Tel Aviv, Israel

Israel was amazing. How can I be walking where Jesus walked?! It is thrilling. Although there are armed soldiers everywhere and obvious divisions in spiritual thought, the reality is there: Jesus died, was buried, and ROSE AGAIN here! Regardless of what everyone thinks, reality screams loudest here! Jesus is ALIVE and well, and unimpeded by schools of thought, however radical they may be!

2010-05-03 Wonderful Day Exploring Istanbul, Turkey

I went EVERYWHERE today: saw Sultan's palaces, famous Blue Mosque, everyday life in Istanbul, museums, parks, shopping areas, ancient cisterns, and government buildings. Saw the beautiful City from a hilltop for an amazing multi-course Turkish dinner with Gary's team, a great group of people. I was honored to have a tour guide show me the city. I was able to see Joseph's turban!, David's sword!, and even the skull and arm bone of John the Baptist. My day put history into a new perspective for me. I realized how important a city Istanbul is, being on the straight...

The Bosphorus or Bosporus also known as the Istanbul Strait is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles. The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, it connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara (which is connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea, and thereby to the Mediterranean Sea). It is approximately 30 km (19 mi) long, with a maximum width of 3,700 m (12,139 ft) at the northern entrance, and a minimum width of 700 m (2,297 ft) between Kandilli and Aşiyan; and 750 m (2,461 ft) between Anadoluhisarı and Rumelihisarı. The depth varies from 36 to 124 m (118 to 407 ft) in midstream. The shores of the strait are heavily populated as the city of Istanbul (with a metropolitan area in excess of 11 million inhabitants) straddles it.

2010-05-02 Arrivederci to Italy and Flying Out to Turkey...

Today was a sad day. I was really crying to say goodbye to Laurie and Mike and the awesome memories we shared! We got up early and headed to the airport. Took a short flight to Roma from Palermo, then we grabbed our baggage and headed to our separate terminals: Laurie and Michael to Michigan, and Gary and I to Istanbul, Turkey. Arrived in Istanbul, and was greeted by a member of Gary's wonderful team. Checked into our hotel, and then toured around a little bit. Walked all over the city: it was PACKED with THOUSANDS of people picnicking and barbequeing and shopping...

We then went to an amazing restaurant that had Turkish food -- it was soooooo good! It was on the order of Lebanese food -- so fresh and wonderful! I LOVED it!

2010-05-01 Another day exploring near Terrasini

Today we drove through Capaci and then went for a visit to Carini, Mrs. Carollo's family's home town. We talked to some people in the town, and looked around quite a bit. Stopped for coffee. Then we went back to the hotel for lunch, and headed out for Palermo. We shopped and looked around Palermo, and walked all over the place. We then went to Terrasini and watched a gorgeous sunset. We found an amazing restaurant, Casablanca, which was run by a husband/wife/daughter team. The husband did the bookwork, the wife did all the cooking and serving, and the daughter just brought us the bill! We trusted the cook to prepare a "special dinner" for us, and although it was different than what we would have ordered, it was amazing! It was a fantastic last evening together in Sicily. We finished up with Euchre, and then packed up so we could get up early to leave the next morning.

Bei ricordi insieme che non sarà mai dimenticata ...

(Wonderful memories together that will never be forgotten!)