Europe!

Back to blogging! Sit back and relax because this is a long posting. I have had a wonderful vacation with Zach and have met my match for travelling adventures. Zach flew to Israel and we began our trip in Jerusalem. We walked around the old city and went to the kotel. From there we met Brinda and Ami for dinner at a nice fish restaurant. It was a cold evening in Jerusalem, hopefully one of the last for the winter. The next morning we got up and drove to Kfar Malal to see the family there. Zach had rented a car when he arrived in Israel which made travel on Shabbat wonderful! No standing around waiting for a sherut for us. He also downloaded a map of Israel onto his GPS so no getting lost either. It was a pleasure. We spent the day there. Zach had rented a car when he arrived in Israel which made travel on Shabbat wonderful! No standing around waiting for a sherut for us. He also downloaded a map of Israel onto his GPS so no getting lost either. It was a pleasure. We spent the afternoon visiting with Tal and his family, Shai and Yaacov. We had a great lunch served by Natalie who is a wonderful cook. We were entertained by the children and we got to see the new store that Tal and Yaacov are opening. They sell hot tubs, trampolines, play ground equipment and saunas. It was such a nice day and I enjoyed introducing Zach to all of the children and we got to see the new store that Tal and Yaacov are opening.

That evening we returned to Jerusalem and strolled along Ben Yehuda Street. Sunday we went to visit Yad Vashem. To me, it explains in ways which words cannot, why Israel is so important. We spent several hours there. After our visit, we went to the hospital where I am volunteering. It was also important to me to show Zach where I am working and introduce him to my children. Even though I am just a volunteer, I feel my work is of value and that I am contributing to the country and the hospital. Zach can now understand first hand, why this is important to me and why I feel the need to see my commitment through to the end. After visiting the hospital we went back to the old city with my roommate Eliana and had lunch at a wonderful hummus restaurant (Lena’s) in the Arab shuk. I made reservations for Zach to tour the tunnels under the wall and he was able to enjoy seeing the kotel at night which is an amazing sight.

Monday morning we walked to the market in the old city and shopped for our lunch. We then got in the car and drove to Caesara. Caesara is a beautiful Roman settlement on the Mediterranean Sea. It has been excavated and we roamed around the cisterns, coliseum and baths admiring the mosaics. We ate our picnic lunch on the beach which consisted of olives, cheese, dates, humantashen, stuffed grape leaves and wine. We ended the day in Haifa, a beautiful port city north of Tel Aviv.

Tuesday we got up and decided to explore northern Israel. Our first stop was Tiberias. I remember this town as an exciting port filled with shops and restaurants. When we got there, it was pretty closed down. I don’t know if it was too early in the day or too early in the season but it was quiet so we decided to hop in the car and continue north to Sefad. You may remember from an earlier post that I spent a night in Sefad where I bought Adam and Donna their wedding present. We had lunch overlooking the city and explored the ancient streets. Zach bought himself a kippa and necklaces for his daughters. We returned to Haifa and had dinner at a great Swiss/French restaurant near the hotel. The next morning we wandered the Bahai Gardens and then headed for Tel Aviv. Zach had a meeting and I took the opportunity to shop for a bathing suit (or 2) and to spend some time at the beach soaking up a little sun. We ended our time in Israel strolling the streets of Tel Aviv, eating ice cream.

The next morning we hoped a flight to Basel Switzerland for a quick stopover. The airport was interesting because it was located within 2 countries. We spent some time traversing Switzerland and France until we got our bearings and made it to the hotel. We went in to the little town for dinner. Switzerland is crazy expensive. We had dinner in a cafeteria style Thai restaurant where I had a bowl of soup for $30. There was nothing special about the soup except for the price. Friday morning we caught an early flight to Lisbon Portugal. What a wonderful city! We checked in to a quaint hotel in the center of town with a sweeping staircase, stained glass windows and beautiful fresco ceilings. We dropped our bags and began exploring this great city. Our first order of business was lunch. We quickly came across a restaurant which was packed with locals which was all the endorsement we needed. We discovered that not a word of English was spoken by the staff. We pointed to a dish and asked what it was (seafood stew) which apparently was taken as an order by us. We were seated in the middle of a long table with people on either side of us. There was one waiter and he kept hurrying by us. We were captivated by the commotion and the strangers on either side of us and were wondering when we would be given menus. After about 15 minutes, we then discovered that the stew was being prepared and they were wondering why we would want menus since we had already ordered. Anyway, lucky for us, the food we had inadvertently ordered was delicious. It was such a fun experience.

We spent the remainder of the day walking around the city. The buildings are exquisite and people in Lisbon seem to take their leisure time seriously. Every few feet (literally), there was a pastry shop. For the price of a cup of coffee, you could spend the day sitting and watching the world go by. We became hooked on a specialty pastry, a flaky shell filled with custard (de Nato….not a good thing to be hooked on, but we were on vacation). Saturday morning we took Tram 28 to the thieves market. The thieves market is a giant flea market filled with every imaginable thing from clothing to old electronics. If you want to be able to listen to your old 8 track tapes, this is the place to get a “new” 8 track tape player. It was fun to wander.

Sunday we found a pedestrian mall by the sea and wandered, ate and shopped. We sat looking out at the sea surrounded by beautiful statues and archways dating back to the 1700’s. We went into a church from 900 AD. History takes on a new meaning here. We sat outside for a lunch of lamb chops and were entertained by the parade of people and street vendors nearby. Monday we hopped back on a plane to Madrid Spain. Again we were dazzled by the buildings, people and food. We wandered through the botanical gardens and rented a row boat. We floated around and enjoyed the sights. Ask Zach why my oar was not in the water.

We stopped in the Ritz hotel, which was amazing, and had some coffee. We listened to a man and a woman in the lobby of the hotel interviewing families for a boarding school in New England. For the low price of $14,000/month you could send your prodigy to live and study there. Shipping the polo pony would be extra. Tuesday morning we got up and went to the Royal Palace (Placio Del Real). This 3,000 room palace was amazing to see. Obviously we were only allowed to see a few of the rooms, one more gilded then the next. We roamed the apothecary and the armory. It was definitely worth seeing.

The afternoon was spent window shopping and seeing the sights of the city. For dinner we went to a paella restaurant (Paella De Reine) which was wonderful. We had such a nice meal. Wednesday we woke to rainy weather so decided to go to the Prado museum for the morning. We wandered around works of art by Rembrandt and Reubens. For dinner we went for sushi and then tapas hopping. The food is fresh and delicious and the tapas allow you to try a variety of different things.

Thursday we flew to Milan Italy and planned to take a train to Lake Como. We got on the wrong train but a kind conductor took pity on us hapless American’s and when the train stopped, escorted us to the right one and spoke to the conductor on our behalf. This was done without a word of English being spoken, just a lot of waving hands and tickets. It ended up being a good mistake and we arrived at Lake Como about an hour earlier than we would otherwise have. We checked into a beautiful old hotel in the center of town. We had a pizza lunch (the authentic kind) and then took the funicular (cable car) to a small hamlet which overlooked the lake. We wandered the streets, looked in on an amazing old church and sat down on a bench outside the church enjoying the quiet and sunshine. In fact, we were so relaxed that we both feel asleep on the bench. We were surprised when we awoke, that nobody had dropped some Euros in our laps. We stopped at a local restaurant/pub for some mineral water and I somehow got talked into trying limoncello, a lemon flavored liquor- really good!

We had so much fun on our return trip down the funicular. We found ourselves packed in with many local octogenarians heading into town. They tried talking to us but they spoke no English and we no Italian so they entertained us by singing. It was so much fun- a real slice of life. People in Italy just seem so happy! Friday we tried a new experience and got up at the crack of dawn to take a high speed boat and then a ferry to another city along the lake to take a cooking class. We were met by the chef who picked us up at the dock and drove us through hairpin turns up the side of the Alps to his restaurant where we joined 5 other couples for a day long class. We learned how to make several kinds of pasta and sauces. Wine flowed freely and a great time was had by all. Of course we got to eat what we cooked and left the town happy and stuffed. During the course of the afternoon, the chef’s 86 year old father stopped by on his motorcycle. Italy definitely seems like the place to retire! Saturday was another beautiful day so we decided to go city hopping along the lake. We stopped to see a hotel that my aunt and uncle used to frequent and met some old friends of theirs. From here we went to several other villages on the lake, had lunch at a beautiful outdoor café and spent the day seeing which way the wind would blow us. It was a great way to end our trip.

For dinner we took the funicular back up to the hamlet for dinner in the local restaurant. Zach wanted me to taste Grappa which is a liquor made from the leftover grapes after wine is made. When Zach ordered 2 grappa’s the waiter gave him a dubious look, indicating that he didn’t think the lady would enjoy it. Well he was right! I took one taste of Zach’s grappa and elected to have another limoncello instead. I guess the singing octogenarians were asleep because we had a quiet and uneventful trip down the mountain. Sunday we took the train (the right one this time) to Geneva, enjoying the sights of the Alps along the way. We knew we were back in Switzerland when we paid 4 Euros (about $6) for an 8 oz bottle of seltzer water. The trip will end tomorrow when Zach returns to the US and I to Israel. I have another 5 weeks to my adventure and hope to make the most of each day with family and friends.

I hope I was able to convey the essence of this trip. We really had a wonderful time together and enjoy exploring the same way. We got to mingle with the locals and beat our own path. We have wonderful memories of our time together and of some amazing cities and experiences. I am now heading back to Israel, and no doubt, heightened security in the wake of a recent terrorist bombing in Jerusalem. It took place at a bus stop that I have stood at and I pray for the woman who lost her life and the others that were injured. I will however fulfill my commitment to the children of Alyn Hospital and the people of Israel. Thank you for your patience as you read this long posting. I hope all my family and friends at home are well. I miss everyone and look forward to seeing everyone in May.

My pictures are from bottom to top as follows: The market in Jerusalem, Caseareas, lunch in Lisbon, thieves market in Lisbon, with Zach in Caseareas, the communications building in Lisbon, gardens, the Royal Palace in Madrid, tea at the Ritz in Madrid, flying over the Alps, the funicular at Lake Como, the church at the top of the lake.