Israel - Days 1 and 2 - Monday and Tuesday

Our church family asked us if we would like to travel to the Holy Land and then worked to put the trip together as a Christmas gift for us.  To say we were shocked and humbled is an understatement.  We took the kids to Cici and Bode's house on Sunday evening.  On the way we got a flat tire outside of Eastland, and had it patched in Weatherford.  We were hopeful that was the last of the travel problems for our trip!  Bode brought us to the airport Sunday night and we got up at 4 am to get ready and into the airport.  There were no problems and in no time, we were in Newark, with New York in the background, so we decided on pizza for our layover dinner! 

Shortly after that, we decided to have one more snack before getting on the plane - Italian Gelatto.  It was really good.

Then we were back on the plane, and 10 short hours later (ha!  and 3 movies and 2 naps) we arrived at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. 

We had little sleep over all, but since we landed at 9:15 am here, we dug right in!  Our tour was put together by Tony Crisp, and our tour guide's name is Uncle Kenny.  He's lived here for over 30 years, but was born and raised in New Orleans, so you can imagine what kind of character he is.  We love him.  (Our favorite quote so far is, "As we say in the Kabbutz, we milk one cow at a time.")

Our first stop was Ceasarea.  We saw the first man-made port, built by Harod the Great around 25 BC.  We saw an ancient Roman theater where comedy, drama, and circus acts among others were performed for years and years.

This theater is probably where Paul defended himself against Pilate at the Bama or judgement seat

Tomb - Sarcophigi - "Meat Eater"

Lion's Head

The Sea of Galilee and some of where King Herod the Great's Palace was

Me on the Mediterranean Sea - it was VERY windy!

The square shape made by rocks into the water formed Herod's private swimming pool.  We were standing in what was once his bedroom.

The palace was also lived in by Pontius Pilate, and is the only place other than scripture where his name is recorded.

Aquaducts

Next we headed to lunch!  We had a traditional falafel - deep fried hummus in a pita with all of the colorful vegetables that you wanted to cram in.  It was delicious.  And the olives!!  YUM!

Here's David's falafel all jazzed up and ready to eat!

Next we went to Mt Carmel which was beautiful.

Pretty statues and gardens everywhere

We drove through the Sharon Valley

Then we went to the mountain that looks over the Jezreel Valley and Nazareth.

The guides pointed out where the church is that it is believed Gabriel spoke to Mary, but unfortunately, we will not be going to see it.  We are told there are so many things to do, and oddly, this is one thing that visitors are usually disappointed with when the go to see it.

We had light rain most of the day, which was kind of yucky for us to walk in, but really a blessing for the people here who are experiencing a very dry season.  We came back to the hotel and ate a delicious buffet dinner with some traditional Israeli foods as well as some things that looked more familiar.  I went to bed really early (about 9) then woke up feeling well rested.  I looked at the clock and saw that it was 6, and since our wake-up call was at 6:30, I thought I'd go ahead and get up and get ready.  About 20 minutes later, David asked me what I was doing.  I proudly told him I was almost ready for the day, and he asked why I was doing this at 2 in the morning.  I had forgotten that the clock on my phone was still on New York time.  So I went back to sleep!

Overall, our biggest surprise has been how green everything is.  It is absolutely beautiful.  We were expecting it to be more dry and brown, but it is more beautiful than I can describe, and the pictures don't do it justice.  The hotel we are at is very nice, and our room has a very small patio that backs up to the Sea of Galilee.  Again, just beautiful.  Other than the airplane food, the meals have been very good.  The people, who we were warned would be very rude, have actually been kind, just quieter than most Americans are.  It's kind of nice! :)  Well, that's all of day one!  A very full day, and we're looking forward to every minute of the rest of the trip!