ISRAEL RULES !!

Day 1 - Sinking my Teeth into Israel

Dear Journal,

We Landed and are a little tired but excited. A great adventure awaits us. The team

greets us and leads us to the bus that cuts through Israel's landscape. I can't wait

to get off and explore.

We check-in to the hotel freshen up and go out to a beach at the Sea of Galilee.

A camp fire has already been prepared and that familiar BBQ smell makes my mouth

water. We hear some cool stories around the camp fire, sing a few songs as the sky

becomes darker we dip our feet into the sweet warm waters of the sea and sink our

teeth into the food roasted on

the fire. Delicious. I lay my

head against the pebbles,

stare at the stars and let my

thoughts roam.

Day 2 - A Blast from the Past

Dear Journal,

Today we saw Nazareth, believed to be the

home of Jesus. They have reconstructed the

ancient village complete with wooden huts and

people dressed the part. I feel like a time trav-

eler from "back to the future". Everybody

around us is talking Hebrew, an ancient language

that sounds a little funny. Maybe that’s the lan-

guage in which Gabriel told Mary of her role in

the coming of Christ. We saw the site of the

Annunciation, there is a beautiful Church there

now bigger than the ones back home.

On the road again. the bus just kept on climbing

and climbing. We finally got off at Mount Arbel, it’s a huge cliff where

you can see the eagles nesting on the

rocks. We continued driving through

Magdala before stopping at Capernaum.

It is so cool to walk through 2000 year

old streets. I mean, thinking about it

the Apostles were probably around my

age when they lived here and met JC.

The guide explains all about the Jewish

people living here back then – I am

learning so much.

We climb up to the Mt. of Beatitudes

– WOW! What a view. We speak about

the Sermon of the Mount, and the

guide explains how revolutionary it all

was at the time. Must have been like

hearing Churchill or Obama speak.

We embark on a boat ride, and as we sail to the middle of the Sea of

Galilee, a DJ starts playing an assortment of local

and 'foreign' music. YES A DJ ON A BOAT ! En-

gine running, music blasting, folks dancing! This is

what I call a party.

PARTY !!

Day 3 - Biker's Paradise

Dear Journal,

We start off the day driv-

ing through hardened vol-

canic lava. up the Golan

Heights. Everybody on

the bus had their heads

pressed to the window look-

ing in awe at the landscape.

When we arrive we find

ourselves in a abandoned military bunker overlooking

Jordan, Syria and Israel. Don't worry mom there isn't any

shooting going on these days here at Mount Benthal but we heard

some great heroic stories by a retired Israeli Soldier. Israel seems so

small from up here, you can see all the way to Tel-aviv.

When it was time to head down from the plateau we all got bikes, helmets and gear

and started bike riding downhill (optional). We didn't have to paddle at all to gain

speed down the winding slope. The cool wind against my face, savored of adventure

and the breathtaking scenery around me whispered freedom. Don't tell anyone but I

actually yelled YAHOO!

Later that day, we visited Beit Shean, one of the most humungous ancient cities I

have ever seen. We watched a cool sound and light show that brought the whole an-

cient city to life. So

many layers of history

in one place – I won-

dered if a thousand

years from now, our

home would be dug up

by archeologists. What

would they make of my

CD collection or Ali-G

poster on the wall?

Day – 4 Indiana Jones in the Holy Land

Dear Journal,

We woke up in the Negev Desert at first light.

I'm not one for waking up early in the morning

but watching the sun rise from the Masada

Fortress was definitely worth it. According to

the guide there were some pretty hardcore peo-

ple living here 2000 years ago.

Now to the lowest place on earth, the Dead

Sea (lowest only in terms of altitude otherwise

a great place). The sea is so dense with salt that we floated on the water effort-

lessly. The minerals are said to be good for you skin so we slapped some black mud

all over our bodies can't wait to show everyone the pics. We all looked like coal min-

ers and couldn't stop laughing.

After we rested and showered

at our hotel it was time to see

one of the most talked about

cities in the world - Jerusalem.

Just walking down the street

here is a crazy experience – no

one looks alike, Arabs, religious

Jews, priests, black, white, and

every color in between. Oriental

music mixes with rock and pop

and further down the road a

Christian choir sings gospel mu-

sic.

Suddenly I am faced with a gi-

gantic wall. The Western Wall was lit and people were

praying passionately everywhere and tucking papers with

their intimate prayers and wishes between the stones.

I felt like Indian Jones as we headed underground walking

through ancient tunnels. The show at the Tower of David

was fascinating but I couldn't shake the thought that I

haven't bought enough presents for everybody at home.

Lucky for me next stop was Mamila Boulevard, it is a shop-

ping area with an timeless look-and-feel, overlooking the old

city center. Needless to say I shopped till I dropped.

Day 5 - A Matter of Life and Death

Dear Journal,

We went to the miraculous, Pool of Bethesda,

strolled past the Stations of the Cross and saw the

site of the crucifixion at the Church of the Holy

Sepulcher.

Every stone on the pebbled streets has a story.

Executions, Prophets, excavations, divine interven-

tions, wars, revolts, miracles… These biblical and

historical stories put "Lord of the rings" to shame.

Yad Vashem is a WWII museum. It tells the story of European Jewry that was

barely saved from extermination. It is hard to put what I have experienced there in

words – ill just say it was life changing.

To shake off a heavy feeling there is nothing

better than seeing the thriving life here. So

we went to the shuk or market – YEY!

We went to Mahaneh Yehuda Market, I've

never seen anything quite so vibrant and

alive. The vendors stand behind their fresh

colorful goods, yelling for attention begging

you to smell, taste and touch. And while you

are jumping from one vendor to the other

they smile and wave. Spices, vegetables, and

souvenirs, all in one harmonious mix.

Day 6 -

Drive-by - Jerusalem style

Dear Journal,

We mounted Segways (two wheel vehicles) and

drove around modern Jerusalem. Supreme

Court, Rose Garden and parliamentary

building called the Knesset.

I may have to buy myself one of these giz-

mos when I get home.

Speaking of heading home, this is our last day.

Farewell Israel, Its been so much fun !