Holy Land Pilgrimages to Israel featuring Foodies Tours

This afternoon we will depart home for our connecting flight to the Holy Land.  Breakfast and Dinner will be served aboard the Transatlantic flight.

Our guide will welcome us and assist us with our luggage and boarding the bus for a drive to our hotel along the Mediterranean Coast. Enjoy Mass and a buffet dinner at the hotel.

We start our day with a visit to Caesarea Maritima to see the superb remains of the city that Herod built. This city is mentioneded in the Acts of the Apostles. Our next stop is Mt. Carmel to see the Shrine to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Here we will have Mass over the Cave where Elijah the prophet once lived. After Mass, we will have lunch in the Druze Village atop Mt. Carmel. Enjoy the rich ethnic tradition of openness and hospitality as we share a traditional lunch at the home of a local Druze family who serves lunches.
In the afternoon, continue to Galilee. Tonight, we will enjoy a special Welcome Dinner in a local restaurant. Here we will meet the chef/owner of the restaurant who will prepare a menu based on the 7 foods of the promised land. We will learn of the symbolism of these foods and their use in holy rituals, and there will be a wine-tasting station and a food preparation station at this festive meal.  Overnight at a hotel in Galilee.

Today we travel to Nazareth, where we visit the Basilica of Annunciation, which stands over the cave that tradition holds to be the home of the Virgin Mary. We will visit Mary’s Well where the Angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she will bear the Son of God, and the Church of St. Joseph, which tradition identifies as the workshop and home of the Holy Family. Enjoy a delicious lunch, at a local restaurant and a visit to an ancient spice shop in Nazareth. In the afternoon, we’ll visit Cana, the village of Jesus’ first miracle of changing water into wine. Here at the Wedding Church at Cana, couples may renew their wedding vows.  Buffet dinner and overnight at a hotel in Galilee.

Begin with Mass at the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee followed by a visit to the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha. See the exquisite ancient mosaics located here.  Afterward, we will drive up to the Golan Heights to visit the Jezreel Valley Winery, one of the top wineries in Israel. Enjoy lunch in the area before visiting Jesus’ hometown Capernaum and enjoying a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Buffet dinner and overnight at a hotel in Galilee.

Depart for Mount Tabor where we will have Mass at the site of the Transfiguration. Here we will have time to reflect on Christ’s Humanity and Divinity while overlooking the valley below. We drive down the Jordan Valley to the ancient town of Jericho where we see the Mount of Temptation. Near Jericho, we’ll stop at the Baptismal site at the Jordan River.  Afterward, we will visit Taybeh village, the only All-Christian village in the Holy Land. We are greeted by the town’s former mayor, an American from Boston, and the owner of Taybeh Brewery, which we tour.  Drive to Jerusalem, and enjoy a buffet dinner and overnight at the hotel.

We start the day with a drive to Ein Kerem, to see the Church of the Visitation and Birthplace of St. John the Baptist.  Then visit the Israel Museum to see the Model of Jerusalem as it was during the time of Jesus. We also see the famous Dead Sea Scrolls discovered by a Bedouin boy in 1947, which contain the oldest known copy of the Old Testament.
We depart for Bethlehem where Lunch will be at a local Kebab restaurant where we can watch as they prepare our meal. In the afternoon we visit the Church of the Nativity.  Celebrate Christmas Mass in the cave at the Shepherds’ Fields. As an expression of our solidarity with the local Christian population, we shop here to help support the local Christian families. Special Dinner tonight in a Christian Home in Bethlehem, with a Family that will show the Traditions and the Hospitality of Christians.

Start the day with a visit to Ascension Chapel and Bethpage where Our Lord Jesus Christ started His Palm Sunday walk. Stop at the Church of the Pater Noster where Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer. Then on to the Mount of Olives for a walk down Palm Sunday Road stopping at Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over the city. Visit the Garden of Gethsemane and celebrate Mass at the Basilica of Agony. Visit the empty tomb of the Virgin at the Church of the Assumption. For lunch, we will go to a local restaurant for a Shawarma lunch. 
In the afternoon we go to Mount Zion to visit the House of Caiaphas, now the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. Here we will descend to the dungeon where Jesus was imprisoned on the night of His capture. We will visit the Upper Room and talk about Biblical Food and what could have been served during the Last Supper, and visit the Dormition Abbey.  Special Dinner prepared by Chef Moshe Basson, who will serve a modern interpretation of biblical cuisine, at his Eucalyptus Restaurant located in Artist Quarter. 

Early this morning we pray the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa and celebrate Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Here, we will visit Calvary where Christ was crucified, and the Tomb where He was buried. We continue with a visit to the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, the Church of St Ann’s, and the Pools of Bethesda. 
For lunch, we go to Lina’s Restaurant, the place that Old City locals rate as the best Humous and falafel in Jerusalem.  The family business opened 60 years ago and is currently run by the 2nd and 3rd generations for over 25 years.  This will include time for shopping at the local food market. Continue to Mahane Yehuda Market with its local chefs and introduce us to flavors and foods we have never experienced before.  Dinner tonight is in a celebrated local restaurant, Modern.  The restaurant has a spacious wide bar and intimate and cozy seating.

Today we will head to Kfar Hanikodim to experience a traditional Bedouin meal.   The Bedouin hosts dressed in white Jalabiyas will welcome the guests and invite them to sit on soft, comfortable mattresses. The guests are seated circularly around the Sania (a large tray). In the center of the Sania is the Magluba– a rice and vegetable dish served on thin pita bread, afterwards we’ll take a camel for a “test drive” in the desert. Guided by the Bedouin, for whom the camels are like part of the family, we will ride into the heart of the desert, into its breathtaking primeval landscape. In the afternoon head to the Dead Sea for a float before going back to the hotel.  The Dead Sea Salts have many health benefits for your skin.  Our dinner tonight is at the unique Cheese and Wine Restaurant on the rooftop of the Notre Dame Center – one of the best restaurants in Jerusalem with the best views!  

Transfer to Tel Aviv airport for the return flights home.