After a quick stop to pick up fresh lemon-mint and Egyptian mango juices, we found ourselves in a "sweets" shop in the fancy Sweifieh neighborhood of Amman where we stumbled upon some classic merchant hospitality.
After over an hour of tasting every kind of sweet, candy, chocolate one could imagine, and sharing some laughs over coffee infused with cardamom (I did the readings of the coffee grounds to the entertainment of our hosts) we left with two duffel bags full of sweets!
Unsure of whether our stomachs could handle dinner, we pressed on. Rerouted several times because of much of downtown blocked off for tomorrow's marathon, we finally made it back to the hotel, headed over to Hashim's (reportedly the "best" falafel in Amman), and were served a little of everything they had to offer. Before we were half-way through the hummous, we learned our meal had been paid for by someone who left without saying a word.
Somewhere in between all that, I picked up a new game played on a backgammon board, and was confident in my ability to win our next meal, but we were somehow distracted by the fact that we might have a little trouble getting into Bethlehem by tomorrow given the 12,000 runners who will be occupying the streets in the morning.
At least this gives us an excuse to sleep in, and maybe time to check out the area a bit, assuming we can maneuver the run and roadblocks.
Plan B: Bethlehem by sunset.
erica - you're doing great so far..i feel like i am there (and wish i were) with you!
ReplyDeleteThat picture looks so professional! Sounds like you have quickly been absorbed into the culture - even with your storytelling --- good thing I passed on the coffee grind reading skill (it's genetic, you know) ---I can hear the laughter and it's great!
ReplyDeleteps- look for alicia keys running the marathon
ReplyDeleteNo one paid for my falafel at Hashim's!
ReplyDelete