A Charming Walk Through Greenwich Village

Kara and I arrived in New York City last night around 10:30 p.m. We are staying at the Crowne Plaza Times Square on the 20th floor. We were hungry after our flight so after checking in and dropping our bags we headed across the street to an Irish Pub that closes at 4 a.m.  

We have lots of plans for our time in New York but nothing that begins early. We slept in this morning. This is our "get acclimated" day. We headed out around 11 a.m, got our unlimited 7 day Metro card and boarded the train going the wrong direction. I did say we were getting acclimated. Once we were on the right train we headed to Greenwich Village in search of breakfast at Banter restaurant. By that time we were getting the hangries. We went that far because Kara had read an article that talked about how good the eggs were there. It was worth the wait.

Re-fueled we walked up the street past Justin Memorial Church

and into Washington Square. I love Washington Square. For me it has the vibrancy and diversity that makes me love New York.

From there we started our charming walk through Greenwich Village. We walked past the red buildings of Washington Square North to the dead end street of McDougal Alley to the Jefferson Market Library (formally used as a courthouse).

We strolled down Gay Street and then passed the trapezoid shaped Northern Dispensary building where the once down-and-out Edgar Allan Poe sought medical care.

It wasn't far from there to Sheridan Park across from Stonewall Inn.

We peeked through the locked gate at Grove Court, built as workingmen's cottages and are now sought after residences.

Around the corner are two buildings called the twins. They are two identical homes built for sisters who didn't get along with each other.

We ended our building tour with this odd little white house where the woman lived who wrote "Goodnight Moon."

I enjoyed strolling through a New York neighborhood. These were some of my favorite sights. Here are some of my favorite things along the way. The locksmith shop with the outside decorated with keys;

the door that had the person's opinions on tablet paper taped to it;

The and the church with the awesome signs.

After indulging in a most delicious peanut butter cookie We headed back to our room to rest and regroup. Then we headed for a fair trade chocolatier on Madison Ave. I was hoping to have chocolate mailed to my children for Valentine's Day but was informed I had to do that online. 

We got a small box for later consumption and walked down towards the Empire State Building. We noticed we weren't far from Bryant Park and so we headed there. What a winter wonderland.

By now it was time to head for Tavern on the Green in Central Park. We ordered the prix fixe meal. It was heavenly! The perfect meal to cap a most excellent day.

Jaffa -- an Ancient Sea Port

Another morning without my alarm going off. Isn't this the way vacations should be? Zandra is feeling enough better that exploring Jaffa is in her future. We went downstairs to enjoy the hotel's buffet breakfast. Laurie was already there, on her third cappuccino. She woke up early and was doing some creative thinking. Since the two times Zandra has had allergic reactions to breakfast foods she has been very careful. She was having cereal and orange juice when she had her worst reaction yet. This time it went down her arms. Laurie ran up for Benadryl. They have the drill down now. Stephanie joined us and while she ate breakfast we watched Zandra fade from red to pink.  We all wish we knew what caused that reaction. Laurie gave her extra Benadryl in case she has this reaction on the plane tomorrow.

After breakfast we decided to explore Jaffa together. Jaffa (or Joppa) is where Jonah got on a boat to Tarshish trying to avoid God's call. Joppa is where Peter had a vision on the rooftop of Simon the Tanner's home. The vision was of a sheet floating down from heaven. It was filled with unclean animals. God said, "Don't call anything unclean that I call clean." (Acts10) It is also where Tabitha was healed by Peter. (Acts 9).

We headed down by the water and passed a mosque with this sign.  

We took the stairs up the side of the hill. I had studied the map and thought I knew how to get to Summit Park. We were looking for the ruins from the Canaanites, Hasmoneans and Ramses II.  It is always dangerous to act like you know where your going and find out you are leading everyone astray. We did not end up at Summit Park but St. Peter's Church. A painting above the altar depicted Peter's vision of the cloth coming down from heaven. I had imagined a little bigger sheet.

At Kdmium Square we saw the zodiac fountain. We are still confused by one or two of the representations. 

We enticed Stephanie onto a camel that wouldn't roll onto its side while she is on it.

The Visitor Center at Kdmium Square is underground and is part of an archeological park. We had read that we could see catacombs down there. The air conditioner was broken in the Visitor Center and it turns out there are no catacombs. We decided against paying the 30 Shekels. So we walked down to Simon the Tanner's home. That is where Peter was when he had the vision. You can't go inside. 

We wandered further down the stairs poking our heads in galleries along the way. There are some amazing artisans in Jaffa.

We finally reached Jaffa's port, among the most ancient ports in the world. 

By then we were sweaty and hot. Have I mentioned that Israel is ungodly hot! We ate popsicles while we looked out at the sea. It revived us a bit. Stephanie and Laurie left to walk the promenade and find a place to eat dinner. Zandra and I climbed back up the steps in search of Summit Park. First we crossed the Wishing Bridge. You are supposed to find your Zodiac sign, grasp it, look out to the sea and make a wish.

The summit of Summit Park has a great view.

It also has a statue that captivated me. It is made of three stone slabs. The stone across the top represents the battle of Jericho. 

One side represents Jacob's dream of a ladder to heaven.

The other side depicts Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac.

We finally found the ruins. This is the Egyptian gate with Ramses II's name.

This is the Canaanite wall.

We headed to the Jaffa market. Along the way we found an ice cream store that had 14 vegan choices. We had ice cream. I know we just had popsicles but before you judge us you need to know it was oppressively hot. We found the Jaffa market but it left me feeling too claustrophobic.

For our last meal in Israel we ate at a beachfront restaurant called Manta Ray. Our food was fabulous and the view was great.

We stayed until the sun set.

We walked home with the sea breeze blowing through our hair and the sight of St. Peter's church in the distance.

It has been an amazing journey through the Holy Land. I will be chewing on what I have learned for a long time. Tomorrow we go home. 

Tel Aviv

Today (June 24) would have been my husband's 60th birthday if he hadn't died of a massive heart attack. I miss him every day but special days ramp up my grief. I have been privately processing my pain for several days. I didn't set my alarm this morning and I woke up having dreamt of him. I always love when I dream of Bryan. It feels like he came to visit me. Bryan and I had talked repeatedly of wanting to come to Israel with Bob Mullins. I am taking the trip we wanted to take together. I feel like I run into that reality over and over again. 

Laurie had arranged for a late check out today.  We took our time at breakfast until the manager reminded us that breakfast ended at 10 a.m. Zandra, Laurie and I headed to the pharmacy up the street. I wanted to purchase an anti-inflammatory gel that requires a prescription in the States. What a different experience it was to go to this pharmacy.  Every shelf was gleaming and fully stocked. 

Then we headed to a ceramics store we have walked past repeatedly and it was always closed. It was open and the things inside were even more lovely than we imagined. I have been looking for some presents and I found just what I wanted. 

Once we were checked out we took our bags down to our parked car. Laurie had downloaded the Jerusalem parking app so we didn't get a parking ticket. Stephanie is taking over the driving to Tel Aviv now that Bob is headed for his dig. We went to the Ben Gurion airport and turned over our trusted rental car. This Kia has served us well. We met our shuttle to our hotel in Jaffa -- the Market House Hotel.  It is just steps away from the Jaffa Market and the beach. The location is perfect. The hotel rooms are the size of a dorm room. Only one person can be moving in the room at a time. 

Zandra wasn't feeling well. I am afraid she caught her cold from me. She took several medicines and was feeling quite nauseous. At 5 p.m. the hotel serves appetizers in the lobby. We went down to enjoy them before dinner. It became apparent that Zandra was too sick to go to dinner. She headed back up to the room and the rest of us went to Puaa--a hipster restaurant in the Jaffa market. We had asked my son, Brett, to research where we should eat. This was his recommendation. The food was outstanding. The decor was garage sale decor. Everything in the restaurant was for sale-- from the dishes on which we were served dinner to the pictures on the walls.

I had read in my guidebook about an incredible ice cream place that uses fresh ingredients from the market. We never found it but we found a place called Golda's. I had chocolate caramel with salted almonds....best ice cream of my life. As we walked back to the hotel the Jaffa Market was closing down, which made the street art more visible.

We took some food and water back to Zandra.  Then Laurie and I headed out to watch the sunset. We walked past the clock tower. 

We climbed the hill to the Old City of Jaffa.  The sunset was all it promised to be. Jaffa is a very cool place. I hope Zandra feels better tomorrow when we explore Jaffa.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

It is Shabbat in Israel. Which means everything in the breakfast buffet is cold. Toasters aren't allowed on Shabbat.  One of my learnings is just how religion trumps consumerism here. It is inconvenient but it shows the importance of the practice of one's faith in this society. It is impressive.

Bob picked us up and we headed the six miles to Bethlehem. Bob has been to Bethlehem many times but he was usually on a bus leading a tour. Our rental car is not allowed in Bethlehem because it is in the West Bank. So we decided to park the car and walk across. The guide book said we could grab a cab on the other side for about 20 shekels. 

It took awhile to figure out where to park and which gate to use to cross into the West Bank. I had my passport ready but no one ever asked for it. We were past the wall before we knew it.

We came out to a sea of waiting taxis. I felt a little bit like we were open season. The cab drivers all started suggesting we pay them 200 shekels a piece for two cabs to go to the Church of Nativity then the Shepherds' Field and then back to the wall. We were unprepared for the pressure of this event. We wanted to take taxis between those places when we wanted to leave and we didn't want to pay so much. We decided to walk the 7 km. They followed us and said we could all fit in one taxi for 150 shekels. We agreed. I got the front seat but the other four were jammed in the back. We were excited to visit the place where Jesus was born.

We had gone about three blocks when the police pulled us over in an out of way place. The cab driver got out and pleaded with them. It was over in seconds. He got back in the car and said he had been pulled over for having too many people in the car. He said he told the police he was just driving us down the hill to a monastery. He took us there and dropped us off and said he would be back. I figured we would never see him again.  We milled around outside and Bob pointed out the Shepherds' Field in the distance. It's a valley, not a hillside.

Very shortly he returned and said the police had made him pay 300 shekels and were now waiting for him around the corner. Pretty soon another cab driver showed up and said we should split into two cabs for 150 shekels a piece. It felt like a scam to get us away from the taxi stand so we would pay anything. Again we told them we would walk. Eventually we agreed to 50 shekels per cab to go to the Church of the Nativity. The cab driver for the car I was in kept saying, "Why do you have to make this so hard?"  When we arrived at the Church of the Nativity we had an awkward feeling about the whole thing. We just wanted to go where we wanted. We felt like they were the ones who made it so hard. We had to keep unpacking that event for the rest of the day. This is the church it took so much hassle to visit.

The Church of the Nativity is shared by three religious groups: Greek Orthodox, Armenians and Roman Catholics. It was hard to get the full picture of the place because they are doing restoration.

Parts of the Helena church still exist making it the oldest church in the Holy Land. When the Persians were destroying churches in the Holy Lands they left this one alone because it had a piece of artwork of the three Magi and the Magi looked like them. Under the modern floor are mosaic tiles from the early church.

We got in the line that formed down the right side of the sanctuary. It is the line to go into the cave under the chancel area. It is said to be the cave where Jesus was born. As we waited in the long line Bob explained the church to us. He told us that in the time of Jesus it wouldn't have been odd for a family home to be built above a cave so they could use the cave to house the animals. He said it was possible that we were about to visit the place where Jesus was born. 

The way down into the grotto starts with a semi-circle set of stairs that leads down to a narrow doorway. It was a zoo of people jockeying for position. The stairs were steep and I found myself quite worried aout how I would navigate with my knee. Bob and Zandra stayed close and eventually I made it down the steps into the sweltering hot cave.

On your right there is a star on the ground. Tradition says that this is the place where Mary gave birth to Jesus.  In the middle of the star is a hole you can reach down through the to touch the smooth stone below. Again, there was no way I could kneel down so I had to just look and not touch.

Directly across from the place where Jesus was born is an area said to be where the manger was.While we were down inside the grotto Bob ran in to a man he went to school with and who he hasn't seen for years. We were again reminded of what a deep history Bob has in Israel. Up out of the cave and into fresh air we went next door to the Catholic Church of St. Catherine.

In the photo above, the man of the statue with the skull at his feet is Jerome. This church is also built over a cave, which is said to be where Jerome (from the 4th century) studied and then translated the Latin Vulgate. We went back down another set of steep stairs. The first area of the cave is surrounded by tombs which are said to be the tombs of the innocents. The innocents are the male children under two years of age that Herod had killed hoping to end the life of Jesus before he could grow up and become king. (See Matthew 2.)

A large area next to that first room is said to house the tombs of Paula and Eustochium, two wealthy women benefactors of Jerome. 

The area said to be Jerome's study was gated off for a group having mass. They were Africans and we guessed them to be from South Africa. Up a narrow hallway of the cave you come to a wooden door.  Bob says that if you watch the Christmas Eve mass from Bethlehem you see the Catholic priests move through this wooden door and up into the Church of the Nativity.

Once we were back outside we decided not to go to Shepherds' Field. We had seen it from the monastery when the cab driver dropped us off abruptly. We split up and went shopping in Manger Square. Zandra has a cold and I have been sporting a bad cough the whole trip. We headed for the nearest pharmacy. It was an eye opening experience for me of life in the West Bank. There was next to nothing on the shelves. Zandra explained to the man behind the counter what she wanted and he got his last box for her. I wanted cough syrup. When he gave me change he counted it out twice so I would know he was not cheating me. I know we have a fence and barbed wire between our country and Mexico but a wall within a country is new to me. It was very distressing. When we came out of the pharmacy we hiked up the hill rather than back towards Manger Square. We found ourselves in the section where the Palestinians shop, not the tourists. Parts of it felt very much like a garage sale. And then there was this. 

Starbucks does business with Palestinians but you won't find them in the rest of Israel. At our agreed upon time we got back together. This time we made a plan. Only one person would negotiate with the cab drivers and we would go as high as 30 shekels per cab. I was hot and tired and hungry and I hoped we weren't walking back the 7 km. We were successful. Back to the wall we went. This time we had to put our things through the scanner. Then we had to go through a passport check. As soon as they saw our American papers we were sent right through. Bob told us that we would have been in long lines to get back in if it hadn't been Shabbat. Our car was where we left it and we drove back to Jerusalem. We parked the car on the street. Bob walked to the Gloria and we walked to our hotel. Bob leaves early tomorrow morning to begin his dig. 

We met for dinner at the Focaccia Bar, one of the few restaurants open on Shabbat. This is a celebratory meal with Bob. We shared our gratitude and spent time processing our major learnings in Israel.