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| Day 1 |
USA/Rome |
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Board your overnight international flight to Rome. Dinner and breakfast are served on board. |
| Day 2 |
Rome |
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Welcome to the Eternal City! Upon arrival, meet with your escort and transfer to your hotel for check in. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure. Overnight: Rome x 3 nights. [D] |
| Day 3 |
Rome* |
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Visit the Religious Rome starting with the Vatican Museums and its unique treasures: the Candelabras, the Tapestries and the Geographic Maps Galleries, the Raphael Rooms and Michelangelo's magnificent masterpiece - the Sistine Chapel. Continue to St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church building in Christianity and visit the burial place of St. Peter and Pope John Paul II. Proceed to visit the three major Basilicas: St. Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, a shrine containing a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus; St. John in Lateran, the former residence of the Popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377; St. Paul Outside the Wall, which houses the remains of St. Paul under its main altar. [BD]
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| Day 4 |
Rome* |
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Tour of Rome including: the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. Enjoy the rest of the day at you leisure: time for last minute shopping. (B/D]
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| Day 5 |
Rome/Tel Aviv/Nazareth |
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Transfer to the airport for your flight to the Holy Land. Upon arrival, drive towards Galilee, to Nazareth; en route stop to visit the Sanctuary of Stella Maris on Mount Carmel. Arrive in Nazareth, "the flower of Galilee". Overnight: Nazareth x 3 nights. [BD] |
| Day 6 |
Galilee/Nazareth |
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Ascent to Mount Tabor to visit the Sanctuary of the Transfiguration of Jesus, then continue to Cana site of the wedding and of the first miracle. Return to Nazareth and visit the Church of the Annunciation, the New Basilica and the Church Of St. Joseph. [BD] |
| Day 7 |
Galilee |
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Sail on the Lake of Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) and visit the ancient synagogue and home of Simon Peter in Capernaum. Proceed to Tabgha (Heptabagon), site the Primacy of Peter and of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. Visit the Sanctuary on Mount of the Beatitudes and continue to Yardenit with a stop for renewal of Baptismal promises in the Jordan River. [BD] |
| Day 8 |
Dead Sea/Judean Desert |
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Travel along the Jordan Valley to (he Dead Sea to visit Qumran, site of the Dead Sea scrolls. Proceed through the Judean Desert to Jerusalem and then continue to Bethlehem. Overnight: Bethlehem (or Jerusalem) x 4 nights. [BD] |
| Day 9 |
Bethlehem |
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Visit: the Basilica of (he Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus; the Grotto of St. Jerome; the Shepherds' Field, where the angels announced the birth of Jesus. Continue on to Ein Kerem, traditionally considered the birthplace of John the Baptist, to see the Church of Visitation, where Mary and Elizabeth met. [BD] |
| Day 10 |
Jerusalem |
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TVisit Jerusalem: Mr. of Olives; the Basilica of the Agony, known also as the Church All Nation; the Church of Pater Noster; Dominus Flevit; the Church of Saint Anne and the Pool of Bethsaida, where Jesus healed the paralytic man. Participate in the Stations of the Cross along the "Via Dolorosa" to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. [BD] |
| Day 11 |
Jerusalem |
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Start the day visiting: Mt. Zion, the Church of the Last Supper and the Dormition Abbey, After a stop at the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism, enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure or to reflect on the many years of Christian continuity in the world centre of the Western Church. [BD] |
| Day 12 |
Rome/USA |
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Transfer to Tel Aviv airport for your return flight to the USA via Rome.
*IF SUNDAY - attend the Sunday mass in St. Peter's Square and the Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI;
IF WEDNESDAY - attend the weekly Papal Audience in St. Peter's Square and the Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. |
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