SuzeBlogz

the journey continues

well, it's only Day 3 of the tour and it's impossible to even begin to explain how much we've seen and how many steps we've climbed. There aren't enough days or blogs to fill what we've experienced...

and that's just SO FAR....

the most exciting thing - surprise wise - was running into 6 of our very close friends (here with another tour) and screaming with total excitement when we never expected to be in the same place at the same time..Hi Eileen !

we were able to go back to The Western Wall today and take pictures and leave our written prayers

again, men and women are separated but by leaning over the fence and by giving camera #2 to Lenny I was able to get some great shots of the men.

we walked the Via Dolorosa, this is said to be the path Jesus waked when he carried the cross. A Korean tour group was there re-enacting

imagine how amazing this must have been for them.

and all of the stations of the cross are marked

we also had an opportunity to explore UNDER the city...the Western Wall tunnels...a bit claustophobic but when you think how many archeological finds were found there it boggles the mind.

as one who is easily boggled....more glorious photos from the area we saw today

being a huge cat lover I was purring to see cats everywhere

"pretty graffiti"

and no lack of military presence..yummy hunks, all lean and fit, Huh ?

we got to shop at The Cardo in The Jewish Quarter

lots of art galleries and upscale shops. Here are the guys patiently waiting while the gals spent their money !!!

all authentic old, old pieces, stones, silver, glass mixed together. UNAFFORDABLE !!!!

Fixed prices

but...I also found a fabulous bead shop in the Arab section...oh la la and tra la la for me.....and, they bargain !!!

the Jewish Quarter was such an exciting and interesting area.

The national emblem of the State of Israel includes a seven branched-candelabrum, called Menorah, flanked by two olive branches. The one we use for Chanukah has 8 branches.

This would be a Chanukah Menorah

the views from this part of Jerusalem are breathtaking...and this, the Temple Mount is just one of them

The Temple Mount (Hebrew: הַר הַבַּיִת‎, Har haBáyith), also known as Mount Moriah and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم القدسي الشريف‎, al-haram al-qudsī ash-sharīf), is a religious site in the Old City of Jerusalem.

the evening was capped off with a trip to the Haddash Hospital where we saw the 12 breathtaking Chagall Stained Glass windows of the 12 tribes of Israel.

then a terrific dinner...I had the St. Peters Fish....wonderful.

Well....why do I know that tomorrow is just going to be even more wonderful....obvious...right ???!!!

 

walking...walking...walking

In my whole life I have NEVER walked as much as we've been walking here. I have no shins left and my hips left town after the last few steps I had to climb. WORTH IT ??? OMG...OMG...OMG

see those steps behind us....those are typical...I think here I'm asking God to give me more strength !!!

Jerusalem is amazing

still climbing...walking

view from the top after climbing...climbing...walking...walking

for a minute there I thought I was in Holland

 

so, what have we been doing.....well, after last nights visit to the Western Wall (no pix allowed there on Shabbat...we managed to sneak in the 2 that are on last nights blog before we got yelled at !), this morning we went to Shabbat services at the Hebrew Union College. WONDERFUL !!!

Then on to lunch on a rooftop restaurant and one of its views of the market place

rooftop restaurant

it was drizzling on and off all day but we managed to have a great time anyway and the food, so far, has been terrific.

then we went on to The Church of the Holy Sepulture

this is the holy space that some Christians believe Jesus was crucified & possibly buried. It is so special and so moving and you can feel very connected to biblical history when you visit this place. Today it serves as the headquarters for the Greek Orthodox Patriach of Jerusalem.

however, the church is also home to six major Christian demoninations, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox (Egyptian) , Syrian Orthodox, and Ethiopian Orthodox.

 

in the photo below: it is said that THIS is 'the place' where Jesus was prepared for burial.

people from all over come here to make pilgrimage

The iconography in the church is magnificent

and so...we spent hours there and then left through the old market and it's many diverse cultures

the sun finally came out....and we were off again for more adventures

**********

BUT....It's bedtime now....and I can no longer even feel my feet...

and...tomorrow we have to be up and at 'um by 6 AM

you have no idea how many more pix I have...so..don't go away

Land of the seven species

Yes, Israel has been called The Land of Milk & Honey, but, today our group

learned it is also the Land of the Seven Species.

as we gathered with our local guide Danielle we spent a few hours at NEOT KEDUMIM, the biblical landscape reserve in Israel.

Danielle showed us how pottery was made in biblical times, especially the oil lamps

she gave us wheat seeds to throw into the ground to replenish the earth

she showed us how they plowed the earth way back when with help from The Lenster

we sampled fruits of the earth

Mint

Pomegranate

carob

took in the wilderness flowers

communed with the animals

crushed olives

got water from the well

planted trees

admired the beautiful scenery

 

nighttime took us to The Western Wall to celebrate Shabbat

this was a remarkable experience.

The city of Jerusalem leaves you with such a sense of biblical times

we had a wonderful day with  David our regular guide (r) and Rabbi Brooks Susman (l)

I took hundreds of pix...so...I'll keep 'um coming

see you tomorrow !

and we're here...

and it's 1A.M. and I'm in our hotel room pigging out on Halavah (a sweet, candylike confection of Turkish origin, consisting of ground sesame seeds and honey.)

and sesame/honey flatbread and repeating...I can't believe I'm in Israel !

we bought everything fresh in the Old City of Jerusalem

I mean, think about it.....

we left Newark at 4 pm...first class....I won't go on and on about how incredible THAT experience was....holy cow...like royalty...the ice cream with chocolate fudge and whipped cream, the appetizer, the salads, the main meal, the breads, the hot cinnamon rolls...... okay..enough on that...why bore you.....its just food

and now bingo...11hours later..we are here

at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv

and we're greeted by a beautiful menorah outside. This is NOT a Chanukah menorah (an 8 branch menorah) , but the seven branch Menorah, symbol of the Jewish faith.

there's no shortage of Judaica items around time...and Menorahs are everywhere.

and our cab driver who spoke beautiful English, took us on a little ride through town so we could see some 'extra stuff'....he was a cool guide.

we saw the poster of this young man who was taken hostage....

1,586 days ago and the terrorists want 2,000 of theirs in exchange. His family keeps a vigil in this booth below.

then we were checking in to our hotel, The Dan Panorama

The weather was fabulous...80's, dry in the day, 60's coolish but not cold at night.

hard as we tried not to, we needed a power nap and gave in.Then off we went to a divine dinner at Kedma

which is located in a faaaaahbulous mall called the Mamilla which overlooks the Old City.

There's all kinds of security at these malls by the way. You go through a screener just like you do at the airport as you're going into the mall.

We ate then we shopped in a whole bunch of upscale stores & galleriesl

lots of handmade silver items.

and glass

and Judaica

Loooooved these earrings

BOUGHT THEM !!!!

 

and cool watches

very interesting candle holders

and an anthropologie type display

and this sculpture was all one piece...all dimensional. Expensive !!!

 

I didn't know if he was a character out of Lord of the Rings or just looking for a place to poop!!! But..he was for sale too !

During dinner they were holding a renassance street fair in Hebrew and it was mobbed. Tons of kids and they loved it. We're kids...we went too

.

the Mamilla is designed with rocks from Jerusalem BC...very intriguing looking

we went thru the Christian Quarter, The Armenan Quarter, The Jewish Quarter and the Moslem Quarter within the Old City. Now remember, it gets dark here beginning about 5 so without my flash some of the pix are a little antique looking, but the Old City stays open till close to 10 pm and its one busy place

another sculpture for sale....I wanted to just name it Kunta Kinte....

I told The Lenster not to try picking his pocket !!

and seeing young men smoke from a Hookah always floors me...I've seen it before in other countries. This was in the Arab Quarter.

these young men are Israeli Army. They had some BIIIIIIIIIG bad looking guns !

and now...minutes before I drop into bed and try to adjust to the time change I'll just post a few more random pix that I took in no particular order....

a street mime,

 

modern mezzuzahs

Fresh Pomegranite that they squeeze in front of you for juice.

the wonderful, big crowds

 

In the Arab Quarter at an Arab Catholic Scout Hall

and the MAC store had newer makeup than my Nordstrom !!!

a Chagall at our hotel

Tomorrow the rest of our 12 man group flies in....and we'll be really off and running.

Hope to Blog for you as often as I can....

dont turn the channel !!!

 

packed & ready to go

Zipped around the gorgeous fall neigborhood today

picked up all the last minute stuff one might need on a long trip. Came home, finished the packing routine then met up for dinner with the rest of the group that's off to Israel on Thursday.

The Lenster and I are going a day before them...very excited. We will meet up with them on Friday morning in Tel Aviv.

So....I am going to assume our various hotels will have internet and I'll do my very best to blog during the trip...

 

so...dont go away....I'll be connected !!!!

SHALOM !!!

(means hello, goodbye and peace)

basic food groups

Sundays are always good for doing almost nothing.

son Marc came down with his kids Michael (15) and Alyssa (13) and Jen came down with Jared (7). We like it when we all just hang out together.

it's completely hysterical to me that Michael is almost 5' 10" and Alyssa (who just a few months ago was my height) is now 4" taller than me. Of course a midget is taller than me and it wont be long before Jared at 4'4" is taller than me !!!

In order for that to happen you have to eat 2 very important nutricious food groups

Group one speaks for itself....

you cut it into fourths and then fight over it so everyone can try a little of each one. It is irrelevant if you eat this food group before your meal or after...just that you eat it !!....then there's food group #2

My staple food in life

SUSHI

in its many forms

then, you quickly go to check that everyone has gotten taller after that great meal

(he's like one looooong drink of water....!)

then I gave them all fun Halloween glasses

which they loved

Michael says THIS will be his entire costume...at a wonderful 40% off I should have gotten myself a pair too !!!

**********

so, with the countdown being just 3 days to go before we head off to Israel and Egypt...here's my Brooks and Suze blog post on The Western Wall. Brooks Susman is my Rabbi...in case you're wondering.

http://suzeweinberg.typepad.com/brooks_and_suze/

3 days to go

In 3 days Lenny and I are off to Eretz Yisrael אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ (which means 'The Land of Israel'). We read that hebrew from right to left. Tricky, huh? 

We've both been all over the world, many times, but we've never been there. We are jumping out of our seats we're sooooo excited. We are especially excited to see the Western Wall in Jerusalem and place a 'paper prayer' in it.

so...today I'm giving you a brief history lesson even before I get there.

The Western Wall is also called 'The Kotel' but some refer to it as 'The Wailing Wall', although most Jewish people do not use this term.

It is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish temple. Jewish people believe this to be the most sacred of places, because the temple itself was thought to be the place where God resides on earth. Praying at the Wall signifies being in the presence of God.

For Jews, it is the single holiest place in all creation, the very point where God tested Abraham by enjoining him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Here is Rembrandts' depiction

 the wall was built during the time of King Herod to surround Temple Mount.

 Today, both Israelis and Palestinians seek the right to control this 12-hectare parcel of consecrated and contested land. Administered since 1967 by a Muslim authority known as the Waqf, the site contains the huge golden-vaulted Dome of the Rock, as well as the vast Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Rabbi Brooks Susman tells me......For Muslims, it is the place where the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven to confer with God, and it constitutes the third holiest site in the world for Muslims, after Mecca (pictured below)  and Medina (both located in Saudi Arabia) 

Prior to their destruction, the First and Second Jewish Temples were both located here. It is here that Jews brought their gifts to God until its destruction by the Roman Emperor, Titus, in 70 CE. Now, only this outer wall remains standing.

That destruction and expulsion began the wanderings of the Jews in exile until the founding of Israel in 1948. It was only after 1967 that Jews were permitted to return to the Wall.

Jews believe that notes placed in the crevices between the stones in the Wall receive God's direct attention. More than a million notes are placed each year.

and I'll be very excited for our to be one of them !

a day of fun

Stopped by my friend Carla Gizzi's store on the boardwalk in Asbury Park today....she was having a little soiree

and when Carla hosts a soiree it's always filled with sangria, cheeses, fruits, chocolates, chile...you name it. She's the best !

hand made chocolate with nuts

so, you get to eat AND shop at the same time.

after leaving Carlas I passed this house that's all revved up for Halloween

Overkill ? (kill..how funny !) Is it possible ??.. Well, maybe there's someone out there reading this who loves it....it's okay...you've got the spirit....and...we're all a little nuts from time to time...

In fact I'm sure these people must be nuts.....I mean..I literally had to stop the car....

and, don't even get me started on those blow-up lawn things. I ranted on about that last year...you remember... I want to go around with a pin in the dark of night and burst all of them....(sorry if you are one of those people !!!)

ok..I own up...NOT a big lover of ridiculous lawn ornaments !!

*********

then...evening came...out to dinner with a small group of friends

and on to The Comedy Club

at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Hotel in Princeton, where we hooked up with the rest of our group  for an evening of hilarious laughs

We just loooooved Tommy Savitt the comedian. He is a winner of the Boston Comedy Festival and I can tell you he was hilarious. Some of us squeezed in for a pix with him...you know me...so shy !!

tomorrow the kids are comin' down for a visit and in 3 days we're off to Israel...counting the days with total excitement !

 

Birthday Part Deux

I love it when your birthday is over but the gifts keep on a-comin' !

My "sisters in wax" over there in Corralitos, California sent me this fabulous tote bag

and with it came this amazing wire frame with postcard

like you think they know my taste or what ??!!

and...wait....this hand bound book

and, to top all that came the terrific card...wax, bees, get it...

and my name looked like it was made from brads cause they had brad fasteners on the back of the card....duh!! Where'd they find those or did they make them?

and then there was another darling card in my mail from Micki Harper in Wathena, Kansas

 ******

so, it's only 5 more days till we are off to Israel and Egypt.

I decided the time had come for me to finally get a journal together for this trip. I have never done one before...it's easier for me to just blog...which I will, of course.

So, I had picked up this cute book when I was in Kansas and I left the fun saying on the bottom, but covered the upper part, added fibers & pre-decorated a few pages

I attached this gorgeous Star of David that Amber Dawn made for me

and I'm gluing things to pages just as if I were a scrapbooker !!!! Holy crap, this is totally out of left field for me. BUT..I intend to save every tidbit from this trip and I've taken glue, tape and velcro with me to make sure I DO.

and I've been inspired to do this even more after reading Diana Trouts book

so I'm taking a few stamps, markers and I dont know what else yet....still workin' on that.

Oh yeah...and TWO cameras !!

Hippo Birdie to ewes

thats me...today was it.

my birthday

It was faaaaaaaab

Lunch with the girls...Jaclyn Marusak (l) who shares the same day as me so we get together every year, Debbie Tlach, Patti Behan, Julianna Hudgins (also an October babe) and Bonnie Egenton. Missing from the pix, Teresa Natividad who had to beat it back to work !!

SUSHI

You betcha...

presents...from Jackie ...Yup-a-roony...

handmade bead (from Julianna..amazing)

cake....duh....

wishes...oh boy, yes

love the friends

love the handmade cards

made with love from close friends

and the thoughtful "so me" prezzies..thank U Angela

beautiful....from Jen

and the flowers from Lee

and Marc

and the faaaaaahbulous bag from The Lenster

MWAH xxxxooooo

and the HUNDREDS of wishes from Facebook friends.

I was completely blown away by that...I sort of stopped counting when it went over 400 people...I am overwhelmed.

You are all just be-UTEE-ful, wonderful, loving people.

Thanks for making number 67 one to always remember !!!