Life in a Letter: Where the hell was I.............

Remember this, should you really be telling people information
when it is not your information to pass on

Ok it's been a while so this could be epic. The boys needed souvenirs and for some reason they seemed to be hidden from our sight so there was nothing else for it than to jump in the car and head for Tel Aviv market, now we were cooking, there was everything we could possibly need, including shawarma which they ate whilst walking through the market. It was a glorious day and we walked up and down collecting the things we needed, for me it was cheese, and for Craig it was fridge magnets, Glen settled with his shawarma, and they say Craig is the tight one hahahaha.

After that it was time to head back before I headed out to Ben Gurion once more, this time I was collecting The Duncan's, their flight arrived and they were ushered into the car and driven to the apartment they are staying at on the beach front, quick change whilst I waited at the lights with my flashers on, blocking traffic can be such a naughty thing to do, especially when usually it is being done to you, pay back is divine. Once changed we headed back to Herzliya left the car in the office car park and headed for Mike's place, and that is where we stayed watching the footie with the Mather boys, The Duncan's and the work mates. The trouble with being in Israel is the footie starts after 10pm which makes for a very late night, but all is good only My Beloved had to get up for work.....

I was rudely awoken the next morning not by Vivienne the vixen, but by her housemaid screeching down her phone in the garden and smoking tabs, she got a spare piece of my mind let me tell you, she has been quiet since!

I left the boys sleeping, well I think they were sleeping as noisy housemaid was below their windows, I headed to get my valentines, nail treatment and hair cut which turned into highlights, I did argue and say no! I don't want highlights but he was very persuasive, but I did put my foot down when he told me he wanted to create something with my haircut! I don't think so sonny, do you know how long it took me to grow it back after the last haircut, just trim it. So he huffed and puffed and with every snip of a very small piece of hair he flipped it over his shoulder with disgust, it really was quite funny. The end result was a very nice set of highlights which blend the white, I always thought they were grey but he informed me I had white hairs, great I went from grey to white overnight when did that happen, obviously being in front of the mirror with no glasses or lenses it not the best way to pick up on your advancing years.

So after spending hours and hours in the salon I eventually exited and went home for food I was starving, the boys finished the last of their packing and then it was time for the airport run again, Ben Gurion and I are becoming very well acquainted. The boys were dropped off and then again I headed home to Herzliya, My Beloved was in a presentation late in the afternoon and not expecting to be home early, but surprise, surprise he called and I collected him then fed and watered him, the poor guy was wrung out. It was great having the boys over, my house is way to quiet without them, well apart from the neighbours that is.

Friday we headed into Tel Aviv to collect The Duncan's then we were off north to The Wine road and The Carmel winery for some wine tasting, well it would be rude not to, being designated driver can be so dull when there is alcohol involved, but it was all good I got to sniff each taster and then got to pick the wine we were buying to take home. From the wine road we headed to Haifa and the Bahai gardens for photos before heading to the Germany colony for Fattoush, we were famished having not had breakfast I could have eaten a scabby horse, but in Israel they don't sell that in the supermarkets.

Our meals arrived and we filled our faces with the lovely dishes of shawarma, minced veal, tahini, rice and more, each meal was delicious and certainly made that hole in my belly shrink a little, we then headed home for a quick change before getting a taxi back to Tel Aviv, My Beloved and I waited at Mike's Place in Tel Aviv whilst Arnie and Sonya changed then we were on it like sonic once again, we drank we wandered, we drank we wandered, we found a lovely restaurant to eat and then we drank and walked and drank and wandered, eventually stopping at Ben Yehuda for our last drink of the evening, the trouble with The Scots arriving in Tel Aviv is they have bought with them plentiful supplies of oxo cubes and Deveron Whisky, and foam burst shower gel, but really did they have to bring the weather, since the two of them arrived the weather has bottomed out and we have only to get snow to be thinking we have been transported back to Turra toon, next time they come we will make sure it is the height of summer and then nothing can go wrong with the weather, can it?????

Shabbat was spent once again in Tel Aviv, we met at LuLu's for a late breakfast early lunch and then wandered down to Hatachana for a browse and a drink in the sun, then it was a drink inside as the weather had changed yet again, the boys bought us a lovely bottle of Badgers creek and we supped away every drop, today was not a day I would be driving. From here we headed for the New port area for a quick shop for Mrs D, a small jacket and trainers were purchased, a quick snack under cover as the heavens had opened and the rain was threatening to wash us away, and then it was quick change for The Duncan's again and back to Herzliya for myself and My Beloved to change.

On arriving home we went though to the bedroom to discover the patio door had smashed inside and outside luckily it was still in tact but the splintering was quite unnerving as you could actually here it cracking, well if you were quiet enough that is.

We headed out again and tonight we were treated to a lovely meal by Arnie and Sonya at Meat Bar, it was delicious, but we were all so stuffed we had left no room for drink, so it was a very sober evening but perfect.

Yesterday was a day tour to Jerusalem and Bethlehem and it was a great day out, very tiring and I felt like we walked miles not least of all across the border control into Bethlehem on the West bank, a very surreal feeling walking down the path into Bethlehem, it was such an odd feeling, you can tell the difference between the Israeli side and the Arab side, there is a lot more of a run down look about Bethlehem, and it reminded me of Nazareth. The Church of the Nativity was beautiful inside and the newest part of the church was truly gorgeous, we arrived just as the Morning mass was finishing, and I realise this may sound odd, but it was great to see that the church was full to overflowing with people celebrating Sunday Mass.

We headed for lunch after Bethlehem, this was taken in a Monastery atop a hill, and then it was off to Jerusalem city and a whistle stop tour of the Old city, our guide must have been on speed because one rather large and unfit gentleman told him about his speed walking and it didn't slow him down any.

Today was my third trip to the Old City and still I am learning, our guide was both informative and funny and it was a great day out, with so many highlights, and I can't wait for the next trip.

View from the Church of The Nativity Across the West Bank

Site of the Sheperds flock

Via Dolorosa ("Way of Grief" in Latin) is a road in the old city of Jerusalem, a path where Jesus was lead in agony, carrying the crucifixion cross. There are a total of 14 stations along this path, based on events that occurred on the way to the Golgotha hill, the site of crucifixion, which is located at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Eight stations are marked along the old city road, while 6 additional stations are places in the compound of the church. Via Dolorosa is located within the old city of Jerusalem. It starts from the place where he was tried and convicted - near the Lions Gate on the eastern side (Muslim quarter). It ends in the crucifixion place, Golgotha, where the Church of The Holy Sepulcher is located in the west side of the old city (Christian quarter).