Holy Land trip - Israel and Palestine - COMPLETE

[kateb78]

Originally Posted by Princess Alison

Another great day. I love the fact that married couples were given the opportunity to renew their vows ❤️

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We’re nearing the end now. Definitely need to start planning the next one!

At Cana it’s a really traditional thing to renew wedding vows so lots of groups do it. We had 2 priests in our group so it was a no brainer that we’d do it during our mass. It was lovely.

[sunshines]

Originally Posted by kateb78

You’re welcome! I’m enjoying it too. I also want to go back Book it, you won’t regret it

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Can you share which tour company you used?

[kateb78]

Day 8 - Mount of Beatitudes and Sea of Galilee

As we reached our penultimate day, we all felt like we’d been away for aaaaages but also that it’d passed in the blink of an eye. To make the most of it, we sleepily walked to the shore and watched the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee. It was a beautiful and peaceful start to our day

After naps and showers, we headed to the top of the Mount of Beatitudes which commemorates the Sermon on the Mount. It’s a spectacular setting with beautiful flowers and tress in the well cared for grounds. The view is also something to behold as you can see the Sea of Galilee in the distance

Again, we were lucky enough to celebrate mass in the garden

Before leaving we sat and admired the view with a drink from the small shop on the site

Next, we visited Tabgha and the Church of the Primacy of St Peter

It’s right on the beach and again the area is stunning

We carried on to Capernaum which is knows as “the town of Jesus” because he spent so much time here. It’s well preserved with a church built over the site of Peter’s house where Jesus cured Peter’s mother in law

The glass floor inside the church lets you look down to the ruins of the house underneath

It’s definitely a place that gives me goosebumps each time!

It was a hot day and so we were glad that our next activity was a boat trip on the Sea of Galilee

It’s such a peaceful experience as you look back at the shoreline of Tiberias. The captain always stops the boat for a few minutes of peace out on the water.

We returned to Tiberias for lunch and it was a traditional option of St Peter’s fish - ugly but tasty!

After that we had the sad task of packing ready to head home the next day. It was going to be another early start to try to miss the rush hour traffic in Tel Aviv so after sitting on the roof terrace for the evening, everyone had an early night

[kateb78]

Day 9 - Jaffa then home

Our final day meant we had to be up and out by 6.30am to reach Jaffa by 9am because we had mass booked in the Church of St Peter. Jaffa is just outside Tel Aviv and the traffic was awful! We were driving through some very built up areas and then suddenly the Mediterranean Sea was in front of us! Luckily that’s where we stopped at the church

After mass we sat at an outdoor cafe for lunch and then had a wander along the old streets and took in the views

The view of Tel Aviv was terrific!

With that, we made our way to the airport where there was some quite intense questioning about our group, where we’d been, where we’d stayed etc from the airport security. Check in and security were in the old part of the airport and then we got a bus to the newer section which was much better. There was just time for drinks before we were on the plane and jetting back to Luton.

It was another fabulous trip and one I will definitely do again at some point in the future, probably adding on a visit to Petra. All the work done on our behalf by the tour company paid off and everything worked as it should have. We’ve all returned feeling like little sponges as there was just so much to take in, but I’m sure everyone in the group will be thinking about our trip for a long time to come.

Thanks for reading along

[caj]

Amazing ... the only word I can think of to describe your trip and reporting!

[kateb78]

Originally Posted by caj

Amazing ... the only word I can think of to describe your trip and reporting!

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The trip made the reporting part easy! Thank you, glad you enjoyed

[DisneyDaffodil]

Those sunset photos over the Sea of Galilee are stunning, such a tranquil and calming vista.

Thank you for writing the report, I’ve really enjoyed reading and finding out so much about the area

[kateb78]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

Those sunset photos over the Sea of Galilee are stunning, such a tranquil and calming vista.

Thank you for writing the report, I’ve really enjoyed reading and finding out so much about the area

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It really is a very special place! Thanks for reading

[tigerfee]

Can't wait to read this trip report..I'd love to go one day.

[kateb78]

Originally Posted by tigerfee

Can't wait to read this trip report..I'd love to go one day.

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I can’t stress enough what a fabulous place it is and how much I’d recommend it to anyone!