Ethiopia

It has almost been a week since I got back to the States from my 10 day adventure in Ethiopia and I am still fighting jet lag and trying to get used to the change in altitude. But regardless of my exhaustion and head cold, it was all worth it. I feel like I am still trying to take in and absorb everything I saw, tasted, smelt, and heard in Ethiopia. It was certainly a once in a life time trip and I feel so blessed to have been apart of the GCP experience.

Ethiopia was anything but what I expected to see in Africa. Throughout the trip we stayed in a hotel called Ras Amba in Addis Ababa (the capitol city of Ethiopia). Addis was an amazingly lively city. We spent the first few days of the trip doing walking tours of the city center, visiting museums and local churches, and experiencing the traditional food and dance.  Everyone we met along the way was so welcoming and took great pride in their country's history.  Here are a few pictures from the first few days of the trip....

View from the roof top cafe at our hotel
 (I got to eat breakfast up here every morning!)

My first cup of Ethiopian coffee... life changing! 

View of Addis in action at Arat Kilo 

My first traditional Ethiopian meal... with of course injera

My room mate for the week! 

St. Stephen's Ethiopian Orthodox church 

Church of the Holy Trinity in Addis 

Menelik II Orthodox Church 

Ras Amba Hotel... home for the week 

Merkato- the largest open air market in all of africa

Merkato Market 

Tej- Ethiopia honey wine

More pictures of our adventures from the rest of the week to come....