Home Sweet Home

Isaac and the kids

Adi and the whole group

Spencer's birthday

The bullet factory was amazing...it was incredible to see how smart the Israeli's were in hiding where this factory was. The kids and adults both loved it. After we rode back to Tel Aviv and said good bye to Isaac-we were all sad to see him go and we think he had a good time with us as well. He was a perfect fit for us and was a 'jolly' guy, always telling jokes and providing us with mounds of history and information.  We walked around Shenken Street and the shouk in Tel Aviv. Michael remembered this pizza place he had been to and it was unbelievable. The boys were all troopers as the girls walked in and out of every store. At the shouk we bought some quick souvenirs, but the bargaining annoyed all of us.  We stopped at a place to grab some ice teas, hot chocolates and cappuccinos at a restaurant under this huge tree.    For dinner we walked the opposite way in Tel Aviv and found a nice place called 'Mike's Place'. Even though it was 7pm we were hoping to catch a 1pm football game.  They had big screen tv's and we ordered wings, nachos, and burgers... a fitting meal for our last night. We recapped what our favorite site or memory was and we decided that we could not include the Bnai Mitzvah. Some of the answers were Zevat, the Western Wall, Dead Sea, Ceasarea, and the Big Itzchik:) We ordered a cake for Spencer as it was his birthday on Jan. 3rd and sang to him.  He was surprised.  The Carus family left at 8:30 and we went back to pack. The Bernstein and Mach families left at 7:30 am on Monday. Al had his best night of sleep last night.  As we said good bye to Adi, he said that in his 16 years this is the most unforgettable group he has ever had. We think this was a compliment, he seemed so genuine and we all teared up. We are 'facebook friend requesting' him and exchanged emails with both.  They truly made our trip incredible.
We are all home safely...It is Tuesday morning and all of our clocks are a bit off, but we did pretty well with the sleep. I'm sure the tired will hit us all later!  This was a trip of a lifetime...I think everyone got a lot out of it on many different levels. Obviously the adults loved the history and stories and the older kids as well. Spencer and Aidan were definitely able to repeat what we did each day and maybe didn't understand the history, but knew each site we visitied.  Again, the kids were great- they all got along and we feel very fortunate to have had this experience with such great friends.
Israelis are proud of their home and for very good reason.  It is rich with history and culture beyond any place that we have been to.  We come home with a greater understanding our our religion and heritage and a place that ties us to being Jewish.
Shalom!

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Israel

We left the Ron Beach hotel yesterday and made our way to the Golan Heights Winery. It was a bit on the early side, but that didn't stop us. We got a tour of the 'plant' by a man named Shalom and we learned about the wine produced in Israel which is all Kosher. The best part of the tour was, of course, the wine tasting. It was only about 11 am, but they gave all of us glasses and 3 different wines to taste. The kids were all excited and we began the tasting...Isaac was with us (important to know for the next part.) Jon took his first sip of the wine and tried to compliment Shalom (who looked like he was about 90 years old) by telling him the wine was excellent- Metzuyan. Instead, he raised his glass and said Mezuyan.  Shalom said, ahh metzuyan, but Isaac got red in the face whispered something to Jon and began cracking up.
Apparently, Jon called Shalom a stupid, *** , idiot.  We weren't sure to believe Isaac, but he repeated the story to Adi and it was confirmed that Jon completely insulted Shalom at the winery. We laughed so hard and forbid Jon to speak any more hebrew the rest of the trip. Clearly, that was our word of the day. Next, we stopped in Mitzpah Hosha'aya in Kfar Kedem.  This was something I compared to a Waterloo Village. The owner, Menachem Goldberg, spoke to us about how it was to live here a long time ago. We dressed up like shepards to get into character. We then made olive oil by picking the olives off of the trees, using an old fashioned olive press and then picked wheat, crushed it and simulated making the dough for the bread. We cooked the pita like bread on a fire and ate it with the olive oil. Then we had a light snack in a bedouin tent and last took a donkey ride through this village. It was a lot of fun for all, but especially the kids.  Next, we went to Nazareth and saw the Basillica in which Jesus spent much of his childhood. It was a spectacular sight with beautiful mosaics and many tourists. We came home to wash up and got ready to go to Shabbat dinner at Udi and Galit's house ( Michael's friend).  Remember we are 14 people, they have 3 small children and her parents were there.  Galit and her mother Shoshi (who does not speak any English and is originally from Morocco) cooked a meal that I have never seen before in my life. Yossi, her dad, led us in the prayers before the meal and we all toasted with wine that we brought from the winery. The dishes just kept coming out...fish, rice, chicken, moroccon meatballs, more fish, green salad, israeli salad, eggplant, peppers, more chicken and more fish and couscous that was prepared by Udi's mom. It was an absolute feast and Al outdid himself. After dinner the younger kids played soccer in the house, a board game, and Wii even though only one of their children speaks English. They communicated by playing universal games and were so adorable. We showed them our photographs on the computer and then ate dessert and hot water with mint leaves. Al went into a 'food coma' and we made our way home bloated and stuffed. Udi wanted us to come out after with them to a Sylvester party- which is a party on New Year's Eve.  Obviously we did not go,but grabbed some champagne at the hotel. When we went down to get a drink there were several young men and women that were singing hebrew songs and clearly drank too much. We came to find out that they had just been married and were celebrating. They grabbed Cory and Al in a small dance and we clapped and laugh until the manager came and told them they were too loud.
Happy New Year!
Today, we went to Caesarea, a city built by Herod right on the ports. It was an unbelievable ruin with an ampitheater, a hippodrome, bathhouses, a pool( in the sea) and many interesting facts. We continued to learn that Herod was selfish and a bit frugal, but an entrepreneur and a businessman.  We stopped quickly at the aqueducts here and learned how the water was transported. Isaac told us that maybe one day in the future these will work again. We stopped for lunch in the city of Zaharon Yaakov, because it is shabbat and much of the stores in Tel Aviv don't open till after sundown. This town is open because it is run by Secular Israelis, so it is a busy day for locals and tourists. We ate at an Italian restaurant that made everyone happy. Some even had McDonalds for lunch...it was a very cute town and fun to walk around. We are going to the Big Itzchik again for dinner because it was so good the other day.
The Carus family leaves tomorrow night and we leave on Monday morning.  Not sure I will blog again. Tomorrow we are going to the Bullet Factory and walking around Tel Aviv. The weather has been great, the kids have been unbelievable, and our families are so compatible.  We are making memories that will last a lifetime.