Jerusalem

From Bangkok we flew to Tokyo again, and in Tokyo we debated were to go next. We were planning on Europe, but didn't make a couple standby flights in Bangkok and so we did not have as much time. We almost went to Australia, but then I asked Keith what his favorite choice was between Sydney, Dubai, Istanbul, Tel Aviv and London. He responded, "Your last choice would be Tel Aviv, right? because you have already been there..." But it was the opposite, I was ecstatic! I was so thrilled that I would get to show my husband around a place that means so much to me. Fall of 2010 I spent the semester in Jerusalem. It was the best semester ever and I really fell in love with the Holy Land. We had one day at home and I packed all my Jerusalem journals (haha which just ended up being a big pain) From Denver we flew to DC and had a few hour lay over so we took the metro and walked around the national mall. We had a nice picnic in between the Washington Memorial and the White House and then went to the Air and Space Muesum. And of course saw our favorite Ellsworth Plane!

From DC to Newark to Tel Aviv.... we were on our way! Once in Tel Aviv, we realized the car rental would be way more expensive then we anticipated, so we took the city bus, which ended up being a fantastic choice. It was cheap, convenient and fast. Soon we were in JERUSALEM! (Where my heart is always) We walked around new Jerusalem and the Old City.

We fell asleep early every night at the Mount of Olives Hotel (I guess you could say the 4 weeks of jet lag was beginning to catch up with us!) The plus side of falling asleep early is waking up early. The hotel gave us all you can eat breakfast and Keith loved the food. In fact, we would eat so much at breakfast we hardly ate the rest of the day! (although this is a bad representation of the amount of food we ate..)

Our first sight was the Garden Tomb. It is such a special, sacred spot. There is such a calm spirit here that testified again that, "He who died on Calvary’s cross arose again in wondrous splendor as the Son of God, the Master of life and death." I absolutely love this video and testimony of Pres. Hinckley. 

 The we walked on top of the old city walls (Rampart Walk) and hung out at the Austrian Hostel

We also went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place were many people think was ancient Golgotha, where Christ was Crucified, and the sepulchre were Christ was buried.

The Western Wall is a remnant of the ancient wall surrounding the temple! It is one of my favorite spots in Jerusalem. We joined in the Jewish tradition of putting a piece of paper with names and prayers in the cracks of the wall. Here is my hand pointing at our note.

BYU JERUSALEM CENTER!!!!! This was maybe the highlight of our trip. I am obsessed with the BYU Jerusalem center. I think it may be the greatest place in the world. We walked up to the center and I saw the security guard, and he immediately recognized me! I was shocked. It melted my heart, I was so happy. He took us inside for a tour and I saw a few more of my old friends. We saw a video clip, heard an organ recital, used the olive press and got a tour of the Center. Really I cant describe what a wonderful semester I had at BYUJ, it made me miss all my Jeru friends. I refuse to think that was my last trip to Jerusalem. I hope there are many more trips there in the future. I keep pressuring Keith to practice the Organ so we can go on a service mission there when we are older. This is a picture of my special little spot where I would go regularly to listen to the Organ, read Preach My Gospel and write in my journal :)

The Dome of the Rock! Aka the very most contested piece of real estate on earth! When we waited in line for the Dome of the Rock it was a Thursday and so we saw like 8 Jewish Bar Mitzvahs! It was so fun!!

 hahaha I love this photo bomb man in our picture, we didn't even notice!

 We looooved this watermelon popsicle.

We went to most the major sites and churches in Jerusalem. Including the Church of all Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane. The Garden of Gethsemane is another one of my favorite places, I just didn't do a real good job of taking pictures. (check out this video!) I am very grateful that I got to visit the Holy Land with my husband. Oh Jerusalem, we will never forget you!