The North, Jesus' Footsteps, and Don't Go to Rimonim Hotel

Oh my god. How am I going to even summarize the past two days? The past 48 hours have been an absolute whirlwind--probably the craziest days since I've been here in Israel!

So we woke up later in the morning on Tuesday to get some much-needed rest and head up north for my favorite city--HAIFA!!! I tried to describe the beauty to my mom and Jeni, and they were slightly skeptical of my descriptions. I mean, "really pretty gardens" doesn't quite encompass the stunning view of--

and--

Jeni and my mom fell in love with Haifa and the Baha'i Gardens just like I did! The peace, beauty, and warmth of the gardens and the religion enamored us and we fell in love. It was the perfect start to our day.

Me!

The archives at the Baha'i Gardens. Unbelievably enough, this is actually the seventh story of the building--the rest is underground!!!

We drove on to Nazareth, worming our ways through the tiny streets with angry honking Israelis. My poor mother was navigating these headache-worthy streets, and the speeders zipping around us had us like--

Finally, though, we found a mini parking garage and made friends with the owner--he was a sweet guy. Then, we headed to lunch at a little falafel place up the street. My mother and I had falafel, while Jeni ate a delicious steak hummus dish. But of course, no excursion is complete without Jeni getting ripped off, and her dish was four times the price of my own dish. When we told the Morrises the price, they were like--

However, our frustration at the driving and the prices melted away as we entered the Church of the Annunciation, where Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would soon be pregnant with Jesus.

Me and Mary

My mom and me in the church with Mass taking place in the background!

From Nazareth, we drove to Tiberias, a city on the Sea of Galilee, where we planned on staying in our hotel. Oh my god. From the moment we drove up to the hotel, we got wrapped up in controversy. The guard asked if we liked Obama, and we were like--

Very subtly, because while I knew the right answer was--

My mom and Jeni were a little less enlightened and kind of reacted like--

The guard started laughing and waving his hands shouting "No, no, no Obama!!!!!" And we just giggled a little nervously until he let us through.

But that was just the beginning.

We then walked into the lobby with all of our bags and immediately the cocky checking-in guy was like, "Um why did you say you have only two people when you clearly have three? You only purchased a double room. You need a triple."

We attempted to explain that I was intending to sleep on the pullout bed that came in the room but he was all sassy like--

"I hate you"

And was just completely rude. Jeni got super fired up and insisted that we talk to his manager. So we walk into this side room, and the manager was clearly prepped by his minion. He called us liars, insulted us and our country (like who the eff could insult America, come on), and forced us to pay an extra ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR ME TO SLEEP ON A BED THAT WAS ALREADY IN THE ROOM. Literally unbelievable. What it came down to was, I ordered a double bed room with a pull-out couch based on the number of beds, while this hotel accepts reservations based on the number of people. It was an easy problem to solve, but we have never experienced ruder customer service people--EVER. Hence, don't say at this freaking hotel (we promised we'd give them a bad review, so here ya go, Rimonim).

We were literally escorted to our room by our security guard, because we scream danger (well Jeni had steam coming out of her ears at this point, so maybe they thought she was a fire hazard), and we finally get into our dingy little triple/double. The pull-out bed has no mattress, and our room is of course right next to a freaking amusement park that plays crazy club music until 11. Like of course. 

We escaped from the hotel, because we were probs being watched, and we ordered a yummy dinner up the street. We got to sleep super early, because we needed a ton of rest and we had to wake up early enough to stuff ourselves full of $100 worth of free buffet breakfast to make up for my expenses.

Well, we stormed downstairs right as the buffet was opening--and oh my goodness, it was the most delicious spread we'd ever seen. Rugalach, so many fruits, fresh fish, different hunks of cheese, overflowing baskets of bread... I couldn't believe my eyes.

So we stuffed our faces, and then we drove on to Capernaum, the town where Jesus evangelized right on the Sea of Galilee.

The sign

The church

The sea

The Peter statue

I absolutely loved Capernaum this time around, because it was much earlier in the day, which meant cooler air and less people. It was peaceful, humbling, and spiritual.

We then drove on the Safed (pronounced sfaht), a mystical Jewish city that has existed for over a thousand years. It had an art colony, galleries, and ancient synaogues. You guys--it was absolutely stunning. Even ties with Haifa!!! It's a lot of pictures, but definitely look through them!!

So stunning. WOW. We even went to this incredible Yemenite restaurant and made friends with the cook/owner. Loooove. It was a specialty!

It was our favorite place! From Safed, we drove over three hours to get to Jerusalem and visit the Israel Museum. It was actually pretty amazing and fun. We saw the Dead Sea scrolls, an ancient skull, and lots of historical items relating to ancient civilizations. We spent as much time there as we could--which honestly wasn't long; we were exhausted--then we drove back home to Raanana for dinner. We had a yummy French dinner and some ice cream. Then, we drove home to reunite with the family!

It's been an amazing two days. I have loved hanging out with my mom and Jeni, and I have one more day to enjoy Israel. One more day!!! It's actually pretty hard to believe. 

Now, it's almost one in the morning and I feel like I'm falling asleep sitting up. Aghhhh. Good night dearies--one more day!!

<3,

Aubrey

Where Jesus Lived

Today held some incredible adventures. I explored Nazareth, Capernaum, and the villages surrounding the Sea of Galilee to learn about Jesus' life and witness where he lived and grew up.

Two other interns, one of the intern's mothers, and I met up in Tel Aviv around 7 this morning to begin the long drive up to Nazareth. Right from the beginning, we could tell that this was going to be a rather "tourist-y" tour. Our guide spouted off some basic facts about Israel and Judaism, and I was like, 

"Yeah yeah yeah. I know all of this already."

And that's when I realized that I am not really a tourist anymore. Israel has become my home--how lucky am I? So many people are lucky to have a single home, one place they feel loved and comfortable and joyful. I now have three-- home home (Anaheim), school home (Boston), and my spiritual, immersive home away from home Israel. 

Anyways, after a little catnap and a whole cup of coffee, we arrived in Nazareth, the city in which Jesus grew up. We first visited the Church of Annunciation.

That's me!

I adored this church. First of all, quite a bit of Latin was engraved on the walls of the church, so I had the amazing opportunity to actually utilize this past year of learning a dead language. I felt pretty itchicated (translated to educated, if you're not privy to my family's pronunciation).

Anyways!

Broad view of the top floor to the left and bottom floor to the right

This church is built on Mother Mary's home, which was actually a cave and the site of the Angel Gabriel's appearance.

Mary's home!

The second floor of the church holds a chapel. My absolute favorite part of this church was the contribution by almost every country in the world that holds Christian congregations. Each country was asked to donate its own interpretation of the Madonna and Child. You might be able to see some of the stunning mosaics on the left wall; some countries even sent in statues and paintings. I loved how the different cultures of each country shined through each piece of artwork.

The chapel

The top of the church was a lighthouse, due to the beautiful verse in the Bible about Jesus being the light of the world. Makes me want to put a lighthouse on top of my mansion. That will be filled with 35 dogs. But I digress.

The Church of Annunciation

We made the quick walk to the Church of St. Joseph (more Latin, more vindicated Aubs). This church held Joseph, Mary, and Jesus' home that he grew up in.

The home!

 It gave an awe-inspiring sense of wonder, and fulfillment, and joy. And it also helped me to realize an elusive concept that I've only begun to learn in Israel. I first stumbled across this epiphany in Jerusalem, when I encountered the Via Dolorosa, or the walk that Jesus took through Jerusalem with the cross. "This," signs would proudly proclaim, "is the exact spot at which Jesus stumbled."

"And here," another sign would carry on about five minutes down the path, "is the exact spot where he took a sip of water."

Those are the agreed-upon sites. Then, there are points of contention, especially between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Where exactly was Christ held before his execution, and where exactly was this or that miracle performed?

And now I realize--it doesn't matter in the slightest. The historian in me shrieks, shudders, and cowers from this spiritual conclusion; part of me needs to know the exact second, position, and tone in which every action took place. But now I realize, that when it comes to matters of religion and spirituality and the heart, perception is just as, if not more, important than reality. Is this the exact village in which Jesus lived?

Maybe. Maybe not. But does it evoke feelings of gratitude and wonder and adoration for the man that died for the sins of humanity? Absolutely. And I truly believe that is what matters. It is not whether or not I am truly walking in the footsteps of Christ. It is more that being near the spot and watching other faithful believers fall on their knees in praise and knowing that God is happy I'm at least trying to see where He lived and learned and grew up is more than enough.

But, like, it'd still be nice to know...From a historical perspective, of course.

Onto the Church of Multiplication!

Me!

This was where Jesus performed the miracle of multiplying the bread and fish to feed the multitudes. Supah cool!

Burned.

Only a month ago, some extremists attempted to burn down this church and graffiti the walls. Luckily, they were able to stop the fire! But the damage still shows.

The exact site!

This was a very humble but beautiful church. It sat right on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. We then drove on to Capernaum, the city in which Jesus performed his ministry.

St. Peter's House

This was St. Peter's House, where Jesus lived for the last years of His life. 

The ruins

You can honestly still tell that it was a stunning city in its day.

yooo.

The beautiful, partially-restored synagogue sits in the middle of the the city. I had to teach all these tourists about Judaism. Ugh, clueless Gentiles. Geez.

Columnssss

I got to sit on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walked on water (one of my favorite biblical stories, by the way).

Artsy

The Sea of Galilee is filled with black volcanic rock and ash. It was such warm water. I wanted to soak in it literally forever!

The tour moved on to its last stop: the Jordan River.

So clean and clear!

This is where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist. One of my friends got baptised in the water, and a few people tried to convince me to join. I don't know--this experience has definitely deepened my faith, but not in the most traditional way. I didn't feel comfortable consenting to a baptism when I still don't quite know where I stand on religion or what my spirituality really is. So I watched the touching ceremony take place. 

Also, how hilarious is this picture?

Smartest kitty in the land

I got home a few hours later and sat down for dinner with the fam. We had an impromptu Hebrew lesson, and I realized I basically know the entire alphabet. Wahoo! I tried to spell a few words, and my attempts spurred some chuckles and compliments of how "cute" my spellings were. I tried hehe. 

Anyways, wonderful day. Learned so much and loved my experiences. 

Walking in the (possibly metaphorical, possibly physical) footsteps of Jesus,

Aubs-a-lot