I'm back...
So Thursday Mom and I checked out early from the hotel so that we could go by Caeserea. It was lovely, it's on the Sea and we were sad that we didn't get to spend much time there. We had an interesting journey back through Tel Aviv to the airport where we handed in our rental car and then waited together for four hours.
Then I had to check in and go through security for my flight, and Mom had to wait for four (ish) more hours before she was allowed to check in. Thank goodness on the way home I had absolutely no trouble with security, since I had so much trouble on the way in I guess it was well deserved to make it smooth on the way out.
I flew into Germany and was sad to discover everything closed and me with no way to get out. I have no proof that I've ever been to Germany, and really I wasn't there since I was only in the airport and didn't even get to have a lager. Sadness! I spent a very uncomfortable night in a dark corner on the floor trying to get sleep because I knew that in the morning I had another 9.5 hour flight. I slept on and off until 6am and then went to check in and find my flight.
On the long trip back I was smack dab in the middle of two couples, one on either side, and both with a complete lack of concern for staying out of my space. I was very cranky indeed about that and only managed to get out once. Sigh...then I came through customs very easily and saw Brett! It was so good to see his face after a month and we talked the whole way back to Fishers, where we are staying with my sister this weekend.
I've come home with no home and no job and no school and am feeling a bit lost. My school has been my world for as long as I can remember and now I'm done (oh not forever, just for this year).
I want to say what a blessing this trip was. I'm so glad you've walked along-side with me through it. We are truly blessed here in this country and we are truly rich. It's easy to take it for granted if you never see anything else.
I've been so glad for your company on my trip , even though it was vicarious. I love you all. If you would like to see my pictures you will need to email me at pishposh_1979@yahoo.com or shannonnewspangler@gmail.com because I can't put the link here.
Thanks for reading! Much love....
Friday, July 25, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Wednesday Evening
Well fans, this will be my last report from Israel, but don't worry I'll blog a few more times from home to let you know how I got there and how to access my pictures.
Today we woke up late and had a slow morning. Then we took a drive around the Sea of Galilee. Our first stop was Tiberius where we took some pictures and walked in the Sea a little. We decided to keep going and went on past Migdal where Mary Magdalene was supposedly born.
On a few more miles was Nof Ginnosar where we stopped in the see the 2000 year old boat. It was found only a few decades ago and is kept preserved by temperature in a building right off the Sea. Certainly Jesus did not ride in this boat, but it is from his time. We bought some snacks and headed out again.
Our next sighting was the Mount of the Beautitudes and then on to Capernaum where we saw a beautiful synagogue and hung out where Jesus did at the Northern tip of the Sea of Galilee. We then continued on, rounding the North-East corner of the Sea in the Golan Heights and headed down to Ein Gev, where they have the largest restaraunt in Israel and boast about their fish caught in the Sea. We had a delightful lunch, Mom had the St. Peter's fish, and then continued our journey.
We rounded the southern tip at Kinneret and made a stop at the baptismal sight on the Jorden right where it flows from the Sea of Galilee...we didn't need to get baptized but we walked in the water there all the same. Apparently thousands of people every year get baptized there, it was a little strange, but a good stop.
After this we made our way back North just a few miles to Tiberius and headed back West to Nazareth. All in all it was a good trip and we decided we needed two more days in the North. We've had a lovely time together and seen many things.
I've seen so much since I've been here, but boy am I ready to come home and give my Bretty a big kiss. Tomorrow we fly out, you will hear from me probably Friday.
Much love!!!
Today we woke up late and had a slow morning. Then we took a drive around the Sea of Galilee. Our first stop was Tiberius where we took some pictures and walked in the Sea a little. We decided to keep going and went on past Migdal where Mary Magdalene was supposedly born.
On a few more miles was Nof Ginnosar where we stopped in the see the 2000 year old boat. It was found only a few decades ago and is kept preserved by temperature in a building right off the Sea. Certainly Jesus did not ride in this boat, but it is from his time. We bought some snacks and headed out again.
Our next sighting was the Mount of the Beautitudes and then on to Capernaum where we saw a beautiful synagogue and hung out where Jesus did at the Northern tip of the Sea of Galilee. We then continued on, rounding the North-East corner of the Sea in the Golan Heights and headed down to Ein Gev, where they have the largest restaraunt in Israel and boast about their fish caught in the Sea. We had a delightful lunch, Mom had the St. Peter's fish, and then continued our journey.
We rounded the southern tip at Kinneret and made a stop at the baptismal sight on the Jorden right where it flows from the Sea of Galilee...we didn't need to get baptized but we walked in the water there all the same. Apparently thousands of people every year get baptized there, it was a little strange, but a good stop.
After this we made our way back North just a few miles to Tiberius and headed back West to Nazareth. All in all it was a good trip and we decided we needed two more days in the North. We've had a lovely time together and seen many things.
I've seen so much since I've been here, but boy am I ready to come home and give my Bretty a big kiss. Tomorrow we fly out, you will hear from me probably Friday.
Much love!!!
Wednesday Morning
Hola my family and friends! Sorry it's been such a long break, we didn't have internet at Ein Gedi.
Monday we started out already feeling tired and our feet were not quite recovered but we went ahead and decide to make it a big day :) We started by walking down, down, down and then up, up to Mt. Zion. We saw the Zion gate of the Old City which is right up next to Mt. Zion, seems like they should have included it in the Old City...oh well. So we saw the upper room, which was pretty ornate, and pretty far from the Mt. of Olives, so maybe Mom was right about them walking off supper. We also saw the tomb of King David and a smaller Holocaust museum. There is a bigger one in town that unfortunately we didn't get to see.
We then checked out of the YMCA and went back to the Old City for one more walk through to see the Damascus gate and pick up a few more things. We then decided it was time to move on towards Ein Gedi. We both felt like we saw a lot of things but just didn't have enough time for everything on our lists. We hit the main things though and maybe one day we'll come back with Bob and Brett in tow!?
We started off towards Ein Gedi going through the West Bank, don't worry it's allowed on the roads we had to take, because of tourism I think. We were amazed at the change in scenery. It went very abruptly to mountainy-dessert. As are many things we've seen it is indescribable and beautiful. We finally started to descend and started catching glimpses of the Dead Sea past the mountains. We drove down and down and down and were finally there where we made the turn from going West to going South along the Sea. We stopped at Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered and took some pictures before moving on to the Ein Gedi kibbutz where we stayed in a lovely little room looking over the cliffs that come to the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is beautiful and sparkles with the sun as it sits in the valley between Israel and Jordan. It was lovely and we went straight down to see what it was like. Even though we'd been told we were startled at how easily we floated. It also stung a lot, I had a cut on my leg and Mom has trouble with her fingers and we both were a little surprised at how much it stung. I'm glad we took the advice not to shave within two days of going there! But we got there pretty close to the end of the day and had to leave before we were ready. We had dinner and then watched "North by Northwest" before going to bed.
In the morning on Tuesday we got up early and went back to the Sea to float some more and take pictures. The "beach" is just salt and I'm sure it would tear your feet up something awful but we had swim shoes, which took it pretty rough. The salt sparkles in the sun and the water is warm like a bath. I tried floating on my stomach and then we went back to check out.
We headed down to Masada, a plateau where King Herod had a palace and the home of the tragic story of resistance and mass suicide, to read more on the story: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/masada.html. It was lovely up there overlooking the Sea from above sea level. But it was also very hot and we explored for a couple hours and then had to be done. We saw most of it though.
Then we started roaming south to see if we could find some salt pillars. A few of our travel books showed pictures of salt pillars at the Dead Sea and we wanted to find them and get pictures, but the farther south we went the more industry there was mining the salt. We made a stop at the supposed site of Lot's wife and Mt. Sodom and then turned back to head up to Nazareth.
As we drove across East from the Dead Sea we saw camel crossing signs, as you might see deer crossing signs in Michigan and were sad to not see a camel crossing the road. We headed through what can certainly be described as the wilderness and then turned North at Be'er Sheva. For a trip that mile-wise should have taken three hours it took us almost 7 to get from Masada to Nazareth because of traffic and the limited roads because of the West Bank. We were both very tired and I was cranky by the time we got to Nazareth, a beautiful city on a hill. Imagine Charleston, West Virginia except times ten. It's very hilly. We got in and were going to stop for directions but randomly drove by the hotel!
We got in and went directly to eat and had a wonderful meal of lamb chops, a first for me but man were they good. Then we went to bed. Today we are headed out and about in the North and I will try to tell you about it later!!
Much love....
Monday we started out already feeling tired and our feet were not quite recovered but we went ahead and decide to make it a big day :) We started by walking down, down, down and then up, up to Mt. Zion. We saw the Zion gate of the Old City which is right up next to Mt. Zion, seems like they should have included it in the Old City...oh well. So we saw the upper room, which was pretty ornate, and pretty far from the Mt. of Olives, so maybe Mom was right about them walking off supper. We also saw the tomb of King David and a smaller Holocaust museum. There is a bigger one in town that unfortunately we didn't get to see.
We then checked out of the YMCA and went back to the Old City for one more walk through to see the Damascus gate and pick up a few more things. We then decided it was time to move on towards Ein Gedi. We both felt like we saw a lot of things but just didn't have enough time for everything on our lists. We hit the main things though and maybe one day we'll come back with Bob and Brett in tow!?
We started off towards Ein Gedi going through the West Bank, don't worry it's allowed on the roads we had to take, because of tourism I think. We were amazed at the change in scenery. It went very abruptly to mountainy-dessert. As are many things we've seen it is indescribable and beautiful. We finally started to descend and started catching glimpses of the Dead Sea past the mountains. We drove down and down and down and were finally there where we made the turn from going West to going South along the Sea. We stopped at Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered and took some pictures before moving on to the Ein Gedi kibbutz where we stayed in a lovely little room looking over the cliffs that come to the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is beautiful and sparkles with the sun as it sits in the valley between Israel and Jordan. It was lovely and we went straight down to see what it was like. Even though we'd been told we were startled at how easily we floated. It also stung a lot, I had a cut on my leg and Mom has trouble with her fingers and we both were a little surprised at how much it stung. I'm glad we took the advice not to shave within two days of going there! But we got there pretty close to the end of the day and had to leave before we were ready. We had dinner and then watched "North by Northwest" before going to bed.
In the morning on Tuesday we got up early and went back to the Sea to float some more and take pictures. The "beach" is just salt and I'm sure it would tear your feet up something awful but we had swim shoes, which took it pretty rough. The salt sparkles in the sun and the water is warm like a bath. I tried floating on my stomach and then we went back to check out.
We headed down to Masada, a plateau where King Herod had a palace and the home of the tragic story of resistance and mass suicide, to read more on the story: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/masada.html. It was lovely up there overlooking the Sea from above sea level. But it was also very hot and we explored for a couple hours and then had to be done. We saw most of it though.
Then we started roaming south to see if we could find some salt pillars. A few of our travel books showed pictures of salt pillars at the Dead Sea and we wanted to find them and get pictures, but the farther south we went the more industry there was mining the salt. We made a stop at the supposed site of Lot's wife and Mt. Sodom and then turned back to head up to Nazareth.
As we drove across East from the Dead Sea we saw camel crossing signs, as you might see deer crossing signs in Michigan and were sad to not see a camel crossing the road. We headed through what can certainly be described as the wilderness and then turned North at Be'er Sheva. For a trip that mile-wise should have taken three hours it took us almost 7 to get from Masada to Nazareth because of traffic and the limited roads because of the West Bank. We were both very tired and I was cranky by the time we got to Nazareth, a beautiful city on a hill. Imagine Charleston, West Virginia except times ten. It's very hilly. We got in and were going to stop for directions but randomly drove by the hotel!
We got in and went directly to eat and had a wonderful meal of lamb chops, a first for me but man were they good. Then we went to bed. Today we are headed out and about in the North and I will try to tell you about it later!!
Much love....
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sunday Evening Jerusalem
Wow, today was also very full...we've been literally walking our butts off...haha.
This morning we started out early because the Temple Mount is only open a very short amount of time for Non-Muslims. We walked across the temple court and saw the beauty of the Dome of the Rock...don't get confused kids, this is not a Christian Holy site, the Dome of the Rock contains a rock that claims to have the footprint of Mohammed on it by Muslims. Jews consider this rock as the foundation of the world. This is why there is the argument. The Muslims are in control of the entire Temple Mount though now, which seems pretty unfair to me for the Jews. The whole thing is pretty large and I was trying to picture Jesus throwing out the sellers, something Mom and I have discussed walking though the markets.
Next we headed down to pray at the Western Wall, something we were not allowed to do on Sabbath. We covered our heads to respect the Jewish tradition and went close to pray. I laid my hand on the wall and prayed with dozens of other women, some talking aloud, others reading the Torah. What an experience, this is the most important existing Jewish shrine. As we watched a woman brought a cell phone up and laid it against the wall, letting her friend pray there too through modern technology. In respect as well, we backed away from the wall so as not to turn our backs on it.
We then explored some of the markets and bought a few things, haggling the whole time (don't worry they expect us to). It's a little rough though, they're pretty pushy. But they always insist "I like you, even if you do not buy" which is fun, they're very friendly.
After lunch we went to the Skirball Museum, the museum where they have placed many of the important finds from Dan. I explained to her what can not be explained on plaques and then we ran into Greg, my area supervisor and David, the man in charge of the dig. They were very kind to let us go down into the store room where they are reconstructing things and Mom and I got to really see some more stuff, including some things that I dug up!
After that that we went back to the Old City and roamed some more and tried to find the Jewish quarter, which it seems they do not want tourists in because there is not easy way to get there and not much going on when you do. We gave up and went back to the Muslim and Christian quarters where they are delighted to have us around.
As we were strolling through the bazaar and heading in the general direction of the Jaffa gate we walked again by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and much to our astonishment we saw none other than Katie Couric and no I'm not being crazy or whatever, it was really her. We took some pictures, although Mom wasn't willing to ask her to get a picture with her, but we were the only people who recognized her, not shocking in the Old City really. But no one else cared who she was and didn't give her a second glance. She is very pretty.
We quit a little early today because our feet are hurting pretty badly and we may go out for desserts later...what a lovely day. Much love!!
This morning we started out early because the Temple Mount is only open a very short amount of time for Non-Muslims. We walked across the temple court and saw the beauty of the Dome of the Rock...don't get confused kids, this is not a Christian Holy site, the Dome of the Rock contains a rock that claims to have the footprint of Mohammed on it by Muslims. Jews consider this rock as the foundation of the world. This is why there is the argument. The Muslims are in control of the entire Temple Mount though now, which seems pretty unfair to me for the Jews. The whole thing is pretty large and I was trying to picture Jesus throwing out the sellers, something Mom and I have discussed walking though the markets.
Next we headed down to pray at the Western Wall, something we were not allowed to do on Sabbath. We covered our heads to respect the Jewish tradition and went close to pray. I laid my hand on the wall and prayed with dozens of other women, some talking aloud, others reading the Torah. What an experience, this is the most important existing Jewish shrine. As we watched a woman brought a cell phone up and laid it against the wall, letting her friend pray there too through modern technology. In respect as well, we backed away from the wall so as not to turn our backs on it.
We then explored some of the markets and bought a few things, haggling the whole time (don't worry they expect us to). It's a little rough though, they're pretty pushy. But they always insist "I like you, even if you do not buy" which is fun, they're very friendly.
After lunch we went to the Skirball Museum, the museum where they have placed many of the important finds from Dan. I explained to her what can not be explained on plaques and then we ran into Greg, my area supervisor and David, the man in charge of the dig. They were very kind to let us go down into the store room where they are reconstructing things and Mom and I got to really see some more stuff, including some things that I dug up!
After that that we went back to the Old City and roamed some more and tried to find the Jewish quarter, which it seems they do not want tourists in because there is not easy way to get there and not much going on when you do. We gave up and went back to the Muslim and Christian quarters where they are delighted to have us around.
As we were strolling through the bazaar and heading in the general direction of the Jaffa gate we walked again by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and much to our astonishment we saw none other than Katie Couric and no I'm not being crazy or whatever, it was really her. We took some pictures, although Mom wasn't willing to ask her to get a picture with her, but we were the only people who recognized her, not shocking in the Old City really. But no one else cared who she was and didn't give her a second glance. She is very pretty.
We quit a little early today because our feet are hurting pretty badly and we may go out for desserts later...what a lovely day. Much love!!
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