Thursday, March 31, 2016





Dateline London

If Jenny reads this I apologize for not calling. I tried but couldn't get the call to go thru.

This is the final entry for this trip. I intended to send one final post before we left, but as usual things got way too busy at the end. Fortunately for this blog (but not for us) our flight from London to Chicago is delayed 3 hours which gives me time to write this. A good thing too, since it took an hour and a half to change planes here.

The final 10 days was especially busy. On top of the normal activities we saw a terrific new exhibit at the Israel Museum, Pharoah in Canaan. Mostly comprised of objects from the museum's collection, it tells the story of the cultural and commercial ties between Egypt and Canaan 3000 years ago.

Our friend Herb Eiseman and his daughter Alexis were in Israel and we met for dinner on Wednesday, March 23. It was Alexis' first trip. Herb has been here many times, and is now serving in Sar-El on the same base where Sid served at the beginning of our trip. Seems a very long time ago.

Purim was March 24 in Jerusalem. It's celebrated a day after the rest of the world, as is the case with all walled cities. In fact some formerly walled cities like Hebron celebrate both days, which means 4 megilla readings and lots of drinking. Everyone gets in the spirit and the partying went on and on and on.

Because of Purim two of the students in my krav maga class were off on Thursday, so we relocated to a lovely park about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. It was a much tougher workout than usual, and Moshe really got into the Purim spirit with his version of a Donald Trump costume. Because of the holiday (and perfect weather) the park was full of picnickers and we attracted quite a crowd.


 Shefa, Moshe and me


This wasn't posed; I really did hit him that hard.


Friday we had dinner at Batsheva's. It was bittersweet.

Saturday we invited our upstairs and downstairs neighbors for lunch. We met the upstairs neighbor the day we moved into the apartment. In the small world department, he's from Skokie and went to Niles North. His wife is from San Diego. They met at Pardes about 30 years ago, got married and raised 4 kids here. The downstairs neighbors are relatively new olim - only 6 years. They moved into the building in September after a total renovation. Altho it has the identical floor plan, it looks nothing like our apt. One of the many things Israelis do very well is rehabbing. Plumbing, electricity, walls ... never a problem.

Sid renewed an old friendship, which came about because of a notice in the paper advertising a lecture by Hillel Milgrom. He and his wife Debbie were friends of Sid's from the early 70's. Sid went to the lecture and afterwards they went out for lunch. They wanted to get together with me as well and we made a lunch date for Sunday. Lovely people. He's written several books on various aspects of the Tanach.

Monday was my last session at Yeshurun, the women's class I'm addicted to. It was a special treat, as the guest lecturer was Yemima Mizrachi.

Monday was also my last krav maga session. Unfortunately it was pouring nonstop, cold and windy. We train outside in all weather conditions except snow, but I wasn't looking forward to working out in the mud. Moshe sent a message saying he was changing the venue to Cinema City, which is a multi-plex and mall combined. We were a bit confused, as we couldn't imagine where we were going to train, but we figured maybe they had a gym and he somehow worked out a deal to use the facilities when the weather is really bad. He has been looking for a suitable indoor space.

But nooooo. The class turned out to be a yellow belt ceremony for me. I was shocked, as was everyone else. He kept it a secret for over a month. It's quite an achievement, and I am both proud and humbled. Moshe is not the type who gives out belts just because you show up. You have to earn it.











On Tuesday Batsheva and I made our annual trek to Ramat Rachel for massages. Much needed girl time, which we really didn't have much of this trip. But we will rectify that in the months ahead.

We had a final dinner with Dori at Pompidou. Food was fabulous, as always.

Wednesday, our last day. I went to my art class. Everyone brought food and said all kinds of nice things. This is a group that has really bonded and I'm happy to have been welcomed so wholeheartedly.

Batsheva, Klara, Me, Yaffa, Rachel, Shula, Racheli, Sima, the other Yaffa, Yael

Our final outing last night was downtown to Ben Yehuda Street. There was a musical event and I was curious. It turned out to be a DJ playing very loud techno music. In fact you could feel the vibrations through the street. Not exactly our thing, but a very upbeat way to say goodbye.




Till next time,
Peggy and Sid


Friday, March 18, 2016

Bouncing Around (Part II)



We finally took our trip to the North. Just between us, I could have lived without it, but Sid has been feeling cooped up.

We left Tuesday, March 15. I will never again begin a trip on the Ides of March.

I reserved a car from Hertz. We had been using Eldan, but the last time we rented from them the car had cigarette butts in the ashtray (of a non-smoking car) and they charged a security deposit without letting us know.When I told this to the clerk when we returned the car I just got a blank stare. So to hell with them, there are other fish in the sea. Hence, Hertz. When we went to get the car there was a long line and only 2 people working at the counter. When it finally got to be our turn (30 minutes later) there was some problem with an unpaid bill from our last rental EIGHT YEARS AGO. According to them we owed $30 for using the tollway. Impossible, I said, because the way it works is the toll company sends the bill to the car rental company, and they pass the charge through to the customer's credit card. In addition they said we owed another $100 for an accident. This is from 8 years ago, and they couldn't understand why this wasn't crystal clear in our memories. I must have been over-caffeinated that morning because between the half hour wait and the unpaid bill nonsense I got very steamed and we walked out. We went next door to Thrifty; all they had was a full size car for 4 times what Hertz was charging for a midsize. Then we bit the bullet and went back across the street to Eldan. All they had were full size cars for about the same price as Thrifty. In a final attempt to avoid going back to Hertz with my tail between my legs, we tried Sixt. They had a compact for a few dollars more than Hertz and we grabbed it. And they were very nice. By the time we got back to the apartment to pick up our bags it was lunch time, so we made sandwiches to eat along the way. We didn't leave Jerusalem till 1PM. Beware the Ides of March.

From then on things improved. We flipped our original plans and went straight to Nof Ginossar via the Jordan Valley. I love this ride. It's my kind of scenic (desert) and not terribly crowded. We made it to Tiberias in two and a half hours. Because we've stayed at the kibbutz several times we were upgraded to a deluxe room. What, you might ask, is a deluxe room at a kibbutz? It's much larger, has a ginormous soaking tub and they provided bathrobes and slippers. Best of all, they had Fox News.

We weren't terribly hungry for dinner so we had a light snack in the bar. We met some interesting tourists, chatted a while, then went back to the room to watch the early Super Tuesday results.

On Wednesday we took a jeep tour in the Golan Heights. It was just the two of us, and the guide was very good. We went to 2 areas that couldn't have been more different even though they were only a few minutes apart. That's one of the things that continually amazes me about Israel. For such a tiny country it has about 15 micro-climates and an immense variety of flora and fauna. Our guide was particularly in tune to plant life. For the first 15 or so minutes he pointed out several varieties of poisonous plants and how they kill. The giant fennel which thins the blood causing internal bleeding. The oleander which causes a heart attack. Cheery stuff. But then we saw some amazing animals - an eagle with a 12 foot wing span soaring above a field looking for prey, and several hyraxes, a mammal so unique that it's its own genus. The views overlooking the Galilee from the Golan are beautiful. We also got a brief lesson about the political and military history of the area. In order to appreciate the precise nature of the security situation you really have to see it from the Golan Heights. From there we travelled to Beitsaida Valley, a descent of about 1000 yards, and drove through a very bumpy trail that followed a small spring fed stream. We stopped and the guide made tea - a home brew composed of mint, star anise, citrus flowers, cinnamon and a few other herbs that he threw in. It was a great expedition.

Afterward we had to make our annual pilgrimage to the Teva Naot factory outlet. I've been coming to this store for many years, and always bought at least 2 pairs of sandals. This time I struck out. The prices were no better than what you'd pay on sale, and the selection was not good at all. What a disappointment, even tho it's a very scenic drive. Lesson learned - it's not worth schlepping up to within a few miles of the Lebanese border just to get a few dollars off a pair of shoes.

To make up for it we had a wonderful dinner at the Pagoda, a Chinese restaurant that's been around for years. Food is always good.

Thursday morning after breakfast we were on our way to Zippori. This is a place I've wanted to visit for years and it didn't disappoint. It was a Jewish city that didn't participate in the Jewish Revolt against the Romans, and for that reason it wasn't razed. In fact it was an important city in the Galilee till Byzantine times. It's best known for the magnificent mosaic floors that have survived for two millenia.



This photo is from the synagogue floor. The inscription is in Aramaic, and archaeological evidence points to it honoring a donor family. Even back then people had an edifice complex.









This is part of a cactus forest, like nothing I've ever seen.

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It wouldn't be right not to address the recent wave of terrorism that took place during last week's visit by VP Biden. On my way to art class Wednesday morning I passed by the Citadel Hotel, which had a fleet of dark-windowed black SUVs with diplomatic plates and several security personnel outside. As I continued to class I mentally composed a letter to him, asking when he planned to call the family of Taylor Force, who was murdered in Jaffa the previous night, and what the US government planned to do about it. (Another American tourist, Kristene Luken was murdered last Saturday in the Jerusalem Forest.) When I got to class everyone was abuzz about the shooting spree that had taken place only a few minutes before. Two Arabs, this time with guns, went on a rampage through residential areas, and were finally stopped somewhere very near the school. One of the students lives in the neighborhood and heard shooting. What made this attack different is the fact that they have upgraded from knives to guns. The unfortunate irony is that the only person injured happened to be an Arab, who is being treated in Hadassah Hospital. Although not widely reported, there is an average of one attack per day, somewhere in the country.

In spite of this, Israel is the 11th happiest country in the world according to Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Life goes on and time goes by much too quickly. We are in countdown mode with only 13 days left. And I'm not ready to leave, not by a long shot.

Shabbat shalom,

Peggy and Sid

Monday, March 7, 2016

Bouncing Around (Part I)







We finally got out of town last week for 2 lovely days at the Dead Sea. The weather was wonderful - high 80's and sunny the first day, just a bit cooler the second day. I could live there. The desert is beautiful, especially at this time of year. The hills on the road down from Jerusalem are covered with a peach fuzz of greenery, which will disappear soon as the rainy season comes to an end. I'm always amazed at how many archaeological sites we pass on the road; there was a lot (no pun intended) going on in the Negev back in the day. It was part of the great trade routes from the east, and communities evolved along the route about a day's ride or oasis apart from each other. Several years ago Sid and I stumbled on the opening of a UNESCO World Heritage site in this region - a Nabatean settlement, quite large and extensive as they tended to be. The Nabateans are best known for the fabulous city of Petra, which we toured last year.

It's an oft-repeated phrase that the Israelis have made the desert bloom. This gets truer every year, as new agricultural techniques and water management improve yields. It takes one's breath away to think that this tiny country, with an arid climate to begin with and 60% desert, produces food and flowers for export. There's another way in which the Israelis have made the desert bloom. 25 years ago this was pretty much all you saw when you traveled along the shore of the Dead Sea:

Rocky desertscape


Salt formations along the shore


That was then ... this is now ...

There are about a dozen hotels in Ein Bokek along the Dead Sea shore



And this is where we stayed




Sunrise over the Moab Mountains in Jordan
This is an exercise area along the shore. From far away we thought it was a playground, which we felt was a pretty dumb idea. When we got closer and realized what it actually was, we thought it was pretty cool.

The Dead Sea hotels are known for their food. Breakfast and dinner are buffets about a mile long. And the choices change daily. Here's a sample:






When we got up on the third morning the skies were overcast and a wind came up. Even at the Dead Sea the weather gets bad, including flash floods. We decided to go on our way right after breakfast. Our next destination was to pick Dori up from her base ... it was her last official day of military service. She was stationed at a strategic base that coordinates and oversees the Northern and Southern Commands. The base is located about 5 kilometers from the Gaza border. The fun never stops.





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I haven't mentioned much in the way of cultural goings-on so far this trip. Although culture here is vibrant, we didn't find as much that interested us this year as we have previously. We did see a delightful play (First Date) a few weeks ago. But now we are making up for lost time. Tonight we just returned from seeing a performance of Swan Lake by the St Petersburg Ballet. Last week we saw an amazing performance by a group called Los Vivancos. It was advertised as flamenco, but was something else entirely. It was a group of 7 men who danced in a way that was unlike anything else I've ever seen - very athletic with elements of flamenco, Irish dancing, rock, gymnastics and lots of other things I couldn't identify.. Since I'm not a dance maven I can't describe it, but it was a fabulous show. 90 minutes without intermission.

We also attended 2 sessions of a 4-lecture series on S.Y. Agnon, who received the Nobel for literature several years ago. He is considered one of Israel's premier writers, but neither one of us has ever read anything he wrote. The professor (Jeffrey Sacks) was excellent.

A new exhibit at the Israel Museum, my old stomping ground, opened last Friday. Pharoah in Caanan. Just in time for Pessach, and just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about Pharoahs. We'll see it next week and report.

Shavuah tov from Jerusalem,

Peggy and Sid