Back in the Holy Land for the first time in 10 years, and it was definitely worth the trip to come out and see Alan, even if just for a few days. While I did not really do a whole lot of sightseeing, I had a great chance to spend time with a very good friend of mine while celebrating Yom Ha'Atzmaut in Tel Aviv. I even got a chance to see me cousin - and meet her husband for the first time. As with just about everywhere else I go, this visit was too short, but I guess that is [View Full Entry]

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My first three days traveling made for an interesting time, to say the least. It is amazing that one can so totally detach himself or herself completely from the real world that has been left behind to go traveling. Except, of course, when someone really wants to talk politics in an election year. Barcelona is a wonderfully active, vibrant city constantly flowing with people, and full of tremendous architecture. It is the city of Picaso, the city of Gaudi. However, my memory of my time here will forever be dominated by my Omi's passing yesterday, the 5th of May 2008. I [View Full Entry]

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The funny thing about Venice is that just about everywhere in Venice looks like everywhere else in Venice, but nowhere else in the world looks quite like the place. It is also a city that you need to get lost in - which is very easy, by the way - to really enjoy. Getting lost in Venice allows you to see the real bits of the city and to get a feel for how the people in the town actually go about thier daily lives away from the main touristy points (Piazza San Marco, Ponte Rialto, Academia, Lido) and the routes [View Full Entry]

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Ok, for some reason, the previous entry was cut off early. So, here is the exciting conclusion to my trip to Wales... The hilight of the day on the road, though, was the ruin of Castle Y-Bere. This is an old Welsh-built castle that was destroyed by Edward I in his invasion of Wales. What remains are really just the bare bones and bases of the walls, so it is not all that impressive in and of itself, but you can see that it once commanded the valley in which it sat and that it was once a very impressive and [View Full Entry]

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Ridiculously awesome weekend in Wales over Easter. I didn't sleep much the night before after a very late Shabbat dinner at the Taylors and getting up early to make the 7am bus from Victoria. I also didn't get much sleep on the trip, so I was working almost entirely off adrenaline - but it was so worth it and I never felt like I was too tired to do anything along with the group. Luckily, we had a great bunch of people who were cool and fun and we all got involved with each other (ok, to be fair there was [View Full Entry]

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It has been way too long since I have seen the girlfriend. Funny thing, you don't realize how much you miss a place like Austin until you come back. Even in the excitement and culture of a very metropolitan, cosmopolitan, international city like London, you sometimes miss a place so laid back, so cool as Austin. Friday, February 29th: Ok, my flight isn't actually until tomorrow morning, but my Austin weekend really started tonight. After getting out of the office and having a quick pint with 2 of the Scots (doesn't exactly narrow that down at C&B, I know), and before [View Full Entry]

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Saturday, February 16th, 2008: We had a bit of an adventure getting down to Hastings today. Dad's flight got in late this morning, then there was a problem with the Picadilly Line, so he had to take the Heathrow Express, which put him at Paddington. Well, the train left from London Bridge, and with the little distractions and bumps in the road, he got there just in time for us to see the train pull away from the station. We eventually got one from Victoria towards Brighton, but this apparently was not the best train to be on...so we changed at [View Full Entry]

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In case the refrence is lost on me when I read this again in 20 years, the trip is Lisbon and Sintra (kind of like Frank, except without the "a" and no connection to New Jersey). Both absolutely gorgeous towns with castles and lots and lots of hills. Lisbon = 'Frisco b/c of the large, orange suspension bridge, the hills and hilly streets, and the trolley cars. Both cities are also excellent ports with their respective oceans to their wests. Onto the trip... Friday 02/08/08: Took a half day of work and jetted off to Lisbon via Luton airport. Crappy airport. [View Full Entry]

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Oxford: Friday, January 13th 2008- Got up way the hell too early this morning for having been at a birthday party last night. I didn't drink all that much, but I still got in late, so not all that much sleep last night. I did, however, make the train with about 10 min to spare and made it off without a hitch. Train ride was fine and I got a lot of reading done. Well, with the threat of rain today, I decided that I would take a walk and cover as much ground as I could through the colleges in [View Full Entry]

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Edinburgh with Bethany 12/28/07-12/30/07: Friday- Definitely a good day. British Museum with Bethany to go see the exhibit on the First Emperor of China. I had already seen it with Dave, but it was still worth a 2nd look at the whole thing. Not that I missed much, but the warriors, images and artifacts will good to see again to gain a better understanding. After that was a bit more walking around that part of town, and then back to my place to finish all the packing and set off on the hour+ tube ride to Heathrow. No problem at security [View Full Entry]

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