FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem to Sea of Galilee, Israel – Day 13

April 23, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem to Sea of Galilee, Israel – Day 13 

The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Trip Day 67 – Saturday, April 6 – Jerusalem to Sea of Galilee, Israel – sunny, much warmer – high, 70’s

7 Nazareth, Israel

Annunciation Church Mosaic

  • BB – no cappuccino or hot milk (the Sabbath)
  • 8:30 – packed & ready to go
  • BB – no golf cart to take bags to van (the Sabbath) we have to schlep them 2 blocks (on pedestrian only street)
  • 9:00 – depart for Nazareth
  • 1st stop –10:30 – cappuccino break
  • 2nd stop – 11:30 – Annunciation church – where according to tradition Jesus grew up
  • 3rd stop – 12:30 – Cana (where Jesus performed His first miracle by turning water into wine)
  • 4th stop – 1:30 – Arbel Mountain – sheer cliff rising from Sea of Galilee includes ancient community w/synagogue remains
  • 5th stop – 2:30 – Tiberius – largest city on the shore – lunch – chicken salad comes w/8 sides of dips & vegetables – got enough left over for lunch tomorrow!
  • 3:30 – nice walk along waterfront promenade
  • 4:15 – check in to Nof Ginnosar Kibbutz Hotel
  • A – 4:30 – go to museum next door – have 2000 yr old boat found submerged in mud 10 yrs ago – took that long to restore – pretty amazing!
2 Nof Ginnosar Kibbutz

2000 Year Old Boat

  • 5:00 – nap
  • 7:30 – dinner @ hotel – buffet just so-so – fortunately bought nice bottle of wine in Jerusalem – no corkage fee!

FF – (FUN-fact) – It is so nice to be here with grass and trees; hearing the sounds of frogs, crickets and birds.
More FF – I have never been so kosher!

1 Cana, Israel

Cana

 

FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem, Israel – Day 12

April 20, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem, Israel – Day 12 

The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Trip Day 66 – Friday, April 5 – Jerusalem, Israel – cloudy, windy, rainy, cold – high 50’s

Bethlehem, West Bank 1

Drive to Bethlehem in West Bank

  • A – get really big, hot cappuccino!
  • B – temp dropped 30 degrees
  • 8:45 – pick up for
  • 1st stop – 9:30 – Yad Vashem – Holocaust Memorial Museum – one long corridor carved into mountain w/10 exhibit halls each dedicated to different chapter of Holocaust – contains 2500 personal items donated by survivors – Hall of Remembrance is stark tomb like chamber – at center is casket of ashes from cremations ovens – very, very emotional
  • 11:00 – drive to
  • 2nd stop – 11:15  Israel Museum – huge outside scale model of ancient Jerusalem 2000 yrs ago – Shrine of the Book built to house Dead Sea Scrolls – dramatic display case contains copy of Great Isaiah Scroll – made of sheepskin dating to between 3rd century BC to AD 68
  • 4th stop –12:00 – Friday Market – teeming w/locals & vendors selling everything from food to groceries to clothing to toys to you name it
  • 12:30 – cappuccino @ Aroma – sidewalk table
  • A – sights & sounds galore – great people watching!
  • 2:00 – walk back to Arthur – window shopping – stores close @ 3:00 for Sabbath
Jerusalem, Israel 117

Model of Ancient Jerusalem

  • 3:00 – yummy lentil soup to go from convenience store
  • 5:00 – happy hour!
  • 7:00 – dinner – short walk to Sea Dolphin – 11 salads & sauces included – order white fish waiter recommends & mussels – way too much food! – nice Yarden wine again

FF – (FUN-fact) – The Shrine of the Book dramatic display case has a distinctive dome intended to imitate the lids of the jars in which the scrolls were founds.  The Great Isaiah Scroll is the only biblical book that survived in its entirety. Its 66 chapters were written on several strips of parchment and were then sewn together, making it more than 23 feet long.

Jerusalem, Israel 123

Friday Market

FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem, Israel – Day 11

April 17, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem, Israel – Day 11 

The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Trip Day 65 – Thursday, April 4 – Jerusalem, Israel – cloudy, breezy, cooler – low 70’s

Jerusalem, Israel 42

Jewish Quarter

  • 7:00 – get up
  • A – good cappuccino
  • 8:45 – pick up for tour
  • 1st stop – 9:00 – Temple Mount – Dome of the Rock and El Akza Mosques – holiest place for both Jews & Muslims
  • 2nd stop – 10:15 – Western Wall – also known as Wailing Wall – holiest place in Jewish tradition today – men pray on left side & women on right – lots of bar mitzvahs in plaza
  • C – sidewalks are streaming w/groups of festive family & friends carrying big balloon bouquets proceeding to plaza w/singing  & musicians drumming & playing horns
  • 10:30 – Jerusalem bagel break – large, oblong, seeded bread w/herbs for dipping – VG
  • 3rd stop –10:45 – City of David – oldest part of Jerusalem – archeological finds include underground acropolis & palace – walk through tunnels dug to carry spring water
  • 11:30 – walk through Jewish Quarter – go to Cardo – original Roman thoroughfare now exclusive shopping arcade
  • 4th stop – 12:30 – Church of the Dormition – said to be where the Last Supper took place – also Tomb of David
Jerusalem, Israel 100

Wailing Wall

Bethlehem, West Bank 11

Grotto of the Nativity

  • 1:00 – new guide – Palestinian, Isa, drives us to Bethlehem (Yuval can’t go there)
  • 1st stop – Church @ the Shepherd’s Fields – shepherds from here saw the Star of Nativity
  • 2nd stop – Schawarma lunch break – pita sandwich filled w/meat, sauces & various vegetable salads
  • 3rd stop – Church of the Nativity – one of most holiest Christian sites – Grotto of the Nativity is focal point w/silver  star over site believed to be birth place of Jesus
  • 4th stop – 4:00 – Aroma coffee – cappuccino break
  • 5:00 – happy hour @ hotel
  • 7:30 – dinner Darna – Moroccan restaurant – dipping sauce/vegetable appetizer – lamb entrée – just so-so & $$$

FF – (FUN-fact) – Church of the Nativity was built over the cave where Jesus was supposedly born. In 1852 shared custody of the church was granted to the Roman Catholic, Armenian and Greek Orthodox churches, the Greeks caring the Grotto of the Nativity.
More FF – Fresh fruit and vegetables are abundant.

Jerusalem, Israel 109

Bar Mitzvah Celebration

 

FUN-travel: Holy Land – Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Israel – Day 10

April 10, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Israel – Day 10 

The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Trip Day 64 – Wednesday, April 3 –Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Israel – sunny, breezy, high 80’s

  • 7:00 – get up

    Jerusalem, Israel 28

    Church of Holy Sepulcher

  • A – good cappuccino
  • B – breakfast pretty bad like dinner last night w/more not very good service
  • 8:30 – take off for Qumran antiquities where Dead Sea scrolls were discovered – since you can’t see them there (they’re in Jerusalem Museum & we saw them on tour in San Diego) we do a drive by and continue on
  • 10:20 – arrive Jerusalem
  • A – meet Yuval, our guide for next 8 days – my intuition tells me he is going to be great!
  • A – check in to Harmony hotel – in the heart of the city, great location – boutique, very nice people
  • B – no king bed – only 2 doubles
  • A – sister hotel Arthur (only  2weeks new & only 2 blks away) has big bed – they take luggage over
  • 11:30 – take taxi to…
  • 1st stop – Mt. of Olives – dotted w/sites connected w/last days of Jesus Christ – covered partly in olive trees, cemeteries and churches – superb view of the Old City from summit – start all day walking tour
  • 2nd stop – Garden of Gethsemane & Basilica of the Agony – where Jesus was arrested
  • 3rd stop – enter Old City of Jerusalem, walk along Via Dolorosa, follow path culminating at Church of Holy Sepulcher – built @ believed site of Christ’s crucifixion, burial & resurrection
  • go to underground tunnels
  • 2:00 – shopping break
Jerusalem, Israel 6

View from Mt.Olive

  • 2:30 – ‘Shuk Bites’ – stimulate senses w/aromas, flavors, and sounds of ancient alleyways of Old City

1st bite – lamb kebab pita (restaurant in same family over 300 yrs)
2nd bite – 3 Turkish delight candies (total of 6)
3rd bite – mint tea on rooftop – more great views of Old City
4th bite – hummus & pita

  • A – all of the “bites”  have been very big & VG!
  • 5:00 – finish walk through Old City – areas include Jewish, Arab, Christian & Armenian Quarters
Jerusalem, Israel 13

Basilica of the Agony

  • stop @ wine shop, buy Israeli wine for room
  • C – 5:30 – happy hour @ Arthur hotel – free wine, food & snacks!
  • C – free internet too!
  • B – biggest bed is queen size & bathroom is teeny tiny – balcony is French style – non-functional but fresh air is nice
  • A – there is private patio outside, next to dining area
  • A – staff is very cheerful & helpful here too
  • A – no dinner, still full from Shuk Bites
Jerusalem, Israel 31

Underground Tunnels in Old City

FF – (FUN-fact) – The Dead Sea scrolls were found in 1947 when a Bedouin shepherd boy looking for a lost goat happened upon a cave full of jars. Inside the jars were 190 linen-wrapped scrolls that had been preserved for 2000 years.
More FF – We went to all 14 stations that related to Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem.
Not so FF – We were jammed into a mid-size car for the last ten days. It couldn’t accommodate our luggage in the trunk (front passenger seat was loaded) let alone give us any legroom. My mistake for telling Ali it was okay at the Amman airport when he picked us up. He did say he could change to a minivan. We were supposed to get a larger car in Eilat which never happened, and that car was even smaller.

 

FUN-travel: Holy Land – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – Day 9

April 9, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – Day 9 

The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Trip Day 63 – Tuesday, April 2 – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – sunny, hazy, breezy – high 80’s

  • A – 7:00 – wake up & can see crater! air quality mysteriously cleared
  • B – breakfast doesn’t start until 7:30 – only powder coffee in room – order milk from room service, not hot!
  • A – 7:45 – cappuccino really good in dining room – really nice spread – make egg salad & tuna fish sandwiches (still kosher, can’t have meat & cheese together)
  • 9:00 – check out & take off
  • 11:00 – arrive Isrotel Ganim Dead Sea to drop luggage
Masaba, Israel 10

Northern Palace Wall

  • 1st stop – 12:00 – Masada – isolated palatial fortress on plateau 1,300 ft above banks of Dead Sea – to get there you either take a cable car or walk up steep snake path which takes 45 to 60 mins
  • 2000’ long &  900’ wide – 2nd century BC – then enlarged & reinforced by Herod the Great who added 2 luxurious palaces
  • Northern Palace Complex includes…
  • A – Hanging Palace over 90’ high – Herod’s private residence built on 3 levels tiered on edge of mountain top, middle is circular hall used for entertaining, lower had bathhouse
  • Western Palace includes…
  • rooms for guests, lots of mosaics & frescos – also has hot baths, huge cisterns for water, commandant’s quarters & the oldest synagogue
  • 1:30 – drive back to hotel
Masaba, Israel 8

Bathhouse Floor

  • 2nd stop – 2:30 – arrive Isrotel Ganim Dead Sea
  • 2:45 – head to Dead Sea to swim & rub therapeutic mud on body
  • B – have to buy mud – thought it was along the bank
  • 4:00 – beer break & shopping – Ahava makes best Dead Sea skin products
  • B – internet charge – 1 hr for consecutive 60 mins = $7.50
  • 5:30 – nature walk to Ein Bokek spring – natural spring in desert w/waterfall –  need to walk in the stream to do that, so cut walk short – reality is, this is not a tourist spot, filled w/ locals
  • 6:15 – return to hotel
  • 7:00 – dinner included – not very good buffet
Dead Sea, Israel 2

Dead Sea

FF – (FUN-fact) – The Dead Sea is actually a lake with half lying in Jordan, half in Israel. At 1,348 feet below sea level it’s the lowest point on earth.
More FF – Masada made UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001. The camps, fortifications, and assault ramp at its base constitute the most complete surviving ancient Romans siege system in the world.
Not so FF – I could not believe that the Isrotel hotels today and yesterday were remotely related. The room wasn’t that bad but the service and food were horrible here. We are on the water and there is no outdoor patio connected to the hotel or room balcony.

« Previous PageNext Page »