I was attacked by a Begal in Galilee!

Israel continued.......

The Sea of Galilee
Our trip to the Sea of Galilee far exceeded our expectations. The locals were friendly, and some were even eager to get to know us, and allow us to know more about them....which was a slight change from what we had experienced in the days prior to our Galilee drive.
We had planned to only drive up to Tiberias that day....before turning around and driving back to Jerusalem. However we met a very nice couple, at a coffee shop, who told us to take the drive around Galilee, and into the Golan Heights on the eastern side of the sea. It was some of the best advice we had received on our entire trip. Stunningly beautiful sights and streets that twisted and turned up and down yellow hills. It was beautiful!

VIDEO:
AC/D_SEA  ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_IejH-qlE8

A carving on a rock symbolizes Jesus' Feeding of the Five Thousand, which took place on Galilee

Ma'agan....we didn't go to this town....but I needed a photo just to show Meg what her name might have been spelled like if she lived in Israel.

Andreas testing out the chilly waters of the Sea of Galilee

I did the same...the waters were pretty cold...No swimming for Shan that day!

This guy brought all necessary items to the beach....including his Hookah???

The Greek Orthodox Church is a charming place in the site of the ancient village of Capernaum, along the Sea of Galilee.

The Boat on the Sea
After leaving Tiberias and driving North, we saw signs for the 2000 Year Old Boat exhibit. I convinced Andreas to stop....what a great idea. This was very cool!
Also, we met the nicest man, who worked at the exhibit. His name just happened to be Israel, and he had the largest, whitest smile you could ever imagine. I thought it was worth mentioning this man, because in a country where we had very few encounters with really friendly people, this man really made a strong impression on us.  I don't remember what he called us, but it had something to do with the Hebrew word for Joy...he said that he saw the two of us had a lot of Joy in our hearts. I think it will be a long time before I forget Israel!

It's sometimes funny how things work out. I was sadly disappointed with my encounters while in Jerusalem, and struggled with what I had always expected it to be, compared to what it really was, which was the complete opposite.....However, out of no where, an unplanned detour in our plans this day, lead us to what I felt was the most spiritual experience in Israel.

We both thought this was pretty cool....I think we stood in the exhibit, just looking at this boat and taking photos, for a good 25-30 min.

The area outside the exhibit...where the boat was found!

Really a moment in time I will remember forever! I loved this spot!

There is a lot of interesting information on this boat and how it was found, back in 1986. I will not write out all the details in this blog post, but below is a great website to check out if you are intrested in reading more.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jesus-boat

Golan Heights
 As we made our way east, into the Golan Heights....we made a few encounters....one with a dog I will not soon forget....

Meet Cugo! (try not to laugh, and I will share a story with you) This little dog wondered up to us while we stopped to check out some sights along our drive. "Awww, so cute!" Yep, that's what we said. So, when we tried to get back in the car to drive to a parking spot in the area...the little guy followed us. Andreas suggested that I stay with him, and keep him company, while he went off to park the car. I agreed. That's when the dog turned on me and started to jump at me and bite...or try to bite. I had on a long skirt, and was throwing it in the way of his mouth, so he would not get my skin. At one point, he had ripped my skirt off of my body and I was standing in the middle of the street....fighting with a dog to return my skirt. Embarrassing and scary....now, I guess, kinda funny! I managed to get my skirt back, and when Andreas returned he saw how scared I was of this CUGO dog! (For those of you who don't know who Cugo is....its a movie about a seemingly sweet dog that turns on his family!) My only regret is that I didn't snap a photo of this dog in one of his more vicious poses...because this photo really just makes me look like a wacko! (But the story is 100% true)

Danger! Mines! Sure Andreas, get out and take some photos!

The Jordan / Israel Border.....there was about 30 feet between this fence and another one closer to the Jordan boarder...in between were mines!

A rare appearance outside the car on this leg of the trip!

We both loved the winding roads through the heights!

If any of you are Top Gear fans...they did an episode through this part of the world and drove through the Golan Heights

Sea of Galilee Water Spectacular!!!
Our coffee shop friends told us about the "Famous Water Show" every evening in Tiberias. So, we had to return later that evening to check it out! It was pretty Spectacular! (the photos don't do it justice....I added a video in case you really wanna see what the show was all about...pretty cool!)

VIDEO:
Spectacular Water Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ33QTvWFR8

Eilat & The Red Sea
As I mentioned earlier, we took a 3 day detour into Jordan to check out Petra. I will post those photos later on, but these are a few photos of Eilat and the Red Sea....we wish we had had a few more days in this area....really beautiful!

Lunch with a sea view please!

Keeping an eye on Jordan while hanging out in Eilat!

Oh, and one more thing....flying in and out of Eilat reminded us of a certain comedian. (link below if you have never seen Brian Regan's Airplane Comdey Show) The only significant difference was that people in Israel race to get OFF the plane. I'm not exaggerating in any way....the minute the captain turns off the seat belt sign...people jump up and race to the exit door....that's right....the guy sitting in seat 26B (middle seat) and the Fat Bottomed Girl (you make the rockin' world go round ;-) (by: Queen) - Seat 18A)....were #1 & #2 respectively, to exit the flight on the way back to Tel Aviv. It was hilarious to witness people act in this manner! Only wish I had it on video!

Check out Brian Regan's Rant at the link below:
http://youtu.be/G9em-ZCddWk

Two Days in Tel Aviv
We had this great idea while in Tel Aviv....Our flight was at 5am so we decided to get a hotel room for the first night, but just head to the airport the second night and wait until they boarded our flight at 4:30am. This is a suggestion to all you ladies out there....don't let your husbands convince you that this is a solid idea.....its not...make him get you a hotel/motel/tent....to sleep in for the evening!!!!! ;-)

We were not in the city for very long, but realized quickly that we liked it there....felt a lot like home! We quickly regretted not having more time to spend here. We took very few photos....and only a few videos....here are a few snap shots of our short time in Tel Aviv. 

VIDEO:
Morning in Tel Aviv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klXUD3vFb4Y

VIDEO:
Tel Aviv Dog Park
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAfeADmwl8g

The view from our hotel room.....I really love it here!

Well, that's all of Israel folks!
Our travels officially end on July 4th....so a lot of the remaining posts will come from NYC.
Hope you enjoyed Israel with us! Looking forward to seeing all of you!

And just another reminder,  that as we come to the end of our trip...and blog posts, if you are reading this blog...we would love to know you are out there...shoot us an email, fb message etc.