Let's Get This Crackin

So I'm back from spring break and settled into life at JFRC again. Classes and homework are back on (if you can really call it that), jobs have started up again, stories are being shared, new trips are being planned, and the official last two months are underway. To recap my trip, I'm going to do it in two posts - one outlining the basic itinerary and what we did with pictures and one with more details, anecdotal stories, random thoughts and such. Thanks for bearing with me through that last pessimistic post; I'm back now and feel like spring break lasted three weeks and I changed ten-fold. I'll break it down for you.

Day 1, Friday March 5 - Miss our flight to Istanbul, fight the company for 5 hours, book a new ticket, get back to campus at 8 after leaving for the airport originally at 9.

Day 2, Saturday March 6 - Take an afternoon trip to a local town on a lake named Bracciano. Check out the oldest castle in Europe, explore abandoned houses, and take in some serene sights on the lake.

Day 3, Sunday March 7 - Take our flight to Istanbul, meet up with our couch surfers, have them show us some of their favorite spots around the city, hang out at their apartment with their friends.

Day 4, Monday March 8 - Couch surfers take us around Istanbul to all of the touristy spots we wanted to see and more of the spots they recommended, hung out at their apartment again for the night.

Day 5, Tuesday March 9 - Catch our flight to Cairo, check in at the hostel, take a dinner/Egyptian music and dancing cruise down the Nile for the night, wander around the city.

Day 6, Wednesday March 10 - Go see the Egyptian museum, Saqqara pyramid, Great Pyramids of Giza, camel ride into the Sahara, take the train overnight to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Day 7, Thursday March 11 - Red Sea cruise and snorkeling, board bus at night to start adventure to Jerusalem.

Day 8, Friday March 12 - Explore Jerusalem and Bethlehem, drive through Palestine and the West Bank, swim in the Dead Sea and bus back to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Day 9, Saturday March 13 - Take bus back to Cairo, explore some of the sights some more.

Day 10, Sunday March 14 - Flight back to Rome, catch up with friends.

So thats it, quick little insight to what we did this last week or so. I'll try and have the more expansive post up tonight and I assure you it will be massive with the amount that I would like to try and express and this trip, the things we did and people we met, and my reflections on everything.