Our first Israeli Adventures!

We ventured out of our bubble for the first time and went all the way north to the Jordan border to tour an amazing site- Beit She'an. We drove about 1.5 hours and went through some very interesting Arab towns on our way up- what a far cry from the world we are used to back home. Never did I think I would be standing near the shore of the Jordan river, but there we were.  The history of this location is extensive, and way more than I care to write (and you probably care to read).  I prefer to share this incredible site via the pictures, but included a little blurb from the tourism website below.

Taking Selfies like a BOSS!

Taken directly from the website, "Beit She’an was first settled way back in the Chalcolithic Period (some 5,000 to 6,000 years ago). The city has had many conquerors, among them the Egyptians some 3,500 years ago. A few hundred years later, the Philistines conquered it (it was they who fastened Saul’s body to the wall of Beit She’an after the famous battle on Mount Gilbo’a: 1 Samuel 31 .8 – 11). Beit She’an became part of the kingdoms of David and Solomon, and was eventually destroyed in a fire, apparently at the hands of the King of Assyria (in 732 BCE). Beit She’an was rebuilt as a Hellenistic city about 2,300 years ago, and was renamed Scythopolis (“City of the Scyths”). In the succeeding Roman period, it spread south, reaching the peak of its greatness in the fifth century, when it had 30,000 – 40,000 inhabitants. 

This was such an incredible sight to see- and if you ever come to Israel, must be on your list. Pictures really don't do it justice.  I felt so adventurous being on the border of Israel and Jordan, and weaving through little Arab towns to find this place.  I'm so lame.  Just don't come when its 90 degrees and 75% humidity, because that definitely meant we had to book it out of there a lot quicker than we hoped.  Since it was so hot, Ledoux and I clearly needed to buy some sweet new hats for the sun. #Anyexcusetoshop.  Im sure we paid way more than they were worth just to own an authentic Israeli sun hat (aka made in China).  We left sweating like pigs, but man was it worth it! We will be going back in the winter when its much cooler- the site is so large and spread out that we didn't even get to scratch the surface of exploring.

In other news, we have officially started planning our travel outside of Israel.  I made quite the bucket list for our little family of places we must see over the new few years- and our first few destinations have been booked!  Let me tell you, the highlight of living here is the fact that we are $200 RT away from destinations that I would have only dreamed to have visited- and I plan to take full advantage. I am not going to come back from Israel with a lot of money saved, but shit- we are going to come back with some amazing stories and adventures. We let Ledoux "choose" our Christmas trip this year.  We wrote out 6 choices, buried them in the sand, and had her dig until she found one.  After lots of sand digging, she pulled out Switzerland and Southern Germany- and I am so excited!  She doesn't quite get it, but hearing her say Swvitz-a-lund is kind of adorable. 

our first 6 choices for Christmas

Trip 1: Back home to Tucson (not a bucket list destination, but exciting to visit Target again!) We will be home all of November

Trip 2: The week before Christmas we will be heading to Switzerland and Germany to hit up all of the magical Christmas Markets! I am seriously giddy inside- the pictures of the Christmas markets are everything I have dreamt Christmas should be.  Snow, twinkle lights as far as you can see, hand-made treasures, and fresh baked yummies in the open markets. 

Trip 3: The end of January we head to Athens (you guys, the tickets RT per person were $119... are you freaking kidding me?!)  

Trip 4: In February, we will be headed someone super special but it hasn't been booked just yet (but it might include a visit to Disneyland in a place that isn't Cali or Florida!) ;)

And last but not least, I felt I needed to share the magic in a bottle I found last night. Ahh yes. If it looks like a Corona, and (kind of) tastes like a Corona, its Corona, right?  Don't steal my thunder people.  Now if I could find some tacos...