Israel

Israel is beautiful. Jerusalem, especially West Jerusalem, is very modern and cool. There are lots of young adults hanging around the streets enjoying their time. One of our stops in Jerusalem was the Israel museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and the miniature display of Old Jerusalem (below).

The Dead Sea Scrolls are the oldest known texts. They are non-canonized biblical writings dating back to the second century BC to the first AD. The scrolls are known as the greatest archaeological find of modern times because they were found in caves near Qumran (near the Dead Sea) in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd.
We ventured into Old Jerusalem for two days to discover the holiest sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims. It's hard to believe that all of these sites are within walking distance of one another. I guess that explains the trouble we see in the news over the land here.

Below is The Dome of the Rock, a very holy Muslim site. The shrine is built on a site that once held a very important Christian Church, the holiest Jewish Temple and now the holy shrine. It's actually not a Mosque at all, it's a shrine built to "house the rock inside it, held to be the very one where Abraham intended to sacrifice his son (Genesis 22:1-4; Koran 37:100-109)." You can only enter the shrine if you are a Muslim.

The Western wall or Wailing Wall is the holiest site for Jewish people. It is called the Wailing Wall because Jewish people traditionally came here to mourn the destruction of their ancient temple (which now holds The Dome of the Rock for the Muslims).

Only a few blocks away from the Temple Mount stands the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Church was built up around Calvary (the rock where Jesus cross stood) and his tomb.

You can bend down and touch the rock where Jesus cross once stood.

There is now a large shrine built around the tomb where Jesus was laid to rest. Even with all the tourist, it was a very holy experience.

One day on our trip, we traveled to Bethlehem to see the birth place of Jesus. Bethlehem is now inside a separation wall in the West Bank, so we had to go through a checkpoint.

The separation wall is built around most of the prominent West Bank areas. The West Bank is not just one area in Israel, they are little pockets of areas. Below you can see just how high the wall reaches.

The graffiti on the wall inside the West Bank is enormous and overwhelming. Poverty has stricken most of the areas because people no longer want to travel here due to the separation wall.

There was a Armenian church service being held in the crypt of the Church of the Nativity in the exact spot where Jesus was born.

Bethlehem and Jerusalem are absolutely the most influential and spiritual travels we have taken thus far. We were very lucky to have the experience.

Jordan - Dead Sea and Petra

In April, we traveled to Jordan and Israel for a week break. Our first stop was the Marriot Dead Sea Resort, and it was super relaxing. The trip from Amman to the Dead Sea was only an hour, but the weather can change significantly because of the drop in elevation. It could snow in Amman and be 70 at the Dead Sea. Amazing!

The Dead Sea Marriot had 3 pools and a large beach front to swim in the Dead Sea.

The mud from the Dead Sea is said to have many vitamins and minerals, so guests to the Sea rub mud all over themselves and let it dry in the sun before swimming in the 30% saltwater Sea. Scott was well covered. I think he'll look 31 his entire life!

Floating in the Dead Sea is unbelievable! You literally cannot drown because of the salt content. It feels like you are wearing a life jacket. However, it does sting a little on your skin.

Of course we treated ourselves to some nice resort dinners during the trip. Hey, it is a vacation!

After 3 days at the resort, we took a cab to Petra for an overnight stay. I cannot describe how LARGE Petra is as a tourist. Wow! The first significant mention of Petra is in the Old Testament when the Israelites approached the city through the Wadi desert. In 647, the Nabateans built the city into the mountains to what it looks like today (besides the Roman ruins once Rome conquered them of course).

The only entrance into the city of Petra is through a large natural crevice in the sandstone mountains. It's a 2 km walk through narrow passages like you see where Scott is standing.

Once you reach the end of the 2 km. walk, you can see The Treasury. This building should look very familiar to you if you've seen Indiana Jones (if you have not seen the movie, you must have lived in a cave your entire life!).

The Treasury's history is dated to the first century BC, and it was built to impress. Legend says, "In pursuit of the Israelites after the Exodus, the pharaoh was slowed down by having to carry all his treasure, so he created the Treasury and deposited his riches in the urn at the very top of the facade, out of human reach."

After a 3 hour walk, 2 of the hours on steps carved into the rock up hill, we came to The Monastery. The doorway alone to this building is bigger than a house! This is most likely a temple for the Nabatean king Obodas I, who reigned in first century BC. As a matter of fact, many of the facades built into the mountain walls are said to be burial tombs.

Once we reached the top of the hiking path, we overlooked the mountains and desert of Jordan all the way in to Israel. Just beautiful.

Dubai - Fun in the sun!

We went to Dubai for a week in February this year, and we had no idea what we were in for at all. Of course Dubai has the largest tower in the world, and it's seriously in a desert. However, Dubai is beautiful. The architecture is outstanding, and the resorts are to die for. We stayed in 3 different places during our stay, and each one had great service, amazing facilities and beautiful scenery. Dubai is also great for kids! We went to a water park, indoor skiing, and so much more! Let's not even mention the shopping.

We stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel one night. Scott had the hotel put roses, champagne and a cake in the room for Valentine's Day. So sweet!

Here we are in the underwater restaurant found in the Burj al Arab hotel.


You must go indoor skiing at the mall in Dubai. Crazy!
The first part of the week we stayed at the Madanat Jumeirah El Qasr resort on the Persian Gulf, and it was perfect. The service was impeccable, and the resort was HUGE!
The worlds only 7 star hotel.
The front of our resort often had really nice cars like Ferrari's and Bentley's parked. Only in Dubai.





We stayed at the Bab Al Shams resort the last part of the week in the desert. It was very tranquil and beautiful.

We took a desert jeep ride which scared me to death, but Scott had a blast!

Camel riding is a must here.

I will never forget the sunsets here. The sun literally sets in the mist.

Aunt Yvonne in Switzerland!

We were lucky enough to have Aunt Yvonne come visit us in Switzerland in September 2009. She also went to Italy with her friend, but we had her for a nice amount of time to have fun in Zurich, go up Mt. Pilatus, and explore Luzern.


Our first stop was Sprungli in Zurich for some amazing chocolate.

Our next stop was a beer tent to listen to fun German music just next to this picture.

This was the best! I was very nervous to go down this HUGE slide on a metal cart, but Aunt Yvonne and Scott really encouraged me to be brave. At the bottom of the slide, they hook your cart up to a pulley system and bring you to the top again.

Aunt Yvonne brought the best weather. This is the best view from any mountain in Switzerland we have ever seen.


Luzern at night is a must see. We had a lovely Italian dinner with yummy red wine watching the beautiful river.

Zermatt with the Alaskan Martyns

Matt and Julie came to visit us this summer for a week. It was so awesome to share our home with them in this beautiful place of Switzerland.

The town of Zermatt is only accessible by train because they do not allows cars to drive up there.

On top of Switzerland!!

There is a natural glacier on top of the mountain that you can walk into. It was very interesting to say the least.

Dublin, Ireland

We were lucky enough to get tickets to see U2 in Dublin, their hometown, with our friends Joslyn and Phil. It was a weekend full of history and music!

Of course one of our first stops had to be the Guinness Brewery. Arthur Guinness founded this storehouse in 1759, and now the brewery is the largest in Europe.

St. Patrick's Protestant Church is Ireland's national cathedral known as the "people's church". It is said that the church stands in the site where St. Patrick baptized converts in a well in 450 AD.

The Dublin castle was actually a British symbol until 1922 when Ireland became a free state. It was built in the 13th century, and now houses a museum and library.

The Temple bar. We first thought that it was an actual bar, and it is, however, it is also considered an area which covers tons of cobbled streets which includes cafes, bars and theatres. It is a very cool area for night life.

You have to have whiskey in Ireland, especially Jameson.

Trinity College was founded in the 16th century and still has a very vibrant student life. It used to be part of the All Hallows Monastery grounds, but now it's smack dab in the middle of the city. The city grew up around the entire college.




U2!! We have been fans of the band for years. We saw them in Chicago, but knew that Dublin is the bands hometown. So of course we had to see them here! The show was fantastic and almost out of this world.... literally. The stage looks like a spaceship!

Colmar, France - Tour de France

We took a day trip to Colmar, France with our friends Kelsey and Andy. Colmar is known for it's Christmas markets, but we went to see a portion of the Tour de France. The bike race started in 1903 as a 2,500 km race across the beautiful country of France.

Hobie is the Davis' dog. We brought him along to see the action.



We also brought along Lowen, their son, to see Lance. His shirt says Tour de France.

Lance Armstrong rides by very strong. In the end, Lance finished third in the 2009 Tour de France. His teammate, Alberto Contador won first place.