Israel (part 2)

November 20 through 28, 2022

Second week in Tel Aviv... we're feeling more settled but still figuring things out. Here's what we've learned so far.

1) Everything is expensive 💲 - food, clothing, electronics, household items - with few exceptions. It's expensive to eat in or out, but slightly better to eat in (and probably healthier) so that's primarily what we've been doing. We've been told Tel Aviv is the most expensive country in the world. And we thought Norway was bad ... 😒

2) We've started planning what we want to see while we're here and indeed we barely have enough time (!) We are looking to fit in Jerusalem, Tiberias, Haifa, (maybe) Eilat, Dead Sea, Egypt, Jordan, and of course Tel Aviv. It's not a big country but there's a lot to see 👀

3) Jeff Passe will be coming to visit in mid-December so I'm trying to make sure I know my way around and what to show him by them. It will be a challenge. 😁

4) Public transportation seems to be "pretty good" and we've used it a bit already. It really is helpful to be able to read bus and street signs in Hebrew (luckily I'm fluent enough 😅)

5) We went to see two movies 🎥 since they were close by in Dizengoff Center (a super duper expensive shopping mall). The experience was largely the same as in the US (slightly different type of seating; ours are more comfy). The movies were "She Said" and "Farewell Mr Haffmann" and I'd recommend both 👍.

6) Finding groceries is a bit challenging since the packaging/labels are usually in Hebrew and they don't have every product we have in the US. I did my best to make chili tonight but it was a poor facsimile (although we ate and enjoyed it). Challah on the other hand is available all over the place and it's all delicious 😋.

7) Not having an oven has been a bit annoying but not insurmountable. The toaster oven is fine for chicken nuggets and pizza bagels though 🍕.

8) We made it over to Tel Aviv University one day to look into their Diaspora/genealogy database. It was surprising (?) that they had almost no information about Meir Dizengoff's genealogy, though they really wanted to be helpful. So back to square one, I guess 😕.

9) I did make it over to Meir's grave in the local cemetery; I couldn't believe we were so close to it! It felt right to pay my respects (there are many famous people buried there and it is very crowded with graves). 💜

10) We had Thanksgiving dinner at a local synagogue (Tel Aviv International Synagogue) which combined it with Shabbat services. The temple was conservative-orthodox so the men and women sit separately and it was almost all in Hebrew. The dinner was tasty and we met some new people (who we'll probably never see again 😜). I wasn't the biggest fan of the rabbi who scolded our table repeatedly and publicly for taking food before everyone were ready (but we were sooo hungry 😋). 

11) We did our own "Independence Trail" tour and saw the "Great Synagogue" (where major events are held) and Meir Dizengoff's statue on a horse. A few days later I did a tour of Jaffa on my own which hit most of the highlights. I could spend days just walking the markets here; feels like there's one in every neighborhood! 😀

12) We had lunch with one of Art's former students who lives in Tel Aviv now and works for Facebook. It's always nice to hear a local or expat's perspective on a new city. She showed us around the area a bit and she was quite lovely. 👩

13) We had the best falafel in Tel Aviv (the guidebooks all say so)... I intend to go back again to get mine with less tahini since there was way too much for me (but I did love the falafel). Art had schwarma which we both liked! 💙

14) Art has been great at navigating (having an Israeli SIM card has made that much more feasible) and I've been good at getting us out of the apartment to see stuff. It's a good combo 👫.

15) I have checked out the massages in this country as well and am pleased to report that they are wonderful, but also pricey (like everything else). Probably not good to make it a regular habit. 😏

16) We've been trying to pick up a little Hebrew here and there. It is always surprising to me that shopkeepers assume I speak Hebrew, and although they know a bit of English, they usually seem dismayed that we don't know their language. 😐

17) We've gotten used to the Shabbat rhythm here. Even though it's Tel Aviv and not Jerusalem, much of the city is closed. It really has made Shabbat feel like a weekly holiday (as it should). I'm rather enjoying the forced downtime. 😊

18) On a final (humorous) note: one thing I will never get used to is the bus announcer's pronunciation of "Pines Street" (think body parts...) Makes me cringe every time (and I'm the only one apparently). 😂

Shalom, Deena and Art

Shakshuka (Art's student had this for lunch)

Deena and Art at Dizengoff Square (famous fountain)

One of the many beaches

Old Jaffa entrance

One of the alleys of Jaffa

Jaffa clock tower

On my walking tour of Jaffa

Statue of Faith (3 biblical scenes)

Famous "Hanging orange tree" of Jaffa

Meir Dizengoff's grave (and his wife and baby daughter)

Israel (part 1)

November 14 through 19, 2022

First week in Israel, first impressions ...

1) The weather is perfect! 70s to 80s every day, with occasional refreshing rain showers. If I could choose a climate for life, it might be this one. 🔆

2) Everything is expensive, especially food. A jar of peanut butter costs about $4 in the US and is about $8 here. Same for cereal, meat, sauce, etc. Eating out is also expensive but only by a little bit. 🥘

3) Our VRBO place is well-situated, right in the heart of Tel Aviv and close to the beach and cafes and nightlife 💃. The apartment is also a bit bare-bones ... no oven (huh?), no dryer (but not that unusual in this part of the world), hot water has to be "turned on" every day, and the kitchen has minimal supplies. Luckily I find the outside city noise endearing and reminiscent of my Brooklyn childhood (not sure Art feels the same way). But the price is right and the location is perfect, so I guess it's all "good enough." 😏

4) We are very close to several beaches (the closest is about a 5-7 minute walk) and there's a lovely beach path that we've walked a few times already 🌴. We even got to see a unique version of volleyball being played in which the players didn't use their hands (sort of a soccer-volleyball game). Very cool to watch, almost made Art want to relive his volleyball days. 😂

5) We've been doing laundry for days (no facilities in Cyprus or Malta) and finally are caught up. The secret is to bring the drying rack inside before the rain starts... ☔

6) We made our way over to the Carmel Market one day and it's amazing. They have everything you'd want, especially fresh produce, and it seems to be *the* place to shop. I'm planning to visit again (just not right before Shabbat). 😬 Fun aside: the Carmel Market is where I took my only award-winning photo on our previous trip to Israel 👍

7) Lots of people here understand English though not everyone is fluent. Most street/store signs and groceries, however, are in Hebrew. We're figuring things out slowly. Wish we had Ariel with us to translate ... 😍

8) We were treated to Shabbat dinner at David Presser's house (Art's backgammon friend) which was quite lovely. I do love a good ex-pat Shabbat dinner. 😋 Aside: I went to a local bakery on Thursday and asked if they'd have challah the next day. The gal looked at me and said "Of course we will!" Duh 🤦. (... but what a refreshing change from Vons: "what's challah?")  And it's been lovely seeing mezuzahs on (just about) every door in town!

9) We also went out to explore during and after Shabbat which was fascinating (very full coffee shops and parks during Shabbat, nightlife starts back up and stores reopen right after Shabbat ends). It's also been nice to be back in a country with right-hand-side driving so we know which way to look 👀

10) Seeing my maiden name all over the place is a real high 😃. We are quite close to Dizengoff Street so we see it a lot! I also learned the other day about a Diaspora Museum that has genealogy databases so we will certainly make it over there sometime (and maybe finally connect the dots to my famous relative!).

I think I was expecting Tel Aviv to be "shinier" but it has its dirty / construction projects / traffic areas. Much like NYC, I suppose (plus we've only seen one area at this point so I can't really generalize). It does have a very cosmopolitan feel.

We recently got an Israeli phone number (via SIM card) so we feel very much like locals now😅 We have about 9 weeks here and I'm quickly realizing that we'll have barely enough time to see all that I want to see LOL 😅. I'm sure we'll manage to do plenty. This week was a gradual transition time and a pretty relaxed week. I flip-flopped between enjoying the downtime and feeling restless (as usual). Next week I plan to see much more (after all we only have 9 weeks left!).

Shalom, Deena and Art

I love that this sign is still up in November!

Beach in Tel Aviv

Sculpture at the beach

Beach walking path

Carmel Market

My corner!

Turkish delight at Carmel Market

Our first challah here (store bought but delicious!)

 

Cyprus

November 8 through 14, 2022

"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Cyprus was both fascinating 😇 and frustrating 😈. I had never been there before (new country!) so I didn't really know what to expect, but I had heard that it is a "divided country." Well, it sure is... 😑 Turkey had lost the war over ownership of Cyprus in the 1960's and wasn't too happy about it, so in the 1970's Turkey moved in and occupied the north part. In 1974 or so they created an actual border between north and south Cyprus with (eventually) border crossing and passport control. It is a separation that is not recognized by any other country in the world, except Turkey. It was a very strange feeling to be in a country with an illegal occupation 😒. But hey, at least we could flush toilet paper down the toilet in this country 😏

The hotel we stayed in was in the north part, was very high-end, and seemed to cater to rich tourists who like gambling. The buffet was amazing and varied (I got to try lots of Turkish delicacies, most of which I didn't much like ... I actually went out and bought my own cereal 😏); the rooms were lovely, and the staff tried to be helpful (even if no one really was English-fluent 😐). 

I tried to find out how to see other parts of the area but no one seemed to know what to tell me (including the front desk). My online tour options were limited (mostly offering expensive tours intended for large groups) and no one could tell me how to get around otherwise 😑. The front desk folks did say it was safe for me to walk around by myself but I didn't quite believe them. Taxis existed but I didn't feel safe taking one on my own, and the tournament folks didn't offer anything for spouses 😮. A few of the women talked about doing something as a group but that never materialized (I was frustrated by that).

One nice woman from Boston, however, did take some initiative and I wound up doing a tour with her on almost our last day. The tour guide took us to Nicosia (the capital, which called itself the "last divided capital in the world", their claim to fame? 😕) and Famagusta (a "ghost town" of ruins and old buildings from when people fled during the Turkish invasion, but surrounded by pretty coastline). The tour was pretty good and at least I got more of a sense of the history/culture and I finally got outside of the hotel! I also managed to find one more tour of the north part of Cyprus (Kyrenia) which was just me and a mediocre tour guide 😬. My favorite part was when she took me halfway up to a castle and pointed to the top and said "the fort is up there, take your time, I'll meet you in the car park" 😲. Luckily I made it up there without breaking my leg or falling (not a given). I did not tip her.

I also took advantage of the hotel's amenities and checked out the gym, pool, and spa. The pool (one of many they had) was awesome and actually my temperature and best of all, rarely had anyone else in it. I tried an Ayurvedic massage this time and found myself more oiled than I've ever experienced (mostly in a good way 😏). The gym was great and also barely used; I tried to use it as a launch-pad for my "I will start eating right and exercising" program. It's definitely time and I'm already feeling better.

Art gave a well-received presentation (I helped by being the slide-advancer, a job I took very seriously 😀), and he wound up doing reasonably well in the tournament. He won the BMAB (whatever that means) with a 5-0 record, although he didn't advance very far in the main event. He even got a trophy 🏆 which we found someone else from LA to transport home for us. The awards ceremony was quite a happening event; you would have thought Olympic medals were being handed out 🥇. I was only sorry that I missed seeing the underwater backgammon (it was during my tour) but Art did take some photos and I watched some on Facebook. Cool to watch, though I'd never consider doing it myself (I'd be too nervous about running out of oxygen 👀).

Art and I had some more communication (and hearing and inattention) issues on this leg of the journey but perhaps post-Cyprus (and post-backgammon-tournament) those will be reduced. It's been a bit challenging (for me). Art also got sick this past week (can't imagine why... 500 backgammon players in one room? masking anyone?) and that made things harder all around. Another challenge was learning that Ariel's boyfriend's dad unexpectedly passed away last week and feeling like I should be there (more) for her. It was a lot to handle. 

Off to Israel next (for 2 1/2 months)!

Deena and Art

Art in tournament hall before it started (500+ players)

Backgammon tournament posters

View from our hotel

Art giving his seminar (well-received!); I was the slide-advancer :)

St Johns Fort at top of Hillarion Castle

View from top of St Hillarion Castle

Bellapais Abbey in Kyrenia

Bellapais Abbey in Kyrenia

Alleyway next to Bellapais Abbey (monastery) in Kyrenia

Natural history museum in Nicosia

Mosque in Nicosia (capital)

Famagusta old town (when people fled the area before Turkey took over North Cyprus); the buildings are still there and all in disrepair (so they made it a tourist attraction?)

Ruins in Nicosia (I think)

Hotel buffet (part of it anyway)

Art getting his trophy for winning the BMAB

Underwater backgammon (Art did not participate)

Coastline views

Spitting image

St Hillarion Castle in Kyrenia

Side view of the castle

Flamingos on the way to Famagusta

Famagusta ruins

Malta

November 3 through 7, 2022

Malta was an interesting but short visit to a country I knew nothing about (besides my Wikipedia browsing 😉). Because of its prime location in the Mediterranean, it has a unique blend of Italian, Arabic, and British culture (it was under British rule for a long time before it gained its independence in 1974). Its language is Maltese which honestly sounds like someone speaking Arabic with an Italian accent (no offense intended) 😃. The word for "thank you" is even something close to "grazie". The street names all sound Arabic but are written in Maltese, the grocery stores actually stock British candies, and there are dozens of Italian restaurants (we also had a fabulous Indian meal and a wonderful BBQ dinner 😋). 

We spent our first 2 days there relaxing and making our way to the capital (Valletta). There is no shortage of boats and yachts and the harbors are quite beautiful. Although the weather looked great to us, there was a storm approaching ☔ so all boat tours were cancelled for the weekend, so my tour options became very limited. I did manage to do 2 tours while Art played in the backgammon tournament (not his best, but he had fun 😏). Malta seems to have more infrastructure than some places in this part of the world so we were able to flush toilet paper down the toilet (yay!) but I still think the water tasted a bit sketchy (even though they said we could drink it 😑). Tourism is a big industry but the logistics seem to be a work-in-progress; the tour bus I was supposed to take was over 20 minutes late and when we mentioned that, we were told with a hand-wave "ah, it's Malta" 😒. My tours covered a fair bit of the history and culture of the island so I learned a thing or two (which I will not bore you with here). I did get the feeling this is a popular destination for Brits and rich people with boats. I also got to see the famous Blue Grotto which was quite gorgeous, and thanks to the storm, had some amazing waves crashing. My photos don't do it justice.

Things I learned in Malta: finding my favorite cereal for breakfast and having cold milk is enough to make my day 👍 (also wanting good OJ is apparently too much to ask); good chocolate makes me happy (and they do actually carry Malteasers in Malta); finding hair gel made me even happier 😅; being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet is something no one should take for granted 😄; finding a post office that sells international post card stamps also makes me happy (I managed to send out 10 cards); local markets are one of my favorite things to explore in a new country (and this one was incredible and huge); I can never bring myself to eat rabbit (even if it's this country's big delicacy); ribs made right are one of my favorite meals; I absolutely love fabulously blue (Mediterranean) water; I love seeing/collecting UNESCO world heritage sites; reading as a hobby needs to be more a part of my leisure time after this trip ends (I've already read 13 books just on this trip); I need to quit Instagram after this trip because tracking my "likes" is making me a bit crazy 😔; I love trying out massages in different countries (and I've learned that an expensive massage can be mediocre); 3 days in a new country isn't quite enough time to explore (especially when weather can be an issue 🌧); and that I miss my kids with a deep heart-ache 💕.

We've learned that many of these islands' peak season ends in October, so we've been pretty lucky to see anything in "shoulder season", but also happy to be past the tourist crowd season. Decent tradeoff, in my opinion. Bonus aside: I got to do a mitzvah quite by accident in Malta. I found a lost credit card on the side of the road and with a bit of Facebook sleuthing (thanks Laurel 😀) I was able to reunite it with its owner in one day!

Although Art and I had some challenges here (related to communication and backgammon), we managed to work through them 💑. Communication is key, isn't it?  I'm a bit late on this post, so we're already in Cyprus for the BIG backgammon tournament. I'll leave that for a future post.

Deena and Art

Malta coastline views

Some famous church on the island of Gozo (Malta is an archipelago of 3 islands)

Maltese traditional cookies (looked better than they tasted)

Boats along the coast (near a huge flea/fish market)

Interesting use of a bike

 Art at the tournament

another UNESCO site ✅

Downtown Malta (govt building)

Downtown Malta

Some of the many yachts

 Citadelle fort (another UNESCO site)

Malta boat harbor

Blue Grotto