I've been here about 5 days now and am having a great time. Today I even finally did some sightseeing, wandering around the Western Wall, Robinson's Arch and Ir David (David's City) area. So much more to see there since my last visit.
Other than that, this visit is turning into a wonderful family and friends visit. I've been to synagogue, had meals with friends, and have more such visits planned. I've got cousins outside of Tel Aviv with whom I will likely spend part of Tuesday and Wednesday, and see their new granddaughter.
Now for a coffee and (perhaps) "glidah" ---- ice cream, but definitely NOT gelato.
Oh, the weather is gorgeous. And silly me who knows better, I came without a hat or sunscreen. (This may be because I left NJ in rather a rush, as I ran down my car battery about an hour before my daughter was to pick me up and take me to the airport. But it all worked out....)
Glad to see that you have checked in with us, Marian. I've been thinking about what a lovely time you must be having. It is good to read that you are.
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 5026 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
What was it like to be in Israel on Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), and do you know how Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day) will be observed on Thursday?
I'm so glad to hear from you; I was thinking about you the other day while lighting the remembrance candle that our synagogue sends for Yom Hashoah. And truly, I would like both a falafal and some of that "glidah" - suddenly I'm 19 years old again, it's spring and I'm in Israel - but only in my dreams.
Thanks for checking in with us, Marian, and glad to hear you're having such a lovely time. Our family are big glidah fans, so that's a fond word around here.
Will you get up North at all? Enjoy every minute of your visit.
Marian - as others have said, I've been thinking about you and hoping your trip was going well. Sounds like you are having a good trip. Continue to enjoy, and check in when you can.
Judy
Posts: 1882 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 22 March 2005
Jealous, yes I am! Marian, glad you're having a good trip! Funny, at our Seder, when you say, "Next year in Jerusalem" we all looked around the table and said, "Hey, yeah, we may be there then." Enjoy the rest of it!
hi Marian, glad you are having a great time! Sorry that I missed saying goodbye...didn't remember when you were leaving, exactly. Hope the rest of the trip goes smoothly and relaxingly (not sure that's a real word, but you get my drift
I'm now sitting in my cousin's living room in Ra'anana, having arrived by bus from Jerusalem a couple of hours ago. Last night I had dinner with Jerusalem cousins, yesterday afternoon with my former professor who has just renovated a lovely house very near the center of Jerusalem.
The weather is gorgeous, but I have no time to go north. Lots of friends and family, coffee, eiskafe, etc. Tonight is the ceremony here in Ra'anana for Yom HaZikaron (remembrance day), which directly precedes Yom haAtzma'ut, Independence Day.
Amy ---- I've only been able to check in every couple of days, and will likely not do anymore shopping, and will not be downtown again. But if it's something you think I can pick up in the airport, send me a PM and I will probably get to read it before I leave.
Ciao all ---- and I am progressing with filling that "second-language" space in my brain with Hebrew again, so that I don't speak Italian to the waitresses..
Originally posted by Marian: Ciao all ---- and I am progressing with filling that "second-language" space in my brain with Hebrew again, so that I don't speak Italian to the waitresses..
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 5026 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
So I'm now in my cousin's office in an office park just outside of Tel Aviv, waiting for him and his son, also my cousin. So why not get on the internet! I got to see the lovely new baby last night, and she is truly adorable. Then we went to the Yom haZicharon ceremony in Ra'anana, which were very moving.
We are planning to go and have lunch near the Tel Aviv port, where I haven't been in about 15 years, and I hear it's a great area. Then I'll return to Jerusalem.
Marian, I expect restaurant reviews when you return.
How are you traveling between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, public transportation, or rides with family? I've been curious about the transportation system in Israel.
So here I am in the Dan Lounge at Ben Gurion airport, awaiting my flight (yes, another benefit of flying first class out of Israel). I've had a lovely time, and spent a good deal of it with family.
Yesterday was a full holiday here, nothing open and no newspapers. My Jerusalem cousin had a wonderful Yom ha'atzmaut brunch (doesn't hurt that she is a caterer) and I met all her kids and other family. I saw her brother, also my second cousin of course, with his wife and all their kids. I hadn't seen him since he was a kid in elementary school, maybe 34 years ago.
Wednesday evening I was at a block party near where I am was staying. But I couldn't last late enough for the fireworks.
quote:
Marian, I expect restaurant reviews when you return.
Well, I haven't really eaten anyplace exciting. Mostly on the fly. I can recomment a number of street cafes in the Baka neighborhood, but that's about it. Oh, and lunch on the beach in Tel Aviv was great.
As for transportation: I took a taxi to the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem, where I got the bus to Ra'anana junction (about 8 dollars or so). Coming back to Jerusalem, my cousin dropped me off at the bus terminal on the outskirts of Tel Aviv where I caught a bus to the Jerusalem bus terminal, and again I took a taxi back to my apartment from there. Several times I did take a local bus to and from the center. It's easy, and you don't have to buy tickets in advance.
So, it's been a great trip. More later, guys.
And Dorit ---- sorry we didn't meet up this trip. But I am determined to take a longer trip next year, sometime in March, shortly after Purim maybe. Lots to plan.
Marian, You are on a flight that is near its end right now.
It sounds like you had a cousin-soaked holiday. That must have been such great fun for you.
After your internal clock readjusts, we will be looking forward to a detailed report.
Especially on all the special dishes you had during holiday meals!
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 5026 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
Hi all, I arrived on time late yesterday afternoon. And, except for long lines at Newark immigration, and traffic on the Garden State Parkway, my trip proceeded smoothly.
Today I was at synagogue and got to wear my beautiful new embroidered tallit, which was great.
Yes Debora, a "cousin-soaked" visit to Israel, which was so much fun. They all have very little family, as they are the only surviving descendants of those of my grandfather's siblings who did not leave Russia before World War II. I think my grandfather had about 12 brothers and sisters, and of the six that remained, only some of the descendants of one survived. (My grandfather and most of the others left well before World War I and the Russian Revolution.) We were doing some work on the family tree, and the names are the ones familiar to readers of the Yiddish writer Sholom Aleichem, or simply of anyone who has seen "Fiddler on the Roof".
These children of two brothers are a microcosm of Israeli society, from totally "chiloni" (secular) to rather observant (but not chassidim). My caterer cousin's mother, also a survivor, is a lovely woman who tells me that the next time I come I have to stay with her. Whether or not I do so, wasn't that a wonderful thing?
I'll write more later, guess I should do a little trip report, but not (sorry Kim) restaurant reviews as I didn't eat anyplace special. The (kosher) Chinese-Japanese restaurant in Jerusalem where I went one night was very good, as was lunch on the beach at Tel Aviv. My Ra'anana cousins picked that one, and then were apologizing as the service was, um, unattentive. But we all enjoyed the food very much. And the ironic part is that we were sitting near the very beach where the very same cousin had been turned away by the British authorities in 1947, when he was a baby passenger on the real Exodus.
I have tons of laundry awaiting me, never mind the Passover dishes that I still haven't put away. So I think I will read a book and put it all off.
Enjoy the rest of it!
