Here's the scene.... it's Thursday morning, I've been up since about 7:30, I'm still in my pajamas (Relient K shirt, gray sweats, no bra), wearing glasses, hair in a wonky side ponytail with the bangs pinned to the side. House is decently neat- lots of books on the table, cooked chicken on the stove cooling down to be put in the fridge for dinner, lots of shoes by the back door since we've been coming in and out from the garden. I'm leisurely thinking about making my way upstairs to get changed when the door bell rings.
Twice...
And no, it's not the postman.
It's a VERY good looking man, possibly early thirties, tan, pretty eyes, sandy blonde hair neatly cut, in black pants and a striped Oxford shirt.
"Hi, I'm Oliver... from Finders Keepers... here for the inspection... I hope you got a letter?"
I stare and then pull myself together. "Yeah, but I thought it's not until like May or something. It's been changed a few times..."
We awkwardly look at each other. "But yeah, you can definitely come in. It's not really that tidy in here but please, come in."
He comes in and explains that he's just replaced someone named Michelle and so that's probably the confusion in the date. But hopefully it's OK if he just looks around and takes a few pictures to send to the landlord? What am I going to do? Say no? Of course I let him in. I show him the broken microwave but otherwise, decently put together kitchen. We look at the living room and he asks who the Liverpool fan is. I tell him that we both are. We make some small talk about football. He looks out the back and asks if we have a mower. I tell him that I have no idea but he lets me know that lawn upkeep is our responsibility to either find a mower or hire one. Or rent a goat, as I mentioned. He laughed. Apparently I'm witty.
Then we go upstairs. My room is decent and we quickly leave. We have a discussion about light bulbs in the guest room where we can't seem to figure out why the bulb doesn't work (and then clearly dismantled the entire light). Luckily Oliver is tall and can take a closer look. He explains that the light need a three-pronged bulb and we have a two-pronged bulb. We need to look for a three-pronged bayonet, so I'm clearly learning a lot about light bulbs. We quickly look into my bathroom, open up the closets, see that there's a big box for a lawn mower on top of the water heater but we can't tell if it's got a mower in it or not. We assume not since I could move it around so I'll have to check the green bin outside later. Still, nice to be discovering things in the house.
Then we move onto Roni's room. He asks if there's a carpet. It's hard to tell because of all the clothes. He didn't really ask that, but I'm trying to make a point here. At this point, I am profusely apologizing for the state of the room. He makes the wise decision NOT to photograph her room. I agree. We escape back downstairs, he takes a few pictures and then we end up chatting for like fifteen minutes. I don't know how we got about to chatting but we talked football, American football, sports, head, neck and spinal cord injuries, difficulties being the oldest sibling, how we would get up at all hours of the night/morning to watch "foreign" football. It was quite pleasant. Of course, this entire time I am still remembering that I am still in my pajamas and bra-less, so again, pleasant as it was, still super, super awkward. Sigh.
Before he left, we joked about how we clearly had nothing to hide, so that was good. He mentioned that he's find out about how to replace our burnt microwave (don't ask) and then, before he left, he mentioned that I should tell my sister to tidy her room. I said tell me about it and showed him out the door.
So then, I have to rush to get out of the house to make it down to the Gloucester Green market to see if I can find some good veggies and possibly some bread for the next few days. I've been on a running kick lately- I've run the last five out of six days so I thought it might be nice to run the 1.7 miles down to Gloucester Green and just bring a backpack with a change of clothes for when I got to work. I was out of the house for literally two minutes when it started to rain. That forced a quick decision- do I just bag it and go home to change or do I just keep going and hope that it stops raining soon. I decided for the latter and kept running but the rain did not let up. It wasn't pouring, thank goodness, but by the time I made it down to the Green, I really was looking well on my way to a wet-t-shirt contest. Worst part...? White t-shirt.... yep. I walked through the GG Market with my arms folded over my chest and my back slightly hunched. Next embarrassment was the fact that I didn't realize til I arrived that Gloucester Green market on Wed and Thurs is NOT a food market. Lots of cool antiques but this revelation prompted a run to the Covered Market for some peppers, strawberries (first of the season!) and baby cucumbers... oh, and some super fresh bread from Nan's Bakery. I was still wet so I stopped to get a small hot chocolate to warm myself up since, for some mental reason, I decided to bring a tank top with me, instead of a sweater. So that was dumb. Luckily I changed with no problems and that marked the end of my slightly embarrassing on various levels day.
Hope you enjoyed my frequent chagrin :)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The last few days
Here's a little recap of the last few days and how I've been settling back into Oxford. My last day in Israel was incredibly relaxing- drove into Tel Aviv, had coffee ON the beach with Tami, my dad's cousin, while relaxing in a cabana thing and sitting on a big loungy couch. Super comfy :) We had lunch at her house, with my cousin Dan and Tami's son Amit joining us and I did a few errards to stock up on food before the flight home. Luckily, no problems during the flight- i-pod was fully charged and I managed to get a little bit of sleep. Made it through customs no problem- I think the guy just wanted his shift to be over because he just said "to hell with it" and stamped my passport. Only forty minutes to wait for the bus and I managed to sleep the nearly two hours on thew ay home to Oxford. Arrive at Gloucester Green at nearly 4 am and walked up through Jericho to get home. By that point, I was pretty much past the point of exhaustion so I didn't actually fall asleep until six am.
But then woke up at 10:30- really? Only four and a half hours of sleep? Peachy. The weather is Oxford was BEAUTIFUL so after a run to the library and grocery store, I pretty much sat in teh backyard on a blanket and read books. Pathfinders was that night and we took the kids out to the field to play Rounders. Kind of like baseball with no home plate and no foul balls. So much fun and lots of laughing. We leave for our weekend away in two weeks and I can't wait!
I worked on Saturday but because of the gorgeous weather, I pretty much just chated with Katie the whole time and then showed a few people how to lock up at closing. Sunday was not as pretty but church was great and Roni and I caught up on some of our taped Food Network shows. Nice adn relaxing.
Monday was my first day back at the HW Club and since it was a nice day, I walked the thre miles from the house to the EOCC. I was in charge of six little girls between Year 1 and Year 4 and they were a handful. First of all, they just peppered me with questions so finally I made a deal: for every word they spelled right or ever page they copied into their notebook, I would answer a question. I gave them spelling words, checked their grammer, gave them math problems (they say take-away instead of subtract so I kept confusing them... I better learn my English vocabulary!) and then at teh end, told them a story for them to illustrate. Eventually they wanted to tell the story so I ended up drawing castles and kids skipping rope and a knight in shining armor. My pictures leave much to be desired :)
Tuesday I was back at the museum- it was another gorgeous day so I was anticipating some boredom in teh galleries. However, we got a big shipment of new Alice merchandise (NICE merchandise- all porcelin mugs and tea pots and cake trays and such) but we had nowhere to put them. So I was put on interior decorating duties and moved all the items in the glass cabinet (which we're trying SO hard to get rid of) and helped design the look for the new merchandise in teh glass case. We also had 35 Dutch kids on a field trip at the museum so we needed to deal with them as well but luckily they were gone by 4pm.
But then woke up at 10:30- really? Only four and a half hours of sleep? Peachy. The weather is Oxford was BEAUTIFUL so after a run to the library and grocery store, I pretty much sat in teh backyard on a blanket and read books. Pathfinders was that night and we took the kids out to the field to play Rounders. Kind of like baseball with no home plate and no foul balls. So much fun and lots of laughing. We leave for our weekend away in two weeks and I can't wait!
I worked on Saturday but because of the gorgeous weather, I pretty much just chated with Katie the whole time and then showed a few people how to lock up at closing. Sunday was not as pretty but church was great and Roni and I caught up on some of our taped Food Network shows. Nice adn relaxing.
Monday was my first day back at the HW Club and since it was a nice day, I walked the thre miles from the house to the EOCC. I was in charge of six little girls between Year 1 and Year 4 and they were a handful. First of all, they just peppered me with questions so finally I made a deal: for every word they spelled right or ever page they copied into their notebook, I would answer a question. I gave them spelling words, checked their grammer, gave them math problems (they say take-away instead of subtract so I kept confusing them... I better learn my English vocabulary!) and then at teh end, told them a story for them to illustrate. Eventually they wanted to tell the story so I ended up drawing castles and kids skipping rope and a knight in shining armor. My pictures leave much to be desired :)
Tuesday I was back at the museum- it was another gorgeous day so I was anticipating some boredom in teh galleries. However, we got a big shipment of new Alice merchandise (NICE merchandise- all porcelin mugs and tea pots and cake trays and such) but we had nowhere to put them. So I was put on interior decorating duties and moved all the items in the glass cabinet (which we're trying SO hard to get rid of) and helped design the look for the new merchandise in teh glass case. We also had 35 Dutch kids on a field trip at the museum so we needed to deal with them as well but luckily they were gone by 4pm.
Today I hung out with the older kids at HW Club- and it was the first time I feel that I actually taught them something. I was working on some math with one of them and she was working on patterns. She was doing great, if not working a little too fast and making some silly mistakes. Reminded me so much of me. But she did a great job, was showing her work and was so proud of her self. Two of the other girls were working on reading from a science book and taking notes so I could quiz them later. We ended up having an impromptu lesson on the solar system and the Milky Way and Galileo and what astronauts do and then I went to find an apple from their snack so I could demonstrate the earth spinning on its axis and then also moving around the sun (or waterbottle). They were so inquisitive and one even said "Miss, you're so smart, how do you know so much?" I can't wait to see them again next week. I think the good weather has made them more cheerful.
I'm in the process of putting in applications for jobs in some schools around Oxfordshire. The problem is that a lot of them are outside Oxford in the surronding county and I have no idea how to get there. Would be well worth it though if they were to give me a job so think good thoughts :) I would love to be back here next year- I think about being somewhere else and I miss it!
Other than that, things are as usual- work again tomorrow til closing, weekend trip to either Sussex or Nottingham, London in a few weeks to see the sequel to Phantom, Monday Bank Holiday, planned trips to Devon and Cornwall some free weekend. Life is good!
Other than that, things are as usual- work again tomorrow til closing, weekend trip to either Sussex or Nottingham, London in a few weeks to see the sequel to Phantom, Monday Bank Holiday, planned trips to Devon and Cornwall some free weekend. Life is good!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Pras Israel
I was going to make this my first video blog update but there are a lot of people around me at the airport right now AND I don't have the things I wanted to show you, so maybe that'll come at a later date. But for now, here are some pictures and a description about the award's ceremony.
I drove up with Amir's family and we met up with Amos and his family in the line to enter the hall (and for some reason they were checking people for chemical warfare- no joke). One of the guards recognized Amos and told him he could skip the line. Not unless all of us came with him, was the reply so all of us got to cut the line and head straight into the hall. It was being filmed for TV so there were cameras all over and tons of people. I recognized some of the government people, although nothing like my dad who pointed out people to me. Tons of family too to greet and it was wonderful to see everyone again.
Two of the men sitting up on the stage- Bibi Netanhayu (PM of Israel) and Shimon Peres (President of Israel).
Now this is only a glimpse of the nominess (Saba is in the middle) but man oh man, how cute are they! The one of the left was abso-frickin'-lutely adorable. They all were!
Along with each award, there was also entertainment to break up the monotony. The first entertainers were these little kids, fiddling away like they were the entertainment at a barn dance in Texas. They were incredible.
And then, this little tyke shows up! This bugger was a fiddlin' fool! And he's what, five? Six? Two? Insane!
The guy on the right with the guitar used to be in a duo with another man. Said man sadly passed away so man on the left (skinny jeans) joined the group. Why? He's said man's son. They sang a song called "It's a Sign THat You're Young" which was familiar to me because we sang it at Aharon's 80th birthday party four years ago.
These guys were great too. They were in a group called "Opera Fringe" and sang the songs of a famous Israeli singer. One of their songs was about Kfar Saba, which prompted my dad to turn to me and let me know that my best friend had called while he had my phone. Why did he choose that moment to let me know? Because she lives next door to Kfar Saba. Oh Abba.... PS- the woman on the right was a crazy gymnast! Cartwheels AND the splits!
Finally it was Aharon's turn. They showed a video about his achivements and of course you can't have a video about Aharon without a picture of him in the 60s and 70s moving' and shaking'...
... or of his riding his bike. All I can say is at least he's not also talking on his cell phone.
There he is, getting his award.
Afterwards, he was the representative of all the recipients to give a speech. His Hebrew is VERY eloquent and very "high" so I had a lot of trouble following it. However, from what everyone told me, the speech was incredible. So yay Saba.
And now this is where it got weird. For some odd reason, the producers decided to end the show with this. Yes, dancing slinkies. There is a dude or dudette in each of these suits. The beginning was highly inappropriate and suggestive. I wish I had gotten a picture of the recipients faces. I don't think they had any clue what was going on. Nor did the audience. Please enjoy the video below for further evidence that this was a weird decision...
At the end of the night, it was picture time. Aharon and his proud sons....
with all the sons and grandchildren (minus three)
and just the grandkids.
Congratulations, Saba Aharon, you MORE than deserve this!!!!
I drove up with Amir's family and we met up with Amos and his family in the line to enter the hall (and for some reason they were checking people for chemical warfare- no joke). One of the guards recognized Amos and told him he could skip the line. Not unless all of us came with him, was the reply so all of us got to cut the line and head straight into the hall. It was being filmed for TV so there were cameras all over and tons of people. I recognized some of the government people, although nothing like my dad who pointed out people to me. Tons of family too to greet and it was wonderful to see everyone again.
Two of the men sitting up on the stage- Bibi Netanhayu (PM of Israel) and Shimon Peres (President of Israel).
Now this is only a glimpse of the nominess (Saba is in the middle) but man oh man, how cute are they! The one of the left was abso-frickin'-lutely adorable. They all were!
Along with each award, there was also entertainment to break up the monotony. The first entertainers were these little kids, fiddling away like they were the entertainment at a barn dance in Texas. They were incredible.
And then, this little tyke shows up! This bugger was a fiddlin' fool! And he's what, five? Six? Two? Insane!
The guy on the right with the guitar used to be in a duo with another man. Said man sadly passed away so man on the left (skinny jeans) joined the group. Why? He's said man's son. They sang a song called "It's a Sign THat You're Young" which was familiar to me because we sang it at Aharon's 80th birthday party four years ago.
These guys were great too. They were in a group called "Opera Fringe" and sang the songs of a famous Israeli singer. One of their songs was about Kfar Saba, which prompted my dad to turn to me and let me know that my best friend had called while he had my phone. Why did he choose that moment to let me know? Because she lives next door to Kfar Saba. Oh Abba.... PS- the woman on the right was a crazy gymnast! Cartwheels AND the splits!
Finally it was Aharon's turn. They showed a video about his achivements and of course you can't have a video about Aharon without a picture of him in the 60s and 70s moving' and shaking'...
... or of his riding his bike. All I can say is at least he's not also talking on his cell phone.
There he is, getting his award.
Afterwards, he was the representative of all the recipients to give a speech. His Hebrew is VERY eloquent and very "high" so I had a lot of trouble following it. However, from what everyone told me, the speech was incredible. So yay Saba.
And now this is where it got weird. For some odd reason, the producers decided to end the show with this. Yes, dancing slinkies. There is a dude or dudette in each of these suits. The beginning was highly inappropriate and suggestive. I wish I had gotten a picture of the recipients faces. I don't think they had any clue what was going on. Nor did the audience. Please enjoy the video below for further evidence that this was a weird decision...
At the end of the night, it was picture time. Aharon and his proud sons....
with all the sons and grandchildren (minus three)
and just the grandkids.
Congratulations, Saba Aharon, you MORE than deserve this!!!!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The Way It Should Be
In Israel, they celebrate everything the night before the actual holiday, so on Sunday night, everyone on the kibbutz gathered together on the lawn in front of the Chadar Ochel for the ceremony for Yom Zikaron, which is Memorial Day. In Israel, Memorial Day isn't celebrated with BBQs and shopping and hanging out. Memorial Day is Remembrance Day- remembering all those that have fallen for the State of Israel. The stage is draped in black cloth, the lights are dimmed low and at 8:00 pm, everyone in Israel stands for the siren.
The siren is one of the most bone-chilling experiences. It's not just like a car alarm siren. It's a combination of one long unending siren with added sirens on top of it. As a seven-year-old child, I still remember being petrified. As a adult, it sends a chill through my bones and my stomach clenches. Even more symbolic is that every person is Israel is standing still and listening to the same siren and remembering those in their lives that have fallen.
After the siren, there are readings and quotes and a walk through the memorial corner where children put roses on the posters of those friends of the kibbutz that have fallen in war or in terror. The following day is pretty sombre, marked again by another siren at 11:00 am and another memorial that night.
On the night before Yom Ha'Atzmaot- or Independence Day- which is the same day as Yom Ha'Zikaron (can you keep this all straight????), we all got together at Amir and Dalia's house for coffee, tea and fruit salad before the memorial. Since I don't think I've done so yet, let me identify the family. Back row (L-R): Maya (fourth cousin on my grandfather's side but we ignore the fourth part- she's family), Abba, Saba Aharon, me, Dalia, Noam, Liron, Amir. Front row: Guy on the left and Ofek on the right. Love them.
The memorial ceremony was similar to the night before, this time without the siren. There were many readings about fallen friends and family and we stood up to sing "Hatikvah" at the end. The seriousness of the night was slightly marred by this hysterical old man sitting behind us who kept saying "the crowd is asked the rise.... the crowd is asked to sit...." after each part of the ceremony. But he was right because at the end of the ceremony, the lights just came on, no one mentioned anything, and people went to eat. Sababa.
We enjoyed the usual kibbutz BBQ fare- falafel, hot dogs, salad, pitas, "lachmanias", Israeli capri suns, the usual. Brought me back to first grade and living on the kibbutz. There was a lot of mingling, I saw some friends from first grade and we chatted, the family all hung out and there was a lot of "simcha and sasson".
While we were eating, some people were changing the stage from sombre to festive, taking down the black cloth and putting up big flowers. Eventually, the happy show of the night began. This really brought me back to first grade and I felt better about taking pictures, since it wasn't a serious affair. The first part was actually a surprise- they called Saba Aharon up to the stage, said a lot of very sweet things about him and gave him flowers. Just one of the many good wishes he has gotten since winning Pras Israel.
Of course there was a lot of dancing....
there were skits... including the most awkward Romeo and Juliet moment of the night... :) (PS- "Juliet" was one of the staff members in charge of the after school hangout place I'd go to in first grade)...
Dalia and friends sang "Shir Ha Shalom"...
more music....
more dancing....
and then FIRE.
Now, I don't really understand the idea behind this. The high school aged students put together these big contraptions of wood that they either carried or had hauled on tractors. On each wooden contraption was a phrase- something about Israel and Independence, something about Gilad Shalit, other things that were kind of hard to read. The picture doesn't do it justice but it was pretty incredible. Although I was nervous that the kibbutz was going to go up in smoke.
After the "Esh", we immediately ran to the hill to find a good spot for the fireworks. This is our fireworks waiting face :)
I have never been so close to fireworks before in my life. One time I legitimately ducked and flinched because I felt it was about to explode in front of my face. We always knew the show was still going because we could see the man running to and fro on the roof of the dining hall, lighting the fireworks and then racing away. Absolutely incredible.
Happy 62nd Birthday, Eretz Israel! Here's to 62+62+62+62 more until infinity!
The siren is one of the most bone-chilling experiences. It's not just like a car alarm siren. It's a combination of one long unending siren with added sirens on top of it. As a seven-year-old child, I still remember being petrified. As a adult, it sends a chill through my bones and my stomach clenches. Even more symbolic is that every person is Israel is standing still and listening to the same siren and remembering those in their lives that have fallen.
After the siren, there are readings and quotes and a walk through the memorial corner where children put roses on the posters of those friends of the kibbutz that have fallen in war or in terror. The following day is pretty sombre, marked again by another siren at 11:00 am and another memorial that night.
On the night before Yom Ha'Atzmaot- or Independence Day- which is the same day as Yom Ha'Zikaron (can you keep this all straight????), we all got together at Amir and Dalia's house for coffee, tea and fruit salad before the memorial. Since I don't think I've done so yet, let me identify the family. Back row (L-R): Maya (fourth cousin on my grandfather's side but we ignore the fourth part- she's family), Abba, Saba Aharon, me, Dalia, Noam, Liron, Amir. Front row: Guy on the left and Ofek on the right. Love them.
The memorial ceremony was similar to the night before, this time without the siren. There were many readings about fallen friends and family and we stood up to sing "Hatikvah" at the end. The seriousness of the night was slightly marred by this hysterical old man sitting behind us who kept saying "the crowd is asked the rise.... the crowd is asked to sit...." after each part of the ceremony. But he was right because at the end of the ceremony, the lights just came on, no one mentioned anything, and people went to eat. Sababa.We enjoyed the usual kibbutz BBQ fare- falafel, hot dogs, salad, pitas, "lachmanias", Israeli capri suns, the usual. Brought me back to first grade and living on the kibbutz. There was a lot of mingling, I saw some friends from first grade and we chatted, the family all hung out and there was a lot of "simcha and sasson".
While we were eating, some people were changing the stage from sombre to festive, taking down the black cloth and putting up big flowers. Eventually, the happy show of the night began. This really brought me back to first grade and I felt better about taking pictures, since it wasn't a serious affair. The first part was actually a surprise- they called Saba Aharon up to the stage, said a lot of very sweet things about him and gave him flowers. Just one of the many good wishes he has gotten since winning Pras Israel.
Of course there was a lot of dancing....
there were skits... including the most awkward Romeo and Juliet moment of the night... :) (PS- "Juliet" was one of the staff members in charge of the after school hangout place I'd go to in first grade)...
Dalia and friends sang "Shir Ha Shalom"...
more music....
more dancing....
and then FIRE.Now, I don't really understand the idea behind this. The high school aged students put together these big contraptions of wood that they either carried or had hauled on tractors. On each wooden contraption was a phrase- something about Israel and Independence, something about Gilad Shalit, other things that were kind of hard to read. The picture doesn't do it justice but it was pretty incredible. Although I was nervous that the kibbutz was going to go up in smoke.
After the "Esh", we immediately ran to the hill to find a good spot for the fireworks. This is our fireworks waiting face :)
I have never been so close to fireworks before in my life. One time I legitimately ducked and flinched because I felt it was about to explode in front of my face. We always knew the show was still going because we could see the man running to and fro on the roof of the dining hall, lighting the fireworks and then racing away. Absolutely incredible.
Happy 62nd Birthday, Eretz Israel! Here's to 62+62+62+62 more until infinity!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Two Days In the North
I had an incredible two days in the north. I took the train first to Akko (Acre), an old Arab, Crusader, Turkish, etc. city. It was a really hot day and the city was pretty empty except for the market (no market pictures because I went a little overboard with market pictures the day before). I wandered through the sea-wall promenade, enjoyed the hazy view towards Haifa (it wasn't a very clear day), enjoyed the smell of the salt-sea air, crawled through tunnels, gazed over moats to where Napoleon's army once stood, visited the Underground Prison Museum and saw where Jabotinsky and other men were held captive, and ate falafel. The only thing that marred the goo day was the apparent sign on my forehead that said "single Arab men, please come flirt and try and get my phone number and talk to me in English... oh and yes, I'd love to come on a trip with you somewhere, so please ask". Sheesh. Luckily I was able to whip out some fake French every once and a while when I got really annoyed and they left.
beautiful sunny day- I had great weather
view of the Old City of Akko
inside the prison cells where the men would sleep (these are braided rag rugs)
courtyard of the prison somewhat blocked by the Yom Ha'Atzma'ot Tent
lowest part of the prison
the sea-wall
part of the Turkish tunnels
very Muslim town- listened twice to the call to prayers
the harbor
Humus Sayid- best place in Akko for Humus
ramparts of the seige wall against Napoleon
inside the Ethnographic Museum, inside the wall attacked by Napoleon
After Akko, I got on the train and headed down to Zichron Ya'akov, an little town in the Carmel Hills overlooking the Mediterranean. There are a ton of wineries in the area and for dinner that night, we went to a little wine restaurant where we had some delicious white wine right from the area. Na'ama is my dad's cousin and she and her husban Yair have three kids, although I only met Mata, the 17-year-old and Tamuz, the sweet little 13-year-old. I had a great time hanging out with them, especially little Tamuz who has a slight (major) obsession with Johny Depp and a passion for getting a third earring hole. Before dinner, Na'ama and I tok a walk with their dog Mimi along the Zichron Nature Preserve and got to watch the amazing sunset while dodging cows in teh path and two bulls who decided to start smashing horns. Sadly, camera was out of batteries so I have no evidence but take my word, it was pretty crazy.
The next morning, Na'ama took me to these beautiful gardens where Baron Rothschild was buried. Overlooking the Mediterranean and the Zichron Nature Preserve, the views, along with the lush green grass and beautiful flowers of the garden, I've decided that my life would be just fine if I pitched a tent on the lawn and lived there forever and forever. We had a delicious breakfast and great conversation and caught a glimpse of some frogs inside the lilly pad adorned water ponds.
That afternoon, after dropping Matan back off at home, Na'ama took me to Caesarea. That was the place I had been looking forward to the most of the two days in the north. Caesarea is an old port town, the magnificent city of King Herod and now home to ruins upon ruins. Caesarea was a planned city with a network of crisscrossing streets, a temple, theatre, ampitheatre, markets and residential quarters. The threate is the most ancient of all theatres found in Israel- it was built in Herod's time and could accommodate 4,0000 spectartors. Next to it was a Herodian Ampitheatre, a huge u-shaped entertainment structure, complete with an areana and hundres of seats. It was probably used to horse racing, sporting events and netertainment shows. AIt probably held up to 10,00 spectators. There was also a bathohouse complex, a commercial and adminstrative area, fortified Medieval City from the 9th century (Arab period) which were built right over the Harbour. It was incredible to just run about the old ruins and to image what had happened there over the last 2000 or so years, back in the time of the Romans, Arabs, Middle Ages, etc. So incredible. Enjoy the pictures.
entrance to Caesarea
Medieval church
one of the vaults
bath-house
Herodian ampitheatre
entrance into the theatre
super steep stairs
looking at the beach over the theatre
theatre from above
another view of the ampitheatre
beautiful sunny day- I had great weather
view of the Old City of Akko
inside the prison cells where the men would sleep (these are braided rag rugs)
courtyard of the prison somewhat blocked by the Yom Ha'Atzma'ot Tent
lowest part of the prison
the sea-wall
part of the Turkish tunnels
very Muslim town- listened twice to the call to prayers
the harbor
Humus Sayid- best place in Akko for Humus
ramparts of the seige wall against Napoleon
inside the Ethnographic Museum, inside the wall attacked by NapoleonAfter Akko, I got on the train and headed down to Zichron Ya'akov, an little town in the Carmel Hills overlooking the Mediterranean. There are a ton of wineries in the area and for dinner that night, we went to a little wine restaurant where we had some delicious white wine right from the area. Na'ama is my dad's cousin and she and her husban Yair have three kids, although I only met Mata, the 17-year-old and Tamuz, the sweet little 13-year-old. I had a great time hanging out with them, especially little Tamuz who has a slight (major) obsession with Johny Depp and a passion for getting a third earring hole. Before dinner, Na'ama and I tok a walk with their dog Mimi along the Zichron Nature Preserve and got to watch the amazing sunset while dodging cows in teh path and two bulls who decided to start smashing horns. Sadly, camera was out of batteries so I have no evidence but take my word, it was pretty crazy.
The next morning, Na'ama took me to these beautiful gardens where Baron Rothschild was buried. Overlooking the Mediterranean and the Zichron Nature Preserve, the views, along with the lush green grass and beautiful flowers of the garden, I've decided that my life would be just fine if I pitched a tent on the lawn and lived there forever and forever. We had a delicious breakfast and great conversation and caught a glimpse of some frogs inside the lilly pad adorned water ponds.
That afternoon, after dropping Matan back off at home, Na'ama took me to Caesarea. That was the place I had been looking forward to the most of the two days in the north. Caesarea is an old port town, the magnificent city of King Herod and now home to ruins upon ruins. Caesarea was a planned city with a network of crisscrossing streets, a temple, theatre, ampitheatre, markets and residential quarters. The threate is the most ancient of all theatres found in Israel- it was built in Herod's time and could accommodate 4,0000 spectartors. Next to it was a Herodian Ampitheatre, a huge u-shaped entertainment structure, complete with an areana and hundres of seats. It was probably used to horse racing, sporting events and netertainment shows. AIt probably held up to 10,00 spectators. There was also a bathohouse complex, a commercial and adminstrative area, fortified Medieval City from the 9th century (Arab period) which were built right over the Harbour. It was incredible to just run about the old ruins and to image what had happened there over the last 2000 or so years, back in the time of the Romans, Arabs, Middle Ages, etc. So incredible. Enjoy the pictures.
entrance to Caesarea
Medieval church
one of the vaults
bath-house
Herodian ampitheatre
entrance into the theatre
super steep stairs
looking at the beach over the theatre
theatre from above
another view of the ampitheatre
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