Spending time in Netanya and the Kinnerit

Our adventures in Rome came to an end, and we were ready to travel on to our next destination, Israel. Israel is a small middle eastern country that is located along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.  The country was only made the official homeland for the Jews in 1948.  This small strip of land is considered the holy land for the Jews, and according to to the bible, Abraham settled a small population of Jews in the holy land. We got lucky because while we were there, war had not started, but it is sad to hear about so many innocent people dying.

Preparing for a meatball toss!

Having dinner with friends

Last year, our friends from Israel visited us for one month.   After they left, they invited us to come visit them and we did.  They gave us a car to use while we stayed and showed us around Israel. 

Boogie Boarding

Our flight to Israel wasn't long, but our plane got delayed so by the time we arrived I was exhausted.  We stayed in a condo in the city Netanya which was located right along the beach about 30 minutes north of Tel Aviv.  Sarah, Hannah and I all shared a room together and it felt like a giant sleepover.  The next morning we woke up really early and went to the beach.  The water was so clear that we could see the bottoms of our feet.  Not only was the water clean, it was very warm and some days there were almost no waves.  Little black fish swam along side you and bit the bottoms of my moms and dads feet.  My siblings and I also made up a game called the meatball toss.  Each pair playing had to make a strong meatball and throw it back and forth taking one step back on every toss.  The team whose ball breaks, loses.  We spent a lot of time at the beach as it really was the best place to be.  We made friends with some cats, who were wandering all over the place.  Usually, after lunch or dinner we had bones and skin from chicken that we didn't finish so we fed it to the cats. They were really friendly and we pet them.  

At the beach in Netanya

Spending the day with friends

The next morning, we went to the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Kinneret.  We also visited the gravesites of Maimondes and Rabbi Akiva. Maimonides also known as Rambam was a scholar, physician, philosopher, and a talmudist.  Rabbi Akiva was an inspiration to many people.  He was uneducated at the beginning of his life and only learned to read and write when he got married.  After a couple years he had thousands of students that admired him.

Lake Kinneret is a fresh water lake that is located in the city Tiberias. The Kinneret is a gorgeous warm lake that has tall mountains called the Golan Heights standing above it.   The Jordan river flows into the lake.  The Kinneret is also the place where Jesus walked on water.  We left our condo early that morning as the drive to the Kinneret was very long.  We arrived at the lake and we ran to the warm water.  In the water we floated on our boards, had swimming races, and just relaxed.  It was a really great way to spend the day!

Rabbi Akiva's grave

What a gorgeous view of Tiberius!

Maimonides grave

Floating in the Kinneret

Overlooking the Kinneret and the Golan Heights

After the Kinneret we visited the Yardenit, the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.  In this place, the water from the Jordan river flows to the dead sea.

Awww, so cute!

In front of the Yardenit 

Where is your favorite place to spend the day?