David and I took a swamp tour in New Orleans and it was AWESOME! The swamp was lovely and there were many alligators to keep us company. They know that the guide is going to feed them so they swim up towards the boat as soon as they hear the sound of the engine.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
RUTH'S VISIT TO ISRAEL LAST NOVEMBER WITH MAUREEN & SELMA
Our previous visit to Israel was over eight years ago and so our relatives and friends living there decided for us that we were well overdue for another visit. Having made us feel thoroughly ashamed of ourselves we booked our flight and left the chilly shores of England for sunny Israel.
Our first few days were spent marvelling at the improvements that had been made since our last visit. Lots of beautiful apartment blocks had sprung up everywhere, better roads and a much more efficient public transport system. We visited so many new shopping malls and markets and were very impressed with the variety of goods on offer in this tiny Country.
As you know, the Israelis are very hospitable people and we had many invitations to coffee and cake. However, we found out very quickly that “coffee and cake” in Ivrit loosely translates as “banquet” in English!! Thank goodness we were able to take a walk after each invitation otherwise we would have had to pay excess baggage at the airport on our way home!
We stayed with Anne and Leon for most of our trip but also spent several days in Haifa (more banquets!) as guests of Leon’s sister and brother-in-law, Ester and Albert. One evening Albert took us on a guided tour of Haifa-by-night in his car which was almost as old as the State of Israel itself. The car groaned and shuddered all the way up Mount Carmel and Maureen, Selma and I breathed a sigh of relief when we finally reached the top. However, no sooner had we all stepped out of the car when from the hood appeared what can only be described as a miniature Niagara Falls. Thank goodness Albert said he had plenty of spare water but our fears quickly returned when he produced only one bottle of water from the trunk.
Although we enjoyed our walk around Haifa by night, in the back of our minds was the nerve wracking car journey back to Albert’s apartment. He could see the anxious look on our faces and as we got in the car he told us not to worry as we would be driving downhill all the way home without the need for water - or gas. We were convinced he was joking but sure enough as soon as he released the brake, the car started rolling downhill and for the next 10 hair-raising minutes we sat with white knuckles praying we would get back home safely (which obviously we did otherwise I wouldn’t be here now telling you this story). Needless to say, we spent the rest of that night benching goimel!
From Haifa we were invited for Shabbat to our cousin and her family who live in Ma’alot. Whilst waiting for our train at Haifa Station I decided to take some photos of the family and just as I was about to click the camera, the station cleaner rushed over to me and excitedly said something in Ivrit. I thought he was offering to take a photo of all of us but it turned out that he just wanted to be in the picture also. Now isn’t that a perfect example of Israeli chutzpah!!!
Ma’alot was not how we pictured it. We had in mind a few shacks with a couple of dirt tracks and a few skeletal donkeys so we were very pleasantly surprised when we arrived to find a very modern town with beautiful houses and tree lined roads and amazing scenery as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, our eyes could see as far as the Lebanese border and so we felt a little uneasy all Shabbat especially when our cousin proudly showed us the remains of a Kassam rocket in her back garden.
However, our cousin and her husband and two young sons, aged 4 and 6, made us very welcome and we had a most enjoyable Shabbat (even more banquets!). The little boys were very affectionate and inadvertently made us laugh out loud by the things they said. Our cousin speaks to them in English and her husband speaks to them in Ivrit so they are growing up bilingual and we were amazed at how easily they could immediately switch from one language to another. They are also mega-hyperactive so we were somewhat drained by the end of Shabbat.
Our visit to Israel was a very enjoyable one, mainly due to the hospitality of our relatives and friends but also to the sight of so many improvements in the last eight years. However, we were disappointed to note that after 60 years the Israelis had still not mastered the art of forming a line and many times we found ourselves being pushed and elbowed. I suppose some things in Israel will never change.
L’hitraot.
Our first few days were spent marvelling at the improvements that had been made since our last visit. Lots of beautiful apartment blocks had sprung up everywhere, better roads and a much more efficient public transport system. We visited so many new shopping malls and markets and were very impressed with the variety of goods on offer in this tiny Country.
As you know, the Israelis are very hospitable people and we had many invitations to coffee and cake. However, we found out very quickly that “coffee and cake” in Ivrit loosely translates as “banquet” in English!! Thank goodness we were able to take a walk after each invitation otherwise we would have had to pay excess baggage at the airport on our way home!
We stayed with Anne and Leon for most of our trip but also spent several days in Haifa (more banquets!) as guests of Leon’s sister and brother-in-law, Ester and Albert. One evening Albert took us on a guided tour of Haifa-by-night in his car which was almost as old as the State of Israel itself. The car groaned and shuddered all the way up Mount Carmel and Maureen, Selma and I breathed a sigh of relief when we finally reached the top. However, no sooner had we all stepped out of the car when from the hood appeared what can only be described as a miniature Niagara Falls. Thank goodness Albert said he had plenty of spare water but our fears quickly returned when he produced only one bottle of water from the trunk.
Although we enjoyed our walk around Haifa by night, in the back of our minds was the nerve wracking car journey back to Albert’s apartment. He could see the anxious look on our faces and as we got in the car he told us not to worry as we would be driving downhill all the way home without the need for water - or gas. We were convinced he was joking but sure enough as soon as he released the brake, the car started rolling downhill and for the next 10 hair-raising minutes we sat with white knuckles praying we would get back home safely (which obviously we did otherwise I wouldn’t be here now telling you this story). Needless to say, we spent the rest of that night benching goimel!
From Haifa we were invited for Shabbat to our cousin and her family who live in Ma’alot. Whilst waiting for our train at Haifa Station I decided to take some photos of the family and just as I was about to click the camera, the station cleaner rushed over to me and excitedly said something in Ivrit. I thought he was offering to take a photo of all of us but it turned out that he just wanted to be in the picture also. Now isn’t that a perfect example of Israeli chutzpah!!!
Ma’alot was not how we pictured it. We had in mind a few shacks with a couple of dirt tracks and a few skeletal donkeys so we were very pleasantly surprised when we arrived to find a very modern town with beautiful houses and tree lined roads and amazing scenery as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, our eyes could see as far as the Lebanese border and so we felt a little uneasy all Shabbat especially when our cousin proudly showed us the remains of a Kassam rocket in her back garden.
However, our cousin and her husband and two young sons, aged 4 and 6, made us very welcome and we had a most enjoyable Shabbat (even more banquets!). The little boys were very affectionate and inadvertently made us laugh out loud by the things they said. Our cousin speaks to them in English and her husband speaks to them in Ivrit so they are growing up bilingual and we were amazed at how easily they could immediately switch from one language to another. They are also mega-hyperactive so we were somewhat drained by the end of Shabbat.
Our visit to Israel was a very enjoyable one, mainly due to the hospitality of our relatives and friends but also to the sight of so many improvements in the last eight years. However, we were disappointed to note that after 60 years the Israelis had still not mastered the art of forming a line and many times we found ourselves being pushed and elbowed. I suppose some things in Israel will never change.
L’hitraot.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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