We survived the flight back to Israel and got the kids adjusted easier. It's funny going back to the States and seeing the little things that the kids have grown accustomed to as "normal." Alejandro wanted to know why mass was in English, couldn't understand why my dad was pumping his own gas and had aboslutely no clue what a quarter (the coin) was.
With our impending departure, we headed back to sight seeing. This past weekend, we went to
Tel Ashkelon which was one of the five ancient Philistine cities. Like the rest of Israel, it was conquered and ruled by various cultures (Canaanite, Philistine, Phoenician, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic and Crusader all took turns at occupation) leaving a hodgepodge of ruins.
The old Canaanite city gate.
Dante trucking through the remains of the Roman basilica.
Isis is on the left, Nike on the right, Dante in the middle.
"By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea..."
Ashquleon is right on the coast if you haven't figured that out yet..
More ruins, more photo ops...
Alejandro hanging out by the remains of the city wall.
It rained the previous week bringing the desert to life.
Many Israelis have never bothered coming to this national park, and the ones that have only come for barbecues and don't bother checking out the ruins. There are literally hundreds of picnic tables in the park. They totally take everything in their backyard for granted.
(While I've never been to the soap box derby or football hall of fame, there's a big difference between checking out a bust of Isis vs a bust of OJ!) 
The next day, we went to
Bet Gemal where there is a monastery as well as a separate group of nuns that live in a silent community and support themselves by making pottery, tile mosaics, sculptures and paintings. We forgot the camera but I'm going to have to pass on writing a thousand words worthy of the picture we missed taking. Sorry.
I still promised Alfonso a posting with pics from Jerusalem. (His favorite place. Mine -- not so much.) I'll try to get that done before we bail.
Love always,
Debi
Dante (after a really bad haircut) outside the city wall with the Citadel in the background.
Alfonso and his mother at the Citadel
Just inside the Jaffa Gate. There is one road that makes a loop inside the walls of the city. Otherwise, most of the streets are for foot traffic only.
The Western Wall which is the remnants from the outer wall surrounding the Second Temple destroyed in 70 AD. There is a small dividing wall between the brown tables and the white umbrella. Men pray on the left, the women squeeze in on the itty bitty section on the right.
Some Arab girls getting out of school in the Old City
Alfonso on a section of the Via Dolorosa
Another typical street in the Old City
The entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher -- From street level, you can't see the Dome on top (just a side view of a crucifix.) The building isn't stand alone and there are absolutely no signs indicating what it is so it looks like just about everything else in the Old City.
Inside the church...
Picture with one of the soldiers (whose commander ordered him to smile.)
Jerusalem's religion hat trick. Between our heads is the Western Wall, the gold dome is the Dome of the Rock where the Muslims believe Muhammad ascended into heaven on a winged horse with the angel Gabriel, and the grey dome between my head and the gold dome slightly back is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Alfonso and I at the Shrine of the Book, the building at the Israel Museum that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Alfonso would love to live in Jerusalem. I was happy I had the opportunity to go and see it (once.) 
