The Dead Sea

{This is a guest post by Elsa Bearden.}

When you don't travel with a tour group, you have to figure out transportation on your own.  After looking at rates online, it looked like we'd spend more than we wanted to for a taxi ride to the Dead Sea. In the end, we decided to take the bus, figuring out the routes via Google Maps (which was pretty accurate) the night before. 

We first had to walk about 20 minutes to the central bus station in Jerusalem. It was pretty clear upon arriving that not many tourists braved the crowded, bustling bus station. As we pulled away, a quick glance around the bus revealed mostly working and religious men and women, going about their day. Maybe four others (besides our little group) were vacationing. 

The city soon disappeared behind us and tall mountains and desert lay before us. About 40 minutes later, we saw water - the Dead Sea! Our bus driver called for our stop, Kalia Beach. (This was the closest beach to our apartment, and we wanted to come back and still have time to visit the Old City in the afternoon.) We looked around, but didn't see any cars or tourists swarming the beach. In fact, there was really nothing around this particular bus stop at all. Hesitantly, I grabbed my bag, preparing to get up when, our bus driver pulled away from the bus stop, never having come to a complete stop! It wasn't until after our bus trips to and from the Dead Sea that we realized you needed to jump up quickly to let the driver know you were getting off; otherwise, he'd keep right on going! 

Unsure of ourselves, we reclined back in our seats thinking that perhaps he meant the next stop was for Kalia Beach. Nope. It came and went with no one getting on or off. A glance to our left out of the bus revealed the Dead Sea, much larger than I thought it was, but with no beaches. Where were all of the crazy tourists floating with their newspapers? We decided to go on to Ein Gedi, a place a friend had recommended to us. 

As we continued travelling, it felt as if we were getting further and further from civilization.  Soon the other tourists on the bus with us were getting anxious as well. Where were the beaches? The bus driver wasn't too helpful which could have been due to the language barrier. Abby finally made an executive decision and said that we were getting off when we got to the Ein Gedi Spa stop. It was a good decision!

As it turns out, the private beach at the spa couldn't be seen from the road; we had to ride a tractor train (for what could have been a 10 minute walk) to actually get to the water. We think this is why we didn't see anything at our Kalia Beach stop. There was a fee for the spa, but we were just happy that we found a place where we could float! And that's exactly what we did. 

Dead Sea Tip: 

Take water shoes or sandals you can wear in the water as the ground (salt) is extremely rough!

Have you ever been to the Dead Sea? Tell us about your experience!

How to Visit London on a Layover

{This is a guest post by Elsa Bearden, Abby's one and only adorable sister.} 

I was ecstatic to visit my sister Abby, the beautiful author of this blog, in Cyprus, and overjoyed when I found out we'd have an eight hour layover in London. So we prepped for our London adventure, and busted out of Heathrow to visit the city. Read below for some tips on planning your layover in London! 

Plan ahead of time. Know what sights you want to see first, and be realistic about how many things you will be able to see. See how far apart the attractions are from each other, and know where they are in the city! Also, make sure you know the entrance fees for the places you choose to visit. We chose Big Ben/London Eye (photo shoot only), the British Museum, and Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Railway Station. We chose only 3 or 4 exhibitions at the museum to save on time (don't worry, we saw the Rosetta Stone) and didn't stand in line for the picture at the platform. Hogwarts was going to have to wait until next time! 

Decide on transportation. The Heathrow Express is a train that takes you from the airport to Paddington Station in London in 15 to 20 minutes. This is a major time saver. You can reserve a round trip ticket online ahead of time for a slightly reduced fee. We bought our tickets at the airport once we cleared customs, and paid 35 pounds each. Also, a day pass for the tube (subway) was 12 pounds and can be purchased there at Paddington Station. With your day pass, you can take the tube anywhere in London. 

Grab that city map the nice airport employee is trying to hand you after you've landed at Heathrow. This was of great use in figuring out which lines we should take on the tube as well as to give us an idea of where we were going on foot!

Store your luggage. You don't want to be bogged down by your carry-on while trying to snap that perfect picture of Big Ben!  Instead, leave it at the Excess Baggage Company. For 10 pounds per bag you can store your luggage here while you're out lunching on fish and chips. Yum! 

Keep an eye on the time. Know how long it will take to get from your last London attraction back to the tube, back to the Heathrow Express, and (finally) back through security at the airport. Or, if you decide on different transportation, be sure to plan accordingly. 

Budget. Even though we only spent a few hours in the city, this turned out to be a pricey adventure, and we didn’t budget as much as we should have. Check the conversion rates before you go, and know how much you want to spend ahead of time.

Most importantly, have fun and don't be afraid to look like a tourist...snap those pictures! (Just not with a selfie stick!) We had a great time, even if it was only for a few hours. Do you have any tips for those long London layovers? Leave a comment below and let us know! 

By the way, stay tuned to Abby’s Roses to hear about the rest of our trip to Cyprus and Israel!