Snow in Jerusalem

It might seem strange that I am posting this post especially for people that are used to have this white powder every winter,but for us it is a very rare sight.

Jerusalem is a hilly city so the altitude varies but it is approximately 750 Meters (2,500 feet) above sea level and if it snows in Israel Jerusalem is the first to get it.

Jerusalem on average gets heavy snowfalls every 7 years. It is one of the most beautiful sites to see. The city stretches out, covered briefly with a thin layer of white. The streets are quiet, except for the laughter of children who are experiencing snow-- many for the first time.

 JERUSALEM IN 1922

 

When it snows or even when it is on the news “that it might snow in Jerusalem” people pack their kids,picnic basket and hit the road to see the “White Magic” fall from the sky,for some it is the first time ever to see SNOW.

The problem is that having only 2 roads to reach the city it creates road jams,cars get stuck and Fun becomes agony, but I guess this is the human nature.

Here are some beautiful pictures from the last days

             

Lets hope that the next snow in Jerusalem will be Next year …..

Celebrating Hanukkah at home

What is Hanukkah?

Hanukkah, Chanukah or the Festival of Lights is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days around late November to late December. The name is derived from a Hebrew word meaning "to dedicate," and during Hanukkah, the Jewish people commemorate the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the "Miracle of The Oil."

The Talmud says that after the Temple had been liberated by the Maccabees from Antiochus IV, only a day’s worth of consecrated olive oil was left to to fuel the eternal flame. Miraculously, it remained burning for eight days, which was just enough time to make more of the oil.

                                                                                                                         

As usual we celebrated the Festival Of Lights in our house with our children and grandkids,the traditional food is prepared ,candles are lit,songs are sang and prayers are prayed.

The grandkids love to help and stay late to play around.

              Zohar showing off her gymnastic skills.

            Grandkids helping Grandma in the kitchen

                   Lightening the candles & giving traditional presents.

                    The feast,it takes hours to prepare but it disappears in no time.

                                    The Grandkids having fun.

     The tradition is passed from one generation to another and it is always nice to see how the Grandkids are looking forward to these Holidays.

     Happy Hanukkah.

Day trip to Sumeria

We took advantage of a beautiful day in November to visit Sumeria where many holy places mentioned in the Bible can be seen.

Standing next to the place where Abraham took Isaac to sacrifice him at the Lord’s command is exciting , thrilling and sometimes hard to believe even if the place does not reveille in any way what happened there.

                                                                                                     

Looking at Josef alter ,a burial place with a long history backing thousands of years is unbelievable ,but so are most of other places in Jerusalem,Nazareth and the Jordan river.

                                                                                                                  

The view from Mt Gerizim towards Sumeria valley is outstanding, listening to our guide describing the historical events that took place in this area  really takes you back and when you let your imagination drift away –history can be felt just before your eyes.

      

In the summer there is not a drop of rain and the place looks like a desert so even a small spring on the way is a reward, a place to sit and take a break.

                                                                           

The Sumerian center was our next stop http://www.sarissa.org/sumer/sumer_rel.php ,we visited the center and listened to the head of the Museum about the interesting history of the people.

             

No trip is complete without home made tea made from herbs and some wine tasting.

  

We had a great interesting day , it started at dawn…..

                                                                                                       

and ended after a great sunset……

     

This was our first day trip since we returned 3 weeks ago from our 5 months long  summer RV trip in North America (can be seen in the privies posts),we hope to have some more trips during the winter before we return to the US to pick the rig from the place we left it to discover new places and meet old and new friends.

Wish  you all a great winter.

Back at home

We left Toronto on the 3 of November at 1330 local time landing on the 4th at 0720 local time ,a long 12 hour direct flight …and a long jetlag…

Our daughter picked us up and brought us to our house where our middle son ,his wife and two kids Rony and Tal stayed during the last 6 months while their new apartment was getting built-up.

We are used to come home after 4-5 months and are ready to for the challenge bringing the house and the garden back to normal but this time THIS WAS SPECIAL…Tal and Rony were there “camping” on the mattresses.

    

So Grandma Shula decided to join the gang and have fun.

                                                                                          

You all know the feeling when meeting your family after a long period of time ,especially when they are still very young,but with todays technical gadgets we can keep in touch through the SKYPE where they can see and talk to them hoping that when we finally meet they will not go “who is this”…

Here is what Tal thought  about the whole thing….”I have to go NOW”

                                                                                                                    

We had a great Rv summer trip but we are happy to be home with family and friends,see you all next summer in..Missouri-Arkansas and Oklahoma .

A stop in Toronto on the way home.

At the end of each summer trip we usually store the rig next to an International Airport (See previous post)and take a flight to Toronto to spend some time with our youngest son and his family,in Spring we do the same rout in the opposite direction so we see him at least twice a year,on the way from the winter storage and on the way to the storage.

Next January there will be a new addition to the family (their first daughter and our 6th grandchild )  so we will have another good reason to make the stop in Toronto before picking the rig in St.Louis in Spring 2014.

Our son and his wife moved from a small apartment  not suitable to raise a baby to a house  in the Toronto area,it is spacy  full of light and comfortable but you need a car even to the local grocery store.

The place still needs to be furnished but at the end it will be very nice.

     

I almost missed the foliage colors because of the strong winds that just blew the leaves away  but still managed to catch this one in their town.

Although the weather was not exactly fit for traveling around ,sitting all day at home is not our thing especially when the kids are at work,so we took a short drive to Unionville near Markham a  small beautiful old community  that kept the place atmosphere with a nice Main street,shops and restaurants.

 

At noon when we good hungry and cold we found a small Sushi place and had some hot spicy soup with sushi.

Strolling along the Main street towards our car we came upon a sweets shop where the Chocolatier “built” a statue with a Halloween spirit   all made  from  chocolate ,but we were to full…….

 

 

That’s it for the season,we are taking off tomorrow on a 12 hours direct flight and looking forward to see the rest of our kids and grandkids that we did not see since June.

It is the end of our 12th RV summer trip but it is also the beginning of planning our 13th RV trip to Missouri,Arkansas and Oklahoma.

See you all next year.