we arrived at our first long stop: The Sunset Toast.

My auntie and uncle had arranged a champagne toast to celebrate love. We were at the top of a sand dune facing the sunset, and we enjoyed the moment as a family. Yes, by then we had all become a beautiful, happy family. We took some fun photos, drank refreshing champagne, had a few snacks and hung out. Originally they had planned a different location, but the Royal Family called and asked if we would mind changing locations.

It was perfect.

I was so happy. My heart, full.

The sun set, and we all hopped back into our Jeeps. This time, we were headed for the real surprise…

Previous Jordan posts:
Planes, Cars & Family
Jerash  & Figs
I miss the Dead Sea
Karak Photo Shoot
Petra, Jordan

*Note: Photos were taken by various members of our group.

Petra, Jordan is an incredible city established as the capital of the Nabataeans in the 6th Century BC. The entire city is carved out of the rock in which it resides. It is really hard to explain- even the photos do not demonstrate the magnitude and beauty of this site- but it is a place every person should visit at some point in his or her life. Imagining the work, cooperation, creativity and dedication it took to build this city is incredible. Seeing it- it is life changing.

It is unbelievable that this entire city was undiscovered to the modern world until the 1800s.

The city is protected by the siq- a long, dark gorge that formed by a deep split in the sandstone rocks. At the end of the siq is the famous Treasury, which you have probably seen photos of if you have ever seen anything about the country of Jordan. As we ourselves approached the siq on our visit to Jordan my heart was literally racing. Thinking back on it now my tears are building. Sharing the experience of PhillyBoy seeing the Treasury for the first time was… spectacular. I love that I was able to share that with him, our friends, and family.

After enjoying the Treasury for several minutes, taking a quick ride on a camel around the front of the Treasury, and learning all about it from our tour guide, we continued on the tour of Petra. Here are just a few of the hundreds of beautiful photos we took of Petra.

Note: Not all of these photos were taken by me. Some were taken by our friends! Please click on each one to see the full photo- I only shared some of the best- and they deserve to be seen full size!!

It is easy to understand why Petra was named as one of the seven new wonders of the world.

Previous Jordan posts:
Planes, Cars & Family
Jerash  & Figs
I miss the Dead Sea
Karak Photo Shoot

A beautiful day 4 in Karak followed by a beautiful evening dining and dancing under the stars at our hotel in Petra..

Let me allow the photos to speak for themselves (Click to enlarge).

I miss my Jordanian family.
And my traveling friends.
And my husband.

Previous Jordan posts:
Planes, Cars & Family
Jerash  & Figs
I miss the Dead Sea

At the end of every day on our Jordan trip I said that it was my favorite day. It just kept happening over and over though! Every day was better than the last, and I wish I could relive each moment over again. Wait, I can! In sharing the memories with you I am reliving them, and it is beautiful.

Day 3

Madaba is a city in Jordan famous for its mosiacs. One in particular, at the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, is really special. It is a 6th century Byzantine map that, rather than being a physical map, is a religious one. The most important religious places of the time are highlighted, and the more important ones are larger with titles in different color tiles than the other places. Jerusalem, naturally, is particularly large.

The fact that this mosiac still exists so many years later is amazing in itself, but to see it is to really feel you have transcended time. For the first time I was truly able to appreciate the importance of this map.

Madaba also has lots of fun tourist shops, and lots of mosiacs for sale. We didn’t buy any this day, but we did come back another day to take our time and really find something perfect for our place. Others were luckier though, and came out of Madaba with some great gifts. I love this street of shops!

It was a fun morning.

The family members that did the Madaba visit with us were a little anxious to move on to the next place, as was I. If you have ever been to the Dead Sea, you understand.

Ahhhh, the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea in Jordan is spectacular. Not only is the sea itself amazing, but we have many beautiful resorts to enjoy. On this visit we spent the afternoon at the Movenpick Hotel, which is my favorite in the Dead Sea area. They have several pools, a great bar area, and at night they often have live music. Before even settling down on lounge chairs by the pool, the group headed to the Sea to experience the incredible floating sensation that is unique to the Dead Sea. Due to its high salt content, it is impossible to sink. It is also very painful if you get any of the water in your eyes, so if you ever go follow my tips:

1. Do not splash anyone.
2. Stay on your back.
3. Wear sunglasses.
4. Do not get your hair wet (because wet hair can drip salty water into your eyes!)

Here are some of my favorite Dead Sea photos:

After playing in the water for a bit we all slathered Dead Sea mud all over us. The natural mud is better than any mud mask you can buy in a shop- it makes your skin so soft and smooth!

My husband likes to make really crazy faces.

You let the mud dry on your body, then head back in the sea to rinse it all off. For some, the experience of the sea and the mud would be enough, but we wanted the resort feel too, which we achieved by laying around the lounge chairs and hanging in the pool.

These pineapple drinks were so fresh and delicious. Just blend fresh pineapple, pineapple juice, and ice in a blender and enjoy!

My auntie Grace arranged a beautiful tray of watermelon for us to enjoy, which was really refreshing.

Finally, we had to say goodbye to the Dead Sea.

The day was not over. Even though we had already done so much on Day 3, we had more fun to follow! For dinner my cousins Reem & Masis treated to falafel, hummus and the works at Abu Jbara. My dad and uncles talk about this place all the time, and we were excited to try it! It is a Jordanian fast food place of sorts, except in Jordan fast food means a slew of cooks chopping fresh vegetables and preparing meals on site. The menu was very limited, and we had everything on it!

PB was so excited to come here after hearing about how good the food was from my uncles. He practically looks more excited than he did on our wedding day!!!!

The hummus was the best I have ever had.

Group shots!

After dinner we stopped at my family’s group center. This opened in the last couple of years, and it is a place for my family to have important events. It was really great to visit it, and I felt so proud of my family (which is a lot bigger than you imagine).

Some of us posed in front of the sign. I am so proud to come from such a great family.

Would you believe the night was not over? We went to Trader Vic’s at my uncle’s hotel, the Regency Palace, for a drink and some dancing. They have live latin music every night, and it is a blast!

I gave Jon a quick salsa lesson! He picked it up pretty quickly!

I don’t even know what to say about this day. It was so much fun, and we created even more memories to remember.

Thoughts and interesting points of Day 3:

• The Dead Sea is the lowest point on land in the world. It feels it.
• Abu Jbara, the name of the restaurant we visited for dinner, means father of Jbara. It is very common in Jordan to hear the prefix Abu- or Um-. Abu means father of, and Um means mother of. The name is usually the father of the eldest son, so if I had a son named George, people could call me Um-George. Interesting, no?
• In the same sense as the point above, titles like mom, dad, uncle and auntie are reciprocal. So when I say hi to one of my aunties, she might in turn call me auntie.

Previous Jordan posts:
Planes, Cars & Family
Jerash, Karak & Figs

I am writing about my trip to Jordan as though I am sending an email to all of my friends and family. I want to remember every detail, every emotion, every moment of happiness with my families and friends.

Aside from Jordan being a beautiful country, I was able to share my Jordanian relatives with my new Armenian ones. We had many vacations in one, and it is incredible that such a small country can contain so many different parts.

Day 2

Our second day in Jordan was really supposed to be our 3rd. Because of the 24 hour flight delay we had to squeeze a 10 day trip into 9 days. We did not have any time to play around or have jet lag. From the first night we had a maximum of 6 hours a night of sleep. It was worth the exhaustion. Our first full day we visited two historic sites: Jerash and Karak.

Jerash is a 2,000 year old city that was preserved so well because it was buried in the sand. It is a Roman city, and it is definitely a site everyone should visit one day. A few photos from our tour:

Tourists! Every time I had to gather our group I would call out “American Group” with a faux Middle Eastern accent. I even annoyed myself.

I am not sure this photo does this theater justice. It was HIGH.

Maybe this displays it better. The steps were really steep, and to be honest, by the time I got to the top I was a little anxious about being so high. In the picture below we have PB, Jake & Gina.

Jerash has the most ghetto Gladiator show. Sorry, but there is no other way to put it! I remember as a teen thinking it was the coolest show ever. Now, not so much, but it was still awesome. And funny. They played the music from the movie Gladiator over and over again on repeat, but the cut between where the song ended and repeated was not a smooth transition. The boys couldn’t help but hum the tune the rest of the trip.

Posing with a gladiator. I chose not to smile.

Kristine, on the other hand, was happy to have her head almost cut off…

After a morning in the hot sun we headed to a beautiful lunch. The theme of drink for me on the trip was SODA. I had Coca Light or Diet Pepsi every day for lunch and/or dinner, after having soda only once a year before this trip. I have to say, it was fun to drink all that soda. I had withdrawals all weekend from it. Cool sign huh?

The food everywhere we went was incredible. This bread came out puffed up and piping hot. We loved it. PB was weird and ate the hummus with a spoon without bread, but I ate enough bread for a year on this trip.

Most of the meals we had served an assortment of traditional appetizers that filled the table to the brim. This place was no exception, and after eating our fill of hummus, mutable (roasted eggplant with labneh, which is a yogurt spread), vegetables, tabbouleh, and bread, we were full. Then the 2nd course would come out. We made the mistake at every meal of thinking the mezze was the meal. It was a fun and tasty mistake to make.

There was a LOT on our table. It was delicious, fresh, and healthy.

After a fabulous lunch we headed to Ajloun for a tour. Here are Lynne & Eric enjoying the view.

We had a fabulous day touring, but Day 2 did not end there. After a quick shower and change, we all headed to my Auntie Fida’s house for dinner. My family is so generous and kind, and they all made the time each night to not only spend time with us, but to host us for dinners too! The meal was delicious, the company fun. My auntie and uncle have an amazing garden, and even used their own lemons from their lemon tree for the salad!

Dinner was a traditional Jordanian dish called mincef. It is lamb cooked in yogurt and served over rice with the yogurt on the side. Everyone who tries it loves it.

Of course there was also another huge table of food. I love that in Jordan (and in my family in particular) there are always fresh vegetables and healthy options with every single meal.

Dessert was an assortment of my favorite fruits of Jordan, including dinar peaches (the flat disk-shaped ones), apricots and fresh figs! The fruits in Jordan taste the way they should- no chemical after taste or bland flavor. Yum. We also had a beautiful display of chocolates and Jordanian pastries.

I love fruits.

A lot!

In case you don’t know, this is what a fresh fig looks like from the inside:

In fact, everyone partook in the eating of fruits. Our table alone must have eaten over 10 figs, among other fruits!

Here are some of the guests that were in attendance that night:

It was only Day 2 in Jordan, and already the trip was memorable.

Thoughts and interesting points of Day 2:

• One might see a Mercedes next to a camel. Most might think that Jordan is a backwards country, but in fact it is very much a part of the modern world. Much like Europe, you may find historic sites right in the middle of a busy financial district, or the most modern telephone (more advanced than we have in the States) in the hands of a boy selling flutes.
• The Christian population is only about 6-10%. Somehow I believe it used to be higher. If you didn’t know, my family is Christian and my grandfather was a Christian minister in Jordan. He passed away this last year at 106 years old.
• Only recently did the Muslim population start wearing the head covering more often. When I visited in 2006, 2004, and before, I did not often notice women with head scarves on. Now it is a bit more common.
• Again, much like in Europe, everything happens more slowly here. Americans are always in a rush, rush, rush, and it was nice to know that for once if I was a few minutes late, I was still actually early.
• Hot tea with mint is almost as good as fresh lemonade with mint, but not quite.

Previous Jordan posts:
Planes, Cars & Family

I am obsessed with snack packs, which are essentially the cousin of out of town (OOT) bags for weddings (which I LOVED putting together- side note: full wedding recaps are coming in late July!!)

Whether traveling on a plane or by car, I always have a bag of snacks with me.

After a year of planning this trip to Jordan and putting together such a big group, I knew I wanted to do something for everyone going on the trip. My original idea was to have bags of snacks waiting in everyone’s rooms in Amman, but that would have taken up too much space in my suitcase and taken up too much time upon arrival. I still wanted to do something though, and when I started thinking about what I would bring for the 12+ hour plane ride I knew exactly what to do…

Travel Snack Packs for the group!

Of course I am nuts and decided this the week before the trip, when guest posts needed to be organized, freelance writing jobs completed, regular office work to be done, a house to clean, a suitcase to pack, and, well, the 1,000 other things that need to be done before a long vacation. Luckily I have been making snack packs for so many years for myself and my husband that it only took me 3 hours from start to finish to put these together.

A step by step:

1. Make a list of the people going and be sure there are no allergies.

2. Purchase all the items you want to include.

Here was my list per person:
-2 salty but healthy snacks
-1 fun snack
-2 options for a small sweet treat
-hard candies
-1 pack gum
-1 breakfast bar
-1 snack bar
-1 treat bag
-a few snack size ziploc bags

Tip: Buy big packages of treats as well as ziploc bags and then portion them out yourself. It makes the cost decrease significantly, and your snack options increase tremendously.

I bought dry roasted peanuts, roasted unsalted almonds, caramel hard candies, Trident Advantage gum, chocolate trail mix, Dove Promises (milk chocolate), Ghirardelli mint chocolates, Kashi breakfast bars in strawberry and blackberry, and Clif Z-bars.

Here’s what each person got:

3. Portion out the snacks one by one and line up. After portioning out my snacks I had all the baggies lined up, then the bars and gum, and the awkward shaped treat baggies on the side. That way when stuffing I could grab the 3 baggies at once, add the awkward shaped baggie, and stuff. Then I would grab the two bars + gum and add those.

4. Set all your treat bags up and stuff them one by one. See #3 above for easy stuffing instructions.

5. Staple or tape your treat bags shut. Label them. If you have different colors like I did, try and give each person in a couple a different color. So if I had a pink one, PB would have the teal one, and so on.

6. Hand them out to your group and enjoy!!!

I LOVED putting these together, and I hope my friends & family enjoy them! With such a long flight it is nice to have some packed snacks.

Note: I wrote this before the trip but decided not to post it until everyone received them- I didn’t want to spoil the surprise. I am out of the country from June 25- July 7 and will be featuring guest posts as well as other posts while I am away. Enjoy!

Related posts:

• Tips for Healthy Traveling
• Healthy Living While Traveling
• How to Travel to Another City and Back in One Day

PB and I got married July 25, 2009.
Lots of his family & friends joined us in Rhode Island.
Lots of mine too.
Some of my family even came from Jordan!
That is where my dad was born and grew up.

11 months later and it is our turn to visit them.
Not just the ones who came to our wedding, but all of my Jordanian family…

…and we are bringing a whole group with us!

Wish us luck on our plane ride tonight…. it is 12+ hours.

While I am away a few fun guest bloggers will be posting. I will also be popping in now and again!!!

Here are a few of my favorite posts from June to keep you entertained for the weekend:

Recipes:
Healthy Eggplant Parmesan
Red Lentils for 1
Rustic Lentil Salad
Mushroom Lentil Burgers
Lentils with Zucchini & Mint

Menus:
Last Minute Brunch

Fun:
NYC: Citymeals-On-Wheels Silver Spoons Event
Fun in Philadelphia
Stella
Tory & Anita’s Rehearsal Dinner

Happy Friday to you, and happy summer vacation to me!

Philadelphia, PA: I love Philadelphia! We have everything a person might be looking for… Love Park, historical buildings, Independence Hall, an Italian market, high end designer stores, funky bars, ART, and so much more!

Philadelphia is much like Chicago in that there is a lot of interesting and beautiful art around. It makes living in the city even more special, and distracts one from some of the large ugly buildings. After a morning duck tour and lunch at Reading Terminal Market, it was time for us to explore that art.

First stop: Ride the Ducks Philly duck tour
Second stop: Reading Terminal Market

Third stop: Art & Love Park

As you leave the Reading Terminal Market you pass by a beautiful building that is referenced hundreds of times a day: City Hall. Broad Street & Market Street in Center City Philadelphia meet at this point, and often when asking for directions someone will tell you it is north, south, east or west of this beautiful piece of history. You can see City Hall behind this amazing and strange sculpture.

My cousins Baz & Stephanie enjoyed this part of our walking tour so much they jumped for joy.

In the same area there are many oversize game pieces. Can you recognize the different games? In this one small square we have Sorry, chess, checkers, dominoes, and Monopoly!

As you continue walking toward the Philadelphia Art Museum you walk right into Love Park. I love the view through the sign. See that building with the columns in the distance? That is the art museum! (As usual, click to enlarge)

Here is a better look at that background:

Not only does Philadelphia have gorgeous art and historic buildings one can view for free, but we even have a free museum (contributions of $5 are suggested- but still, that is incredibly cheap)! The Rodin museum. We walked by it on our way home and had to stop in and admire his work. PB has a funny joke he loves to share about The Thinker.. too bad it is inappropriate to share here! I can’t look at this cast without thinking of it and chuckling to myself.

This is a bronze case of Rodin’s The Gates of Hell. It is breathtaking.

At this point I would tell any visitor to head to the Philadelphia Art Museum to run up the famous Rocky steps and visit the current Picasso exhibit, but we were exhausted after a morning of such fun activities. We walked back to our place and napped until the next stop on our Philly as tourists weekend…. The Ghost Tour!

Stephen Starr’s SquareBurger in Franklin Square opened today for its first full season. While I am new to Philadelphia, I know the name Stephen Starr very well. If you have heard of The Continental, Buddakan, Tangerine, or Jones, you have heard of Stephen Starr too! Franklin Square is absolutely gorgeous and boasts a carousel, beautiful marble fountain, and more.

SquareBurger is a burger shack in historical Franklin Square that serves mainly burgers, fries, and shakes. Ben Franklin took time out of his busy day to serve the first burger, and to eat one too!

The music was fun 50′s style today- I imagine it is every day- and I couldn’t help but hop around as I waited for our order to be ready…. and soon enough it was.

While the weather was cold (I was an ice cube through lunch hour) spirits were high. Nothing says summer better than a burger, fries, and a shake, and that is exactly what I had.

Are SquareBurger’s burgers a square burger? (Try saying that 5 times fast.) No, but they are a deliciously messy fresh and hot one! My shake was really the star of the meal, however. I had the decadent Cake Shake that is vanilla ice cream with bits of Tastycake Butterscotch Krimpet. I tried my very best to finish it, but halfway through I was perfectly content. Imagine your favorite vanilla box cake in drink form- that is SquareBurger’s The Cake Shake. This season they are offering Shake-of-the-Month, and I look forward to trying all the different shakes they will offer.

The opening of Franklin Square and SquareBurger couldn’t have come a more fitting day. This weekend my cousins Baz & Stephanie are coming to visit us, and we will be playing tourists. We will be on the lookout for Ben Franklin, and if my instincts are right, he will be back for more SquareBurger… just like me.

SquareBurger is located at Franklin Square (6th & Race Streets) in what I like to call the Tourist District. Many of the historical sites you will want to visit are in walking distance, and Franklin Square is a beautiful place to enjoy the fountain, have lunch, and take a break.

Healthy Tip #1: When you are craving an indulgent meal, go for the best you can and enjoy it! I do not eat burgers, fries, and shakes every day, but today I did and I enjoyed my lunch immensely. I will balance it out with a super healthy snack this afternoon (apple and some almonds) and call it a win.

Healthy Tip #2: You don’t have to finish your plate! I had my entire burger and about 1/2 my fries and shake- that was plenty for me. Every bite was delicious, and I didn’t leave feeling heavy or overly full. It is all about balance and portion control after all!

Thanks for lunch, uwishunu!