It is 1:15 AM in Athens and we have just checked into our Airbnb. Our plane out of Israel was delayed and the train from the Athens airport was not operational due to an accident so we hopped a bus and did a bit of walking, but we made it. We are in a wonderful neighbourhood loaded with all kinds of restaurants, cafes, bars etc and they are of the quaint European kind. Best of all look at the view from our balcony. For those of you who do not recognize it you are looking at the Acropolis. Pretty cool 😎.. Col will do some proper writing tomorrow.

We decided to spend our last two days in Israel back in Jerusalem at our new friend Janice’s place. We figured that we already knew the area, had an idea of how the buses worked and we really liked our visits with Janice and her family. If you recall, last time we were here, Janice’s youngest son Boaz was living with her. He is a very passionate young man and has now taken a NGO job up in Nazareth helping young people. From what we know of him, he will do very well at this. Today we had an opportunity to spend a few hours with Janice’s older son Hanan who is an opera singer. We sat around the living room doing some singing and then talked more about Jewish tradition and history. Another wonderful young man and we are again so happy for the chance to spend time with real people.

We have enjoyed our time in the Holy Land and we are amazed at how much we have seen and done during these last 17 days. We explored the Old City of Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. We floated in the Dead Sea and walked the ruins of Masada. We spent Christmas Eve in Bethlehem and walked in Jesus’ footsteps in Nazareth and along the Sea of Galilee. We wandered through the ancient Crusader city of Acre.  We experienced the quietness and reverence of a Shabbat and know that we want to take that feeling home with us. We learned a lot about the politics of this country and realize that there are no easy answers to bringing a forever peace. We discovered that we can navigate throughout a country that has very little English, thanks to the kindness of strangers and a lot of help from Google Maps!

We leave tomorrow for Athens, Greece and though we are excited to be moving into Europe and discovering new things, we would be lying if we said that Israel has not had an effect on us. Ever since my Gran gave me the book “In His Master’s Footsteps” when I was a young girl, I have wanted to walk in these holy places. And as Richard said in an earlier post, to walk the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem has always been on his bucket list. We have now trekked through the places of our dreams and find that we can only begin to appreciate the spirituality and perseverance of all those that have gone before. We are content.  Shalom…..

We wanted to share a couple of videos of Col and Hanan jammin.  So fortunate to run into great people.  For more of these music videos check out my facebook page.  (Richard)

Again, under the heading of “Something you don’t see every day” I would like to present the picture below.  Two young Jewish gentlemen (brothers Boaz and Hanan), a Buddhist Monk who also happens to be a Gehsa which means he is highly educated and a Buddhist scholar and me a Catholic breaking bread and enjoying  fellowship.