wildebeests

Well, needless to say, Israel was fantastic. For a week, I walked around the Holy Land in the blistering heat and visited so many important and inspiring sites. Oh, me? Oh, I'm just walking in Jesus' footsteps, no big deal. I floated in the Dead Sea, walked around Jerusalem, touched the Western Wall, crossed the Sea of Galilee, walked up the Via Dolorosa, took a dip in the Mediterranean, strolled around in Nazareth, and other such amazing things. I also made friends with the Israeli army. A few were from the States, one was from Long Island! They asked to take a picture with me, which is funny because it is usually the tourist asking to take a picture with the army.

Anyway, the feeling of walking the Bible is like no other feeling and I am so lucky to have been in the only place on Earth where you can feel this overwhelming sense of awe. I'm not a religious person by any means, but I am certainly spiritual and someone who just loves a good story, whether it is history or myth, i.e. the Bible.

As a tourist blindly guided by the itinerary, I didn't witness or experience any of the troubles going on within the country today. "There is the West Bank," the tour guide pointed out as we quickly drove by in our giant tour bus. In certain parts of Israel, it's becoming more clear that old cities are becoming more modernized, which was an interesting contrast to experience.

I wish I had updated this immediately after I came back from Israel; I could have painted a better picture. There is so much to tell, but why don't I let actual pictures paint the pictures for me.