HONG KONG day 1

So, Dave found out last Wed that he was going to Hong Kong on Friday. and on Friday, Daniel and I decided to join him, leaving on Sunday. This is such a different way to travel for me - with no time for anticipation or research. I'm sort of just winging it, and deciding each day where Daniel and I are going to explore.

The first day, we headed somewhere close by, since we were dealing with jet lag. We took the subway to Wanchai Market, Blue House, and Pak Tai Temple. The subway was super easy. We met up with the girlfriend (Jess) of a guy (Taylor) that Dave is working with for lunch at the Pawn (very cool old building that used to be a Pawn shop). Then we wandered around the Market and took the tram back to our end of town. The tram is like a double decker bus - great for getting a lay of the land.

ISRAEL day 15 our last day

Today we walked around several neighborhoods and got a good feel of the city. We went back to Carmel Market (Daniel had his eye on something from the week before), through some shopping streets to Rothschild Boulevard and found the last surprise of the trip in Rabin Square, where there were hundreds of people gathered for a HUGE water gun war. We thinks it's such a great idea, we're going to organize one here.

ISRAEL day 14 Tel Aviv

well...our group trip came to a close...Gail, Jordan, Brenda, David and Daniel got dropped off in Tel Aviv and everyone else went back to Jerusalem last night.

we spent the day relaxing at the beach, the pool, (it was HOT) and walking around Jaffa, the old port city. It's another wonderful maze of streets with beautiful shops. We found another cool part of town, called the flea market area, where we found some delicious home made pasta for dinner. And Daniel had gelato at a such a great gelato place, we had to come back the following day.

ISRAEL wed day 13 driving back south

We are on our way back south to Tel Aviv / Jerusalem. On our way, we stopped at Safed, which has a history of mysticism (kabbalah). There is an artist community there with candle making, glass blowing, etc.

Our next stop was at Rosh Haniqra, a series of grottos. The sounds of the waves crashing against the rock echoes through the space as we walk through.

Next is the town of Akko, where Jews and Arabs are peacefully living together. We walked through the old fort and the market. Just a quick stop here, as the day is getting later pretty quickly.

ISRAEL Tue day 12 lebanon border and wineries

Yesterday we could throw a stone over to Syria. Today we could throw a stone over to Lebanon. We just stopped at a sandal factory and I think we are now on our way to a winery or 2. Half the group is hiking in the black canyon.

ISRAEL Mon Day 11 Shofar factory, Syrian Border

Today we rafted down the Jordan River. So cool to think we canoed down the Dordogne a year ago, and now in the Jordan River.

Then we visited a fascinating shofar factory and heard about how shofars are made. Each of the kids tried blowing it (it's harder than it looks). The owner made a shofar during our visit to show us the process and we got Ben that particular shofar as his bar mitzvah gift.

After that, we drove to the Syrian border and stared at the fence that separates Israel from Syria. It was oddly calm standing there.

p.s. today is our anniversary. we had a lovely dinner with the entire family and a nice walk thru this kibbutz, which is like a spa / hotel.

NOTE to readers

2 things :

I am adding pictures and text to previous posts each day, so go back and read them

If you double click on a picture, it will open up larger and you can scroll through all the photos from that day.

ISRAEL Sunday day 10

Today is Bob and Dolly’s 50^th wedding anniversary. Our first stop out of Jerusalem was at the army base where Itsik serves as a paratrooper. We got to play with items in the backpacks (bullet proof vest, helmet with covering to disguise as a tree), saw the tanks, and the artillery. (no photos allowed obviously).

Our next stop was to pick beets for leket, the Isreali food bank.

On our way driving to the sea of galilee, we stopped at a chocolate factory where everyone enjoyed a chocolate workshop.

Celebrate Bob and Dolly’s 50^th wedding anniversary at a lovely restaurant overlooking the sea of Galilee, then our own private dance party on a boat