Money Saving Mom®

If you missed my other trip posts, read the Day #1 recap, the Day #2 recap, the Day #3 recap, the Day #4 recap, the Day #5 recap, the Day #6 recap, and the Day #7 recap.

Day #8 of our Epic Trip to Italy and Israel with the Museum of the Bible was a very exciting day. We took a 2-hour helicopter ride over Israel. It was SO cool to see so many things from the air that we had seen up close and in person over the past few days.

Plus, it was so helpful to get a bird’s eye view of the lay of the land. Well, and it was also just plain cool to take a helicopter ride! The only other time I’d been on a helicopter was when I was a little girl.

I’m somewhat prone to motion sickness so I was a little worried that it was going to be a miserable ride. But I sat where I could see out of the front, drank water, ate some bars, and rubbed on some essential oils and was able to really enjoy the experience.

Flying over the Dead Sea was especially a unique experience because it’s the only place where you can fly BELOW sea level!

It was also fun to see Masada from the air — since we’d spent a lot of time there the day before.

I loved getting to meet Jeff on the trip. He’s an amazing writer who has written for some of my very favorite publications.

He also has such a beautiful heart and, even though he and I have very differing beliefs in some areas, I was so inspired and challenged by meeting him and will likely be impacted by our conversations for the rest of my life. (You can read all of his posts on the trip experience linked at the top of this post here.)

After we landed in the helicopters, we took jeeps to a nearby kibbutz and then to the Syrian border.

It was surreal to be so close to a war-torn area, to see the army encampments, to see the destruction, to meet the locals and hear their stories, to see all the land mine warning signs, and to feel such tension in the air.

And yet in the middle of the conflict and unrest, there was hope — the people from the local kibbutz have beautiful orchards right near the border and there are wildflowers growing in the land mine fields.

My heart left feeling heavy, but also somewhat hopeful. There are no easy fixes, but there is hope springing up — even in the middle of what might feel like hopeless situations.

I loved how Jeff described the experience:

On the last full day of our pilgrimage, I was sitting in the back of a Jeep, bouncing along rutted dirt roads in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. This is disputed territory. Everywhere you look, there are reminders of war— bunkers, barbed wire, and, in the distance, the abandoned remains of the Syrian city of Quneitra. At one point, our driver suddenly stopped. To our left, behind a sign that said “CAUTION: LANDMINES,” a meadow was ablaze with dozens of crimson anemones. “Beautiful flowers,” he said. “Beautiful flowers in the minefield.”

Those spring flowers remind me that, while heartbreak and hatred may seem so powerful in our world, beautiful things are more resilient than we can understand.

We ate lunch at the kibbutz and it was an amazing spread made by a local woman — many of the items were grown right there in the kibbutz.

Even though we were so close to the Syrian border, there was such a feeling of peace and quiet there. I fell in love with the people and the area. In fact, it was the first day that I felt like, “I think I’d like to buy a house here in Israel and come visit regularly!”

We then drove to Capernaum and visited the remains of a 4th-century synagogue. It is believed that Jesus preached at this synagogue.

The sun shining in on the synagogue was utterly gorgeous… this picture doesn’t do it justice!

I took my shoes off and stood on the ground. It was weird to think that Jesus could have walked right here.

Then, we went to the Church of the Beatitudes, the location where it is believed that Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount.

It was absolutely gorgeous weather there. Just beautiful!

And then we got on a boat on the Sea of Galilee and went to Tiberius. {It feels so weird to even write that after reading about both places in the Bible for so many years!}

It was SO gorgeous and peaceful and beautiful… the perfect end to a very full day!

I took this picture on the boat with many, many thoughts swirling in my head. Here’s what I wrote:

Believe it or not, I didn’t want to go on this trip… I tried to talk Jesse out of having me go four different times. It was scary and so far outside my comfort zone to be gone for 10 days from my family with a big group of people — almost all whom I’ve never met and who have done great and big and monumental things with their life.

I’m an introvert. I don’t like new situations with people I don’t know. And I have a serious fear of the unknown.

But I went, because I knew I was supposed to go. And making myself LEAP outside my comfort zone like this without any sort of parachute has been one of the best things I’ve ever done.

And I’m coming home forever changed. Humbled. Inspired. Infused with new courage. Ready to embrace life — and all that God has called me to — with more fervor and passion and abandon.

As the sun begins setting on this journey, I feel like something big is stirring in my heart… And the real journey is just beginning. This trip taught me much and, most of all, I learned anew that there is so much blessing that comes when I stop letting fear and unknowns hold me back from jumping out into the deep.

…To be continued tomorrow…

If you missed my other trip posts, read the Day #1 recap, the Day #2 recap, the Day #3 recap, the Day #4 recap, Day #5 recap, and Day #6 recap.

Day #7 of our Epic Trip to Italy and Israel with the Museum of the Bible started out really hard for me. I was tired. I was exhausted. And I was really homesick. I do travel fairly regularly, but it’s usually only for 1-3 days at a time. The longest I’ve ever been gone was 8 days — and that was SO hard.

So I was just missing my people, missing home, and missing our quiet life. Plus, I was plain T-I-R-E-D. We had been going, going, going, going for 6 days on little sleep and I just felt so done. So ready to be home, to be with my family, to sleep in my own bed.

I honestly considered staying back at the hotel that day. But I knew we were supposed to go to the Dead Sea and I just couldn’t bear the thought of missing that.

But I’m glad I went ahead and pried myself out of bed and got out the door, because this amazing view was waiting for me!

Yes, we went to Masada — and it was amazing! We took a cable car up to the top and the view at the top was pretty breathtaking!

I snapped this picture of Claire doing some stretching and yoga poses. Is that not the perfect location for yoga??

Even though there were quite a few people there, it felt so quiet and calming and peaceful! I went to some rocks and stood on them by myself and just took it all in. It was so soul-filling for me.

I was also incredibly impressed that even though it was hot outside, the buildings built were so cool because of how they were structured.

We took the cable car down to the base of the mountain and ate lunch and did some shopping. Well, I ended up not buying anything because you had to spend $100 if you wanted to get the 18% tax taken off at the airport. And I just didn’t find anything that I loved enough to bring home.

(I also had packed in a carry-on, so I had very little space to bring extras home. But I did end up buying a few things in Nazareth Village two days late — bracelets for the kids, Israeli candy bars, and a wooden Shalom magnet for our fridge. I had hoped to find some earrings, too, but I never found a pair that I really loved. I guess I’ll just have to go back and get those next time!)

After that, we drove to THE DEAD SEA!!!

Oh my goodness! This was SUCH a highlight for me on the trip! After hearing about this sea and reading stories about it for so long, it was thrilling to actually be able to experience it.

As you might be able to tell here, getting out into the water was a bit tricky — it was muddy and slippery and rocky and you had to be so careful where you stepped so that you didn’t trip in a pothole or cut your foot on a rock (I actually ended up slicing my foot twice — ouch!)

But when we finally made it out into the deep water, it was incredible. Not only could you literally not sink, but you could stand straight upright in deep water where you couldn’t touch and try to bob yourself under and you wouldn’t be able to.

We laughed so hard as we floated all around — even while “standing straight up” in water where we couldn’t touch. We covered ourselves in the thick, rich mud… we even sort of swam.

This picture was staged, yes, but it captured so well the joy that we all were feeling out there together. It had been a long trip. We’d experienced a lot together. And the water and mud and floating just seemed to wipe all of our tiredness from the trip away.

The laughter spilled into teasing and, out there in the middle of the Dead Sea there was such a sense of camaraderie. And it was so F-U-N and beautiful to experience.

I’m SO glad that I didn’t stay back at the hotel that morning like I really wanted to. I would have missed one of the greatest days of the trip… and one of the memories that I probably will never forget for the rest of my life.

…to be continued…

If you missed my other trip posts, read the Day #1 recap, the Day #2 recap, the Day #3 recap, the Day #4 recap, and the day #5 recap. 

Day #6 of our Epic Trip to Italy and Israel with the Museum of the Bible was sort of an emotional roller coaster kind of day.

We started the day by visiting Yad Vashem — Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the holocaust.

Wikipedia says this:

The name “Yad Vashem” is taken from a verse in the Book of Isaiah: “Even unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 56:5). Naming the Holocaust memorial “yad vashem” (Biblical Hebrew יָ֣ד וָשֵׁ֔ם yād wā-šêm) conveys the idea of establishing a national depository for the names of Jewish victims who have no one to carry their name after death.

The whole purpose of this memorial is give back the names, the worth, and dignity to the 6 million Jews who were murdered in the holocaust. Most who had everything taken from them — including their names.

I can’t say enough about how this memorial impacted me. If you have a chance to go, PLEASE go. It was powerful. Overwhelming. Heartbreaking. Life-impacting. I left with much to process and will likely be processing for a long time.

After spending time with the Jewish people and learning more about their religious history and beliefs, it was especially deeply moving.

We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but you can read more about it and see some pictures here.

From Wikipedia again:

A core goal of Yad Vashem’s founders was to recognize gentiles who, at personal risk and without a financial or evangelistic motive, chose to save their Jewish brethren from the ongoing genocide during the Holocaust. Those recognized by Israel as Righteous Among the Nations are honored in a section of Yad Vashem known as the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations.

It was hard to leave the memorial. Or to walk away… there was so much to process in going through the memorial. If you are interested, in this video, I shared some very personal and passionate thoughts I experienced as part of visiting Yad Vashem. (Go here and fast forward to minute 19.)

Next, we went to the Garden Tomb, which is one of the sites that is possibly where Jesus’ tomb was. Unfortunately, I found the site as a whole to be much more commercialized and tourist-y than I would have preferred. 

Then, we walked to the Ecole Biblica — a French Academic establishment that felt like stepping back in time.

We then walked to the Machaneh Yehuda Market and had an amazing and exuberant lunch at the Yudale Bar  — a highly-acclaimed, open-air restaurant where everything is made right in front of you and the cooks/servers are dancing and having so much fun you can’t help but join in!

After such an emotionally draining morning, the loud music and energy and laughter was healing. (You can get a little idea of what the experience was like with this video and this video.)

We headed back to hotel to freshen up and get dressed up for welcoming in Shabbat. It was so cool to experience the excitement and anticipation Shabbat brings!

After sunset, we visited the Wailing Wall and prayed there. It was such a moving experience — so many people praying and pouring their hearts out in multiple languages.

I left a paper at the wall with my prayer asking God to help me live a life of love and that out of that love I would be willing to go anywhere, do anything, or sacrifice anything He calls me to — whatever the cost.

And we capped off the day with a traditional Shabbat dinner in a local family’s home. Since the Jewish people don’t use their phones during Shabbat, we were asked to keep our phones off and cameras put away during the meal. So I don’t have any photos but it was quite an experience!

I’m so glad that I jumped out of my comfort zone to go on this trip. I will never forget these experiences or lessons for the rest of my life.

…to be continued tomorrow… 

If you missed my other trip posts, read the Day #1 recap, the Day #2 recap, the Day #3 recap, and the Day #4 recap.

Day #5 of our Epic Trip to Italy and Israel with the Museum of the Bible was our first full day in Israel. We left early in the morning to head to the Mount of Olives.

It was cold and windy and I was SO glad I had brought layers to wear that day, even though it was supposed to get really hot.

From the Mount of Olives, we had an incredible view of the city. It was breath-taking, surreal, and overwhelming. 

We then walked to the Garden of Gesthemane and went in a church right next to it. Then, we took the bus to get the view from the opposite side.

It felt so humbling to be walking in the ancient pathways of where so many incredible and world-changing events took place. It made me feel so small in contrast to how big this world is.

It’s good to be reminded of your smallness.

I was excited to find a tourist shop that sold Cafe Lattes and took American dollars. I hadn’t been able to exchange any money (yet) and so it was exciting to finally find a place that would take my dollars and give me shekels back. Plus, I really wanted to be able to bring some shekels back for my kids!

While we were out walking, we saw this. The Israelis told us it was where “they put the bombs when they find them.”

After that, we walked underground to explore Hezekiah’s waterway. It was pretty fascinating! Many of the groups were actually taking the wet tunnels — where I guess you would actually wade in water that’s up to a few feet deep!

We took the dry tunnel but got to feel some of the water in one of the sections (see above) and it was SO cold that I was very glad we were not taking the wet tunnel!

Our guide had told us at the beginning that there would be a few sections where it was a tight squeeze. Well, he wasn’t kidding!

We explored the drainage tunnels underneath the Old City and it was quite the adventure… in fact, it felt like we were never going to make it back above ground again. The tunnels just kept going and going and going and going! (See more pictures here and here and here.)

We finally made it above ground to this beautiful view!

After that, we headed to lunch where I ate fish that still had eyes and teeth intact… that was a first! 🙂

And then we took to the bus to the Israeli Antiquities Authority. This is a warehouse where they store thousands and thousands and thousands of artifacts that they loan out to various museums.

Our last stop was at a winery for a tour and then a beautiful dinner! We quickly discovered that Israelis know how to put on a very, very big spread of food. The appetizers alone are enough to fill you up. And then there are usually two entrees, more appetizers, bread, and dessert!

Gratefully, we were doing a LOT of walking to make up for all the calories we were consuming. I decided that I was going to eat all. the. things. Or, well, at least try as many different foods as possible. Because this might be the only time I’d be in Israel and I wanted to get the full experience!

To be continued tomorrow…

If you missed my other trip posts, read the Day #1 recap, the Day #2 recap, and the Day #3 recap.

Day #4 of our Epic Trip to Italy and Israel with the Museum of the Bible was an exciting day — we were flying to Israel and we couldn’t be more thrilled!

We had to split into two groups for the flights… and gratefully, I ended up with the later group that didn’t need to leave until 8:45 a.m. 🙂

The lounge at the airport was amazing — probably the nicest airport lounge I’ve ever been in (of course, I’m too cheap to actually pay for an airport lounge pass when I’m traveling, so I don’t have a lot of different airport lounges to compare this one, too. 🙂 Our hosts took such great care of us on this trip and flew us Business Class everywhere — so the lounge passes were included at all the airports!)

I may have let out a little squeal when I saw that there was not only a barista at the lounge and I could get my favorite Cafe Latte, but that they also had doughnuts. I know, I know… we are in ROME and on our way to ISRAEL and here I am geeking out about doughnuts.

But sometimes, it’s the little things. Also, doughnuts are right up there with pancakes in being some of the best food ever invented, in my book! 🙂

We left the hotel in Italy at 8:45 a.m. and arrived at our hotel in Jerusalem at around 5:45 p.m. — it was a long travel day, so this amazing hotel room couldn’t have been more welcoming.

{Yes, there was a TV in the bathroom mirror. I turned it on just to take a picture. I never had a moment to watch TV the whole trip, but it was cool to take a picture of it!!}

I was pretty blown away at the accommodations! But seeing as we were going to be going-going-going-going while in Israel, I was SO grateful for this room to come back to at night for the 4 nights we stayed in Jerusalem.

Interesting side note: We were actually supposed to stay at a different hotel across the street, but they moved us at the last minute because Vice President Biden came into town and was staying there for the first two days so we couldn’t stay there while he was there (I’m not sure if they cleared the entire hotel or if they just needed some of our rooms or what, but it was kind of fun to know that we got “booted” from our hotel because of him!)

After a fancier dinner where we heard more about the Museum of the Bible (I was SO impressed with it and cannot WAIT until it’s open so our family can go!) and also had a lively discussion about politics with Michael Oren (he’s an American-born Israeli historian, author, politician, former ambassador to the United States, and current member of the Knesset for the Kulanu party), I headed to my room to catch up on some work and get to bed before a big day in Israel the next day.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a l-o-n-g post about our first full day in Israel!

Have you ever been to Israel before? If not, what would you love for me to blog about my trip there? Let me know in the comments!

If you missed my other trip posts, read the Day #1 recap and the Day #2 recap. 

Day #3 of our Epic Trip to Italy and Israel with the Museum of the Bible started rough. I spent most of the night lying in bed looking at the fronts of my eyelids unable to fall asleep (hello, jet lag!).

I finally fell asleep and then woke with a start at 6:30 am… And realized the two alarms I had set never went off and I needed to be down in the lobby ready for the day by 7:10 am. Yikes! So much for washing and blow drying my hair!

Instead, of washing my hair, I sported Day #2 of the I-Really-Need-To-Wash-My-Hair messy updo look. It worked and it allowed me to be down in the lobby with my eyes open and my brain semi-functioning.

The reason we had to be up and out the door so early was because our hosts had secured a private tour of the Sistine Chapel for us. From what we were told, this was a very special honor. And judging from the crowds of people who were lined outside waiting to get in after we got there, it truly was.

We weren’t allowed to take photos in the Sistine Chapel, but I can tell you that it was breath-taking and inspiring… especially to be looking at such amazing artwork in person!

We spent most of the rest of the morning at the Vatican Museum. It was almost overwhelming — especially in my sleep-deprived and hungry state (I had made the mistake of not eating that morning in my rush to get out the door on time!)

There was SO much to look at. So much artwork. So many ornate ceilings. So many paintings. So many plaques and interesting artifacts. It was almost mind-boggling and hard to take it all in.

Then we headed to St. Peter’s Basilica (again, whoa!!) for a short while before walking to lunch. I was SO hungry by then — after skipping breakfast and all of that walking and standing.

We went to a local restaurant and I was the woman who boldly ordered TWO cafe lattes + a huge cheese pizza. I was famished and tired and it was just what I needed! And it pretty much tasted like the best coffee and pizza I’d ever had after all that walking, the sleepless night, and the early morning!

Our lunch table was made up of an even mix of Jews, Catholics, and Protestants and we had such great discussions… it was beautiful to see people from differing faith backgrounds come together on this trip to learn from each other, listen to one another, and love each other well — in spite of theological differences and beliefs.

We only took a few group shots on the trip, but this was one of my favorites! Such a diverse group of people with so much collective experience and wisdom and insight to share!

We had planned to walk back from lunch to the bus and then head back to our hotel. The bus was about a 20-minute walk away and, a few minutes into the walk, it started pouring rain. It was windy and freezing and our umbrellas did little to shield us from the blowing rain.

We took shelter in a cafe and waited for the rain to die down and the bus to drive to a closer location. By the time the rain let up, we were all freezing and wet and tired… and I was so ready to get back to the hotel.

We had an option of going to the Coliseum or going to the hotel. I would have loved to see the inside of the Coliseum, but I knew that if I was going to last for 7 more days at this intense pace, I needed sleep, rest, and quiet.

So I opted to stay back at the hotel and skip the Coliseum and dinner and just ordered room service and enjoyed “introverting” in my hotel room for the afternoon and evening. It was just what I needed to cap out our time in Rome and prep to fly to Israel the next day!

{See? Even on this whirlwind trip, I tried to remember I am observing a Year of Rest. I think that prioritizing a few blocks of time throughout the trip for self-care really was key in allowing me to survive such a fast-paced and stretching schedule for 10 days!}

My mom texted me and asked if I was getting enough to eat… I texted her back this picture of my room service cart and she texted back something about “Well, I guess I don’t need to worry about THAT!” 🙂