And It has been a wonderful welcome. We arrived in Dubrovnik last night after flight delays (ugh) and were greeted with fireworks marking the opening of their summer festival. Fun! It has been one of our easiest arrivals with the bus waiting right outside the terminal and taking us straight to the old town. Our host was waiting for us at the gate and took us to our room where he had a chilled bottle of wine waiting for us in honor of K’s birthday.
We wandered out into the center of the old town to the Stradun (main street) lined with fire torches and capped with a stage. The festival is a major local event. It seems everyone in town was out on the streets and dressed to be seen. We walked around, ate a seafood dinner and enjoyed some of the music before turning in for the night.
Today has been gorgeous despite the forecasts for storms. We have soaked up the sun on the rocks of the old wall and the ‘sandy’ (read pebbly) beach. It has been wonderfully relaxing with more to come.
Yesterday we took the day off work and headed to Wimbledon for The Championships. While K went two years ago when friends were in town, this was my first time. It was great fun!
We arrived early afternoon joining the queue to for tickets and made it in to the grounds after a couple hours. We walked around the courts dropping in on a few matches and taking it all in before taking a break for the traditional strawberries & cream and champagne. Then we settled in some seats and to watch Vliegen vs. Mahut and finished out the day with Ladies’s Singles watching Cornet vs. Dushevina.
I have never watched tennis on TV and have always thought it was a bit boring, but I really got into and had a great time. I’m already planning on doing it again next year!
Our friends Mike (one of G’s coworkers) and Alex were married this weekend in Beccles…near Suffolk.
We had AMAZING weather for our trip to this little riverside town and were able to enjoy a run along the river, an ice cream at the Quay and an absolutely spectacular wedding event–thanks Mike & Alex!
Unfortunately, we forgot our camera at home, but G did manage to snap a few shots with his iPhone. 🙂
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First, the church was built in 1291! Yes, that’s right. 1291!! The pastor (the bride’s cousin) was once a Versace model. She wore her mom’s English lace veil. The reception was held inside a huge marquee outside the family manor house (Mufton Hall). Guests included the daughter of the once president of Cyprus, a BBC commentator, a journalist from Parliament…not to mention over a hundred others who were the absolute nicest people you could ever hope to meet. Add to this mix the absolute sweetest, most caring couple who thought of every possible detail in order to make every guest feel valued and at home. And you have–the perfect wedding day! It was spectacular. So happy to have been a part of it.
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Congratulations Alex & Mike, thanks for letting us be a part of your day!!!
We traveled back to London today to enjoy the remainder of the bank holiday weekend! Thank goodness for the weekend sunshine!
We crossed the border back into Israel and took a quick detour into Eilat to dip our toes into the Red Sea. While standing on the beach, looking to our left we saw Jordan. Looking to our right we saw Egypt.
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Then we headed north to the Dead Sea and one of the highlights of our Israel trip. The Dead Sea is the saltiest sea on Earth with over 33% salinity and the lowest point on Earth at 400 meters below sea level. The high oxygen levels and minerals in the water make it popular spas. And bobbing like a cork is fun!
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I was afraid that it would be novel rather than enjoyable, but in fact we loved floating and relaxing in the calm salty waters our first day. We stayed all afternoon bobbing in the water and soaking up some sun. While we received loads of warnings about the salty water causing small cuts to sting, it wasn’t that bad. However, the bottom of the sea is coated with sharp pointy salt crystal that really hurt to walk on. Top tip for dead sea visitors — bring some type of shoe to wear in the water.
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The windy second day stirred up some waves that made it a bit tougher to relax in the water. You do not want to get the water on your face as it stings your eyes and lips. So we took our photos and then opted for the mud masks — from head to toe. The mud is supposed to have properties that make it attractive for spa treatments. It certainly did something — it is incredible how soft out skin felt. The hype about the dead sea treatments can’t be just hype.
While at the Dead Sea, we stayed at the Ein Gedi Kibbutz. A kibbutz is a commune and is a popular way of life in Israel. People have freedom to choose to live in the commune, unlike in communist nations, but as a part of the commune, they share in the work and belongings of the community. The kibbutz has morphed over the years, and many now cater to tourism.
Ein Gedi is actually an oasis. In the middle of the desert, there is a patch of lush green with waterfalls and pools. We hiked up in the afternoon for a dip.
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We spent a night in Tel Aviv in between Nazareth and Petra and finished our trip with another night in Tel Aviv. Heading back from the Dead Sea, we took the highway through the West Bank. We didn’t venture to any Palestinian towns, but saw the fences and roadblocks imposed on the borders. It really left me with mixed feelings. We also some great signs while driving through the desert warning us of camels!
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Back in Tel Aviv, this time we headed into town first. We visited the art museum where we saw pieces by Piccaso, Monet and Van Gogh and others. We ate frozen yoghurt Israeli style with fresh fruit toppings, wandered through the market and found an nice sidewalk restaurant for lunch. Then it was too the beach to catch our last rays, dip our toes in the Mediterranean one last time and watch the sunset on our Israel trip.
Crossing the border from Israel to Jordan was a real experience. It is the first time that we crossed an international border that felt like a real border. Each side had the armed guards at the gate with watch towers, barbed wire and a strip of no-mans land in the middle. We couldn’t take our car with us, so we parked it and carried our bags over to the other side. From there we grabbed a Taxi to drive us the 2 hours to Petra.
Living in a big city and a wealthy nation, it seems foreign to us to take a Taxi long distances. But in some parts of the world, it is very affordable (by our standards) and the most efficient way to travel. For the same cost of catching a taxi across town in London, we were able to travel the 120km.
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We arrived in Petra in the evening just in time for the Petra by night tour. Our first views of the ancient city came walking down the luminary lined canyon to the Treasury — the most famous of the stone carved building facades. It is also featured in one of the Indiana Jones movies (can anybody name which one? and which scene?).
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This magical introduction was followed by a full day hiking through the ancient sites. Out cab driver’s advice was perfect — we stared early and hiked to the opposite end first to see the Monastery — the second most famous building. The early start kept us fresh for the 800 stairs at the end and we beat the crowds to have the place to ourselves. We enjoyed an early box lunch provided by our hotel while taking in the view.
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While eating lunch, we met the local goats. They were looking for food and weren’t shy. A big one approached us and headed straight for our bag. I moved the bag and gave him a ‘shoo’ as usually works with a dog. This goat was more persistent. He continued for the bag and didn’t have a problem going through me. K and I looked at each other and realized this was going to require more effort. I stood up and blocked the goat with my back to him while K quickly gathered up our things. The goat wasn’t happy about this and gave me a bit of a buck on the backside. With all but K’s sweater in our hands, we thought we were clear. But you know that saying about goats eating anything? He went after the sweater! Fortunately we beat him to it and made our get-away. It was quite comical. And even more comical watching the goats approach the next group of hiker’s arrive. We managed to catch one goat on video struggling with a bag.
That night we learned to cook some traditional dishes at The Petra Kitchen.
After two days in Petra, it was back to Israel for a dip in the Dead Sea. I’ll wrap our trip with that and Tel Aviv in the next post.
Since returning from Israel, we have been busy with a marathon and a trip to Champagne that we got a bit behind on our posts. We’ll catch up this week to fill you in on our trip to Israel.
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The trip had its ups and downs, but finished on a high. We also ventured over to Jordan which we really enjoyed and prompted us to joke that the highlight of our trip to Israel — was Jordan. During our trip we dipped our toes in the Red Sea, the Dead Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee.
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It all started in Jerusalem. And that’s where we started as well hitting the holy sites first thing. We watched Jews pray at the Western Wall (or Wailing Wall) bobbing their head up and down. We walked around the Dome of the Rock, the mosque built over the rock that is the cornerstone of the world — where Adam and Eve were formed, Issac was commanded to sacrifice his son, and Muhammad ascended to Heaven. And we saw the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus died on the cross. We thought it odd that every holy site has a church or mosque built on top of it — but I suppose that helps to protect (or claim) it. The highlight though was the sunrise service Easter morning at The Garden Tomb.
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Israel has a perplexing mix of old and new. Wandering through the souks and stalls in the narrow winding streets of the Old City reminded us of Marrakech and Stonetown. Yet only a half mile away and we strolled down a wide modern pedestrian street lined with global brands that reminded me of the Streets at Southpoint.
While the guide book says you could spend a week in Jerusalem alone, we found two days to be plenty and headed up north on the third. Unfortunately, this is where we hit a few bumps in the road with our GPS and bank card. We spent the afternoon in Akko and enjoyed a nice seafood lunch overlooking the Mediterranean from the city’s ancient walls. Billed as the best of Israel in the guide book, we expected more Cinque Terre charm than it could muster and were glad to head inland in hopes of catching the sun set over the Sea of Galilee.
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It was here that we witnessed first hand the air pollution challenges of a small industrialized nation as the sun disappeared long before it hit the horizon. We did dipped our toes in and chatted with some of the locals camping out for their holiday weekend. Still battling to find some place that would take our bank card, we escaped the stress on the Jordan river. Renting kayaks we half floated, half paddled down the river. The river banks were lush and green and we felt we escaped the pollution as well. A small rapid provided a bit of a thrill to contrast with the real-life version of the amusement park’s ‘Lazy River’.
Wrapping up our time in the north after two days, we stopped off at Tel Aviv on our way to Jordan — which I’ll tell you about tomorrow.
