Blogs from Haifa District, Israel, Middle East - page 6

Geo: 32.812, 34.9987We don't get a lot of sea days on this cruise. I think there's only 6 or 7 out of the 33 days on board. Most days are spent in ports where activities and tours are available. Mom likes these sea days where she can get up later and wander around on the ship. She doesn't like to swim because there are too many people around on those days.We hung out by the pool. I worked on the blog while Mom went to the shops on board to browse. The weather was, of course, beautiful so we spent some time on our balcony. Just a nice relaxing day. Tomorrow we head to the last of the three substitute ports we were given in lieu of Israel called Nafplion. We'll see If this place is ... read more

img=https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=29ecb9dad9&view=att&th=13feb88c992f4a69&attid=0.1&disp=thd&realattid=f_hj87dklc0&zw img=http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-prn2/c112.40.497.497/s160x160/226663_1877200502682_5136569_n.jpg My friend Alexa and I were sitting at my favorite cafe in Haifa, the Kapiot café, discussing my concerns about my age related tipshoot (silly) behavior. I turned sixty five in April. The once twenty minute walk to the cafe now takes thirty. It is more due to the fact that I almost always seem to forget something than physical conditioning. I forgot my ex- wife's birthday for the first time in March. It was on my calendar which I neglected to review. Beautiful young women like Alexa now seem like granddaughters of grade school age. My once healthy appetite for dining has greatly dissipated. Alexa tried to reassure me that things are not as ... read more

img=https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=29ecb9dad9&view=att&th=1404d31eb0c6a312&attid=0.1&disp=thd&realattid=f_hjzb3qqy1&zw img=http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-prn2/c112.40.497.497/s160x160/226663_1877200502682_5136569_n.jpg By Sharon Amov and Earl Shugerman: Sharon is an eighty six year old widow and recent immigrant to Israel. I immigrated to Israel at the age of fifty nine alone as well. She is from California. My home was in Colorado. Below Sharon tells her story. My dear husband died a few years ago. I was desolate. The loneliness was overwhelming. I missed him terribly. For many years I struggled to regain my balance, and then I decided to move to Israel, to live near my daughter and family. They made aliyah or immigration to eretz Israel fifteen years ago. I remember my flight to Israel, peering out of the airplane window, viewing the outline ... read more

My wi-fi connection is tenuous here in Binyamina, Israel, so I am not able to dictate, as I usually do. Therefore I will write a short blog today. There is not much to say about the day anyway because it was a traveling day. I left Heathrow bright and early this morning and had a stopover in Paris Charles DeGaulle Airport. We were delayed taking off because, reportedly, one passenger refused to submit to security screening and finally the plane left without him. Getting through passport control and customs at Tel Aviv airport was much easier than I expected. Despite what I had heard and read about the in-depth Israeli questioning, it turned out to be less intrusive than when I entered the UK. I took a taxi to the B&B where I am staying in ... read more

where can I start except to say spectacular! such a different place and so memorable. Our guide picked us up at 9am, we headed to Nazareth, then on to the Sea of Galilee. We went to lots and lots of places where events such as the sermon on the mount were held. The landscape was amazing. From there we decided that we'd like to head to the dead sea to swim, a 2 hour drive but it was really worth it, a huge highlight for the kids. On the way we crossed into Jordan, Palestine and no-mans land - still full of landmines. We drove through the desert and the temperatures skyrocketed. We saw the recently opened Baptismal site in no mans land. The landscape looking into Jordan was just amazing, none of my photos do ... read more