le 3 Aout...

Quel Jour!

It began a little later than anticpated, but we headed out to L'Ecole Militaire to see the Eiffel Tower, but first we grabbed breakfast at a place near the metro. It was a "Petit Dejeuner Francais" with Orange Juice, Buttered Baguette, Croissant and a hot drink (Hot chocolate for me and Jess, Coffee for Ramin), excellent way to start the day. We then head toward the end of the Champs Du Mars for a distant view of the Eiffel Tower. It was a gorgeous day with puffy clouds and bright sunshine. We walked all down the Champs Du Mars and under the tower before heading over to Les Invalides. Jess and Ramin were ok with not going up (seeing the lines also made that decision easier) and I've been up 3 times already, no need for another. So we took the metro over to Les Invalides and came in through the backside and decided to do the museum (Musee de l'Armee) since Ramin and I wanted to see Napoleon. So we walked though the actual museum part ( it was alright, Ramin enjoyed it the most) and then went into the tomb. Its so huge and beautiful inside, and he has such a big sarcophagus for such a small man...

From there we started to walk towards Musee D'Orsay, but hunger stuck and we sat down for lunch at a Brasserie not far from the museum. Lunch for me was a Tartine with ham and goat cheese (you will notice a theme in my meals....) and Jess and Ramin has big salads (yes with goat cheese). After that nice break from walking we went to the Musee D'Orsay and was surprised to find out that the first sunday (today) was free admission! Unfortunately we only had about 1.5 hours before closing so we rushed around and saw the big things ( Van Gogh, Seurat, Rodin's Gates of Hell which is just so incredible to me). I think by the end we had run around the whole thing but didnt have time to take it all in. Once it closed we walked through the Tuileries (via Pont Des Arts, with all the love locks) and enjoyed the beautiful day (and also had to get to the next Metro). They had a summer carnival going on at the Rue de Rivoli side and there was one place where kids were going into inflatable balls on water and it was so funny to watch. They would exert so much energy to stand up and move 2 feet.

After Tuileries I wanted to take them to Saint Chapelle because the sun was in the perfect spot and it would have been phenomenal, but when we got there they were closed for a concert series :( So we left there and headed over to Notre Dame. It had slipped our minds that it was Sunday so when we got into the cathedral they were having mass! So we can now say we've seen a mass at Notre Dame which is pretty cool. We walked around the outside and then it began raining so that was the perfect time to grab dinner! We sat at this nice cafe near Notre Dame, a 3 cheese pizza for me and Jess ( you get one guess as to what kind of cheese was on it!) and a ham and mushroom pizza for Ramin, followed by our first crepes of the trip! So good, i want one just thinking about it. The rain let up by the time we were done so we walked around for a bit and then headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up and called it a night.

August 1-2

Finally getting a chance to get a few words down before we head out for today!

Friday August 1st- Travel Day

So I booked a Delta flight (price was amazing for booking 1 month out) and I haven't flown Delta since I was a child. Terminal E was kind of a joke, like 1 security line for Delta? I guess I'm just spoiled by Terminal D. After a couple gate switches it was time to board. Let me preface real quick that I only had my backpack and a carry-on (since I had a layover in ATL I didnt want to risk not getting my bag in London). So as they load the "zones" I was in the last one. Before they could finish Zone 2 they announced that they were out of overhead space and they would check the remaining carry-ons. I was so pissed! My anger didnt subside when I get on the plane and low and behold the bin across from me has plenty of space... Luckily my bag did make it to London. The flight was uneventful and made it to ATL , changed terminals and had about 15-20 minutes before I boarded to London! They oversold our flight and while $1,300 travel voucher and hotel was tempting, not tempting enough! This plane ride was pretty uneventful as well, they did give out sleeping masks and ear plugs which was nice. I watched The Other Woman with Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Jaime Lannister. It was funny enough, glad I didn't pay for it though! Dinner was pasta with a cheese sauce that wasnt half bad, but originally the flight attendant forgot to bring mine out so I was starving (the only thing i had eaten before was pretzel nuggets at DFW). After that I tried to get some sleep. I'm not a good plane sleeper but i did get about 3 hours, since when I woke up we only had about 1 hour left of the flight. They served a little breakfast and then we arrived in London! Customs was easy (minus the fact the customs girl was asking me a bunch of questions since I didnt put down the Hotel address since I didnt know it..."Do you have a return ticket""yes....") anyways! Made it through and headed to the Tube to take the Picadilly line to St Pancras. There must have been an arsenal game since there were a bunch of people in jerseys getting on the Tube. I also was going to fall asleep on the train, the adrenaline was starting to run low but I arrived in one piece at St Pancras which is such a cool station! All sorts of stores and very modern. I had a very "American" moment walking the station. I was walking on the right hand side and traffic was coming against me. I was so confused as to why everyone was going the wrong way...then it dawned on me... In England they go to the left not right!

I made it the Eurostar office to buy my ticket and the line was sooo slow. Finally I am the next person and this ticket agent comes up to me and this group of girls behind me and asks "One way to paris?" and I say" I am!!" so he pulls us out of the line and straight up gives us tickets! for free!!! So glad I didnt purchase before :) So I check in and get on the train, no one next to me :) I end up falling asleep for most of the trip and wake up literally 10 minutes before we arrive in Paris (so I still dont know what exactly the chunnel is like...).

In Paris, I get my metro tickets and head on over to the hotel no problem (I am a pro at the Metro :) ) and Jess and Ramin had already checked in (and apparently took a nap!) So we caught up and talked about the journey and our flights and such for a couple hours then decided to venture out to grab dinner. I had a salad with a poached egg, toast with goat cheese and lardons and it was soooo good! The goat cheese alone was amazing, so much better than anything you get here. We walked around the neighborhood a little and then headed back to the hotel to call it a day (it was 9-10 at this point)

Jess and Ramin got in earlier, and they were able to walk around a bit. They went to Champs Elysees, grabbed macarons at La Duree (brought me 2!) and saw L'Arc de Triomphe. But she can fill in any gaps about their journey.

Bonjour!

We made it safe and sound :)

I'll post tonight with details on the travel days and our first full day in Paris!

T-Minus 4...

Its finally here! in about 4 hours i will be on a plane getting ready to fly to Hotlanta (ATL), switch a plane and jump the pond to merry old London. Jess and Ramin have a direct flight to Paris so I get to navigate getting to St. Pancras and taking the chunnel alone. They have been give specific directions to go up the Eiffel Tower without me. 3 times is enough... 

I am so excited to be going on this trip. Life has been pretty crazy the past 2 months and im so excited for this next chapter to start out on a fantastic trip with my 2 favorite people! 

Stay tuned for posts/picture and if you have any questions - ask button is to the right!

Return To My True Love...France

Its been 2 years since I left North America last (I would say the country but since Israel I have been to Canada twice, thanks work!) so that means its time for a grand adventure. I'm still a little shocked that this upcoming Friday I will be jet setting back to France since I only bought my ticket earlier this month. Life sometimes throws you places you weren't expecting, but in a good way.

I cant wait to show Jess and Ramin France.The history, the architecture, the FOOD! I plan on having at least 1 macaroon each day, and cheese cheese cheese! Please feed me cheese that isn't allowed in America (reblochon for a tartiflette anyone?). We will be starting in Paris, with day trips to the Loire Valley, Versailles, Mont St. Michele, and Bruges (Belgium). Then we depart for London and have a day trip to Stonehenge, Bath, and Windsor Castle. I leave earlier than Jess and R, and they continue to East Prawle to visit Ramins family. 

6 days...

Ben Gurion Grave, Jaffa, Bat Yam, New York

We started the day seeing Ben Gurions grave and driving back to Tel Aviv. It was a long drive and we went back to Jaffa and got lots of free time to shop in the marketplace. After shopping and lunch we went to Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence for Israel was signed. We had a very impassioned speaker and it was interesting to hear what she had to say. Then we drove to the hotel in Bat Yam which was right on the Mediterranean! We swam for a bit and enjoyed our last night in Israel with all our friends! 

The next day we slept in and got ready for the flight home. It was pretty uneventful flight, I watched 3 movies and got a little sleep. We had to circle New York for "ten" minutes which had to have been over a hour because of storms. We landed but had to wait a while on the runway for our gate to open up so we didnt get back to Debbie's till 11 pm or so. 

Masada, Dead Sea

Went to bed late, had to wake up at 4. We headed over to Masada and climbed the Roman Ramp up to the top. We stood on an ancient bathhouse and watched the sun rise. Really cool. We toured Masada and then went to this one railing where we had a naming ceremony. It was so amazing, we would all yell someones new Hebrew name and it would echo off all the canyons so it sounded like a massive crowd was yelling your name over. So cool!!! Then we did the horrible snake path down Masada. It was horrible hot and long but eventually we made it down. I could not imagine going up that way. The Roman ramp might have been steep but at least it took like 15-20 mins. We reach the visitors center and get breakfast (and hang out in the AC). From there we head to the Ein Gedi Spa on the Dead Sea. We jump in the pool first which feels amazing after hiking down Masada. Then we slathered some dead sea mud on and exfoliated and finally made it to the Dead Sea. It was really warm, almost hot water but it was really cool to float. After a while it starts to burn though so we didnt stay too long in the water, especially since Jess had scraped her knees in Jerusalem and Masada. After Dead Sea we headed to the Kibbutz for the night.

Israel Museum, Cave Crawling, Camel Riding, Bedouin Tent

We left the hotel and headed to the Israel Museum. I had no idea what to expect and I was blown away. Among the things that stood out to me were the synagogues they transported there (similar to how the Met in New York did with the Egyptian temple). They had one from Italy, India, and Suriname. It was very interesting to see the differences. The had all sorts of things from ancient ruins to traditional clothing to jewish art. They also had a model of Jerusalem during the second temple and it was insane to see how large the second temple was. The most impressive thing was probably the dead sea scrolls! I had no idea they were here and it was super cool to see them in person. 

After the museum we headed south and went cave crawling! I almost chickened out but after some encouragement from our soldiers I did it! It was really dark and you were literally crawling but at the end of each little tunnel came a cave. If it were straight tunneling I probably would have gotten really claustrophobic about it. The tunnels we went through were used by refuges for hiding I believe. After we continued south the the Bedouin tent! We hopped off the bus and on to some camels! That was really cool and fun. Half way through we had to switch to donkeys so the other half of the group could ride camels. It was more stressful riding the donkey cause their footing didnt seem as sure and a couple people had already fallen off! Then we went to have Bedouin hospitality. We sat in a large tent and A Bedouin man told us about their traditions and we got to have some refreshing tea, and disgusting coffee. We then had dinner which was one of the best meals we had in my opinion! After dinner we went went beyond the camp into the desert and got to look at the stars and think about everything. It was so clear and you could see the milky way. It was really amazing. 

Yad Vashem, Har Herzl

The was by far the hardest day emotionally. We started out with going to Yad Vashem. The first place we went to was the Valley of Communities which was a memorial to all of the communities and cities where Jews lived before the holocaust. It was very impressive. Then we did a guided tour of the museum and I really wish we had more time to go through, there was so much to see. From there we went to the Childrens Memorial which was very heartbreaking and heavy. It was a dark tunnel with mirrors and a couple candles that made it seem like they were all around you. We ate lunch at the museum and then walked over to Har Herzl, the military cemetery. It was so sad to see all of the graves and the ages, since they were so close to our own. It made it real, and the stories Doron and our soldiers told were really impactful. We went back to the hotel and after dinner we had a speak from the Kol Voice organization to discuss current politics/issues with us. He only really got around to talking about Israel/Palestine but stayed late to talk to a few of us about the situation with Iran. I really gained a lot from his talks since I didnt really understand much about it before.

Jerusalem

We drove to Jerusalem and met our Israeli Soldier who would be joining us for the next few days at the Jaffa Gate to old Jerusalem. We did a brief introduction and then went in. We walked the streets of Jerusalem and Doron pointed out The mount of olives, The church of the holy sepulcher, the dome of the rock, and of course the western wall. It was really cool to see how all of these huge monuments in religion are all so close to each other. We then saw ruins near the Western Wall and then continued to the Western Wall. We put on our modest clothing ( slipped on a long skirt over our shorts) and then went over to the women's side. We slipped in our notes/prayers in the wall and then met up with the group again. Then we went to the souq (market) where we had lunch and had to find dried fruit for our Shabbat Oneg (after dinner little meal). After we went to the hotel and held Shabbat and Shabbat Oneg. It was really interesting to see in the hotel the Shabbat Elevator and the Shabbat Button that turned lights on and off for you on Shabbat so you didnt have to press a button.

The next day was Shabbat and it meant sleeping in and hanging out by the pool! We really enjoyed the day off and felt what Shabbat was all about. After dinner we did preparation for the Yad Vashem (the holocaust museum).

Where are all the pictures? :O

Jess hasn't had the time to go through the thousands she took yet but they will be up...eventually....

Jilaboon Trail, Mount Bental, Golan Heights Winery, River Jordan

This day started out pretty bad but ended really well. We started the day by hiking the Jilaboon (Gilaboin) trail. It was tough! I am not a hiker and in the heat it really was tough, but in the end you make it to this wonderful waterfall. It was the best feeling to be disgustingly sweaty then jump into this cool pool and swim around and just relax. We swam for a bit then headed back. It was tough hiking back as well since it only got hotter! While hiking back we head these noised that sounded like bombs and it was really creepy but Doron told us it was just the IDF( Israeli Army) doing training. After everyone finally made it back we drove off to Mount Bental.

Mount Bental is a currently unused military bunker right on the Syrian boarder. We went into it and learned a little about the Yom Kippur war and relations with syria. We got lunch and then went to the Golan Heights winery. we took a little tour and then got to do a tasting. There was a Riesling, merlot, and muscato. Everyone loved the Muscato the most, but i think i liked the Riesling the best.

Final adventure of the day was river rafting down the river jordan. This was the best way to end a tough day. I was exhausted right up until I saw the raft ( like a 6 person inflatable boat) It was so much fun and really reminded me of tubing back in Texas. There were israeli's on the banks that were just hanging out and would splash us and it was a really fun atmosphere. We capsized once, trying to avoid hitting some kids so now my sunglasses are at the bottom of the jordan! But I had a great time even then. It was one of the most fun things on the trip!

Tzfat

We left the kibbutz and drove to Nahariya Beach to frolick in the Mediterranean Sea. This was a blast and a great way to start the day, it was surprising how warm the water was! After a short while we changed and got back on the bus and drove to Tzfat (tsfat or safed) which is a mystical city know for kabbalah. This was the first time we had to wear "modest" clothing ( aka no shoulders or knees showing) so Jess and I wore jeans. biggest mistake.ever.

Anyways, we toured a little synagogue and got to see the candle factory where they made gorgeous candles. We got to see like a 5 minute demo of how they color and make twisty candles and what the different number of wicks mean in judaism ( there was one with like 32 wicks and it was insanely braided). Then we broke for lunch where we tried Schwarma! It is basically a Gyro ( or as I know them, Kebab) but it was very good. Then we got to walk around for a bit and do some souvenir shopping.

After free time we got to go to this place, Livnot U'Lehibanot where we broke into groups and discussed jewish ethics and sang songs ( which me and jess did not know...) It was a cool discussion and the leader was a very jovial man and just had a very contagiously happy diposition. After we headed to Kibbutz Afik which is in Golan Heights, north Israel, looking our on the sea of Galilee. After dinner we got to see the end of the sunset over the sea which was a cool experience.

New York to Tel Aviv

Monday- Jess and I wake up super early to get to the airport 4 hours ahead of time. We make it to JFK and find our group. Eventually we get in line for EL AL check in and security. EL AL is one of the safest airlines because they do their own security screening before you check in, where someone asks you questions and they try to sniff out terrorists and such.So Jess went first and I went to another guy, but soon she joins me because we are traveling together and they question us together. It was very nerve wrecking since it feels like they are judging how jewish you are ( or at least thats how I felt) and they ask questions like " why are you going to Israel? Do you practice judaism? how many cups of wine do you drink at passover?...." After this we check bags, get boarding passes and go through security, grab some food and then chat at the gate. Our 10 hour flight was pretty uneventful, some turbulence over canada but a smooth flight overall. I got a little sleep but never in more than 1.5 hour periods.

Tuesday- We landed around 3:30 am Israeli time, got baggage and then changed money and met our tour guide, Doron. There is a mini-orientation and eventually we make it on the bus and drive to Jaffa. Jaffa is basically in Tel Aviv and is older than Jerusalem. We drove around and went to this little hill for breakfast. It had amazing views of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean. I was really surprised at how many cranes and how much construction was going on in Tel Aviv. We play an ice breaker then jump back on the bus and go to Rothschild Boulevard. It is the most expensive place to live  and it one of the oldest parts of Tel Aviv. The architecture was cool, a mix between 1920's and Bauhaus. So we walked down it and made it to the national theatre and then toured Rabin Square. Rabin Square is where in 1995, Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated. It was interesting to hear the events as well as Doron's ( our tour guide) story since he was there at the rally where it happened. After that we have free time so we go to the lightly air conditioned mall and I buy a hat ( since I didnt in dallas). Before I continue I have to tell you that the heat was nothing I was expecting. It was the most humid I can ever recall being, so being exhausted from the flight and in this steam bath was not the most pleasant experience. Anyways Jess and I walk around Rabin square some more then we meet back with the group and go to Neot Kdumim.

Neot Kdumim is a biblical nature preserve where everything there on the 2000 acres is mentioned in the bible (Torah), and if its not mentioned, its not there! Our guide talks a bit and then we go plant almond seeds to "plant roots" and then walk and pick olives and use and ancient olive press. Then we used a mortar and pestle to grind our own za'atar ( a blend of spices similar to oregano). This was a very cool experience, especially planting a tree.

Finally we got to drive to the Kibbutz Shomrat and it was a simple evening with dinner and an evening program. We were so glad to have showers by the end of the day since we were so not expecting that level of humidity and heat ( we had seen that jerusalem was supposed to be 92 and silly us assumed that this would be the same all around but no, lots of humidity where we were)

Israel

So we are over halfway through our trip and it has been non-stop and limited wifi access but hopefully I can start catching up on the trip tonight. First I need to pack though because we are going to be in a Bedouin tent and have just a backpack with us. I just wanted to let you all know that we are doing alright in Israel!

Later New York!

Today was our last day in New York before Israel. We only had one major thing left to do which was go to the Natural History Museum. Me and Jess agree that this was the worst museum visit thus far. But lets rewind a little to breakfast, where we had delicious bagels and schmear! we walked across Central Park and got to the museum and entered through the side instead of the hectic front entrance. We got our tickets to the planetarium show and walked around a bit before we headed over. The planetarium show was really cool and fascinating, it really makes you feel small compared to the universe! We then walked around the museum for a bit but it got old fast. The museum itself feels very old and outdated, like it is still the same as it was in 1970 , except for the new space section and the dino section. The taxidermied animals and human exhibits were very dull ( the giant blue whale in the marine part was cool though). Jess really enjoyed the minerals room, but personally I can only look at so many rocks before I'm over it! After that we had a slight misadventure on the subway, mainly getting off a stop early and waiting a long time for the train but eventually we made it back to Rockefeller Center and we went to the top of the Rock.

In my opinion, this was better than the empire state building. It was much more open and way less crowded up top. There was no wait to get to the elevators and the elevator ceiling was clear and lighted so you could watch yourself go up the shaft which was neat. We hung out there for a bit then made our way back to the apt. Now we are getting ready for the big day tomorrow! Gotta catch a cab at 5 am!