Israel, Israel, Israel!

Last weekend we took maybe one of our favorite trips to date, and definitely our most secret!  We didn't want to worry anyone by telling them we were going to Israel, and after having it canceled on our cruise, we didn't want to jinx anything.

Looking back, it was probably a good thing it was canceled on our cruise because we wouldn't have been able to enjoy as much of Israel as we were able to this time.  We were pleasantly surprised by quite a few things: how nice all the people were, pretty much everyone speaks passable English, the range in landscape and climate is amazing for such a small country, and the security we felt the whole time we were there.  And while I'm sure the citizens of Israel are aware of the threat of Syria and fighting on a daily basis, they are definitely not living in fear, which is a bit how the media portrays it, I think!

Day 1: Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, and Haifa (more pictures)

After a late night flight we landed in Tel Aviv just in time to catch the sunrise (5:30am!) and begin our drive through the northern part of Israel.  Our first stop was Nazareth, where we visited the Church of Annunciation, where Mary supposedly received word from the angel that she would give birth to Jesus.  **I say supposedly because pretty much all of the sights we saw are more symbolic than anything.  No one really knows exactly where all these things happened, but there are churches and monuments everywhere to mark them.**

USA's and France's representations of Mary inside the Church of Annunciation

We also saw the cave where Joseph lived, ate our first delicious Israel food, and caught some views of the city from above before continuing our drive to the Sea of Galilee.

In Tiberias, of course we took in the views of the Sea of Galilee, but we also ate a delicious breakfast--eggs, cheese, dips, Israeli salad, and the most delicious bread we have ever eaten (sorry France!)

Continuing north along the Sea of Galilee, we stopped in Capharnaum, city where Jesus allegedly spent much of his time and drove past some of the sights were he performed his miracles (water into wine, Sermon on the Mount, etc.).  The flowers in this area were incredible; my pictures don't do justice to how beautiful they were!

Struggling to keep each other awake, we finally arrived in Haifa with the plan to see the famous Baha'i Gardens.  After searching for a parking place and an entrance, we learned that the garden were closed for a religious holiday.  As sad as we were, they were still beautiful from the top and bottom!

Beautiful drives everywhere in this country!

After a failed attempt at understanding the Hebrew/Arabic gas pump at one station, we finally figured out how to fill up with gas at another station and were on our way to Jerusalem.  After a delicious dinner (more on that later), we crawled into bed early, exhausted!

Day 2: Hiking in Ein Gedi & the Dead Sea (more pictures)
Definitely a highlight of our trip!!  So glad we were able to do this before the Dead Sea is all dried up.  A short 30 minute drive from Jerusalem and you are at the Dead Sea!  It was pretty interesting to drive farther and farther down below sea level and have cliffs towering above you!  Beautiful!

First glimpses of the Dead Sea

 About 30 minutes later we arrived at Ein Gedi Nature Reserve ready to get our hike on!  We are glad we arrived early because by the time we left 3-4 hours later it was packed with groups.  We were able to catch some ibex and hyrax in action and hiked first to David's Waterfall, which is the most famous landmark in the reserve.  (This is supposedly where David hid from Solomon.)  We had the place all to ourselves!

We decided to try a little more intense hiking and hiked back to a hidden cave above David's waterfall.  Along the way we found some little pools of crystal clear water for a little swim, which was perfect as temps were already approaching 80!  All in all, such an awesome experience with beautiful views everywhere!  I would definitely go back!

Across the highway from the nature reserve is a beach on the Dead Sea.  When we arrived we saw a few people floating, but we remained highly skeptical that it would actually allow us to float.  I can remember going to the Great Salt Lake with my family and being very disappointed that I didn't just float, so I expected much of the same here.

We decided that first we should find some of the famous mineral mud from the Dead Sea and lather up before heading into the Sea.  A local Israeli told us where to find the best mud hidden in a crevice.  Such a blast and a cool experience!! (Although, I would recommend not putting it so close to your eyes because washing it off with salt water is not a pleasant experience!)

I had too much fun with the mud!  Attempted to use it's world-renowned powers on my
sinus infection, that part didn't work so well!

And then, time to jump in.  Wait, what's this?  You really, truly FLOAT with absolutely zero effort!!  It was incredible.  You know how sometimes as an adult you wish you could go back and feel the sheer and utter joy that a child has at experiencing something new and simple for the very first time?  Well, the Dead Sea provides that--it was like we were 6 again, giggling away!  And every time we got out for the "last time", we always seemed to find ourselves right back in, floating and laughing some more.

That's a lot of salt!

Days 3&4: Jerusalem (more pictures)

Exploring at night also means getting a bit lost!

Although we had already somewhat explored Jerusalem on our own the two previous nights, we decided we should take a tour of Jerusalem to find out some of the history and background on what we were seeing.  We decided on the 2.5 hour free Sandeman's tour (yes, free...you just tip at the end!)  I'm not sure why we've never done this in any other city, but I would highly recommend it; it was an excellent tour with the perfect amount of history and included some things we otherwise would not have seen.

The Dome of the Rock is now a Muslim mosque, despite the fact that for Jews and Christians the rock inside is important to their faiths as well (the rock where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac).  Because it is under Islamic control, there are only certain hours that non-Muslims are allowed to visit the grounds.  After a 30 minute line, we arrived and were rewarded with beautiful views of the dome.  Only Muslims are allowed inside the dome though!

Of course, we also visited the other famous landmarks for the other religions present in this town: The Western Wall, sacred for the Jews as the only remaining wall of the 2nd Temple, and the Holy Sepulcher, for Christians, built on the site where Jesus was crucified and buried in the tomb.  Both were very interesting and it is pretty crazy to think about all the history that has taken place in this city!

Holy Spulchler church & Jesus's "tomb"

We also visited the Israel Museum, which is home to the Dead Sea Scrolls.  It was fascinating to see the actual paper and think that they are 2000 years old!  Pictures were not allowed, so all we got was a picture of one of the jars some were found in.

Model of Jerusalem during the 2nd Temple era at the Israel Museum

Mount of Olives, which again is important in all 3 religions, provided for some stunning views of the Old City!

The Garden of Gethsemane is at the base of the mountain, which is where Jesus is said to have been praying before he was arrested and brought into the city to be crucified.

Wandering the souks and streets lined with stores was one of our favorite things to do.  Even though there were some large tour groups we saw, a majority of the people were locals doing their shopping.  There was tons of delicious street food and drinks, both of which we indulged in.  And I'm quite positive I can never eat street falafel in Paris again after eating it here!

Check out the delivery guy, using a tire as his break!

Besides street food, we ate some of the best food I have ever eaten on a trip.  Israeli food is much like Mediterranean food, which is probably why I love it so much.  One night we ate at the Armenian Tavern, which we both agreed was probably the best meal of the trip.  We also discovered our favorite beer there--Maccabee, made in Tel Aviv.

Another night we ate at Nafoura, which is on one of the outer walls of the city.  It made for some awesome outside dining and the chicken was so tender and juicy!

We stayed just outside the Old City, in a wonderful hotel-National Hotel, which was in the midst of the Muslim Quarter.  It made for some entertaining walks down our road, but gave us a chance to get a local flavor of Jerusalem.  We even made a stop at the local post office to pay our parking ticket from Nazareth.  Oh, yes, a 100 shekel parking ticket, because the parking coin machines didn't work.  But, it only equates to 20E and we figured Jesus would be happy we are supporting his hometown! :)

Note the double parking of cars...this only got 20x worse at rush hour!

All in all, this was a fantastic trip and we highly recommend that anyone go.  We felt completely safe, even crossing over the West Bank border several times.  As long as you are aware and stay on the major highways, it really feels like any other city or country.  Also, the US Embassy recommends not using public transit in Israel, which we stuck to and I feel like was probably the safest option! :)  It was pretty amazing to see how all 3 major religions live in relative peace and harmony...maybe more of the world should take note of this! :)

Ok, so this did happen one day, but we still don't know what it was other than a crazy guy
telling us it was a car bomb in Bethlehem...never reported on the news!

Definitely the most unique part of this country: 3 languages-Hebrew, Arabic, and English!

**Tips:  The Dead Sea is a MUST, in my opinion.  The beach across from Ein Gedi was awesome, and free, which most of the others are not.  Also, the Armenian Tavern and the falafel at the restaurant at the entrance of Damascus Gate are some of my favorite meals ever!  If you have the time, rent a car--it's a quick, easy way to see so much of the country!**