I know it has been a while since my last report but we have been so busy, I have not had time to write. Here is more of our trip.

Today we took a “Sherut” or shared taxi, sort of a mini bus if you will to the central bus terminal in Tel Aviv. From there we took the Egged bus to the new city in Jerusalem. Once in Jerusalem we took another bus to the Jaffa gate. Now I know everyone in the states warned us to stay away from public transportation, but we are here in Israel trying to experience Israeli life, so we did as many Israeli’s do and took public transportation. Before you can board any of the buses at the central bus station either in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, you go though a typical airport screening you would experience back in the states. Even when you depart the bus at the central station, you go through another screening before they will let you into the terminal. I felt safe.

Once at the Jaffa gates we toured the old city. Our first stop took us through a winding world of tunnels flanked on either side with shops selling all kinds of goods until we found ourselves at the Wailing Wall, Jerusalem’s holiest shrine. Many flock to pray at the wall, some place prayers on little pieces of paper and place them in a crack in the wall hoping their prayer will be answered. We stand in awe first just to realize we are here and second, to realize these walls were built so many years ago. The wall is visited by the pious as well as the curious. There are two sides, one for women and one for men as according to Jewish law we must be separated. We separate, and walk down to the wall. David and Brian wrap themselves in tefillan and pray at the wall. I place my hand upon the wall still not believing I am really here. The thousands of years of history which stands before me.

We lunched on local fare, falafel, or fried chick peas and shwarma, meat cooked on a spit both served in a pita pocket with hummus and fresh vegetables. I seemed to like the falafel a little better than the shwarma.

After visiting the western wall, we walked uphill to see vistas overlooking the Mount of Olives, the Church of Mary Magdalene, the Gethsemane Basilica of Agony, the city of David among others. We also saw the Dome of the Rock but did not have time to actually go there. We ended our day with a tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher followed by a little haggling at the market for some mementoes and we were on our way back to the bus station. It is Shavuot here in Israel and buses do not run on holidays so we had to be sure to find a bus before they closed down for the day.

Today is Tuesday. We began our day by taking a bus back to the central bus station where we picked up a double decker bus which toured us around the old city. The tour cost 65 sheckels a person. It was unusually cool in Jerusalem but we still elected to sit up top and take in the incredible views. You get a personal head set that speaks to you in your native language. As we have been on our own using the guide book, The Lonely Planet and our very informative son as our guide, it was nice to be able to just sit back and listen. The bus allows you to get off at any stop and reboard the bus as it continues through the city. We stopped at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. We purposely made that our last stop of the day because we knew our hearts would be heavy and we wanted time to reflect upon what we had seen. The place was packed. Many people had come to see the museum. In hind sight, and since we were still relying upon public transportation, we should have allowed a full day to tour the museum. We concluded the day with dinner at a little restaurant recommended by folks on Trip Advisor called Orna and Ella’s Bistro on Sheinkin Street. I am sorry to say I am still not blown away by the food here, but before anyone quibbles with me, remember this is just my opinion. We walked to catch a sherut back to our apartment. Our day has come to an end.

Wednesday, June 11th. Today we pick up our car at the Eldan car rental on Hayarkon. We were advised not to rent a car in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem but now we want to travel to sites beyond these cities. Our plans are to head to Massada and the Dead Sea. Massada was absolutely amazing. To see the ruins of the Roman siege on the Israeli fortress cannot be put into words. Originally used by King Herrod as his winter palace you can still see remnants of the tiles and wall painting that were originally there thousands of years ago. From Massada we headed off to the Dead Sea. Originally fed by the Mediterranean Sea, the Dead Sea is now isolated due to the rising land masses. With so little rain, the sea evaporates and salt concentrates. The salt is known to be good for the skin so we decided to go in. Unfortunately I could not get past the burning sensation I felt of the salt upon my skin, but at least I tried. You could see many women in the beach, slathering themselves with mud and then venturing into the sea to smooth their skin. My son went off and collected many little salt crystals, little balls of salt that I plan to give as gifts once we return to the states. As it is now Wednesday night, we go to the airport to pick up our daughter who is joining us at the conclusion of her birthright trip. We have extended her trip so that the four of us can be in Israel together as a family. She joins us in tears as saying goodbye to all of the friends she made on the trip is hard.

Thursday. We are off to the Sea of Galilee. It is a 2 hours drive northeast of Tel Aviv, but oh the sites once you get there. We stopped at the purported sight where Jesus is said to have been baptized. Many flock to this site to experience the same waters. We went to an audiovisual presentation about the Dead Sea at a place called the Galilee Experience. I would not describe it as the best quality. None of us really enjoyed it, although the history was interesting. We did however have a great Israeli lunch of all types of salads; hummus and pita for a bargain at the restaurant upstairs. We sat outside over looking the Sea of Galilee. It was just beautiful. From there, we headed to Tzfat, an old mystical religious city. I often found myself saying “I do not think we are in Kansas anymore” as when we enter these places I feel transformed to another time and place. We ran into a very interesting shop owner who talked with us about the differences of Western and Middle Eastern philosophies. I truly felt as though I was on the set of an Indiana Jones movie.

Friday. Carmel Market, Haifa, and Kibbutz Mishmar Haemet. I can hardly believe Friday is here. We have been in Israel for over a week. Time is just flying. We started the day by taking the bus to the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv. It is Friday morning and everyone is preparing for Shabbat so the markets are crammed full of people. There is stall after stall of everything you can imagine. Clothes, food, jewelry. Brian finds some cargo shorts he has been looking for and I find a great bakery with stacks of pita just fresh from the oven. A visit to another booth for some olives and we eat them together.Yum. There is another part of the market that is referred to as the “Friday Market”. Here local artists offer their personal creations. I find a lovely enamel wall hanging with a blessing for the home as well as a hand made glass mezuzah for gifts. We take the bus back to our apartment on Ben Yehuda and head for Haifa. The drive takes a while but is well worth it. Haifa is a port city and the views are spectacular. We visit a Church and read of the place Elijah is said to have hid. We are now off to the Kibbutz where the head of the Kibbutz, Yael, has invited us to dinner.

Mishmar Haemet is where our son Brian spent his 5 months volunteering in Israel. How wonderful it is to finally see where he has actually been living and working for all of this time. He runs into some old friends who are very happy to see him. The Ulpanist as they are known, live in a separate area. Sort of like trailers if you will. They have their own classroom where they learn Hebrew. They have a TV room which is also a bomb shelter. A reminder that although for the entire trip I have felt very safe, we are still after all in a place that has experienced war on their own land. Brian takes us on a tour of the grounds showing us the infamous chicken coup where he worked as well as the laundry, dinning hall, orchards, stables, pool, and the many houses where the members of the Kibbutz live. We then meet Yael, the director of the Kibbutz in the dining hall and have a lovely dinner of meat, fish, vegetables, rice, potatoes and salad. Yael invites us back to her home for tea and dessert. They are warm engaging people who amaze me with their ability to communicate in English. Yael and her family have lived on the Kibbutz most of their lives. They tell us the history of Kibbutz in Israel explaining that they enjoy the sense of community living on the Kibbutz brings. All there are equal, no matter what job you have. I must confess it was nice to be able to just walk in sit down and eat. Each person rotates at their turn to help work at whatever job is necessary. While the vision of the Kibbutz was to be a self sustaining agricultural community, they make their money producing plastic for companies such as John Deere. Time once again is passing quickly. We take some parting photos and make our way back to Tel Aviv, about an hour drive.

It is now Saturday. Our final Shabbat in Israel as our day of departure draws closer. Many areas close for Shabbat so today we do laundry and go to the beach where we will sit at the shore of the Mediterranean. Now that the laundry is finished, we decide to head to Jaffa to see is anything is open. We see some more ruins, but as it is Shabbat, most things are closed. We find a few vendors selling wears and a couple of stands. We select one, and have a great tuna sandwich on their version of what I think I meant to be a bagel. We decide it is time to go back to the apartment and head to the beach. If I have not mentioned it before, although the beach appears to be public, you have to pay to use the chairs, umbrellas or the bathroom for that matter. We rent and settle in for some relaxing time at the beach. After several hours we come back home as this will be our last dinner in Israel with our son, Brian. He has been our able tour guide and is now getting ready to leave to continue his travels I Europe. A little more research and we find a restaurant called the Brewhouse on Rothschild Street. We found it on Fodders so off we go. We see they have a more American fare including hamburgers and BBQ chicken. Since it is a brew house, Brian and David sample the master as well as the moonshine brews. The master is dark and heavy, the moonshine is red and a bit sweet. Our daughter Lauren tries the hamburger, I get the BBQ chicken, David the salmon with miso sauce and Brian the assorted sausages. It was one of the better meals we had. Not cheap—368NIS but good. We finish up and head home so our son can pack.

We are leaving for home tomorrow, so I will write more as time permits.