Tiberius

We made a quick trip to Israel this week to attend a dear friend's--really, she is like family to us--engagement. Quick, as in 20 hours in country, but what a wonderful 20 hours it was!

The engagement took place at our friend's family home in a village near Nazareth, and we stayed in a guesthouse about a half-hour's drive away in Tiberias, right on the Sea of Galilee. Our friend's fiance, an American man, who is fast becoming a good friend of our family's, made all the arrangements for us and what a good job he did; our guesthouse was located next the Church of Saint Peter, and overlooked the Sea.

Arriving in Tiberias at about 2:30pm, we had about five hours to relax before the van arrived to transport us to the engagement. First we slept. Car travel in the Jordan Valley during warm dusty weather is tiring, as are border crossings. Then we spent a little time on the roof of our guesthouse sipping tea and taking in the view.

Since dinner would not be served until about 10pm, we wandered down to the boardwalk to look for something to eat. Dear husband and I settled on Saint Peter's fish.

After dinner number one, it was back to our rooms to get cleaned up and gussied up for the engagement party. (Stay tuned for a post on the engagement ceremony and party later this week...)

We got to bed around 1am--not too late, really, considering how these kinds of celebrations can go--and we had to be up for breakfast the next morning before the dining room closed at 8:30am. The dining room was in a separate building, adjacent to Saint Peter's; on the way to breakfast, I noticed the interesting architecture and art, so returned with my camera after eating to take a few photos.

Dining Hall of the Casa Nova Guesthouse

One of the outside gates of the church complex

Saint Peter

Across the walkway from our guesthouse we found Saint Andrew's Church...

...and the tidy church garden.

Another guesthouse and cafe down by the boardwalk

I like how this cafe preserved these old trees and made them part of the cafe's architecture. And to our left, the Sea of Galilee/Lake Tiberias.

Tayta and I had fun taking pictures of seagulls standing at attention--or so it seemed.

And though we didn't get into the countryside to see the wildflowers, I found this common wild mustard plant growing by the park lot of the guest house. I have to include at least one flower shot!

And these cool trees were growing around the area. Imagine how much fund it would be for kids to play in these trees--Tayta was inspired to enter "the forsest" as a wood nymph.

All the ladies of our traveling party and my friend, the bride-to-be, standing next to me. Still lots of smiles the day after the party as we packed ourselves into the waiting van to head back to Jordan.