In my dreams I have a plan

Goldiegirl

Sounds as if it'll be a fantastic break.

Up until the last few years, there was a cruise that went to the Holy Land, around about this time of year. They haven't run that cruise recently, but I hope they start it again, as it's one I'd love to do.

I'm not hugely religious, but it'd be such an amazing thing to see all the ancient sights.

Hope you have a great time.

egoode

Have a great time in Jerusalem, I was there about 2 months ago and had been a few years earlier as well but was mainly in Tel Aviv that other trip. It's definitely a country like no other and you don't need to be religious to get awed by it but you will probably find lots of religious group tours at that time of year although given the recent troubles it might not be as busy as normal. On my recent trip we basically had some sights for ourselves as there were hardly any tourists visiting and a lot of people cancelled tours but I had no issues while I was there.

London18

How interesting to find so many people have been there. It still seems quite 'exotic' to me! My boss and an exwork colleague have been as well and also had very positive stories and same as you guys.

We do indeed anticipate some places will be a little quieter than usual due to the recent issues - no bad thing though. We are keeping an eye on the Foreign Office advice so we can be aware & careful but we aren't that worried. I went to Istanbul years ago a few weeks after some bombs had gone off and lots of tourists had cancelled trios and and we had a fabuous time as the locals were so welcoming to those who had still come. Also been to Jordan duing a slightly tricky time in the Middle East and that was also great, so have the same attitude as I did on those trips - be sensible but get on with it. It can't feel much different to London after the bombings when things were a bit tense for a while but life went on.

We are spending a few days in Tel Aviv as well and hopefully hiring a car to get around a bit to other sites on day trips. I'm starting to see there is no way we'll fit everything in but I do love the planning stages!

blackste

From my experience of the middle east, we are missing out on so much in the west. I have Arab friends who holiday in Lebanon each year, and tell me its truly beautiful. I took a bit of short tour around some of the emirates this year, and it was amazing. So much scenary, and so many friendly people. I love the food, and the culture you find out there.
Sadly our views of the world outside of Europe are often formed by the media, and their bias. There are so many places to see, and things to experience, Jerusalem sounds awesome, have a great trip.

London18

This is a very grumpy post. Feeling put upon and frazzled at work and light at end of tunnel feels very much like oncoming train. One of the Company bigwigs thinks it is perfectly acceptable to expect a significant UK wide project requiring mass recruitment and training programme to launch straight after New Year with virtually no notice and no extra resource and be delivered in a few months.:mad: :mad: Because me and my (tiny) team have nothing else to do obviously. I have now cracked open a bottle of red wine, on a Thursday no less. At least it was left over from an M&S eat in deal so a bargain. Working from home tomorrow so at least I can avoid the morning commute and have a lie in.

Really have to update c.v and get looking in the New Year.

Money saving not going so well either, somehow managed to get dates mucked up and missed paying credit card off on time so have interest and a late fee. Annoyed with myself but also bank - it was a day late !!!!!!.

I am going to slurp a bit more wine and read someone else's diaries, hopefully others are more cheerful than me tonight.:o

egoode

That's annoying about the late fee for the credit card, I've done that in the past and ended up setting up a direct debit so at least the minimum amount was always paid on time in case I was a day or two late paying it off. I've occasionally missed paying it because I've been away travelling and haven't always been able to log on to my account in time.

Also good luck on the work front I'm about to update my c.v as well as my current workplace is wanting to reduce the number of contractors they have so not sure my contract is going to be renewed.

London18

Can't believe it's been so long since I last posted. Christmas and New Year have come and gone, along with the very interesting trip to Israel. Still pondering if I think it was worth it. I thought it had a very odd and confusing vibe. Went to the West Bank and actually enjoyed that more than I thought I would, Bethlehem had a really upbeat feel which I didn't expect.

Got a pay rise in December which I've used to increase my mortgage overpayment, an extra £60 a month. So feeling virtuous . However 2015 will be an expensive year. Have significant and overdue house decorating to do, some expensive and overdue dental work and a 'big' holiday later in the year. Savings will take a bit of a beating but I guess that is what they are there for.

I am finding budgeting and cashflow a bit complicated. I get paid 4-weekly but bills tend to be monthly. And it means I get paid 13 times a year not 12. Does my head in, I can't seem to get everything lined up timing wise and as I am paranoid about not having enough in the current account for direct debits I end up with a massive credit sitting in there for half the month. Not that savings accounts earn anything so I guess it doesn't really matter.

Have spend the last few hours reading other people's diaries and admiring how postive and resilient people are.
Off to read a few more and I might even come out of lurkdom on one or two.