Israel

In the beginning of March Maggie and I took the trip of a lifetime, we went to Israel!  We traveled to Tel Aviv, Rehovot, and Jerusalem and stayed with our friends from our Basic Pastry class Naama and Esther, Etty for short.  Israel was nothing like either of us had expected.  The weather was warm and sunny, but the parts of the country we toured were very much like an American city.  The cars, houses, shops, and grocery stores were far more like America than anything we have in Paris or have seen in other European cities.  The thing that struck me the most was that all of the signs were in English.  Of course, all of the signs were in Hebrew and Arabic as well, but not much is in English in Paris and virtually everything was in English in all of the parts of Israel that we visited.

Our first night in town, was Friday night which meant many restaurants and stores were closed because of the Shabbat.  The Shabbat is the Jewish sabbath celebrated from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday.  So, we went to an asian sushi restaurant for dinner.  We also, went to a few bars that were open and discovered the coolest thing ever-a bar with swings suspended from the ceiling instead of bar stools!  Very fun!

Maggie, Me, Naama, Etty

Swings instead of Bar Stools!

 Saturday we got up and went to see the Mediterranean Sea near Tel Aviv.  It was a very windy day, but sunny nonetheless.  We also went to an indoor market selling everything from fresh juice, meats, fresh pasta, herbs, and wine to kitchen gadgets.  We also sampled the gelato and while it was not as good as Italy it was certainly tasty and hit the spot.  For lunch we went to a restaurant and shared a bunch of Israel dishes including hummus, kebabs, and several types of bread.

Maggie and Etty with the Mediterranean Sea roaring behind them.

Everything resembles America, even the Vodka advertisements!

 Every day we were in Israel it was sunny, sunny, sunny.  Even on the windy days it was absolutely beautiful.  It was like Southern California meets Florida.  The vegetation was gorgeous and there were fruit trees and flowers in every yard and along every street.  Even the medians on the highway were planted with spectacular flowers.

A rose in Naama's front yard.

The lemon tree in Naama's backyard.

Lemons as lovely as at the Yellow House!

A highway median beautifully planted.

On Sunday we went to Jerusalem to the Old City and explored a bunch of places I've spent my whole life learning about.  I think the only way to describe the visit is to say that it was incredibly overwhelming.  It's hard enough to figure out what's true and can be taken literally in the way of Bible stories to begin with, but then to be facing the actual spots where so many parts of Catholic history began was just unreal.  

We went to the Wailing Wall which is one of the most sacred parts of Jewish history.  The Wailing Wall is the remnant of one of the walls that surrounded the Temple's courtyard.  Yes, this would be the temple referred to in the Old Testament that was destroyed and rebuilt.  Crazy.  Nowadays people from all religions travel to the Wall.  Many people pray there and before they leave write prayers on small pieces of paper and stick them inside the wall hoping they'll soon be answered.

We traveled all through the Arabic part of the Old City as well and saw shops selling everything you can think of, clothes, jewelry, tchatckes, and more.  We also sampled some falafel and baklava.  

Our last stop was a visit to the Christian section of the city where we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  This church was built by Saint Helena in 326A.D. to commemorate the hallowed ground of Golgotha or the Hill of Calvary as it is also known.  This was the spot where Jesus is thought to have been crucified on Good Friday.  Preserved within the church is the actual rocky hill where the cross was erected, the marble where they laid Jesus' body once they took him down off the cross, and the entrance to the tomb where he lay until the resurrection on Easter Sunday.  It was moving and somewhat unbelievable to be in the presence of such a holy place.  

Underneath the church is a statue built to Saint Helena as she is thought to have discovered the original cross of Jesus while excavating the land to build the church.  Again, very spiritual and amazing.

A view of Jersalem-The Old City

Etty, Maggie, Me

The Wailing Wall

One of the shopping corridors within the Arabic section of the Old City

The marble they laid Jesus' body on they took him down off the cross.

The candles and decorations around the tomb they laid Jesus' body in on Good Friday.

A statue of St. Helen holding the cross of Jesus.

All of the food above is part of the traditional Israeli breakfast we enjoyed on our final day in Rehovot.  We had breads, white fish, smoked salmon, some tomato confit with eggs, salad, dips, and a delicious raspberry dessert.  Our trip to Israel really was one of the best trips I've ever been on in my life and if I could only recommend one country for everyone to visit, it would definitely be Israel.

Until next time Au Revoir and Bon Appetit!