...and morning followed.

The last day. We had an exquisite "last supper" with our professor, Fr. Gregory last evening before taking him to the airport. And of course, we had to get up early this morning to see the sun rise from atop Mt. Scopus. (I am sure that I will sleep very well on the plane tonight, since I have not had a full night's sleep now for three nights! Added hardship: since this is a Mediterranean country, no café is open before at least 8:00.) We headed to our favorite supposedly 24-hour place, Café Zuni for a "proper American" breakfast only to find the doors closed and the gates locked! It was heartbreaking. We did manage to find a café for an espresso and a pan au chocolat (next best thing!) before heading across the ridge to the Mount of Olives to see the sun crest there and visit the Church of Dominus Flevit and the Mosque (yes, mosque) of (Christ's) the Ascension. After as much procrastinating as we could manage, we've returned to St. Stephen's to pack before doing a leave-taking walk through the Old City, taking a shower, celebrating Mass and heading to the airport.

I am thinking that this will not be my last post. There is much left to say and pictures to share, so stay tuned...