Israel

When we walked across the border from Taba, Egypt to Elat, Israel, I have to say, it was incredibly comforting to see the beautiful blue and white Israeli flags flying over the border crossing. We were ready to move on and we knew Israel would be a welcome site. Elat was so much fun. We only spent one night there but it was a total party atmosphere because it was a three day week-end celebrating the anniversary of Israel’s reunification. We walked along the beach, ate falafel (natch) and shopped around on the boardwalk of Niki Beach. The next day we took a bus to Jerusalem and the route took us all along the Dead Sea. Wow. I have never seen such beautiful colors in any body of water as those of the Dead Sea. It was an incredible site and I’m really happy we took the bus so we could experience that part of Israel.

Jerusalem is lovely. The people are peaceful and kind, the city is clean and pretty and. when you’re there it’s hard to imagine that so much political and emotional controversy surrounds this special place. We spent our three days exploring all four quarters of the Old City; the Jewish Quarter, the Armenian Quarter (we love you Lilly) the Muslim Quarter and the Christian Quarter. Contained within the walls of the old city are the very roots of Christian, Muslim and Jewish religions. The Holy Sepulcher, the Wailing Wall and The Temple on the Mount all sit, side by side, uniting the three monotheistic religions by proximity and history. It’s remarkable. We learned so much and felt privileged to have visited such a special place to so many people.

We spent one day floating in the Dead Sea. What a blast. Everyone covers their bodies with the silky mud that is abundant on the bottom of the sea floor. Then – you just float. It’s awesome. You literally could fall asleep just lying there in the water. We loved it.

We flew out of Tel-Aviv and decided that Israel is definitely a “return to” place. There is so much more to see and learn and we look forward to visiting again.