Trouble Update

We think the critters are gone! I hesitate to posit certainty (is that ever possible?) because who knows what lurks ahead - but there is no new evidence. So we like our little apt. very much again.The ink, however, remains as a reminder of the episode, scattered across much of our wardrobe. The current condition of L's silk undershirt:


This was the first, and last, time ever taking our clothes to a laundry to be put in a huge machine by a stranger.

It's a long commute from here to Bar Ilan Unversity, where L is digging through Harold Fisch's papers - 1/2 hour ride on the city bus which stops across the street, then 50 minutes on a big Greyhound style bus to the university which is way down by Tel Aviv, followed by a 15 minute stroll across the campus to the portable classroom we are using as a work space. Then the reverse to return (which sometimes is longer due to rush hour). And don't forget that our bags have to be searched and ourselves scanned at several spots along the way. Today I snapped this of L beside an IDF soldier on the city bus. They are everywhere and look very serious when on duty.



Friday we went to the Kotel (Western Wall) in the Old City before our Thanksgiving shabbat dinner with Allen Hoffman and family. No photos allowed on the sabbath - but it was packed on both the men's and women's sides. We each threaded our way through the appropriate section to place a hand on the ancient wall, the only surviving remains of the 2nd temple built by King Herod. Then I stood on a handy nearby chair to peer over at the men and watch the wonderfully diverse crowd, some praying, some kibbitzing, some dancing and singing, many fully armed soldiers among them. We did manage a picture of the Kotel from the steps going up to the Jewish Quarter:


Dinner at the home of our modern orthodox friend was delish, beginning with sabbath prayers, challah and wine, then a first course of turkey matzoh ball soup. All the usual trimmings followed, though I must confess to not noticing every detail because the conversation was so interesting. And yes, dessert was pie - pecan and pumpkin. Sorry, no photos due to sabbath.

Travel troubles

Okay. The straight truth is that this day is NOT going well at all. Problems at the apartment have been mounting, culminating in our spending tonight in a nearby hotel room.

This morning it became undeniably clear that the bed is hosting bed bugs. The ugly evidence on Lloyd's elbow:


So we emailed Josh and Yael (hoping to save on iphone bills) to let them know the sad situation. After several exchanges, Yael decided to hire an exterminator and send us to a hotel. So we put the bed linens in the small washer in the kitchen, intending to hang them out in the sun before departing. Alas, the spin and drain cycles don't work and water leaks onto the tile floor, so we gave up and left the sheets in the machine.

Lloyd took our pile of dirty clothes to a nearby laundry just in case they might contain bugs. We packed our other stuff, pulled our (thankfully small) bags several blocks to the hotel and checked in. Facilities are NOT equivalent to American ones, in case you wondered. We went for a walk, treated ourselves to a compensation lunch here





Then L returned to pick up our clean clothing, only to learn that he had left his pen in a pocket. The shop didn't check - so now ink is added to our troubles. You know how L. loves his (formerly) white shirts. Sigh. The laundry closed at 5:30 and is of course closed for shabbat. So the man at the counter claimed that they have chemicals to remove the ink and said come back at 5:30 Sunday. Do you blame me for being skeptical?

Hope to follow up with a happy resolution update soon.

Akko, Moshe, and the beach

Today the internet man came to hook up wireless in our apartment. Of course, Yael, the young woman from whom we are subletting this place, had to be here to translate and sign forms. So at last we have dependable service, though just now have been struggling to get to this page in English rather than Hebrew. Add to that the presence of the landlord for the last hour or so (without Yael), lots of time spent pondering, waiting for the helper, then the electrician, with the final response to the problem of fixing the heat being - I'll be back later (said in Hebrew with enough gestures to sort of communicate). So now we are alone for a bit and will attempt to update you on the rest of our visit to the north.

After two nights in our Jaffa hostel we rented a car in Tel Aviv, calculating that it didn't cost much more than train + bus + taxi, and drove up the coast to Kibbutz Nes Ammim. We spent two nights there in a comfortable modern room in the guest house, surrounded by quiet paths and greenery. But we couldn't have guessed from what we read in the hostel brochure that it would turn out to be the only Christian kibbutz in Israel (!), staffed entirely by Dutch and German volunteers. Very peculiar. They were friendly enough, but the lack of Israelis and Hebrew made us question their grand purpose of dialogue.

The next afternoon we drove to the nearby ancient port of Akko (Acre in English). A shouk, winding narrow streets between massive stone walls, and lots of history. We climbed this massive stone ramp to the top of the outermost city wall to check out the view and read about Napoleon's fruitless attempts to conquer the city in 1799.

The old city has a series of three walls, separated by moats; here we are looking into the old city garden from the inner wall:


We overheard tour guides speaking Spanish, German, Hebrew, Russian - but alas no English that day. Going back in time, there is evidence of a Crusader castle, and way before that, ancient Phonecian remains. It's chiefly an Arab town now, with the usual mixed attitude of pride and lack of attention that leads to a confused scene of restoration, mess, trash, cars, noise, and half finished projects. As Yael reminded us, one needs to remember that Israel is a 3rd world country even if it is 1st in innovative technology and military preparedness.

Lunch at Said's in the shouk. A crazy busy little restaurant with no menu, just the famous hummous. Everybody knows it's the place to eat in Akko - a bowl of hummous and a bowl of pickles, olives, raw onion, and tomato, with plenty of pita.



The next day we drove to Moshe's apartment in the pleasant town of Kiryiat Bialik. As most of you know, he is our dear friend from KY who, along with his two little boys, made aliyah to Israel last January. He was genuinely thrilled to have us as his first visitors - and he hopes many more will come. He and his fiance Liat welcomed us generously.


Her family are Moroccan Jews, traditionally very hospitable. Her mother cooked tasty traditional dishes for Shabbat dinner which we carried over to Moshe's place and enjoyed together.

On Shabbat Israel basically shuts down. No transportation, nearly all stores closed, everyone relaxing. Moshe's six year old son Yehuda announced to me, "I LOVE Shabbat"- yes, the USA should certainly reinstitute a day of sabbath rest. After a leisurely morning (kids up before 6) we went to the beach to stroll and chat,



marvel at the big jellyfish, watch kids swarming a playground as they do everywhere. There is exercise equipment disguised as fun in lots of beachside areas, so healthy.


Strange to gaze out at the huge Mediterranean Sea and imagine all who have stood beside it in ages past.

Repair update: the lights all work now, plus the water heater, which is needed when there's no sun to warm the tank on the roof; however all the power just went off as we were beginning to prepare our first dinner. Lloyd called Yael, who explained the location of the main switch in the hallway by the front door of the building. He flipped it, lights are on, and now (I hope) we'll fix some Davies style pasta.

Tel Aviv and Jaffa

We only had two nights reserved at our hostel in Jerusalem, so we scrambled around on the internet looking for both short and longer term solutions to the problem of affordable housing. Through internet searches on Craig's List and by word of mouth we found some leads on apartments in Jerusalem, as well as a hostel in Old Jaffa. Monday morning we checked out of the Jerusalem hostel and took a bus to the other side of town where we looked at two apartments. One was too small and close to a noisy busy street, but the other was just right--more on it later, once we move in on Sunday!

We then took a bus down to Tel Aviv, another bus to Jaffa, and, finally, a short walk to the hostel:

This was our room, the whole thing, by far the smallest we have ever stayed in, literally no room to turn around!


with an even smaller bathroom!


But we could escape to the roof terrace,


to see this view of the narrow streets below:


The hostel is in the midst of Jaffa's flea-market, so we enjoyed walking through the displays of junk, beautiful fabrics, and other oddities.

Jaffa has a lovely artist's colony in the old port area:

A minaret overlooking the Mediterranean:

In a different direction, the view from Jaffa of modern Tel Aviv (celebrating its hundredth birthday this year):

We strolled through the city, stopping at fruit stands for fresh juice (orange and pomegranate is our favorite), squeezed to order,

passed the harbor marina,

and watched kite surfers ride the waves as the sun set over the deep blue Mediterranean.

Back in Jaffa , at a restaurant beneath the old stone arches,

our favorite local treat.

First sights in Israel

Tel Aviv from the plane.

We usually take pictures of interesting oddities, one of a kind sights, bits that somehow signify the difference of Israeli life - so don't expect many famous historical photos.

Libby's favorite sign on first walk in Jerusalem

above this display.

Biblical symbolism in silver: the Ark of the Covenant

and Noah's Ark.

Inside Mehane Yehuda market.

Well worn poster at the entrance to Mea Shearim, the ultra orthodox quarter in Jerusalem.

The round Ethiopian Church

We obeyed this request.

And this one (though we have no idea what the language at bottom might be).

We Love New York City

We've just about concluded our week long stay in NYC. Earlier today we down-loaded our boarding passes to the iphone--completely paperless!--and tomorrow afternoon we'll be flying off to Israel.

We were working on this blog entry at the 96th St. Public Library until it closed a short while ago, so now we are back at Sophia and Ping's apartment on Park Ave. They have been gracious and amiable hosts, giving us their living room for our bedroom, and generally taking good care of us.
Here is a sample of some of our city photos.

Skyscraper looming over Bryant Park

Subway music: entertainment and talent everywhere!

The fabulous New York City Public Library


We had a private tour of the special Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle as part of the Conference on Romanticism.




The Metropolitan Opera, where we saw the extravagant Zeffirelli production of Puccini's Turandot with Debby and Udo: here we see the glittering hall, the audience and,



for Sam, the orchestra pit.


Glitzy shoes for shoppers. I think they are Rachel's size!


Unexpectedly odd store names.



IchiUmi, a gigantic sushi bar where we enjoyed a vast array of ultra fresh Japanese dishes.


Ice skating at Rockefeller Plaza.


Rockefeller Center at night.


We made our usual pilgrimage to the Plaza Hotel to pay our respects to Eloise:


Aaron had flown in from Singapore, so
he and Sophia strolled with us on a beautiful afternoon in Central Park.



Continuous rainbow!


Lloyd took this great shot of the reservoir.

Autumn ginkgo leaves.