Mistake #1 of the day: underestimating the cold weather! My toes were numb in my flip flops!!! Oops!
We headed toward the bus stop that had been pointed out to us and hopped on.
Mistake #2 of the day: getting on the bus headed the wrong direction. Thankfully we are the last stop before the bus station so we didn't go far out of our way. Hopped back on the bus and we were off!
Arrived in Bethlehem to discover:
Mistake #3 of the day: choosing the ONE day of the ENTIRE year when the manger scene is closed for cleaning!!! What?!?!
So, we met a nice couple who told us we should just walk around to the backside and at least peek in the church. So we did. And there we met a priest who at least let us peek though a hole the size of a dime in a door where we could see the beloved spot where Jesus was born. Yes, really. We figured that would be it for us!
Here's a picture of the girls standing by the door that we peeked through.
But... Thankfully, we heard that the cleaning would be finishing earlier than expected and the manger scene would reopen in about an hour.
So, we headed off to look around and the girls found some cute boots! I wished I found some cute boots but I was happy for them. My toes, on the other hand, were not so happy.
Seeing the place of Jesus' birth was a really cool experience. Imagining what it must have been like. You can see the spot where the shepherds would have been standing on the mountain which is pretty neat too.
The girls at the entrance in their new boots.
We then found a cute little authentic restaurant a little off the beaten path and had our first taste of the famous falafel which was delicious and some hummus that was out of this world!
We found a few souvenirs and then hit the bus back to our place. But not before Kiley gave us all a good laugh/scare. At the restaurant, we were discussing some of the current events and history behind these countries. Kiley says so sweetly "I don't want there to be a war or anyone to get hurt, but if there is, I hope Israel wins back their land!" Oops! We said "shhhh!" right away and explained that now is probably not the best time to share whose side you're on! ;) It's one of those times you're not quite as excited that your seven year old is so up to date on her historical knowledge.
The girl is rocking Old Testament history, btw, thanks mostly to her stellar dad. She was spouting out places and events that I truly knew nothing about. She was so excited to see the mountain that King Herod leveled out to build a temple on?!! Who knew. And she's ecstatic about heading to the Western Wall tonight.
We're resting now, well, I'm blogging and Kiley's asking every five minutes how much longer. But we're supposed to be resting to be ready for tonight's adventures.
Have a great day everyone! And Happy New Year!!!
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