Jerusalem & Tel Aviv

View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

I left my hostel in Greece at 1pm. I took a 20min ride to the port. From Santorini I took an 8 hour ferry to Athens. From the port I took a 1 hour bus ride to the airport. At the airport I waited around for a few hours before my flight took off at 2am. When I landed in Israel it was 4:15am and I was in Tel Aviv. I made it through customs and baggage claim within 20min. After waiting for the sherut (shared taxi) to fill up we set off for Jerusalem- a 1 hour trip. I arrived at my hostel in Jerusalem at 6am. That was 17 hours of traveling. As it turns out the hostel did not have 24hour reception or 24hour check in as they state on their website. I banged on the door and waited outside for 30min. Finally let in, I slept on the couch in the lobby for 4 hours until I could check into my room at 11am (though I woke up every hour to see if I could check in). And that is how I arrived in Jerusalem.

Western Wall

In Jerusalem I reunited with Katie and Lauren (who had gone to Rome for a few days while I stayed in Greece), and we did a bunch of touristy stuff. We took a tour of the ancient city where we saw synagogues, churches and mosques. We also saw ancient Roman streets and marketplaces and the Western (wailing) Wall- the holiest place for Judaism. At the wall we wrote prayers on little pieces of paper that we stuck in the wall. In the church of Christ of the Sepulchure, we saw the tomb of Jesus Christ. Mount of Olives is a very sacred hill near the old city in Jerusalem. It is where Jesus first saw Jerusalem from. It is also the place that Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection. The Mount of Olives provides gorgeous view of the old city. There, we also saw Mary’s tomb.

Jesus' tomb

After some shopping involving much hassling and bargaining we ventured on to Tel Aviv. The beaches in Tel Aviv remind me a lot of Santa Monica- they are long, have sand colored sand, good body surfing waves and occasional volleyball nets. The differences: the water is clearer and there is less trash in it. Also the sand is thinner so it is sticky. Katie and Lauren left after a couple days in Tel Aviv, and I stayed to enjoy more sun and sand. While I was there, it was Yom Kippur- the biggest Jewish holiday. During Yom Kippur, everything shuts down. No cars are allowed to drive, no restaurants or supermarkets are open- nothing. It was crazy to see streets that are normally crowded with honking cars full of children riding their bicycles and parents pushing strollers.

beach in Tel Aviv

Israel pics so far: http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3034364017/a=138185395_138185395/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Greece

I'm so behind! I've been in Israel for two weeks now and it has been amazing. Before I get started on that though, let me tell you about Greece!

Greece began with a very long 9 hours in the Athens airport waiting for my friends to arrive from LA. I met up with Katie and Lauren in Athens where we spent two nights. We stayed at an amazing hotel with a roof top pool, from which we could see the Acropolis. We visited the National Gardens, the Temple of Zeus and the Acropolis of course. We also spent many hours enjoying the splendors of the roof top pool and bar.

(Acropolis)
Athens is a pretty dirty city and wasn't that pleasant to be in. Luckily we only stayed a short time before heading out to the island of Santorini.
On Santorini we stayed in Thira (also spelled Fira). Upon arrival we immediately hopped on a bus and headed to the black sand beach in Perissa- on the other side of the small island (a 20 min bus ride). The water was warm and the beach was lovely. Back at our hotel we jumped in the pool before getting ready for a nice dinner and night out on the town.

Katie, Lauren and I
Day 2 on Santorini was very similar to Day 1- we went to Perissa and soaked up the sun. We got plenty of exercise by swimming around and playing paddle ball. It was a lovely, relaxing day.
On the third day in Santorini we took a day trip to a volcanic island, a fishing village on the island of Therasia and ended the trip in Oia on Santorini to watch the sunset. The volcanic island was very barren (as you can probably imagine). There are a few spots where our guide skillfully dug into the earth and produced hot lava rocks.
We spent another couple of days enjoying Perissa and another black sand beach, Kamari, before Katie and Lauren left to spend a few days in Rome. When they left I headed to the cheap side of the island to stay at a youth hostel. I had a 5 bed dorm all to myself! I also pretty much had the swimming pool to myself too!
After Santorini I journeyed to Israel to reunite with Katie and Lauren.

pictures of Greece: http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3030813017/a=138185395_138185395/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

England (is always cold)

Rosie and Emelie and I on Rosie's birthday

After Italy I went back to England to see a few friends. I spent a week in Manchester to celebrate my friend Rosie’s birthday. Our friend Emelie from Sweeden also came to Manchester and the three of us had a jolly old time. We spent our days lying around in the backyard, going into the city centre and shopping at Primark- a very very cheap and fashionable department store. I also took a trip to the town of Kearsley, 20 minutes away from Manchester. The town was established by my ancestors long ago before they came over to America on the Mayflower. Kearsley is a suburb and mostly residential, but it was cool to see some family history.

After Manchester I went farther north to Newcastle and stayed with my friend Ryan from Santa Cruz. Ryan is a med student and therefore living a completely different lifestyle than I am (which was a good reminder that someday I will have to go back to work). We had a good time hanging out and watching weird British television. He lives in the city centre right near the river so when the odd chance arose that it wasn't raining or freezing, I took walks and went shopping.

Eventually I left Ryan to his important studies and went south to Nottingham. I wanted to go to a National Park but my timing was poor and I couldn’t find any available accommodation (it was a bank holiday weekend- everyone gets Monday off). So I ended up in Nottingham at Midtown Hostel. BIG MISTAKE .

The following account is not for the feint at heart, so do not read on if you have a weak stomach. When I first arrived at the hostel I was shown to a bed in what was more or less a hallway. I immediately asked to change beds. The guy at reception was incredibly rude and it took him 10 minutes to explain that I had booked the cheapest bed and that was that specific bed. I ended up staying in the bed but cancelled my 3^rd night at the hostel because I was so put off by the rude staff. In the middle of the night I woke up itching like crazy. I did not know what could be the problem and eventually fell back to sleep. In the morning I awoke with bites all over my face, neck, hands and feet. Bed bug bites. As with every other insect bite, I began to swell. And swell and swell. I ran straight to the tourist agency and booked a room at a bed and breakfast. I was extremely distraught and embarrassed of my swollen face so all I wanted to do was get out of the hostel and the city centre, fast. On my way out I complained to the hostel reception (same rude guy)- but through my tears I don’t think the message was quite clear.

For the next 24 hours I did not leave my room at the bed and breakfast. I had purchased some bread rolls, tomatoes and Clementines which I sustained myself on for the next 2 days. After one full day in bed the swelling was so bad that my eye was swollen shut and I could not move my fingers (yes I was taking benadryl religously). I began to panic but did not want to go to the hospital and just hoped that things would get better. It was scary. Eventually I was able to open my eye. It took 8 days for my face to look more or less normal. I still had red bites all over, but at least my eyes were the same size.

This experience was awful. By far the worst thing I've experienced so far this trip. There’s nothing worse than being alone, sick, hungry and scared for your life. I was very glad to get out of Nottingham and cold, rainy, infested England.

I spent two days with my friend Masha in London (we met a month earlier in Italy). It was such a relief to be in a clean place with a friend. We went for nice walks on the Heath (huge park in London). We had lots of tea and wonderful veggie fabulous meals. It was a very nice change from my previous few days and I am so thankful that I had a safe haven after such a disaster.

Now I’m in Greece and having a splendid time with my friends from Santa Monica- Katie and Lauren. I’m warm, tan, healthy, and have two eyes the same size. Life is good.

http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2969202017/a=138185395_138185395/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/