Arrival in Bethlehem--Sept. 25, 2014, Paris adventure enroute

(No pictures in the blog today, but we'll have them in the next blogs.  Just Google Paris if you'd like to see what it looks like  :)  

We arrived in Bethlehem, Palestine, late in the evening of September 25, 2014.  Our travels have been challenging at times and our pocketbook is considerably lighter, our expenses a bit of a concern for a couple used to living and traveling more on the cheap.  Still we have gotten here and in a somewhat timely manner.  We are thankful for the angels in human form all along the way and for the prayers that have lifted us up.

As I write this on September 25, we are sitting in the lobby of the New Grand Park Hotel, a five star hotel about a block from the modest two room apartment where we will reside for the next month or so.  The hotel has kindly allowed David to access his email in their beautifully appointed lobby--bright, airy, and modern in shades of white, cream, walnut and black, accented by deep pink in the patterned upholstery. and tropical flowers that cascade from large white pots. A busload of Eastern Europeans has just arrived, including several Orthodox priests and nuns in long black garb.  Like so many here--(ourselves included), they are on a pilgrimage to this Holy Land, this land full of sights and images held close to our hearts. 

A week earlier, we left St. Paul, arriving sleepless in Paris on Sept. 19, at 8:15 a.m. Paris time.  Joining thousands of other tourists, we wrestled our three bags of luggage through turnstyles and up and down flights of steps and on to the train.  Blessed to get to check into our hotel early, we set out to take advantage of our planned one-day layover to see some of the classic sights of Paris, following a walking tour given to us by Bethlehem Choir member Julien Delumeau--from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs Elysee ending up at the Louvre and Notre Dame. (We also could see the lighted Eiffel Tower in the distance after our supper at a sidewalk cafe.)  We got back to our hotel and an email message that our flight to Jordan the next day was cancelled due to the AirFrance pilots' strike.  David hung on the phone with Expedia for three hours, arranging a substitute flight the next evening on Alitalia (via Rome).  (The pilots strike was scheduled to last until September 26, so we were very blessed to get a flight that just delayed our itinerary by 7 hours instead of 7 days.)  We used the extra  hours delay to catch some more sleep and visit the Sacre Couer Cathedral. 

We arrived in Amman, Jordan at a beautiful brand new airport at 3:15 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21.  Here another blessing:  Khader, a driver we arranged for with the help of Ruth Barrett Rendler from the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Choir, met us with graciousness  as we exited the airport and drove us into the city to our hotel.  Khader had been in continual email contact with me, and assured us that all would be well  It was and is.