Steph and I spent 4 nights in Nazareth after arriving Sunday evening. We stayed at the Fauzi Azar Inn, a 200 year old guest house that previously was an Arab mansion. Marble flooring, 6 meter high hand-painted ceilings, a courtyard with stone arches and a balcony with views of the city made this Inn one of the best places we have stayed on the trip. It was so comfortable that we spent an entire day just lounging, leaving only once to get something to eat. David Landis, a friend I have known since childhood, is currently living in Nazareth and recommended we stay at the Fauzi. Unfortunately we missed David by less than a week, as he departed for the States last Tuesday.

One of Steph's college volleyball teammates, Anna, also lives in Nazareth. We spent a day with her and her friend, Hinke, and hiked part of the Jesus Trail. The Jesus Trail was created by David and his friend, owner of the Fauzi Azar Inn, and is a 65 km trail following the footsteps of Jesus throughout the Galilee region. Our hike brought us to the Arbel Cliffs which overlooked the Sea of Galilee. From our viewpoint we could see the area where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, Capernaum, where He fed the 5,000, and of course the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walked on water.

Tired from our hike, we sat for a while, ate our lunch and took in the scenery. Steph and I decided to hitchhike back to the nearby town of Tiberias where we would catch a bus back to Nazareth. An older couple speaking English were standing nearby, so Steph asked them for a ride. They were more than willing to take us back to Tiberias, so we followed them back to their car. We asked them about their travels, and they asked us about ours and how we know each other. Steph and I are typically met with one of two responses after we tell someone that we are Mennonite and met at a Mennonite university: 1) a blank stare, or 2) "Oh, you're Amish!" However, this couple stopped dead in their tracks and the man pointed at his wife who raised her hand and excitedly said "I'm Mennonite, too!" With that, we hopped in the car with this couple from Idaho and headed to Tiberias where we were dropped off and sat on the rocks along the Sea of Galilee for a couple of hours before heading back to Nazareth.

Yesterday Steph and I visited the Basilica of the Annunciation, the church built where it is believe the angel visited Mary and told her she would be the mother of Jesus. Afterwards we ate dinner for the third time at Tishreen's, a local restaurant that we fell in love with, and chatted for over three hours specifically about how our trip is coming to an end very shortly...