Israel 2012: Food and Drink

leandra
May 29, 2012
by
nazareth-lunch-place

Throughout our trip we had a great time sampling all sorts of local dishes from Galilee to the Dead Sea. Most meals we ate in places that served Mediterranean or Middle Eastern-styles and we were rewarded with several tasty meals filled with little plates of various sides and heavenly smells. Plus, I am proud to say that I ate hummus every day! We also managed to eat at the top two rated Jerusalem restaurants according to TripAdvisor. :) Big Ben and Restaurant, Tiberius After flying halfway … [Read more...]

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Israel 2012: Jerusalem, Day 2 & 3

eric
May 22, 2012
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We started our second day walking to the Mahane Yehuda Market, aka the Shuk, to explore the market. Reminiscent of the markets in Barcelona, we saw numerous spices, fruits, meats, etc. We purchased dried strawberries and whole bunch of different spices including a Hot Moroccan Paprika. After a quick detour back to the hotel to drop off our purchases we proceeded down Jaffa Rd toward the Damascus Gate area and the Garden tomb. This is one potential site of Jesus' burial (the other … [Read more...]

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Israel 2012: Jerusalem, Day 1

eric
May 19, 2012
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On our first day in Jerusalem we started at the Jaffa gate, walking around some of the perimeter streets of the Armenian Quarter. Inside the Jaffa gate A quiet corner Zion Gate- the divots in the wall are from bullets and shrapnel We progressed through through the Jewish Quarter and toward the Western Wall. stalls crowding the walkways After turning a corner and passing through metal detectors we were very suddenly looking at the famous remnant of the former Jewish … [Read more...]

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Israel 2012: Jordan River valley and the Dead Sea

eric
May 16, 2012
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Jordan River valley drive After our Galilee adventures we began our drive south through the Jordan River valley. At the base of the lake we saw quite a few farms, especially bannana plantations under netting. As we drove south through the river plains the number of vegetable and other farms increased. Within about 30 minutes we were waved through a security checkpoint and were then driving through the West Bank. There were some farms bunched near the border, but they quickly dwindled as the … [Read more...]

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Israel 2012: Galilee, part II (Mt. Tabor, Tabgha and Capernaum)

eric
May 13, 2012
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After lunch in Nazareth we fought our way back into traffic and eventually made it out of town and headed south. Our destination was Megiddo, an important archaeological site that has seen 26 different civilizations and is the Biblical site of Armageddon. Unfortunately, when we arrived just after 3pm, the park workers told us they were closing early for Shabbat. As this was not mentioned on the National Park website, we're pretty sure the employees simply wanted to close early. Frustrated, we … [Read more...]

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Israel 2012: Galilee, part 1 (Cana and Nazereth)

eric
May 11, 2012
by
driving-north

As mentioned in our overview, we started our trip in northern Israel. For two nights we based ourselves in Tiberias, giving us close proximity to many of the Galilee sights in Nazareth and Capernaum. As with nearly all ancient sites in Israel, there are disputes as to where events took place; we generally tried to just enjoy a site for what it represented. We started our first day driving to Nazareth with a stop in Cana/Kafr Kanna, the Biblical site of Jesus turning water into wine. … [Read more...]

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Israel 2012: where we stayed

admin
May 10, 2012
by
harmony

Prima Galil Tiberias, Tiberias We choose the town of Tiberias because it was on Lake Kinneret (i.e. Sea of Galilee) and located between the various sights of Nazareth and Northern Galilee. The Prima Galil was a reasonably rated and priced hotel for the area. They do offer free wifi (strongest in the bar area) and include breakfast. Check-in was reasonably easy, and as we had with each Israeli hotel, they placed Eric's parents next to our room without us even asking. There was no offer to … [Read more...]

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Israel 2012: overview

admin
May 8, 2012
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For Christmas 2010 we gave Eric's parents a travel book on Israel to whet their appetite to join us on a visit in 2012. Then, in the fall of 2011 we discovered a good deal on tickets via British Air for this April and booked them. Eric's parents quickly decided to join us, beginning our family adventure to Israel! We flew overnight from Raleigh to London, and after the lengthy commute from T3 to T5 in Heathrow, met Eric's parents for a quick breakfast in the BA lounge, then the onward flight … [Read more...]

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