Amman that!

So we arrived in Amman without strangling any of our co-passengers! I wasn't a full flight but no one seemed to be sitting in a seat they wanted so even though this night flight, it was non-stop walking around talking loudly and generally having a good time. For people who felt like then had been traveling, for what felt like two full days, it was crazy!

We were met at the gate by the pre-arranged service to take us to our hotel. I think he was expecting more hand-holding but because we already had our visa, we skipped that queue and headed straight to customs. After some mild questioning we picked up our bags and he walked us to the pre-arranged car service. The driver came in with us and make sure we got into the hotel safely.

We got our room key and stayed in what I can only describe as the most ick room accommodations I have come across! (Sue while reading this to her, just added "Yet!") Let's just say this is the first hotel room where I did a very detailed check for bed bugs (all clear... actually, these look like brand-spanking new mattresses), still slept in our sleep sacks, and showered with our flip flops on. In retrospect probably would have been worth the coin to stay in better accommodations! Although what the room lacked, the hotel redeemed it self (okay just a tiny bit) with free wi-fi, free coffee, and friendly and helpful front desk people. Should be very interesting the rest of the trip. Both Sue and I are looking forward to our 5-star accommodations in Jerusalem!

So originally we were going to get up at 10 am... but considering how late we got in we decided on the more reasonable 11am. Sue heard first call to prayers at 6am but with my earplugs in I didn't hear a thing! By the time I got up I had a wicked awful headache. It took a few minutes to realize that I had not had a coffee in quite a while! So after showering and dressing, the first order of business was getting a cup of coffee! Luckily, the front desk gave me a instant coffee... seriously I was that desperate!

We then headed to Rainbow Street which was a series of shops, restaurants and interesting things. We walked down to what seemed like the end. Along the way we saw the tallest flag poll in the world (from afar) and got a few large bottles of water, and more coffee. I had a very great cup of iced coffee. It's not hard when they don't have a non-fat milk option! Although on the way in at two in the morning we did see a Starbucks! It was too quickly come and gone for us to get a pic but it was super cool. Perhaps when we are back in Amman in a couple days we could check it out. We also had a very great lunch of hummus made with grilled zucchini, tabbouleh, and then I had the beef shawarma and Sue had grilled chicken and veggies in a phyllo-like pita. It was very very good! This is what my shwarma plate looked like!

We then came back to the hotel to meet one of the guides. I believe his job is to just answer questions about Amman and make sure we get on the proper bus tomorrow morning when we meet our new guide. There are apparently 13 people on this tour. So far we have meet one other person at the "briefing", Louis from Australia. He's a banker who's thinking of making a career change into fashion design and is taking some time, traveling around before he makes his decision. He's super nice and ended up spending the rest of the evening with us.

We first went to downtown Amman and the main market. Sue and I purchased some scarfs. We got to see some amazing spice areas including the largest pile of saffron I've ever seen! We headed back to the hotel for a little rest and then we went out for dinner on Rainbow Street. Sue and I shared the hot and cold appetizer plates. I must admit we were underwhelmed... the food at lunch was quite a bit better! That being said the music at this place was live and very fun!

While we were in the market we past this mosque. Evening / sunset prayers started as we made our way back. It's quite amazing how far you can hear the prayers, it's really quite beautiful.

Tomorrow we leave for Aqaba! Sunny and crazy hot, here we come!

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