寒假第一天，我們一家就興沖沖地上路了。這次我們踏上了對我們四個來說都是最exotic的一次征途—約旦和埃及。

我先上個完整行程：

Flights:
Austin -> Paris -> Amman 
Amman -> Cairo (Our original fight got canceled. moved up the flight to the day before, had to cancel our day at Dana and add a day in Egypt)
Cairo -> London -> New York
New York -> Austin

Car rental:
Budget at the AMM airport
機場Budget提車，budget的工作人員很友善也很盡責，好評。我們的車是一輛小Kia，跑上坡路時哼哧哼哧，頗有點吃力，但終於圓滿完成任務。
老公去取車時，我在旁邊的orange櫃檯買了一張 SIM card （20G plan for 20 JD）。很好用，機場櫃檯小哥英文很好，也很幫忙。離開安曼的時候我們回到這裡，他又幫我把SIM card取出來。

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive at Amman airport late night, pick up rental car and drive straight to hotel in Madaba (30min). 安曼和Madaba離機場的距離都差不多，反正最後要回到安曼，不如從Madaba開始我們的行程，交通也比安曼好得多。
Stay: Mount Nebo hotel (extremely kind owners, beautiful rooms)

Day 2: Go through the Kings Way, start with Madaba (orthodox st George’s church), Mount Nebo, Kerak Castle and end in Wadi Mousa. Stay: Town Season hotel (2 nights, perfect stay)

最古老的mosaic中東地圖


Mount Nebo 體會神的公正和慈愛


Kerak castle 斷垣殘壁


Day 3: Hiking in Petra all day
Stay: Town Season hotel

Petra的頂級明星：the Treasury




從Treasury又走了好久，還爬了900級階梯才到達明星景點2: the monastery

Day 4: Petra museum, then head to Wadi Rum
Stay: Hasan Zawaideh Camp (2 nights, unforgettable bubble tent!)





Day 5: AM: Camel ride, PM: 4x4 jeep ride
Stay: Hasan Zawaideh Camp







(Day 6 cancelled: Our original plan was to spend a day hiking around the Dana Biosphere Reserve, but due to the flight schedule change, we had to cancel that day)

Day 6: Mud up and float in the Dead Sea
Stay: Kempinki Hotel Ishta Dead Sea (swankiest hotel we’ve every stayed, amazing!)







Day 7: AM: Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan
PM: Jerash Roman ruins
Stay: Royal Mira Villa Amman (2 nights, super nice owner and excellent stay)

耶穌受洗之地


比羅馬的古羅馬古蹟還要宏大且保存更完整的Jerash






Day 9: Amman Citadel, Roman Amphitheatre, explore rainbow street and downtown Amman
Stay: Royal Mira Villa Amman





Day 10: Amman -> Cairo in the AM
Tour Islamic Cairo and Khan el-Khalili bazaar
Stay: Marriott Mena House (2 nights, this hotel is beyond iconic with excellent rooms and service and breakfasts, it’s also very expensive — $420/night for one room, and we needed two rooms per night. Luckily the rooms are very reasonably priced if you purchase with Marriott points.)







Day 11: AM: Saqqara pyramids
PM: Giza pyramids
Stay: Marriott Mena House





最早的金字塔


大金字塔






Day 12: AM: Egyptian museum
PM: Coptic Cairo + Cairo citadel
Stay: Le Meridien Cairo Airport (excellent hotel. the only airport hotel that’s connected to the terminal through a walkway. Also booked with Marriott points.)

埃及博物館


博物館裡令人驚艷的The Medium Geese (2572-2551BC)


The hanging church




Muhammad Ali 清真寺


Day 13: Cairo -> London -> New York
在紐約待了兩晚，頂著寒風細雨走馬看花，去過世界那麼多地方的兩個小朋友還是第一次來紐約，興奮不已。










這趟旅行全家都玩得好盡興，每一個地方都很喜歡，接下來會陸續把詳細遊記好好寫寫。