Month: June 2022

Yesterday, we planned an ambitious day. After Magdala, we tried to visit the boat museum (language barrier, we don’t know why we couldn’t drive into the area), and the St. Peter Primacy & Mount of Beatitudes Churches–both of which were closed. So we drove on to Capernaum, and I’m so glad we did! It was…

Today we had two goals: go on a boat in the Sea of Galilee, and eat St. Peter’s fish at a dockside restaurant. We succeeded! First off, Bradley and I went seeking a grocery store, and to check out the docks and decide on a boat trip. This was before everyone else was up, but…

Originally, our plan was to pack up early that morning and stop at Beit Shean (Roman ruins) on our way to Galilee. But we made a last-minute change, and decided to go into the Old City and visit the famous Jimmy’s Bazaar. The four older kids decided to stay at the apartments and chill (they…

On Wednesday we went to Masada, the famous mountaintop fortress on the shores of the Dead Sea. This has been a “must-see” for us from the earliest days of planning our trip–I knew that I needed to see Masada, even more than the Mediterranean or the Red Sea or even some of the Jerusalem sites….

TL;DR: We had an unpleasant experience at our Jerusalem lodgings, so we picked up and moved to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. Yesterday we did Masada!!! And floated in the Dead Sea. It was so marvelous, and I have sooooo many pictures to look through and decide which to post. But first, we’ve had…

We made it a lazy morning and early afternoon on Tuesday, mostly to give people a down day and to let Eva continue to recover, but also because the Israel museum doesn’t open until 4pm on Tuesdays. We went grocery shopping, played games, slept in, napped, etc. The Israel museum is free for children 17…

I have always been fascinated with Hezekiah’s Tunnel–a tunnel hastily built to bring water into a walled city ahead of a siege from an all-powerful nation; a tunnel built through solid rock using only the tools of a Middle Iron Age civilization; a tunnel built coming from both ends to meet in the middle…it’s fascinating…

Jerusalem, as a desert city, depends on the water from a few springs in the area. Keeping that water available for the people of Jerusalem, and keeping the water away from any enemies trying to besiege the city, was an important consideration for the rulers of Jerusalem.  One spring in particular, the Gihon Spring, is…

Today we bused over to the east side of the Old City to experience the Mount of Olives. Riding the buses is, as always, an adventure–but perhaps by the time we leave we’ll have it all figured out. After spending several hours in the Old City, we decided to head home for a break. Imagine…

Our new apartments—we are in the same complex of apartments, but in different buildings (LaDonna and Eva and my daughters are at one apartment and the rest of us are at the other)—are about a 20 minute drive to the city center. This area is home to a large Orthodox Jewish community, which has been…