In Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring

We got to visit lots of playgrounds in Israel! They are different from the ones in the U.S. and they are really fun! This playground was in the Old City, Jerusalem.  The swing was really fun! The park was really fun! You could slide down and also climb up! Sliding down! There were also two long blue slides! We also got to visit two parks in Tel Aviv. The first park was like an amusement park. It had like 20+ swings! This park also had two of the swings that we saw in Jerusalem! This park also had a giant playground with at least 12 slides! There was something that you could go on and it would take you down to the ground! Near this park in Tel Aviv was another park. It was really fun, too. On our last night in Tel Aviv, we also visited a park next to the beach! I hope you had a great time reading this post! Read more about our trip to Israel here: A Special Birthday Looking Back - the 8 days of S...

The Old City of Jerusalem is a fascinating place to visit in Israel. There is too much to write about in the Old City of Jerusalem than can be contained in one blog post. In this blog post, I will just be writing about the interesting bits & pieces of the Old City of Jerusalem. Jerusalem lies in the center of 3 continents of the world: Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Old City of Jerusalem lies at the very heart of Jerusalem, the center of the center of the world. Let's begin our journey at the most impressive part of the Old City - the city walls. The city walls of the Old City of Jerusalem were very important in ancient times. The walls of the Old city are 5 to 15 meters tall, and stretch for approximately 4.5 km. The wall is also 3 meters thick (10 feet) at its base. Even to the modern eye, Jerusalem's walls are very impressive! Think about how the people of the ancient times would see the walls! Walls provided a sense of protection to a city. Wi...

"Ha Kotel" means "The Wall" in Hebrew. The Western Wall, also known a s  the Wailing Wall, is the most holy place for Jews all over the world. So, what's so special about the Western Wall? The Western Wall was part of the wall that surrounded the walls of the temple. The Western Wall is the closest surviving wall to the Most Holy place. People from all over the world pray at the Western Wall. The Western Wall is also known as "The Wailing Wall" because many people weep because the temple is destroyed and because God's people have not returned to Him. Before you enter the Western Wall, you must go through security check first. The Western Wall is very safe! After security check, you descend down the stairs to the Wall. A sign welcomes you at the right. It says, "Welcome to the Western Wall, a remnant of the Temple". Psalm 112:6-7 is written on the sign in Hebrew and English. The Western Wall is a...

Today, we went on a tour with Dr. Pfann, the President of the University of the Holy Land. We toured the Botanical Garden of the Hebrew University, and we learned a lot about the plants of the Bible. Israel is in the center of 3 continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. There are many different climates in Israel, too. This is why there are so many different kinds of plants and flowers that grow in Israel. We first stopped by a lavender plant.  Lavender in Israel looks a bit different from ones in the US, but it smells just as nice! This tree below is the Ceratonia Siliqua , also known as the Carob Tree. The Carob Tree can be used for food and medicine. There are male and female Carob Trees. This tree is a male tree because of the stamens on the branches. We will talk more about carob beans at the end of the post. Below is the  Majorana Syriaca , the hyssop of the Bible. It was used for cleansing. When you dip it in the water, it can really soak up all t...