23 posts tagged “israel”

The flight was very delayed. They had to change a wheel, which took about 4 hours ! Well, never mind, better wait and be in security ! At the end we were pretty tired, more tired than after all our excursions together. But what do you want, vacation was so great, we did so many things, past so quick, so why complain ! 

So, we arrived as you can see. Maayan looks always fresh, even though it's 3:00 in the morning! "Jai mangé du Lion", if you try to translate, this comes approximately out "I ate lions". Well, you understand what she means ☺.Good night, euh, good morning my wonderful family, it's Sunday and tomorrow, we have school and Aba and Mama work ... aaaaah!

Your wonderful family

Overflying Grece and arriving at Fiumicino ... . 

Benvenuti a Roma ... la città eterna. 

Lot's of love, my wonderful family!

Hu, hu, huuuuu time past so quick !!! That's it, everybody's there to say goodbye ! We're leaving ! Short break to have a drink with Saba and Safta and voilà ... Shalom, lehitra'ot ve nihiye bekescher ! 

Mama had time to buy herself the "Crocs Olivia". She loves them !!! They're so confortable, a real dream :-).  

Once on  the plane, we had for each of us the whole row (6 seats for each of us :-))!!! But Miss Mai didn't like her food. Well, you can't get Nutella on baguette all the time :-).

Your wonderful family

We're already flying back today, snif. Our initial flight was cancelled. So rather, back home today or Monday. Mama and Aba are going to be late in one day of work and we would miss classes. Well, so you see, we're very reasonable, even though it's hard :-). So, just enough time to make a jump to say "hello" to Ram and Nif, Rifka's sons, who don't live so far away from Safta and Saba's house. 

Now, quick back, to catch our flight at "Ben Gourian".

See you, my wonderful family!

You think you can sleep ? No way !! The whole family is waiting for you at home ! "Soirée Fromage", "Cheese evening", yes, Aba bought french cheese, all kinds of : square, round, large, small, from goats, sheeps and cows. Well, Saba loves cheese, but the rest of the family, hm, they prefer grilled meat ;-). 

Now, we go to sleep, finally. We deserve to rest ☺. Good night my wonderful family.

Have sweet dreams, from your wonderful family !

Do you know, that you're standing right now in the lowest point on earth, 416 m below sea lewel ! We felt that in our ears, while driving in the car ! "Only the name might fool you. The Dead Sea region is really full of life. It's in the mineral-rich Dead Sea water. It's in the health-giving and mineral-laden thermal springs. It's in the famous therapeutic black mud. It's in the sun's rays. It's in the very air you breathe. ... Enjoy the gifts of nature and the treasures of the past year-round in perpetual Spring and Summer : over 330 sun days a year "... and " stay in the Dead Sea region - for a high time at the lowest spot on earth !" Such a nice texte comes from the israelian "Regional Tourist Organization" , hum, not from us ;-). But we also do publicity for the Dead Sea !!!

Mama adores it !!! She absolutely wanted to go into the water ! To check, if it's really true, that you float and don't drown. You are floating !!! Like a buoy !!! And if you try to swim, the water just "turns" you back on your bottom. It's so much fun !!! Only poor Nanni, as the water is very, very, very salty (inside the water there are hundred of thousands of salt cristals bullets), her skin got really "burned", so we had to shower her very well with soap and then, uff, she was playing with the sand sitting on a towel. Last picture is us on the way back home to Safta and Saba, who are waiting for us ... . See you, my wonderful family. The day still didn't finish !  

Your wonderful family!

Synonyme of israelian proudness: "Masada" was the last bastion of Jewish freedom fighters against the Romans; its fall signaled the violent destruction of the kingdom of Judea and the end of the Second Temple period (320). The tragic events of the last days of the rebels at Masada (collective suicide) transformed it into both a Jewish cultural icon and a symbol of humanity's continuous struggle for freedom from oppression." 

We got up at 3:30 am :-( (that was very early !!!!) ... but we had an appointment with our wonderful friends at 5:00 ... . What we don't do for our friends ?! But do you imagine ... they were so excited to come with us ! That's so great ! Some didn't even sleep ! Too afraid, not to hear the alarm. 

They left home around midnight, it's still about 200 km away from Tel Aviv. And really on time ! Everybody was there at the entrance, ready to climb up : Rafi, Ronit, Rotem, Tal and Shir, Yossi, Osnat and Or, Benzi and his daughter. 

Nobody is really tired, too much adrenaline, of course ! It's not every day that you get up so early to hike with close friends !! We were all very excited. 

But the most astonish and overwhelming thing was Or ! Ori of Yossi and Osnat. A tiny, cute little girl ... honestly, Mama was a little bit afraid, that's too tiring for her, still, you have to climb up about 350 meters ! 350 meters is the "difference in altitude between the bottom of the path and the top" ! 

"There are about 700 steps along the two kilometers of winding path. The average time for descending the path is 30 minutes". So, imagine climbing up, how long that takes ! So, Or was almost trhe first one to arrive to the top. And then, she had to chear up her Mummy :-). It's hard !!!

But, it's really worth while ! It's so beautiful up here, on the rocks ! In a place so charged of history ! So quiet. And again, Mama's favourite colours. Sand and blue :-). Look, below, a large bathhouse. How did that feel to bath on top of a rock ? Imagine you take shower on the top of the Eiffel tower. Well, definitely possible ;-). 

We, five, stood a little bit more up, to make a round. The others went back down to have breakfast. An israelian, of course, with Burekkas, hard eggs, fruits, salades and schnitzel and cakes.

Hooh, here we are, back down. Having breakfast with our wonderful friends :-). Yossi and Osnat returned earlier back home ... to be on time to take their small boy from "Kindergarden"! So nice of them to be with us ! Thank you !!! We continue our day with Rafi, Ronit and the children. They don't leave us, yet. We're so touched :-) !! 

So wait, the day didn't finish yet! Are YOU tired?

Your wonderful family ☺

The flour caves and the Dead sea ... . Everywhere around you, Mama's preferred colours in Israel :-). We didn't stay very long in the "Mearat ha'kemach", because it was a bit too quiet there for Mama ;-). Are you scared, hi, hi, hi, hi ? But, it's true, it's so quiet in the desert. You feel a bit weard. So, we quickly continue to Massada. 

On the way, Mama wanted absolutely to stop at the Dead Sea. She loves the Dead Sea. But it wasn't maybe such a great idea ... Maayan, totally enthusiastic was running barefeet into the water ... hurted herself (there's no sand, but only big round salt-cristals bullets), was crying, felt into the very oily water (a lot of chemicals in there) ... and that's it ! The very, very salty water burns you a lot, especially Nanni's sensitive skin ! So, we had to run and hurry up to arrive to the Guest House and Youth Hostel of Massada . Only there Mama could bath Maayan with soap, so she felt much better !!!

Now, quick to bed, even though it's only 8:00 pm ! We're going to meet Rafi, Ronit, Rotem, Shir, Tal, Yossi, Osnat, Or, Benzi and his daughter tomorrow morning at 4:00 am to climb up Massada !!! It's going to be a long day :-) !! Good night and sweet dreams ! 

 Your wonderful family!

On our way to "En Avedat". Last time we were here, that was 10 years ago, Maayan was not born yet. Mama regretted it so much ... they arrived so late, that they only could see a little part of the park. And it was so, so beautiful. Remember what we said, "stones and blue sky", Mama's favourite theme. It's still so beautiful and quiet here.  

"The En Avedat National Park lies along both sides of the Wadi Zin ravine on the northern fringes of the avedat Heights" ... just "situated between the anticlines of the central and northern Negev mountains".  

"According to the concentration of travertine rocks and the remnants of a few prehistoric sites in the area, it can be estimated that the canion in its present form was created about 45,000 years ago"..."The springs and their immediate surroundings are like small oases in which there is a profusion of flourishing vegetation". ...

"The green color harmonizes with the whiteness of the limestone strata, presenting a unique landscape which is amongthe most beautiful in the Negev." Definitely true !  

Look around you, nobody and nature: green, white, brown and blue. So zen. 

It's getting late, we're going to sleep in "Masada" tonight, still have to reach there. But before, we stop by at Ben Gurion's Burial Place ... 

Short nap in the car, the day didn't finish yet !   

Bonne nuit, good night, my wonderful family! 

It was a great day, really superbe and a wonderful meeting ... and yet the day didn't start well. We left home around 9:30 AM. First, there were no direct buses from Petah Tiqwa to Jerusalem. So, we had to take a "Monit Sherut", minibuses which are driving the same itinary like the normal public ones (thank goodness, we caught right one) to head towards "Zomet Sirkin" in the middle of nowhere. At "Zomet Sirkin", we were waiting and waiting. In Israel, if you go to the "tachanat merkazit" (the central bus station), you get a timetable, but at the stops on the itinary there are just none.

So, we were waiting and waiting. It was really very hot (normally, we love that ... but not if you have to wait (!) at a bus station without knowing when the bus is going to come). Mama understands her tourists pretty well, her usually clients ;-)! She also started to speak to an older lady. That's Mama ! She's a very talkative person ! It came out, that Madame was originally from Paris and so, so happy to speak french with someone. You see, good that Mama spoke :-). So, if you speak while you're waiting, time past quicker, so it's more bearable and the bus arrives at the end ... finally !!!  

First Mama smiles to the driver, so he thinks, that we're pretty nice ... so he made us pay less. Advice: smile to the driver, you'll pay less :-)). Second, apparently there was a big "balagan" (that means "chaos") on the usually road to Jerusalem. A big traffic jam and "if we take the same road, we'll never arrive to the holy city." So, the driver made a detour via the palestinian territories. Hum, pretty interesting, a bit weird, too. We finally arrived to Jerusalem, nothing is impossible. It was already late, we should have met Javier around 11:30 AM and it was already 1 PM ! Mama didn't like to look like a tourist (why ???) so she took the citybus n°1 to go to the old city (instead of a taxi). That was stupid ! 

But problem, she didn't know when and where to get off the bus. That's great ! So the driver told her, he'll give her a hint when the stop arrives. "Dung Gate", we got off like the driver said and  the "New gate" was the meeting point. Imagine a hysteric Mama ! "We can't go through the old city without a guide ! We have to pass all the different quarters: moslem, jewish, armenian, christian ! I don't know where the New Gate is ...". Miss Mai had to calm her down. So in this panic attack, we were running back to the bus which didn't get so far, because of the jam. Stood another 1 hour on the incredibly hot, overcrowded bus (no air conditionning, kaputt).   

The driver was discussing the bible with two Hassidims. It was loud, the bus didn't moove forward, we were hungry, thirsty, tyred and hot ! Suddenly "Aval ma atem ossim adain po ???!" "But what are you still doing here ???" The driver noticed us. Hum, we also didn't know why we're still on the bus ... .He led us down in the middle of the itinary and told us to cross "Mea Shearim", "New Gate" is just straight behind. Ooh, it's not pleasant at all to cross "Mea Shearim" (the jewish ultra-orthodoxe quarter), you totally feel that you're not welcome ! The people just ignore you and when you ask your way, they just say they don't know.   

Well, that was an experience and each experience make you more intelligent, no ?! So, after a long walk we arrived again to the old city, but again not at the right gate. Mama walked straight to the Franciscan house for pilgrims "Casa Nova", called Javier from there (no charge on her mobile anymore !) and told him to fetch us there "she won't move an inch, until he arrives" ! 3:00 PM ! The minute Javier appears (such a good friend of Mama, she knows him since she worked in Lourdes in 1985 (!!!)), everything was wonderful. :-) :-) :-) :-) Javier knows everything about the old city in Jerusalem and he knows everybody. If you don't know the old city, there are hundreds of small corners, tunnels, entrances ... find Javier ! Or ...   

you just get lost very easily in a quarter you don't know ... .Going through the old city with him ... everything seems so easy. Next time, Mama will know, too ;-). And we enjoyed very much his company, he's just so funny ! Muchas gracias, querido !  

Laila tov, good night, my wonderful family!