There are certain things you give up to be an American diplomat, and for a long time, one of those things was the right to visit Lebanon for any personal reason. Not such a big issue for people like Severin and Read More
Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary
Before we jumped in our rental car to head back to the airport in Tel Aviv, we had to see what is arguably the most famous of all the sites in Jerusalem. If you are Jewish (or any other religion, Read More
The View from the Top
After walking all around the old city of Jerusalem, seeing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, visiting the Temple Mount, having lunch, and looking for souvenirs at the Armenian Ceramics Center (we left empty handed, except for a spoon rest Read More
Jerusalem, the Holiest City
Our ironic hashtag for this trip was #UnholyintheHolyLand because we really had no idea, nor could we truly appreciate, all we were seeing and experiencing in Israel. In retrospect, I feel a little bit guilty about this and if for Read More
Akko (Acre)
Like basically every other ancient city is this region, Acre has a long and storied history. Everybody has been there– Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Maluks, Crusaders, Ottomans…you name it. We figured since we were already halfway to Acre from Caesarea, we Read More
Wordless Wednesday: The Mosaics of Caesarea
Caesarea
Caesarea (pronounced Kah-ser-iya) is a Roman port built in 25 BC. It was the administrative capital of the Judaea province of the Roman Empire, later taken over by Arabs, then the Crusaders, and much later (i.e., 19th century) by Bozniaks. Today Read More
Israel: What We Ate
For as long as I live, all hummus will be judged against the hummus at Abu Hassan in Tel Aviv. When you hear hummus, you may think of the meal-y, grainy hummus you buy in the refrigerated section of your Read More
Out & About in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv had a super vibe– it was cosmopolitan, the streets were brimming with young people, and we saw a weirdly large number of pregnant women and/or people pushing baby strollers (enough for me to remark on it multiple times). Read More
#UnholyintheHolyLand
In October, we jetted to Israel for a three-day weekend in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The inherent problem with long weekends in Israel is that weekends necessarily involve shabbat, which I can appreciate if you live in Israel and have Read More