Here's the itinery for mum and I'l pilgrimage this year. I plan to bring my laptop with me to write a journal of the trip and so I can upload pictures to it to leave space in the memory stick for more photos. Hope to share everything with bb. :)

There's a site claimed to have "the most important tourist site in Palestine." They do cover most of the places we are going to visit this summer.

Click here for another link.

I'm a bit lost. Geographically speaking, do the Isralis and Palestinians occupy the same country but different region??

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Day 1 (Tuesday) - Flight to Tel Aviv

Airport: Ben Gurion

Day 2 (Wednesday) - Tel Aviv - Jerusalem

Church of Visitation - Church of Dormition [(1), (2), (3), (4), (5)] - Church of St. John the Baptist.

Day 3 (Thursday) - Jerusalem - Bethlehem - Old City

Bethlehem - Church of Nativity [(1), (2), (3)]- Church of Shepherd's Field [(1), (2)] - Old City - Wailing Wall - The Mosque of Omar [(1), (2), (3), (4)]- >The Mosque of El Aqsa [(1), (2), (3)] - The Crusader Church of St. Anne [(1), (2)]- The Pool of Bethesda - Way of the Cross - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre [(1), (2), (3)].

Day 4 (Friday) - Jerusalem - Mount of Olives

Mount Zion - King David's tomb - The Cenacle - Mount of Olives - Garden of Gethsemane - Church of All Nations - Church of St. Peter - Pater Noster Church - Chapel of Ascension - Dominus Flavit Church.

Day 5 (Saturday) - Jerusalem - Qumran - Dead Sea

Day 6 (Sunday) - Tabgha - Capernaum - Mount of Beatitudes - Nazareth - Tiberias

The Sea of Galilee - El Kursi - Mount of Beatitudes - The Sanctuary of the Beatitude - Capernaum - St. Peter House - Ancient Synagogue - Tabgha - The Sanctuary of the Multiplication of Loaves - The Church of Primacy of Peter - Yardenit Baptismal Site - Mount Tabor - The Church of Transfiguration.

Day 7 (Monday) - Tiberias - Cana - Haifa - Caesarea

Cana - The Church of Miracle - Haifa - Bahai - Persian Garden - Mount Carmel - Elijah's Cave - Caesarea - Roman Theatre - Ancient Seaport.

Day 8 (Tuesday) - Tel Aviv to Rome

Rome - Trevi Fountain - Pantheon - Colosseo - Arco di Constantino - Piazza Venezia - Basilica Maria Maggiore - Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.

Day 9 (Wednesday) - Rome

Vatican - St. Peter's Square - Basilica San Pietro - Vatican Museum.

Day 10 (Thursday) - Rome - Naples

Duomo - San Gennaro - The Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore.

Day 11 (Friday) - Naples - Pompei - Assisi

Pompei - Mount Vesuoio - Porta Marina - Basilica - Tempio di Apollo - Giove - Forum.

Day 12 (Saturday) - Assisi - Rome

Basilica of St. Francis - San Damiano - Basilica of Maria degli Angeli - Basilica of Santa Clare - Santa Maria Maggiore - Rome.

Day 13 (Sunday) - Rome

Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano - Scala Santa - St. Paul's outside the walls Church - Catacomba di St. Callisto.

Day 14 (Monday) - Return flight

Day 15 (Tuesday) - Back home

Mum and I will join Father Lok and others on a pilgrimage to Israel and Vatican/Italy. I told Sister Catherine that I would do some homework before I go. I very much treasure this opportunity. It's my first pilgrimage and I get to go to where Jesus was born and lived, and a chance to meet the Pope (although at a distance)! I'm so lucky! If you have read the previous posts, you would know how much I wanted to go - so much so that I was seriously considering resigning if my boss wouldn't allow my leave application! Anyway, I didn't need the ultimatum. :)

What homework? Well, learning and/or refreshing my memory of the significance of the various places that we shall be visiting.

I'm told that there are about 123 of us. Yes, it would be a very big crowd! It will be divided into 3 groups. I don't know if I would be in Father Lok's group, but it doesn't matter - I'm sure the other Fathers are just as good and kind :)

I also suggested to mum that she should do the same too. As Sister Catherine and she are going through the bible, starting from the Old Testament, I suggested that perhaps they could do the New Testament first.

I surfed on the net and came across a website of someone's journal to the Holy Land. I quite like the layout - it started with a summary before going into details. I may do similarly, in due course.

It's Mother's Day today. Went to Sunday Church in the morning and met mum for lunch at noon. She was happy to see the bouquet. Of course, it's from me! hee hee.

I also gave a bouquet to Ms. Chu. She didn't look at it much. She was busy collecting money for donation, doing this and that. Anyway, I noticed that she was a bit agitated. A few others noticed it too.

I told her I might not be there next Sunday. Before I told her the reason, she asked if I would be doing work for Legion of Mary. So smart! I told her I might be needed for the Procession of Mary Mother for Legion of Mary, but am waiting to be told what needs to be done. Then she said I couldn't escape from Father Lok. I don't know whether that was a positive, negative or neutral comment. But as Sister Catherine taught me, I should do what I think it is right. I think helping God through her Church is good and right. Even if Ms. Chu doesn't like it as she prefers us to stay with CC, I can't help it. And you are right, I'm not leaving CC, so sometimes, I'm a bit lost on what exactly is the issue or the problem.

Other members of CC also help their own parish church, but they keep quiet about it, and didn't tell Ms. Chu. If CC's event clashes with their obligations with other church, they just say they would be busy or not available.

I wasn't going to tell her, but she guessed it.

Lunch was good. There was just mum and I. We both enjoyed it. Then we went back to her home. We spent time chatting, and she taught me how to make flowers with ribbon (those you would put on gifts after you have wrapped them). We shared our believe and talked about our pilgrimage this year too. I felt close to her and very much enjoyed the time with her. I hope she feels the same too.

At the end of our lunch, I asked mum if I am any different to before I was baptised. She said yes. She said I'm a lot more energetic now. She said before that, when she called me on Sunday, I'm usually in bed and sometimes, she was afraid to call or she would wake me up. Asking me to join them for dim sum lunch was bad. Either I would say yes, I'll be there in an hour as I needed to wash myself and travel there, or I would ask them not to count on me as they would have to wait for me lah. It was so funny when she said it. Yes, I remembered I said those things myself. Mum said at least now, they get to see me more often and there is better hope for me to join them for dim sum lunch and dinner. I was a bit ashamed of myself, being such a bad daughter.

I'll work on it and improve on it. God help me lah!

For dinner, we stayed at home and she cooked. My brothers and their families joined us too. The food was excellent. Mum is the best cook! The atmostphere was good too.

My sister-in-law said my younger brother and she would be going on pilgrimage this summer too! What co-incidence! They too are going to Israel, although they won't be going to the Vatican. Instead, they would be going to Egypt. That's natural, as they belong to the Church of England; the Vatican doesn't have special meaning to them. Their trip would start on the last few days of ours, so I may not see them much around that time.

It's a wonderful day. My heart is filled with love and joy! Alleluia!