tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-307096002024-03-18T02:38:31.412-07:00Worth a Thousand WordsAmateur photog's online photo cache. All photos are original pics taken by author and her husband. This is not a place to see those awe inspiring Ansel Adams, these are ordinary subjects shot on a whim most of the time.Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.comBlogger1891125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-15316610082032341322024-03-11T06:30:00.000-07:002024-03-11T06:30:00.139-07:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Bethlehem, part 2From the main floor of the Church of Nativity, we went out a door on the side of the the nave and came out into a long hallway that leads to a little courtyard that opens into the Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, which is the church where the Christmas Midnight Mass is held. A side note, where I grew up the town's patron saint (yes, we have that) and the main church is also called St. Catherine of Alexandria, so I was quite tickled to say the least that the church's name here is St. Catherine of Alexandria (and not Sienna which I thought was more popular). I thought it was fate. Honestly, I had no clue about the name, zilch.
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Restored medieval cloister.
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The small courtyard and the front of the church. This is the site where Jesus appeared before St. Catherine in the 4th century and predicted her martyrdom.
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Tickets for the Christmas Eve mass are available for free, but one has to make reservations way ahead of time and whoever is on the ticket is the one allowed into the service. This is to discourage selling of tickets. This is the mass that is televised worldwide. I pray that this practice will continue next Christmas.
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Something that took our attention in the courtyard.
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We arrived at a time when a service was going on, and so the guide took us down the steps to the underground caves. What a pleasant surprise to see grottoes holding shrines and ancient tombs. However, there were other groups that visited at the same time and just like us, they too trooped down to avoid disturbing the mass upstairs. This created a packed-like-sardines feeling and made it very difficult to take good photos. I will try to show you what I photographed, but sadly due to a combination of time passing (it's been a year since this trip) and the crowd, I just could not remember what these grottoes are and who were entombed here. However, according to research after the fact, St. Paula, her daughter Eustochiom and St. Jerome are buried down here. In addition, it is believed that in one of these grottoes, St. Jerome have translated the Latin Bible into the vernacular.
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A group shot outside of the Church of Nativity.
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A couple of coffee spots in Bethlehem.
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Friendly encounter at a check point on the way back to Jerusalem.
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Our very limited time in Bethlehem ended, and we're back in Jerusalem at our hotel. It's Shabbat and we have limited options for dinner.
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Not wanting to go out and eat - we were all tuckered out after a whole day of sightseeing - it was the hotel's buffet or the bar area menu, where they serve the same lunch menu for dinner. We opted for the lighter meals.
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Something we learned is never take the Shabbat elevator because it stops at every floor even though there's no one else there.
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This was an incredible personal experience and I can't still find the right words to express my sentiments about this trip. I fervently hope that peace time will once again prevail here and that many more people will be able to experience what we have experienced here.
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Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-32613455180855775032024-03-04T08:00:00.000-08:002024-03-04T08:00:00.140-08:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Bethlehem, part 1After a very full and fulfilling half day spent in Old Jerusalem, it was time to visit Bethlehem. This was an Optional Tour (which just means extra fee to take this guided tour) and the whole group signed up for it.
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So after leaving Jerusalem we all drove out, the bus stopped at random and a lady got on the bus and Simon got off. The lady was going to be our guide in Bethlehem. Simon couldn't go into Bethlehem because it's inside Palestine region. So much politics. However, we were all excited to go to Bethlehem.
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So it was such a surprise that the first stop we made was at store that specializes in olive wood handicrafts and carvings. I really was looking forward to the church visit since we just went shopping in Jerusalem. But while others completely abhor these shopping stops on guided tours, I don't completely dislike it, since I have complete control of the shopping situation (at least that's what I tell myself). Seriously, this was a chance to see wood carvings that are spectacular, in my opinion, and way exceeded my expectations. While the store had these large carvings that are such a joy to look at, there also were bargain bins that carried keychains, crosses, etc - small items for small prices. I was there picking items to bring home to co-workers and family and friends.
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Everyone was clueless, including Lourdes who was our guide for Bethlehem, how and why there was a car up on the tree. A favorite photo subject though, I'm sure.
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The large showroom. They also sold jewelry.
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This was my favorite, the Last Supper. I did not inquire about the price, I was scared.
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The Pieta
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The Nativity Scene was very popular - it came in all sizes.
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If you love carvings/art you'll surely enjoy your time here.
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Finally shopping time was over and back to the bus for a short drive to town. We were let off a block or so away because the big bus could not maneuver near the church.
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CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY
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This is the facade of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Nativity" target="_blank">Church of Nativity</a>. Please click on the link which will lead you to Wikipedia for all the details about the church. May I clarify that this tour is NOT a pilgrimmage tour, so the Biblical references did not go deeper than the surface info.
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The facade was so bleak and was a bit disappointing, then I remembered the church was really old.
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Entrance from outside.
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Door looking from inside. The door (called Door of Humility) was specifically built low, we were told, to discourage invaders, add a layer of security, since invaders on horseback could not just barge inside the church. I'm a shortie and I still duck a bit to get inside.
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Another door, higher this time, to get inside.
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INTERIOR:
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Restored <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/features/early-christian-mosaics-bethlehems-church-nativity-revealed" target="_blank">mosaics</a>.
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There are 44 columns painted, some of which are painted with images of saints.
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Under the main floor is the place believed to have been the birthplace of Jesus Christ called the Grotto of the Nativity.
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Steps to the grotto.
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The grotto is a cave. It could be very very cramped.
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Under the main altar, a silver star with 14 undulating rays marks the location traditionally claimed to be that of Jesus' birth place.. For me, it was a very holy place.
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One by one we paid our respects by kissing the star, or touching it.
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Apologies for the dark photo, light was very minimal in the cave. Near the silver star marker is the grotto that marks the traditional site where Mary laid the newborn baby in the manger.
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Back on the main floor, the very golden altar and colorful collection of lamps. There are very interesting lamps all over the church.
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On one of the columns, there are five holes in the form of a cross. No one knows who made the cross, but the guide said the holes correspond to the way Jesus' hand in the Christ the King image/icon.
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To be continued.....
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-52304491990932737392024-02-26T07:00:00.000-08:002024-02-26T07:00:00.151-08:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Jerusalem, part 5The <a href="https://churchoftheholysepulchre.net/" target="_blank">Holy Sepulchre Church </a>is located traditionally at the site where Jesus was crucified , a place called Golgotha, and the place where he was buried and also where he resurrected. Imagine that! Personally, I didn't fully realize how holy this site is. I was pinching myeslf to see if any of this is real. We were told that there is a family that by tradition has been assigned to keep the gate locked at night and open it in the morning.
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At the time of the visit, the facade was covered in scaffolding, so I didn't really get a look at the facade. Now both the small courtyard and the church was crowded. In my opinion, there should be a system to control the number of people entering the church (like Hagia Sophia in Istanbul), but I don't know how feasible that will be considering this is one of the main pilgrimmage sites of all Christianity.
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We elbowed our way peacefully into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre" target="_blank">church</a>. The church is huge and we saw so very little of it in our alloted time. Let me show you what we saw.
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Strategicallyt located just by the entrace is the STONE OF ANOINTING OR STONE OF UNCTION, a significant religious artifact that was believed to be the site where Jesus' body was laid and prepared for burial.
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From here on out, the crowd made it impossible to clearly hear what the tour guide or in this case we call him tour manager was saying and so with those conditions and me being shorter in stature, I constantly found myself behind tall people and could not see what I was supposed to see. Thus, I would just like to show photos of the different areas of the church.
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Up the steps off the main entry, I believe was the Golgotha.</p>
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The Rock of Calvary in glass case at the Altar of Crucifixion.
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Altar of Crucifixion.
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Mosaic depicting Christ's body being prepared for burial, located behind the Anointing Stone.
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Inside is the tomb of Jesus Christ, which had a very long queue. None of us attempted to line up because we knew we'd only spend all our alloted time here standing in line. So we just skipped it. Across from it is this very impressive chapel.
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While the experience was inspiring, sublime, or whatever adjective that would be more appropriate, but I can't seem to find one at the time of writing, I cannot help but regret the fact that the time alloted for this visit was simply not enough. I don't think even a full-day's visit would ever be enough to see what's there to see.
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Just outside of the Holy Sepulchre Church is a little square with shops and restaurants. This was our lunch spot. Simon, our tour manager, also personally brought us to a souvenir shop that was the spot to use the facilities. This shop was really ready for large tour groups because they had multiple bathroom stalls and they were clean. They did earned a whole lot of business from our group. In fairness, they did have reasonable prices and wide selection.
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To be continued.....
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Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-65406228408455709822024-02-19T07:00:00.000-08:002024-02-19T07:00:00.134-08:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Jerusalem, part 4[Travel date: Jan 14-27, 2023]
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To continue this documentation, we left Hurva Synagogue area on to the Western Wall, aka Wailing Wall, is the most religious site for Jewish people.
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It's so hard to take in everything and at the same time to tell myself to remember all that I've been seeing and experiencing. Tough for someone whose memory is not as sharp as it used to be and with all the distractions around me, I barely can focus on the tour guide. I know I should listen but at the same time I was soaking in the whole experience of being there. After all, this is one of those sites that ranks high up there, whether for religious purposes or otherwise. I don't know why I got emotional when I went to touch the wall.
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From there, we followed the Via Dolorosa to the Holy Sepulchre Church. We also stopped for a drink of freshly-squeezed pomegranate juice and a tast of Jerusalem bagel.
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It was nearly impossible to photograph any site cleanly, because there were so many people around, as expected.
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The courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was so packed with people, so the tour director surmised the church would be the same. He asked us to wait a bit to hopefully clear out the church before we all go in; but after about 15 minutes of waiting and watching people come in and out of the church the tour director decided we should go in there because there didn't seem to have a better time to see the church.
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I didn't realize that I needed another installment for the Jerusalem post. Begging your indulgence for my penchant for taking too many photographs. I wanted to photograph everything I was seeing.
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To be continued.................Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-84117124317647129082024-02-12T07:00:00.000-08:002024-02-12T07:00:00.243-08:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Jerusalem, part 3For those that have not been here before and reading this for the first time, or have missed a few posts, or curious about safety given the instability in the region, allow me to repeat that this trip was taken from January 14 to 27, 2023. I'm just a tad behind in documentation.
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On day 7 of this vacation, we were visiting Old Jerusalem with the tour group. As you know the 2 previous posts were visits we made on our own the previous day.
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On this day we entered Old Jerusalem via the Zion Gate.
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As you know this trip was a year ago and with my memory a little unreliable lately I rely on my notes. The first item for today was a visit to Mt. Zion/Church of Dormition (the location is identified in Christian tradition as the place where the Virgin Mary died or fell asleep, as the name suggests.)
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On the second floor was the Room of the Last Supper. It's not what I expected, but I remember experiencing something like an out-of-body experience. It's like I wanted to take in all the sensory stimuli, but also wanted to photograph everything, so I was torn.
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The Cenacle, from the Latin word cenaculum or dining room, the Room of the Last Supper is also known as Upper Room or the Room Upstairs as I believed we were told was traditionally believed to be the site of the Last Supper. The room we were told had also served as a Christian Church and also a mosque at different times.
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Downstairs, one level down, is the burial site of King David. Here, men and women enter separate rooms to view the tomb of King David. Personally, I don't think I saw it with my own eyes, but my husband claimed he did. I think the men's room had a better view, because I don't think I know what I was looking for or looking at. Also inside the room there were many people praying and we were told to be respectful so I didn't stay long to do some photography.
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We continued our exploration of the old city until we reached the Hurva Synagogue, which is on a nice spacious courtyard or plaza. This spot is quintessential European plaza/courtyard that I always imagine.
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To be continued......Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-91000185956981190142024-02-05T07:00:00.000-08:002024-02-05T07:00:00.145-08:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Jerusalem, part 2To continue our independent exploration of Old Jerusalem, we entered the old city through the Lion's Gate, one of the 8 gates, 7 of which are open and one is sealed. The 8 gates are: Jaffa Gate, New Gate, Damascus Gate, Herod's Gate, Lions' Gate, Golden Gate, Zion or David's Gate and Dung Gate.
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We entered Lion's Gate and it was at this time that our companions had to leave to catch the Optional Tour they signed up for later that evening. And so we stayed behind. Our only goal is to see as much as we could see before we visit with the guided tour tomorrow. I was pretty sure that we will be able to see places that will not be a part of tomorrow's itinerary.
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Lo and behold, not far from the Lion's Gate is the <a href="https://www.seetheholyland.net/tag/birthplace-of-mary/" target="_blank">birthplace of the Virgin Mary</a>. I saw the sign pointing to the door. It could easily be missed. Just my luck that I spotted it. When we entered we found that it's a church. There is a chapel off the main door. I believe this is the Church of St. Anne. I was a bit shy entering the room, despite the guy's welcoming smile. Instead my husband and I went down to the stairs to explore.
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Every level under the main floor there was some sort of an altar. Also there was a cave-like feel there.
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Another goal is to get to the New Gate, where we will exit to get to the tram so we could get back to the hotel. So come with me as we sauntered by, soaking in all the new sights and smells of Old Jerusalem.
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A random unidentified church we peeked into along the way.
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And when we reached the end of the road, do we go right or left. We went left first and easily realized that we were in the wrong direction because it felt like we were going deeper into the city instead of going out of the walled city so we backtracked. And when we did that we found the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family which is housed inside an Austrian hospice.
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Church was in the dark, but was open to visitors.
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We found the egress New Gate and I simply could not believe it because for a while it seemed like we were walking aimlessly, albeit joyfully, seemingly without direction or destination.
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This was just outside the New Gate. I wanted a selfie with it, but a crowd of high schoolers were milling about it. We crossed the street and found the tram station.
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A very long story about us getting one ride ticket to the tram featuring a nosy old woman, but with God's grace we found a way to get a ticket and stopped at Ammunition Hill station; afterwards we had to walk about a mile to the hotel. We arrived just in time to see our buddies who went with us in Jerusalem earlier in the day board the bus on the way to their Optional Tour for the night.
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Oh what a very productive time we had in Jerusalem. Continued prayers for all the innocent civilians caught in this horrible war.
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Again, travel date was Jan 14-27, 2023.Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-49378000341583671742024-01-29T07:30:00.000-08:002024-01-29T07:30:00.254-08:00Israel/Jordan 2023: Jerusalem, part 1We reached Jerusalem after a 2-hour drive from Beit Shean. A delay in hotel check-in (I suppose the logistics in handling over 40 people is a bit complicated even for seasoned tour company), then it was an afternoon all to ourselves. Although, if you choose to, you can attend the afternoon Optional Tour (translation: extra fee) of the New City and the Holocaust Museum. The tour of the old city itself was scheduled the following day - although it was only for a half day. The other half of tomorrow would be spent in Bethlehem.
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With that information we knew that 1/2 day of Jerusalem will not be enough to cover everything. This is the downside of being in a tour group. You follow their schedule, unless there's a free day or free afternoon just like today.
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With another couple who like us didn't fancy a tour of the New City nor the Holocaust Museum, we ordered a taxi and we planned on exploring the Old City on our own.
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The drive to the Old City was met with traffic jams. That's when I realized that even Jerusalem is not off the hook with traffic woes. We asked to be dropped off at Mt. Olives at the lookout point. This is obviously the spot because the place was packed with visitors enjoying the panoramic view of the Old Jerusalem.
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We stayed at<a href="https://www.danhotels.com/JerusalemHotels/DanJerusalemHotel" target="_blank"> Dan Jerusalem Hotel</a>.
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The quintessential postcard shot. The feeling I got standing there, looking out at the historic Jerusalem is incredible. I think I had an out-of-body experience. There was the disbelief that this was happening to me. I don't think I was able to be truly present in the moment or even grasp the full magnitude of the experience. I thought I'd just keep on taking photos.
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From the viewpoint, we crossed the street to check out the church that we saw on the drive here. We thought it was this, but instead we saw the Chapel of the Ascension. Inside the compound, we saw a small domed chapel that had no windows. Also in the compound are archeological items/ruins and one of them is labeled "the remains of a Byzantine church."
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Upon our arrival, we were the only ones there, so I was okay to visit the chapel and see what's inside. But, in one millisecond, there's a large group of people already lining up to crowd into the tiny chapel. I was still very worried about contracting Covid. I want to see this whole trip through without contracting Covid (I knew people came home from trips bringing Covid home and I did not want to be one of those.) so I didn't even pursue it. None of my companions were eager to get in there knowing it's going to be crowded.
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Later on, I found out that inside the domed building was a slab of stone believed to contain a footprint from the Resurrected Lord. This was also the spot Christians believed to be the place where Jesus ascended into heaven. Had I known this fact beforehand, would I have gone with complete disregard for the risk of getting Covid? I would not know. I do regret that I did not get to see the slab.
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On the walk back to the viewpoint, we saw many people leaving another compound. I noticed this gated compound earlier, but I was not sure if it's open for walk-ins like us. I don't know why I had the feeling that this church was only open for Orthodox people. Thus, on the walk back I urged my companions to at least check out what's inside the gate. I was curious because at that time I suspected this was the impressive church we spotted on the car ride here. I don't know if it was, because we didn't get past the inside of the gate. None of us were brave enough to try to get in. There was a long walkway from the gate to the church itself, so from the gate area we all just took photos. Much later on, per Mr. Google this church is called Pater Noster, a Roman Catholic church, and not an Orthodox Church as I thought. Such a pity that I didn't get to see the interiors. But as my husband always say, you cannot see everything all at once.
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Afterwards, on our way to Old Jerusalem we spotted the Basilica of Gethsemane - aka <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_All_Nations" target="_blank">Church of All Nations</a> - serendipity for sure. I was quite lazy during this trip, that I barely made any pre-trip Googling so this discovery was such a gratifying moment.
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In order to reach the Basilica, you have to walk past the garden, which is planted with olive trees. You can tell by the looks of their trunks that they are ancient.
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Facing the altar.
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Facing the egress.
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This was the bedrock where Jesus is believed to have prayed. We got lucky that there was no service at the time of visit and we got to look around freely.
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A little video clip.
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From our entry point, there is no way to photograph the facade completely. The accomplish that we had to leave the garden and walk down a bit, and cross the street, because the front of the church is surrounded by a fence.
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From here, we walked down the hill to walled Old Jerusalem via this very steep road. It's the most direct route I believe for people on foot, if not the only way. It was so steep that you better have good traction on your shoes. Unfortunately, I watched as an old lady slipped and thankfully there were many people around her that they were able to assist her immediately.
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Jerusalem requires more than one post.
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-40124166863982008022024-01-22T08:00:00.000-08:002024-01-22T08:00:00.239-08:00Israel/Jordan 2023: Beit Shean National ParkDay 6 of the trip, we were leaving Tiberias and traveling south to Jerusalem. However, we had one stop this morning. About 40 km and we were pulling up into <a href="https://en.parks.org.il/reserve-park/bet-shean-national-park/" target="_blank">Beit Shean</a>, one of the country's largest archeological sites.
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At first sight while the bus was pulling up into the parking lot, I thought that this was a small-time ruins location. I even went as far as to question myself why are we even here. However, once we got on the ground and entered the compound, I saw why this is part of the tour and why this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_She%27an" target="_blank">site</a> is a must-see.
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To start, the compound is huge. Off the entrance there is a miniature model of the Roman-Byzantine city and the geography surrounding the area. From this spot also is a incredible panoramic view of the old city in ruins. The ruins fuel the imagination of the grandeur of the old city.
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Among the many things we saw were the bath house, the Roman Temple, the main street or Palladius Street with tall columns on both sides. Such a joy to walk about the entirety of the archeological city. There's so much to see and explore, and how badly I felt that we were not able to stay as long as we wanted. This is one of the major disadvantages of a group tour - limited time in every spot.
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Here are the photos my husband and I took of this incredible spot.
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Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-5473520243839976192024-01-15T06:30:00.000-08:002024-01-15T06:30:00.133-08:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Mount of Beatitudes, TiberiasWith our private taxi tour there was one more spot we had to visit for this day and that is the Mount of Beatitudes, which is the site of Jesus's sermon on the Mount.
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Being a mainstay in the tourist circle, it was no surprise to find the parking lot to be full. There was a short walk from the parking lot to the Church of Beatitudes. Lining the path to the church are stone blocks with a beautitude written on them.
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The Church of Beautitudes is simple and small with a dome in the center. Under the dome is the altar, which is cordoned off and behind the ropes are pews for people to sit and pray. There were people milling about outside the church, but only a couple or so inside when we got there making our visit more profoundly emotional and intimate, I think.
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The visit would not be complete if we didn't explore the grounds and the garden. Out back was a pavilion where a mass was on-going. This would be the last stop of the tour and then back to our hotel in Tiberias.
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We got dropped off at the hotel with plenty of daylight left. Resting in the hotel was not something we wanted to do. Besides we haven not seen anything of Tiberias even though we took a walk after dinner the previous night. The couple that came with us to the tour today agreed to join us in exploring Tiberias.
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The hotel was located along the main road, so we just crossed the street and walked towards the shopping area. When we walked in darkness last night, we were a bit disheartened that the town was dead after dark, but with some daylight left we could see that there were plenty to see and enjoy.
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As we kept walking we ended up in the waterfront. This area was full of eating and shopping establishments and full of people and cats too. It seemed like this area is like a little Moscow.
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The exploration of this area took us further into the edge of the water. We passed by a stone mosque that appeared to be abandoned and locked up. Nearby is a nice building that is a Russian guest house.
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At the edge of the Sea of Galilee we watched boats, people, cats and the sunset. It was at this time that the other couple decided to call it a day and left for the hotel, while we stayed behind.
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There were many many cats about and I was rueful that I did not bring any cat food to share with them, so we decided to go to a restaurant and get something to bite for us and for the cats.
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Mural near our hotel.
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Food for cats.
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Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-28651870913844065632024-01-07T10:30:00.000-08:002024-01-07T10:30:00.142-08:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Yardenit and Yigal Allon CenterNow that the Holidays are over, it's back to regular programming here, which means back to the documentation of my Israel and Jordan trip a year ago. I really must double down and triple my efforts in finishing this series.
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Anyway, this whole day is definitely not over, not by a long shot. I remember how we were able to squeeze as much sites to see as possible. So after the interesting visit to the <a href="https://calrat.blogspot.com/2023/11/israel-jordan-2023-nazareth-village.html" target="_blank">Nazareth Village</a>, it was a stop at the Jordan River, site where the baptisms have taken place. Not really an expert in Biblical knowledge, I found out there that this site was not the site where Jesus was baptised. It was still worth a visit, though.
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Once we entered this door, I was face to face with what was a huge gift shop filled with people. That was discordant with what I expected. I don't know what I was expecting, but definitely I wasn't prepared for this touristy scene. The whole thing was just weird in my opinion.
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The key is to find your way through the throng of shoppers to go in the back to the Jordan River. In the back, there were people getting baptised, many with their pastors/priests, etc, and some on their own. There were cats all over the grounds, and more shops. Don't hate me, but I did a little shopping here, for little vials of Jordan River water to gift to family and friends.
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We did not spend a lot of time here, and this awesome day continued with a visit to Ginosar, which is a short drive away. My husband found this intriguing 2,000-year-old boat that they preserved and is on display at Yigal Allon Center. Honestly, I was just going with the flow and I had no opinion about this, although I was really curious about this centuries old boat.
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The only purpose of this brief stop here is to look at the boat. And so we made a beeline to to room where the boat was exhibited. There was a film showing about the history of boat but at that time the documentary was in Spanish language, and we didn't have time to wait for the English language film, so we only went to look at the boat.
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After seeing the boat, we walked out back to find the Sea of Galilee.
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We saw that there was a boat ride. We wanted to experience it, but apparently you have to get must get tickets somewhere else before riding the boat. We were so pressed for time that we did not even inquire where to get the tickets.
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Stay tuned, this incredible day is not over just yet.
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-12119268492338242132023-12-18T07:30:00.000-08:002023-12-18T07:30:00.142-08:00Memories of Past ChristmassesAnother Christmas is here again. I pray that next Christmas all the wars raging this Christmas will be resolved and the world will have a relatively peaceful Yuletide season.
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A few old photos from past Christmasses. I love Christmas trees and all the lights during this season.
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/15205767@N03/5276689880/in/album-72157625316471219/" title="Buster's first Christmas"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/5123/5276689880_ff6a9da8ce_b.jpg" width="768" height="1024" alt="Buster's first Christmas"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOVShXnsXoIhnpSRUnOdbjiLB25Ur_V9jO9t4phiqTnWSbxYbGgNrf_gYko4TzFrKrnZOfn52y_NkKimOmPdfe2oHw1ZsVqeIILT8_jlMXfmWkEu6u4DSEzbZmVSpWs7y31Ws7OMKP0M-K6sHypa4u5Ux_kBkY-pJamQZPEzzQzJBJBayo00SDPA/s1920/PXL_20231217_041405241.mp4" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOVShXnsXoIhnpSRUnOdbjiLB25Ur_V9jO9t4phiqTnWSbxYbGgNrf_gYko4TzFrKrnZOfn52y_NkKimOmPdfe2oHw1ZsVqeIILT8_jlMXfmWkEu6u4DSEzbZmVSpWs7y31Ws7OMKP0M-K6sHypa4u5Ux_kBkY-pJamQZPEzzQzJBJBayo00SDPA/s400/PXL_20231217_041405241.mp4"/></a></div>
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Peace to all and may your Yuletide celebration be joyous and full of love.Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-68403735756879397002023-12-13T19:26:00.000-08:002023-12-13T19:30:44.689-08:00Safari West in Wine CountryFor my husband's birthday this year, which happened to be the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, I decided to take him to Safari West to have a different experience. Not too long ago we were talking about how long ago it had been since we last visited a zoo. We were so curious as to any improvements in San Francisco Zoo, so we planned on going there soon. This was not the zoo, but it's the same thing - spending a day with the animals.
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Safari West is a wildlife sanctuary in Santa Rosa (Sonoma County) right in the wine country. The sanctuary is on a 400-acre rolling hills at the foot of the Mayacamas Mountains. The mission of Safari West is <i>"to actively promote conservation and environmental education while imparting knowledge that helps each individual make well-informed choices in regard to the environment and wildlife conservation.
At Safari West it’s all about the animals. Always has been, always will be."</i>
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One can stay the night in one of their "tents" and there are other packages/activities they offer, but for us we just chose to spend the day with a jeep safari tour, which included a walking tour and a jeep tour around the property to see the wildlife.
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Let me tell you that this was simply a wonderful experience. And my husband thoroughly enjoyed his birthday present. To be perfectly honest, I think I had more fun than he did.
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Allow me to show you photos from the day at Safari West.
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The first part of the tour was a walking tour around the perimeter of the entrance to the park.
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Caracal - medium-sized cat. 12-year life span in the wild, up to 20 under human care.
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Fennec Fox - world's smallest naturally occuring canid species (canidae). Way too cute.
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De Brazza's monkey - they store food in their cheek pouches like squirrels and chipmunks.
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Patas monkey - we enjoyed watching the small family of three.
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Striped hyena - if you think they are cute (I do! I do!) you are not wrong, because they are arguably the most beautiful member of the Hyaenidae family.
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My favorite part of the walking tour is going inside the bird enclosure. Who knew I enjoyed looking at birds and fowls so much.
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The scarlet ibis is quite eye-catching.
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A couple of crowned blue pigeons seemed unbothered by all the attention.
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The roseate spoonbill has been my favorite bird since the first time I laid eyes on it some 10 years ago. These pink color in these birds are washed out, unlike their counterparts from Costa Rica - must be something to do with the environment.
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Across the enclosure, three kinds of flamingoes offer a dazzling background to visitors' selfies.
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After a brief snack break, we continued the tour with a jeep safari. I've seen photos of these online and jeeps were always full. However, due to this being a Tuesday, our jeep only comprised of 6 adults and 1 child. And four of us chose to ride on top for a better view.
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Birthday boy is all smiles.
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Addax
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Can't remember if these are antelopes or something else.
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Papa, mama and baby rhino.
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Most satisfying watch for me. There's something in the wood that they find appetizing.
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Zebra crossing
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I almost forgot the cheetah. What a sleek animal, so beautiful. They don't have tigers, elephants, or lions; although my boss told me that when her son was little they saw elephants there.
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I have more photos on my <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/15205767@N03/albums/72177720313290806/with/53391237142" target="_blank">Flick'r album</a>, if you are interested to see more.
</p>
I will try to continue with the Israel documentation. It's been quite difficult to concentrate on writing about the trip that seemed so long ago and given the sentiments and mood around the world it's a challenge.
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If you live nearby and would like to visit, we booked our tour <a href="https://www.safariwest.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-27636245993397379192023-12-07T20:07:00.000-08:002023-12-07T20:07:06.704-08:002023: The Year In PhotosEveryone is scrambling at this time of the year - or is it just me? I can't seem to manage my time and activities properly during the Holidays, and yet every new year I vow to to my Christmas shopping early, get the house a Holiday cleaning before Halloween so that I can put up the tree the second week of November which then frees the rest of November to prep and enjoy all the upcoming activities and especially the eating part. But here I am again. Scrambling. Not a single present wrapped, much less bought.
</p>
That is why I barely have time to continue the documentation to my January trip to Israel and Jordan. I truly want to finish this series so that I can move on to the next one.
</p>
In the meantime, allow me to share some of my favorite photos from this year. Off hand I must say that this year has been good to me personally and I am hoping that I have been good to the Universe and everything and everyone in it.
</p>
I'm blabbering I know and I beg your patience. So here are some of the photos I took this year.
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January - our first morning in Tel Aviv. The city was so peaceful and we felt safe roaming around on our own day or night.
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February - a couple of hours after we let our kitty Emma run to the Rainbow Bridge. We couldn't/didn't want to go home to one without Emma so we thought a drive would calm us down. We were chasing a sunset, but this one didn't capture one. This one's looking towards the Napa Valley and that is probably Mt. Saint Helena.
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March - we love to go for a drive on weekends and this was the first time we went to Gold Run, a former mining town during the Gold Rush era.
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April - our first visit to Pinnacles National Park.
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May - the flowers were blooming on our first visit to Ruth Bancroft Garden.
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June - Yosemite was the highlight of the month.
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July - my friend and I watching the seals in beautiful Pacific Grove. Our friends retired in charming coastal town to be near their only daughter and their grandchildren.
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August - my birth month. I chose this sunset shot from my front yard. I love the sunset watching opportunities just outside my front door.
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September - we were in Turkey late Sept to early Oct and this was taken on our very first night in Istanbul. This was almost midnight shot. We went for dinner and walked around Sultanhamet area.
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October - our first time in <a href="https://calrat.blogspot.com/2023/11/first-visit-to-mare-island.html" target="_blank">Mare Island</a>.
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November - one of the spots we chose to do our daily walks. My husband and I met at work, in Emeryville, just at the other end of the bridge from San Francisco. It's been about a couple of decades since we last worked in Emeryville and we were a bit nostalgic so we we drove there to get our steps for the day.
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December - one of my bucket list items is to visit one of the states that have a profusion of fall foliage.
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-37968883173200007722023-11-26T19:28:00.000-08:002023-11-26T19:28:45.627-08:00Came for the Pasties and Discovered a State ParkCall us crazy, or have nothing better to do with our time, or fanatical about tradition, but we joyfully drive two hours for a pie (<a href="https://calrat.blogspot.com/2023/04/placerville-fall-tradition-in-making.html" target="_blank">Apple Hill in Placerville</a>, tradition we kept this year, but not blogging about it) or a pasty. What you ask is a pasty? It's simply a British version of empanada (or meat pie); however, it is traditionally associated with Cornwall, thus <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty" target="_blank">Cornish pasty</a>. Empanadas are one of my favorite food in the world, although I have shied away from eating it during my weight loss program.
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Last year, we revisited the charming town of Grass Valley. The mining town sits on the western foothills of Sierra Nevada mountains and has a rich history connected with the Gold Rush. But we came there for the Cornish pasties - said to be the best around these parts. We had a very nice visit and had taken home frozen pasties, because the store ran out of freshly baked ones. People come everywhere to get them.
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This year, we were quite lucky. We found a different store that sells them and so we went to sample them there. They were smaller in size and just the right size for a bite and coffee. Sorry, I have no photos of the pasty, but trust me, they were delectable.
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Marshall's Pasties on Mill Street - menu.
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Afterwards, we explored the downtown and went for coffee and pastries and soaked up the sun on one of the outdoor seating areas. How wonderful it is to visit these small towns.
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My husband wants more than sip coffee and eat pasties and people watch when we drove 2 hours to get here. Thankfully, he's really good at research and found a state park nearby to visit. But before we left downtown, we stopped at Grass Valley Pasty Co - my pasty place of choice- to grab a couple to take home with us.
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A short drive away we arrived at<a href="http://parks.ca.gov/?page_id=499" target="_blank"> Empire Mine State Park</a>, the site of one the oldest, deepest and richest gold mines in the state.
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Inside the visitor center there is a small museum of the history of Empire mine, but what got my attention (sorry I did not went crazy and photographed everything) was that in the mid 1850s Cornish miners who had a thousand years of history as hard rock miners came to work in the mines bringing with them Cornish pump which allowed them to pump water out of the 1,200-foot mine shafts. They obviously also brought their pasties with them. Mystery solved. I always wondered why this small town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada would be known for Cornish pasties.
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Found out there is a California state gemstone. Do you know your state's gemstone?
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Offices - miners, engineers, assays, etc.
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Outdoor exhibit of old mining equipment.
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Clubhouse.
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The manor known as cottage was the residence of the the Bourn's (William Bourn Jr).
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They also have a garden with many vintage rose bushes, but we came in the fall and got a bit of fall foliage instead. Perhaps a return in the summer time is needed.
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If you live in this part of California, or visiting the Lake Tahoe area, this would be a very nice side trip destination for you.
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Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-60303774374683714762023-11-13T09:00:00.001-08:002023-11-13T09:00:00.139-08:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Nazareth VillageOnce the visit to the <a href="https://calrat.blogspot.com/2023/10/israel-jordan-2023-nazareth-basilica-of.html" target="_blank">Basilica of Annunciation</a> was completed, next stop for the day was the Nazareth Village. The Nazareth Village is an open air museum that reconstructs and reenacts village life in Galilee during Jesus' time. I have not been there, but I suspect it's something like the Colonial Williamsburg in the East Coast.
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Let me show you some photos.
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This was the entrance to the village, which interestingly you reach via the second floor of the building that housed the gift shop.
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Consulting my notes, I wrote in my travel journal that our guide lacked a bit of humor, but overall was very competent. Here we met the shepherd, although the only animal present at that time was a donkey.
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Showing how they entomb the dead in caves like this.
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Guide asked if anyone is interested in going inside the cave. Hubby volunteered and took this photo from inside the cave.
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The Nazareth Village was built on agricultural lands that was built on ancient wine press. The grapes were crushed by feet here.
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The juice gets captured here.
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A visit to the potter.
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Sampling of his work.
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Olive oil press.
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If I'm not mistaken, the olive oil gets collected in these containers.
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The carpenter.
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The weaver.
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Synagogue
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Inside the synagogue.
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This visit was a very nice diversion from all the religious-leaning sites, that even though this trip was not designed to be a pilgrimmage, the majority of the sites we visited were places mentioned in the Bible.
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-46702767945512291462023-11-06T08:00:00.001-08:002023-11-06T08:00:00.138-08:00First Visit to Mare Island[I am taking a one-week break from Israel posting.]
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<a href="https://www.visitvallejo.com/about-vallejo/mare-island-history" target="_blank">Mare Island</a> (Naval Shipyard) is one of those places nearby that seemed to be overlooked by us in terms of where to go for a weekend spot. Oftentimes we'd just drive past it on the way to either Sonoma or Napa.
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However, a couple of weeks ago, just days before Halloween, we finally made it to Mare Island.
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Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California is a 5,000-acre island that was the first Navy base on the West Coast. During WWII, it became one of the busiest naval shipyards in the world. Over 500 naval vessels were built and thousands overhauled before the shipyard closed in 1996, including battleship USS California in 1919, the cruisers Chicago in 1930, San Francisco in 1933, and dozens of destroyers, destroyer escorts, submarines, and various auxiliary ships. On 19 October 1957, Mare Island built its first nuclear submarine, USS Sargo (SSN 583). It was the first nuclear submarine built on the West Coast.
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The naval base closed in 1996. Now, the city of Vallejo manages all granted all trust lands on or near Mare Island. Touro University leases space in Mare Island as well as other commercial and industrial businesses.
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I just read that they do have guided tour of some of the historic spots in the island, which I will best avail of next time I visit.
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Nothing is more exciting to me than discovering a new place, whether near or far, and the anticipation of a return visit, which we already have. This place is not only a short drive away from us and a lovely spot for taking leisurely walks, like we saw many locals do.
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We got a bit hungry and stopped for a bite. Actually, we were more interested in the distillery tour of Savage and Cooke, but when we found out that the tour did not accept walk-ins, only online reservations, we decided to get a bite and a tasting flight.
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From left to right: rye, bourbon, and American whiskey. I prefered the rye.
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For bites, we had fried pickles (my first time) and their Southern fried chicken, which I find lacking in flavor, not their fault. I just preferred my fried chicken spicy.
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I will be back here soon and will avail of the tour. My friends have voiced interest in coming, especially about the distillery tour. They, too, have not been to Mare Island and are quite excited to see what it's all about. I'll make a part 2 of this post. That's a promise.
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By the way, Happy Veteran's Day to all the men and women of the military. My departed dad was in the Army and my nephew was in the Navy.
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-47565801240447018092023-10-30T07:00:00.001-07:002023-10-30T07:00:00.149-07:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Nazareth - The Basilica of AnnunciationAfter our visit to Capernaum, we went straight to our hotel for 2 nights in the city of Tiberias, which is located in the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
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The following day, the tour group went on a full day Optional Tour of Galilee and Golan Heights. We did not participate in said activity because we wanted desperately to visit Nazareth, which was not included in the itinerary, what a pity. Thankfully, another couple felt the same need to see Nazareth so we banded together and planned on a full day private trip so we can see the places not covered by the tour.
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The hotel's front desk clerk facilitated the procuring of a private taxi to take us around for the day.
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The first order of business for the day was a visit to Nazareth, specifically to the Basilica of Annunciation, believed by the Roman Catholic Church as the site where the angel Gabriel appeared before Mary and announced that she will bear the Son of God.
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Along the way, we saw a sign for Mary's Well and so we asked the driver if we could stop for a photo. He granted our request.
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Mary's Well or Fountain of the Virgin was located near the basilica, just off the main street. According to the Greek Orthodox this is the true site of the Annunciation and not in the site of the Basilica of Annunciation.
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Whichever one it truly is, at least we visited both.
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Nazareth I found out is very hilly. The streets are narrow, especially around the church. The entire time I was there I felt like I was floating. It's hard to explain but somehow the self was having difficulty admitting that finally I was here walking where Biblical people had walked, Mary and Joseph and Jesus too. Holy Cow!
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The front of the church.
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Sign in three languages - English, Hebrew, and Arabic.
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Do's and don'ts.
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Mary's statue near the entrance. The hands have turned black from all the people touching them.
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There was a crowd of people in the front of the church and so we went the other direction. Still wary of crowded places. In the compound, there were about 3 more building, if I am not mistaken, one of them is a convent, and the other a museum.
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<img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/533dfe_7e3c8470fc6c488c9b824057046a028c~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_806,h_683,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Basilica%20Annunciation%20Map.png" alt="Basilica Annunciation Map.png"/>
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This image is borrowed from this <a href="https://www.holylandsite.com/nazareth-church-of-the-annunciation" target="_blank">site</a> with permission.
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The Franciscan convent.
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St. Joseph's Church.
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The interiors. We spent very little time as we planned on spending the majority of our time at the Church of Annunciation.
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There's a stairway leading to a lower level that turned out to be a cave. There is a tradition that asserts that this church of St. Joseph was built over the carpentry shop of Joseph, however, there is no evidence that the cave was a carpentry workshop, or what is deemed to be a carpentry workshop in today's world.
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The first thing you see when you reach the lower level is a little altar in an alcove.
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There is a larger altar table in the same level.
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Noteworthy fresco. Too bad we didn't have a guide to tell us what we were seeing.
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In front of the larger altar table is a hole where people drop prayer requests or thanksgiving prayers.
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Let me tell you a little anecdote about my visit to the Church of the Annunciation. When I entered the church, I was overcome with emotion. I don't know where this emotion came from, but I just sobbed uncontrollably. To be honest, nothing was on my mind when I came here, only the excitement of visiting a very historical place. I took the whole experience to mean that whatever was in my heart that did not reach my lips, my prayer was granted. The couple that came with us here are not Christians, but the guy admitted that he also experienced something spiritual when he came inside the church.
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Anyway, since there wasn't any guide with us and were left on our own devices, the only thing to do aside from praying is to look around and photograph those that interested us. Reading about the church now after the fact, I realized that there were so many things that we missed. I apologized for not giving you a more comprehensive documentation of this visit, because honestly I felt like the I was flying blind the whole time while visiting.
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We entered from the side door.
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There were huge images of different countries' depiction of the Virgin Mary on the walls of the church, some were outside the church on the walls too.
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This one was from Japan.
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I pray that someday I would be given a return visit to Jerusalem/Nazareth. I will make sure I study about this church and get a professional to guide my visit.
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Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-26707374908243042632023-10-23T06:30:00.004-07:002023-10-23T06:30:00.183-07:00Israel & Jordan 2023: CapernaumA little over an hour's drive from <a href="https://calrat.blogspot.com/2023/10/israel-jordan-2023-caesarea-maritima.html" target="_blank">Caesarea</a> and we reached the last stop for the day, Capernaum located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. There was a surreal feeling upon landing in Capernaum. Even for a seldom Bible reader like I am, I have heard of Capernaum.
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I read online (because as you know I don't listen to the tour guide most of the time) that in Biblical times Capernaum was one of the main trading villages in the area and home to about 1,500 fishermen. Many travelers and caravans and traders passed through the village.
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Nowadays it is one of the historic sites that attracts tourists and pilgrims all over the world.
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<b>THE CHURCH and HOUSE OF ST. PETER</b>
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To commemorate the House of St. Peter and to continue the tradition of Christian worship, the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land built a very modern church directly over the archeological ruins.
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Looked to me like a space ship, or some sort of a convention center. Front view.
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Side view.
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Built directly over the ruins.
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Inside, also modern design.
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A short video clip of the interiors.
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Our cheeky tour guide walking all over my shot and this spectacular mosaic.
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<b>THE SYNAGOGUE</b>
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It was in Capernaum synagogue that Jesus gave the sermon of the Bread of Life - whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.
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The original synagogue was destroyed and replaced in approximately 200 AD.
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<b>THE SEA OF GALILEE</b>
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Did you know that the Sea of Galilee was a lake? I did not know that. The first sight of this historic body of water was quite disappointing, because it was under a gloomy, hazy skies and the water felt cold, not lacking in warmth but lacking in personality.
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The photos don't reflect my disappointment.
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One of my tour mates, a young man in his 20s, ticked off a bucket list item - swim in the Sea of Galilee. He skipped the rest of the sites and met us dripping wet.
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It was very peaceful looking at the water.
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Eastern European pilgrims studying the Bible under this huge tree.
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St. Peter status inside the compound.
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Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-54311175315894711432023-10-16T09:00:00.001-07:002023-10-16T09:00:00.146-07:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Caesarea MaritimaSitting along the beautiful Mediterranean coast, Caesarea Maritima, now Caesarea National Park, was the largest seaport in the Roman Empire during the time of Herod. It was Herod the Great who built it and named it after the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar.
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Funny story, a few weeks before the trip we chanced upon a travel show on PBS featuring Caesarea. Up until that time I have not heard of it and didn't even see it among the must-see lists when I look up Israel. After seeing that program, I immediately put it on our list to see. Little did I know that we will be stopping there as part of our itinerary after all. Lucky us.
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Also before leaving Tel Aviv for good, we were supposed to stop at Rabin Square to see the memorial for the slain former prime minister Rabin. However, due to the on-going construction of the square and the terrible traffic around the area, the large bus we were on was unable to find any parking spot, so we skipped this part of the trip. Fortunately for me and my spouse, we had already covered this spot with our independent walking trip the day before. This is why we, when time and schedule permits, always try to arrive a day or two before the start of the guided tour, or stay a day or two after the trip to cover the sites not included in the tour.
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Caesarea is about 63 km from Jaffa, around 45 minutes away by car. A perfect day trip destination from the capital Tel Aviv or about an hour and 15 minutes (about 120 km) from Jerusalem.
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The Roman Theatre
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Selfie spot
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You can see what a beautiful January day we had with the sun shining in all it's glory. It was a perfect day to be in such a picturesque place.
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The Hippodrome
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I love visiting archeological sites, or is it not obvious?
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We had lunch here before moving on to the next destination for the day. Unfortunately because the writings were in Hebrew and we didn't ask, the beer we grabbed was non-alcoholic.
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Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-30763814991361341422023-10-09T07:00:00.003-07:002023-10-09T19:13:17.591-07:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Jaffa (Tel Aviv)Let me preface this post (due to the current instability in Israel) by saying this trip happened from January 14 to 27 of 2023.
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Following the visit to <a href="https://calrat.blogspot.com/2023/09/israel-jordan-2023-neve-tzedek-tel-aviv.html" target="_blank">Neve Tzedek</a> the next stop was Jaffa, or Old Jaffa, which is the old port city and located in the Southern part of Tel Aviv. It is a place associated with the Biblical story of Jonah and the whale. That is why we were dropped off by the whale statue. It was here that the exploration of Jaffa on foot started.
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From here, we climbed up a bit and reached the old town. I was admiring the architecture and the cobblestone street. I have such affinity for these old towns that has Medieval vibe to it.
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And then we reached the <a href="https://www.worldjewishtravel.org/listing/suspended-orange-tree/" target="_blank">Floating Orange Tree</a>. Created in 1993 by Israeli artist Ran Morin, it is a small orange tree planted on a jug suspended about a foot off the ground hung by metal chains on both sides. I read that the artist sought to emphasize the increasing separation of man and nature as creatures that grow in containers.
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I honestly have not heard of it prior to this visit.
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From here we walked towards the Rameses II's Gate Garden. The signage says: One of the mounumental gates that was discovered here dates from the period of the rule of Rameses II (13th century BCE) and attests to the fact that at that time Jaffa hosted a permanent Egyptian garrison.
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Truth be told, I completely tuned out my guide at this stop for 2 reasons. 1)I wasn't interested in another archeological ruin. 2)The weather was so fine that all I could think of was how warm the sun felt on my skin and how cool the breeze was as it kissed my face. As we were in a garden, many of my tourmates were doing the same thing. I saw one stalking birds and still another more interested in checking out the flora.
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Walking distance away is St. Peter's Church.
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Around here, there were plenty to photograph and we did just that.
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The beautiful coastline was easily seen from Jaffa.
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Eventually we ended up in the famous Clock Tower, a landmark around here. This was the spot we will be meeting the bus after an hour of free time for us to grab coffee and pastry or just walk around.
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Most of us went straight to the bakery and inspected all the goodies it offered.
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The bakery also carried a wide variety of baklavas.
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My regret is that we didn't consider coming here the day before the guided tour began. I was under the impression that we would cover this spot and we did, but I wanted to see more.
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-45465934806311158222023-09-18T01:30:00.001-07:002023-09-18T01:30:00.139-07:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Neve Tzedek (Tel Aviv)Neve Tzedek was the first Jewish neighborhood outside of the ancient port city of Jaffa. Built in 1887, it is the city's first suburb. It was also where the artists lived. Neve Tzedek means Abode of Justice in English.
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It is the very first site that was on the itinerary of our guided tour. We were dropped off by the main road and did a short walking tour of the neighborhood. It was very obvious that this was artists haven at one point.
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There's a lot to see and photograph here.
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Met a cute resident.
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The walk to Neve Tzedek ended up in a square that our guide said was an orange orchard a long, long time ago. Because of these oranges that were exported all over Europe, the city (old port city of Jaffa) earned the nickname the Big Orange.
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Afterwards, we walked back to the main road to catch the bus, then off to the next stop.
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-74578445098066616522023-09-11T07:30:00.001-07:002023-09-11T07:30:00.136-07:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Walking Tour of Tel AvivWe left Carmel Market through the back way, the same way we came in. We chose this because we knew that if we walked straight on this road we will hit the beach. Once we're on the beach, we just have to follow the boardwalk back to the hotel. No chance of getting lost, that I knew for sure.
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Once we reached the end of the road, we saw a minaret, and we knew that there's a mosque here that probably we could see. However, the mosque is gated, and although the gate is open we could see that there was something going on inside. It would be intrusive of us to go in.
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Across the street from the mosque is Sir Charles Clore Park with plenty of grassy areas and the water is just there. We walked a bit and took photos. If we wanted we could go left and walk straight to old Jaffa, which is an ancient port and mentioned in the Bible. We chose to go right, back to the hotel.
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Jaffa in the distance.
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The boardwalk I believe stretches 10 km and is popular with bikers, walkers and segway riders.
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We also passed this on the walk from the market to the boardwalk.
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We made friends with the locals (feeding cat and birds).
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A brief rest in the hotel around mid-day and out we went again and this time unbeknownst to me my husband has signed us up for a walking tour and the meeting spot was a couple of blocks away from the hotel on the same street.
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Have you heard of Guru Walk? Have you done a Guru walk? If your answer is no, please try it. It's outstanding. The payment is based on your satisfaction, so no set fee for the guide. The fee ranges from 10-50, customer's discretion.
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We arrived at the meeting spot way too early so we had time to kill. The spot was outside of the Old Cemetery, aka Trumpeldor Cemetery - a historic cemetery that covers 10.6 acres and contains approximately 5,000 graves. In the past, I've always been scared of cemeteries, but not anymore. Now I find them peaceful, intriguing and fascinating.
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The cemetery is not something like I've ever been before. The husband and I just walked around and since the writings on the graves were in Hebrew, we knew nothing, and learned nothing.
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We met our guide Ram, who looked like a professor. I liked him instantly. Our walking group was a small one comprising of two German ladies, a Brazilian jovem (young lady) and us. And the walking tour began at (you guessed it!) the cemetery.
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Ram (tour guide) pointed out tombs of prominent personalities buried here, including the fathers of Israel and a prominent soccer player who also was a poet and a singer during his lifetime. The soccer player had a visitor when we were there; you could tell she was a big fan because she was posing by the tomb.
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One notable thing about this cemetery is that when someone visits the tomb, the visitor will leave a piece of stone, small rock on the tomb. You can easily see which one didn't get any visitors, sad. The soccer player/poet/singer had quite a few visitors as evidenced by the number of stones on his tomb along with flowers.
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From the graveyard we walked to Bialik Square. In Bialik Square there were a lot of cats. Honestly, I was more into watching the cats (and trying to catch their attention) than listening to what Ram was saying about the building that was being remodeled and the Bialik house across from it. The house belonged to Hayim Nahman Bialik, considered as Israel's national poet. I did not photograph the house by the way, but you can easily Google it.
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From Bialik Square we walked to Meir Park or Garden where we watched a couple of ladies feeing the pigeons by the fountain in the middle of the park.
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Again I was not listening to my guide and was only able to capture this image from our visit to the park.
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We left the park and walked towards the <a href="https://bauhaus-center.com/tel-aviv-white-city-tours/" target="_blank">Bauhaus Center</a> and stopped for coffee and a washroom break.
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Afterwards we sauntered to <a href="https://israelbylocals.com/masaryk-square/#google_vignette" target="_blank">Masaryk Square</a> where we saw the Yellow Duck (by Dudu Geva) installation, which is the mascot of the city.
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It was also in Masaryk Square where I met a handsome orange kitty. He's rugged, looked like he's a gangsta kitty. I offered hard boiled egg (I took from the breakfast buffet) and he ate the yolk with gusto but left the white part.
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Next, we strolled towards Rabin Square, which was getting some work done as the square/park area was fenced off. The square was previously called Kings of Israel Square but was renamed Rabin Square in 1995 after the assasination of Yitzhak Rabin, which occured here in 1995.
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City Hall
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There was a video screen that showed the assasination (?) and life (?) of Rabin.
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The memorial where the assasination took place is comprised of broken rocks in the ground representing the "earthquake" created in the Israeli consience.
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We posed by the graffiti wall that was preserved. On the upper corner it says: Here at this place Yitzhak Rabin Prime Minister & Minister of Defence was murdered in the struggle for Peace. 4-11 1995.
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This is where the tour ended. But before we parted ways, we asked our guide where to get the best sabich. A sabich is a pita sandwich stuffed with fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, hummus, tahini sauce, and Israeli salad and pickles. Luckily we were near Frishman Street. He said the Frishman Sabich is the place to get this local delicacy.
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Frishman Street is the same street we needed to take to go back to the hotel. If we walked straight to the end, we will reach the beach and the boardwalk and once there I know to just follow the boardwalk back to the hotel.
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The sabich place was easy to find. It's a very small place, a real hole-in-the-wall. Easy to miss it if you're specifically not looking for it. There was a single guy manning the store. He hardly spoke any English but getting our order filled was no problem because the condiments or sides are all laid out behind the glass cabinet and you just point. The store's signage is in Hebrew. In fact we had gone to the store next door thinking that was it, since it had more customers but we were directed next door. Also across the street is a bigger, more upscale shop that also sold sabich and more. Later through the help of Google I found out that the place Ram recommended was the fancy store and not this one!
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Options, options, options.
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Making our sabich.
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Wanting to explore different neighborhoods, we plugged the route on the phone and left Frishman Street. Again, totally safe walking in Tel Aviv.
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Arrived in the hotel in time to capture this amazing sunset from our window.
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Veggie-filled sabich for dinner eaten hurriedly before the Meet and Greet with the tour group and the tour manager.
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What a full day of exploring. This is why we always wanted to arrive a day or two ahead of time to get the feel of the city and see the sights that are not in the tour itinerary.
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-71188350672732751602023-09-04T10:30:00.005-07:002023-09-04T14:56:50.005-07:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Two Markets In One MorningOur first full day in Tel Aviv started with the hotel's free breakfast. The breakfast offering is the usual you see everywhere, except that I liked it when they include pickled fish and sardines and grilled/roasted tomatoes with the traditional Continental breakfast.
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Our breakfast plates.
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Tomer came to pick us up. During dinner the previous night, the husband asked about the local market nearby. Naturally, Tomer mentioned Carmel Market, which is the touristy market (like Barcelona's La Boqueria) of Tel Aviv. However, the husband asked for one that has less tourists and more local so we were taken to Levinsky Market.
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We came early enough that some of the stores are still closed while others are in the process opening up. This one is definitely geared for the locals, at least the part we went to. However, we found that many of the restaurants in this market are considered "trendy" and are open way way late. He added that there's always a party atmosphere here at night. We walked a few streets, saw some cats, fed a couple of them, and then waited until Tomer got his marketing done. Since he was already here, he decided to replenish his spice cabinet. We stopped for coffee and saw California nuts - almonds, walnuts, etc - being sold in the market. At one point, we passed by a hole-in-the-wall eatery with a couple of tables in front of it on the street. It was serving this red soup of some sort. Curious always about local delicacies, my husband persuaded Tomer to order one so he can taste. I did get a small bite and truthfully I don't remember how it tasted, not my bowl of soup. Turned out that Tomer liked this dish and a great breakfast food, according to him, so he finished it.
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<b>LEVINSKY MARKET</b>
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Beetroot kubbeh soup.
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It was at this point that we suggested we split here, he can go to work while we walk to the famous Carmel Market, which according to Google maps is not very far from here, 1.2 km and only a 15 minute walk from here. However, Tomer was not having any of it and forced us to accept a ride, so we did.
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He dropped us off the back of the market and we made our way through the market via the main aisle, passing stalls for produce, fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, baklava and other sweets, souvenirs, cheeses, meats, prepared food, fruits, clothing, etc. A sensory overload and a cacophony of local sounds. A wonderful experience. It would be a total slap to the market when I tell you that the hubs and I did not taste any of these offerings at all, despite the fact that my mouth was watering at the sight of baklava and Turkish delight. I was still (still am) following a strict caloric count (lol) and was limited my sugar and carb intake. Don't worry, we didn't feel any hunger the entire time, which only meant we ate more than we should at breakfast.
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Worth mentioning is this stall selling Yemeni breads and sandwiches where the shopkeeper broke into a whole song and dance number when one of the customers mentioned that their little boy with them was having his birthday that day. Said shopkeeper performed to an audience and a captivated birthday boy. It totally made my day.
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Shopping bags.
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Fresh squeezed pomegranate & orange juice.
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Turkish delights.
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Jerusalem bagels.
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Hamsa hand - popular souvenir.
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Menorah.
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Chestnuts roasting on ..... whatever this is.
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I am guessing this diner is a celebrity, because these guys were watching him eat and also took photos of him. I'm guessing probably a soccer player maybe?
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-40892393538869207542023-08-28T08:00:00.001-07:002023-08-28T08:00:00.130-07:00Israel & Jordan 2023: First Night in Tel AvivDespite the long day of traveling, I knew that the husband would not be content with resting. We have to explore somehow, somewhere nearby. Unbeknownst to me, my husband had planned a meet-up with this guy he worked with for years albeit digitally. The guy works in the company's Haifa office, while the husband works in the main office here in California. Also surprising was the fact that he was coming tonight.
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Tomer, his colleague from the Haifa office, fetched us for dinner. I was in the dark about their dinner plans or the fact that the husband had requested to be taken to a local restaurant where the menu has no English translation.
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The restaurant that Tomer took us to was outside of Tel Aviv and near where he lives. It is also the same restaurant that his family patronizes so he can vouch for the quality and taste of food. The photos we took tagged the location as Yehuda (Or Yehuda). The restaurant is called Abdalla an Iraqi-Israeli eatery.
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Since the menu was in Hebrew, we let Tomer do the ordering. He's been eating here so he knows what to order. I was flabbergasted when the servers delivered small dishes like banchan (Korean) or side dishes. There were a lot of them and all of them were vegetables, some were pickled while others were mixed with mayo. They were so good.
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The long table is almost full of dishes, they're yummy too. I was getting really full. And this table did not even contain the breaded cauliflower (like tempura) that was so meaty and yummy, very filling. It was then Tomer told us we better get the main dish (which is usually a kebab) because all these side dishes were free with a main dish purchase, otherwise you pay for all these.
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So we ordered a combination kebab plate. So much food. Tomer ended up taking some boxes home.
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Tomer drove us back to the hotel with the promise that he would come pick us up in the morning to take us to one of the local markets. Local markets are one of the places we always wanted to visit when in a new city.
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This was the time we met the night shift door man. Isn't he a cutie pie?
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We were too stuffed to sleep or rest, we wanted to walk off the food. The waterfront, 2 blocks away, was the obvious choice. The beach was still alive with young people playing volleyball. We walked the promenade and found eateries lining the beach and a sight of bakery open this late in the night piqued our curiosity, so we went in and even with full stomach decided we needed some ice cream to keep us going.
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We walked on the beach side, then crossed the road to the grocery store for a little shopping for snacks when our tour officially starts the following day.
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Still have the Christmas tree up in mid January.
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When we finally got back to the hotel, we found the doorman asleep on the job. Humans said he's held this job for the past 6 years. Looks like he's got job security.
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Hope you all keep coming back to see what other new experiences we were exposed to in this splendid trip.
Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709600.post-2791506817391121452023-08-20T15:43:00.003-07:002023-08-20T15:43:23.947-07:00Israel & Jordan 2023: Touchdown Tel AvivTravel date for this series is from January 14 - 27, 2023.
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Let me begin this series by saying we almost didn't make it to this trip, because someone from the front desk of American Airlines was not using some common sense. One of the documents we were required to carry (digital or physical) and present was a insurance coverage letter - assuring the countries we're traveling to that we would shoulder medical expenses should the situation arises.
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Thankfully, I have secured this through my medical insurance from work that covers me and my husband anywhere thru reimbursement after the fact, should the medical situation occur in places where they don't offer coverage.
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However, said front desk clerk was specifically wanting to see the words "covered for covid" instead of the generic one that my insurance company uses.
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We were there early enough because I thought we'd get time to walk around once we put in our bags and all, but we were put on hold until the very last minute when a supervisor stepped in and approved our letter. The clerk claimed it's a British Airways policy and since we would be transferring to BA in NYC, they were making sure that all our docs were in order here in SFO.
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So we finally got to fly and had a few hours to kill in JFK. We got coffee and tried the pizza, but mostly we were glued to the tube since our 49ers were playing the Seahawks, which was a crucial game. One that we didn't finish because we boarded before the game ended.
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So many 49ers fans in JFK at that time.
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The flight was smooth and we arrived in Heathrow on time. Went back to do the check baggage again, which was not so bad. We weren't in Heathrow for a long time and then we're back on the plane bound for Tel Aviv.
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The flight from London to Tel Aviv was about 7 hours long and they served two meals, unlike only snacks served from NYC to London.
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Welcome to the Promised Land.
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We were so ready to get the travel ball rolling once we landed, but the line to Immigration was horrendous. We stood on this line for what seemed like eons. The husband had to call the company that was going to fetch us from the airport that there is a major delay in Immigration. He had to call because we know the guy has seen on the board that the flight has landed and probably we didn't show up or something. We don't want him to leave without us.
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When we finally made it out of Immigration and had collected our bags, it was dark. The driver was waiting for us outside. He was chatty despite his limited English. We noticed that no one was wearing a mask. He saw both of us wearing masks and hurriedly put one on, then commented, "In Tel Aviv, no one wears masks anymore. Those that do have covid."
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First sunset captured while on the move from airport to hotel.
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Mural near our hotel.
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Hotel lobby.
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From our hotel room (we are 2 blocks away from the water), we could see the beach and a block away from us is the American embassy - the shorter well-lit building. We felt safe already.
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Although I must say up front that we felt safe walking about in Tel Aviv. People are nice and we didn't see anything that would raise our anxiety level. Such a nice city, one they call the Big Orange.Photo Cachehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17734663922538063553noreply@blogger.com10