Wow, what a great trip!!!! I have never been to Israel, but I have been to Cairo, Ephesus, Corinth and Athens. You will love it. My parents were with me and I still have a photo somewhere of my Dad standing in the place in Corinth where Paul was supposed to have stood and preached -- it meant so much to him and is a warm memory over 30 years later. And Ephesus is stunning, I could have explored for days. I hope you are going to the new Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza. It has just opened in the last couple of years and is suppose to be fabulous. I am very envious and will really look forward to hearing about your journeys.
And I understand Celebrity is a great cruise line. Bent wants for us to cruise with them next time we feel we want to cruise.
I will be glad to send you information if you would like to join us! The Egyptian Museum in Giza is part of the trip!!
Other than a few hours in Mexico and a few trips to Canada, I have never been outside the US. I have always wanted to travel, but there was usually something else to spend the money on. Last year my wife and I started talking about how nice it would be to go on a trip, but it was more wishful thinking than anything else.
A friend of mine occasionally acts as a host for Holy Land tours. When I asked him about any upcoming trips, he started telling me about this one. As he talked, I realized each stop was on my bucket list. It also didn't hurt that traveling by boat sounded a lot better than ridding in a bus!
The more Sally and I kept talking about it, the more we realized there may not be too may opportunities for us to do something like this (the years are going by way too fast). The real kicker was when I found out that the trip qualifies as continuing education for me. That means I can get some of it reimbursed. After that bit of news, it was a no brainer! It is a ways a way, but it is something we are looking forward to.