July Trip - Israel, Italy

I've been looking forward to using my passport for three years and was so grateful for the "break" and opportunity and time to visit a couple of places that have been at the top of my list for a long time....and for the chance to explore with my dad!  We had a nice long-layover in Paris with time to explore and then spent 4 days in Israel and 7 days in Italy.  It was wonderful!

Here's our trip by the numbers:

• 11 full days
• 10 nights
• 4 countries - France, Israel, Italy, Vatican City
• 15 cities - Paris, Jerusalem, Galilee, Rome, Vatican City, Florence, Greve in Chianti, La Spezia, Porto Venere, Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore, Siena
• 5 hotels
• 5 planes (nearly 14,300 miles)
• 14 trains (at least 625 miles)
• 6 buses (at least 125 miles)
• 2 bikes (at least 50 miles)
• 80+ miles of walking
• 4 sea contacts
• 1 friend
• 3 family members
• 7 maps
• 2100 pictures
• lots of sunscreen, a gelato a day and many memories

Here are some of my favorite highlights:

• Ramparts Walk around the old city walls of Jerusalem
• swimming in the Dead Sea
• Galilee - Jordan River, Capernaum, Church of the Loaves and Fishes and Church of St. Peter's Primacy (both right on the lake), Mount of Beatitudes
• visiting the Western Wall on Friday evening at the beginning of Shabbat
• The Garden Tomb on a peaceful Sabbath morning
• church at the BYU Jerusalem Center
• Garden of Gethsemane
• night walk around Rome - Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, St. Peter's Square
• biking through Tuscany (Firenze to Greve in Chianti) with a serendipitous stop at the Florence American Cemetery on the way back to the Piazzale Michelangelo
• bus ride and swimming at Porto Venere
• hiking the Cinque Terre (from Vernazza to Corniglia and from Vernazza to Monterosso)
• watching two Italian fathers set up a sleeping area/fort (complete with beach umbrella) at the Rome airport for their children to sleep - and then watching everyone else smile as they walked by :)

One of my favorite things about traveling is the opportunity to learn by seeing, observing, experiencing.  Here are a few lessons learned and/or things I want to learn more about:

• The world is a beautiful place! There are so many beautiful, historic, important places to explore.
• There are so many good, interesting people in the world.
• There are many diverse, very distinct and passionate cultures. It was fascinating to learn more about and observe the Jewish, Muslim, and Italian cultures! 
• It was interesting to see the distinct quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem - switching from Hebrew to Arabic. People seemed to get along, even with VERY apparent differences.
• It was fascinating to watch the devout Jews and how they worship and live.
• Muslim also have noticeable practices and customs - it was fun to watch the preparations for Ramadan in East Jerusalem.
• Italians aren't known for being efficient, but they enjoy life. Relationships, family and gelato seem to be important, too. :) 
• There is so much I want to go home and study more thoroughly - especially Israel's history, the Old Testament and the New Testament.
• I have never seen so many OLD cities and civilizations with such LONG histories. Incredible!
• I don't understand why people smoke.
• It's kind of nice to be disconnected for a bit, but internet cafes are harder to come by it seems - communication is crucial and such a part of our life now.
• I enjoy traveling with my dad - we enjoy similar things and it was fun to spend time together.
• It's nice to be home! Traveling always makes me appreciate home, family, where I live and what I do.
• Travel is tiring, but so rejuvenating and exciting - there is so much more to see and learn....and so nice to have a little break from the regular routine.