I would like to give a public shout-out of thanks to my husband for driving me to home depot and nurseries numerous times, helping me deliberate over which soil to choose, and actually spending the money on pots and plants. 
Don't be too impressed by the greenery...we bought most everything as starters...but these little beauties below (the tiny things next to the lettuce that actually just look like weeds) are my first seeds coming up. My darling little radishes.
August 31 and September 1:
We spent all day on the beach tanning, napping and playing in the water. Quite relaxing. My only complaint was that magazines in English were like $15 and I had already read all the books I packed.
September 2:
We took a ferry back to Athens. The people we were staying with made a great birthday dinner and delicious birthday cake for Brendon. Happy 29th!
September 3:
We spent the day looking at the ancient sites in Athens again. The Parthenon was really great. I especially loved the Theatre of Dionysus...it had beautiful carvings and sculptures.
Although I have nothing especially specific to post about, I thought I'd write a line or two so you know we haven't dropped dead. We have just been terribly busy moving and settling in at Stanford. We are living on campus in a little (and I mean that literally) loft apartment. I am keeping my amazing husband busy assembling Ikea furniture as I attempt amazing feats of organization to make all of our belongings fit in this cozy space. 
Next we visited the church of St Peter in Gallicantu, where Petere denied Christ three times. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the City of David - which is slightly theme-parkish with a 3D movie and tours and water feature. My favorite part was Hezekiah's tunnel, which is a 30 minute walk in a pitch black tunnel with waist high water. Its purpose was to channel water into the city. It ends at the pool of Siloam, where it is said that Jesus told a blind man to wash and he was healed. If our eyes look kind of freaky in the picture remember we had been in pitch black for 30 minutes before this bright flash went off :)
We visited the Western Wall for the ringing in of the Sabbath Friday evening. We had to take pictures before sundown, as cameras and phones are forbidden after the sun goes down. 
After leaving the Western Wall we went to a delicious dinner with Kyler [Brendon's cousin that we stayed with - the man who made this trip possible :)]
Next we drove down the road to Tabgha, which is where the Mount of Beatitudes, Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, and the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter are located.
View of the Sea of Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes:
Here we are trying to walk on water where Jesus walked on water - but it didn't work so well for us. 
We quickly drove to Nazareth, but arrived after the Basilica of the Annunciation (the supposed site of Mary's childhood home, where the Angel Gabriel would have visited her) had closed. Thankfully the guard let us wander in and listen to part of Mass and get a view of the church. 
I had to be dressed very modestly to enter. 
After our amazing tour, we drove to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Then we drove to Masada, which was once a vacation castle for King Herod, and later became a stronghold for the Jewish people when the Romans invaded. After spending a few hours visiting Masada, we took a swim in the Dead Sea.
This was absolutely one of the highlights of our trip. The Dead Sea is 30% solid matter (salt), and it is just not possible to describe what it feels like to float like that in water. Absolutely no effort whatsoever to stay afloat. It actually takes lots and lots of effort to go under the water or straighten your legs below you. We also had a great time covering ourselves with mineral mud scooped out of the ground. 
