After a wonderul night's sleep in our cabin we stepped out the back porch, took in a deep breath of fresh country air and enjoyed the beautiful view of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee.  The plan for the day was to drive clockwise around the body of water to see many of the sites that Jesus visited during his ministry in the region.  Before jumping in the car we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and salads in the Vered HaGalil dining room.

Our first stop was the town of Bethsaida that was home to Peter and Andrew and is mentioned in the New Testament as the site where Jesus restored the sight of a blind man.  The site is in the process of being excavated by Iraeli and American archeologists but one can already enjoy the partial reconstruction of the main throughfare through the town.  More than anything the narrowness of Bethsaida's streets and the small size of the town in general provide helpful perspective on the humble origins of Jesus's ministry.    

A short drive along the seafront took us to Kursi where the story of Jesus driving unclean spirits out of the people and into the pigs took place.  Although the sea has receeded in the last 2,000 years, you can see cliffs that could be the site where the swine ran into the water.  Indeed, in the rocky precipice you can find vestiges of an old chapel and closer to the sea are the remains of a well preserved Byzantine chur

Although we were sorry to big adieu to the narrow, sinuous, vibrant streets of Jerusalem's Old City, the open road - and the Sea of Galilee - was calling! Fully recovered from Easter's festivities, we started our drive north on Monday morning. We decided to drive up Israel's West Coast to hit some of the sites on the Mediterranean. Our first stop was Caesarea, a former Roman port city and man-made harbor built by Herod the Great. Now a national park, Caesarea contains well-preserved ruins from the Roman empire and a helpful multi-media exhibit that clarified the city's turbulent history (it was controlled by the Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, etc). Caesarea is also mentioned in the Bible as the place where Paul demanded to have his case heard by Caesar. Pontius Pilate also spent some time here - and his name came be found in one of the surviving mosaics. In all, it is a beautiful place, located right next to the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.

After Caesarea, we drove north to Haifa, a booming industrial port city and capital of the technology sector in Israel (for proof of this, look no farther than the shiny Google building on the main road). The main reason we visited Haifa was to see the Bahai gardens and temple.

Easter is a joyous day all over the world but was especially so in Jerusalem this year.  We awoke well before sunrise in order to be at the tomb of Christ as dawn broke and were pleasantly surpised to have the Holy Sepulchre largely to ourselves.  The line to enter the tomb was relaxed and pleasant--the exact opposite of what we experienced two days prior.  We then traveled out of the church and down the Via Dolorosa to attend a rooftop mass at the Ecce Homo convent.  The view was breathtaking, as the outlines of churches, including the two domes of the Holy Sepulchre. dominated the skyline behind the priest, who, remarkably, conducted his homiiy in both French and English.  In keeping with the high standards of French hospitality, the convent hosted a lovely breakfast after the service; it was lovely to interact with fellow pilgrims and indulge in good fruit and cheese.

Following our breakfast we headed for the Temple Mount, which had been closed the previous two days.  We only had to wait in line for twenty minutes to see the site that once contained the Jewish temple and now serves as a spiritual center of the Muslim faith.  Given non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the Dome of the Rock we had to be content with circling the structure and admiring its beautifully tiled ex

First, a bit about the other sites we've seen in Jerusalem. Yesterday we visited David's citadel and took a guided tour in English (free with entry fee!). Our guide was very knowledgable and fielded a number of tough questions that inevitably arise when discussing Jerusalem's turbulent past - and present. We would highly recommend this to other visitors, preferably at the beginning of their stay, so that they have a firm understanding of Jerusalem since c. 10.000 BC.

We also visited the holiest of places for people of the Jewish faith - the Western Wall. Although we did not go close to the wall, so as not to interrupt those that were praying, it was enlightening for us to see and begin to understand the significance of this remnant of the temple complex destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans.

On Saturday, we visited St Anne's, a lovely, quiet, hidden church off the Via Dolorosa near St Stephen's gate. Next to the church are the baths of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a lame beggar.

After this, we hopped on a bus to Bethlehem. This was more challenging than it sounds because Bethlehem is located in the West Bank. We were able to pass through wi