Israel

Less than 72 hours earlier was I on the exact same Easyjet plane flying back from Austria. The human condition is strange, what sets us apart from most other animals is our ability to adapt and adjust to conditions and surroundings. Despite this phenomena, Easyjet flights remain an outlier that I simply can't get used to. I secretly like to consider myself a EU Discount carrier frequent flyer. Flying in excess of 15 times this year I still have found the right formula to flying comfortably. I'm sad to report that this 5 hour and 40 minute flight would be no different.

Our trip coincided with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, the 8 day festival of lights. From our experience in Israel, this religious holiday lacks the commercial punch of Christmas but is still held dearly with the Jewish community. It's a stark contrast, the humble Menorah, Dreidels and the delectable sufganiyot, or Jewish doughnut. Then again, you can't really compare the two religious events.

I've had high expectations of Israel so much so that I feared disappointment, the Holy Land, a rich cosmopolitan of history, culture and nightlife. Our 4 day adventure would take us around the major tourist areas. Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Bethlehem as well as Masada and the Dead Sea.

Tel Aviv

Eden House, our accommodation base (well Eden Blue House on the final night). I screwed up the accommodation book a little by blindly booking double rooms as opposed to twins. Fortunately, this would not be a major issue as we would be disgustingly intoxicated and sleep would be a luxury of this trip. So, back to Tel Aviv. First impressions of the neighbour hood, quite dilapidated, I say this not with my nose turned high but as an observation. This run-down façade would later give off a romantic charm to the area. Another observation, why are there so many cats?

Food wise, very good. The produce we had was extremely fresh and tasty and the same can be said about most food throughout Israel. I've a new found appreciation of eggplant (or for you English, Aubergine) and the mixed Mezze. Spinaches, beets, cheeses, corianders, soft flat breads, hummus and the succulent meats, delicious, I could eat those as mains! We dined at two restaurants, one a local Cat Themed restaurant and the slightly finer dining Alma Beach based Manta Ray.

Due to our limited time in Israel, we only had Sunday as a free day to roam around Tel Aviv at our on leisure. With this, we decided that the Carmel Markets and Jaffa would make up our daytime agenda. Really, liking this city, such an electric vibe around the city. Most definitely consider coming back in the new year.

Party wise we managed to get to the main areas within Tel Aviv. Rothschild St, with plenty of nondescript bars, the slightly more relaxed Florentine with it's bohemian vibe and the traditional Port Tel Aviv, home of the super clubs. One of the few places in the world where a late night kebab and falafel isn't the sign of a bad night out.

As with most Middle Eastern countries, the weekend starts a day earlier with Saturday marking the start of the week. It was a nice surprise to find plenty of people out on the Saturday evening. We later found out that most people worked half days during Hanukkah. With that in mind, we headed down to Port Tel Aviv, Nemal the home of the super clubs. Feeling somewhat under-dressed and more importantly, old, we headed south to the bar-centric neighbour hood of Florentine. Excellent place to bar hop, each bar has different décor, unique atmosphere and the friendliest people you could meet. Our night ended in a convenience store with the store keeper desperately trying to persuade us to save our money and walk home. 10 minutes later we left the shop with precise instructions how to walk home, turned the corner and jumped into the first cab we could find.

The problem with Tel Aviv, is that there's so many small streets that most cab drivers aren't familiar with. Of course, our lodging's was no exception. Sure enough we found ourselves standing in the middle of nowhere in the middle of Tel Aviv. One of us, in dire need of a restroom ducked into a local pub to use the amenities. Overcome by guilt she thought the least we could do is buy a drink. A round was ordered and the bar tender decided that it would free drinks for all in the bar. We stayed late into the evening, drinking and singing. Excellent night-life!

Jerusalem + Bethlehem (Day 1 of tour)
6:45 am. Well rested with 2 hours of sleep, we checked out of Eden House and trudged over to the Mecure, to be picked up for the start of our mouth watering 2 day tour. There was no shortage of tour companies around Israel but we opted for Egged Tours which we had booked online back in London. Not 10 minutes into our journey did we have to travel to realise how rich in history and how much culture was on offer. We passed the field were David allegedly fought Goliath, learnt about the Bedwins and the significance of Olive Oil and Trees to the Israelis. Our first major stop was Jerusalem which in all honesty was a fair bit to take in. Sites included, Dome of the Rock, The Wailing Wall and the Crucifixion site, The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Amazing tour, yet so strange walking through the three different quarters, Christian, Muslim and Jewish quarters. Unbelievable.

For lunch we were herded to a falafel bar, we weren't the only tour group eating here and the food was unsurprisingly crap. Immediately after lunch we were again, pushed into a gift store where we were encouraged to 'shop around' while the tour organised the tour guide within the Palestine grounds of Bethlehem. Sure enough, the store was filled with tourist and paraphernalia only a devotee could imagine. The wait took nearly 1 hour which was apalling! Finally we were allowed to cross over into Bethlehem.

The Israeli security was strict with passports required to be shown upon entry and exit. Crossing over, you could tell you were in a different place, kids harassed you to buy gum and postcards and there was a heightened sense of activity and alertness. The main drawcard of this part of the tour was the Church of Nativity, better known as the birth place of Jesus. The first day ended spending a night back in Jerusalem checking into Park Plaza, indulging in the hotel's buffet and passing out due to sheer exhaustion.

Masada + Dead Sea (Day 2 of tour)
Last evening's attempt to explore Jerusalem by after sunset was a failure. The trade off to this was the indulgent 8 hours of sleep we were treated to and the not so good movie, From Paris With Love. At 8:45 the following day we embarked on our tour towards Masada and the Dead Sea. We had exchanged our mini van for a fully fledged tour bus and a new tour guide. Within 30 minutes we were driving along the coast of the world's lowest point, 418 metres below sea level. Not surprisingly, we were pushed into the Dead Sea gift store and were soon caught up in the novelty and fever of dead sea products.

The UNESCO site of Masada was something else, the ruins of what was once fortress and hide out of Herrod sounded impressive back in its hay day and 2000 years later did not disappoint. Ambitiously we tried to climb up the 90 metre accent in thongs but were denied and forced to take the cable car, good call. The tour was well conducted and treated to historic recount of the great siege of Massada. Immediately proceeding lunch we started for The Dead Sea.

Armed with the knowledge of the Dead Sea and my budgie smugglers we headed down to the shore of the world's saltiest body of water. The water, if you can call it water itself was so viscous it resembled oil more than water. We had been cautioned into entering the Dead Sea gracefully and gently. There was a science to it. Slowly step in, avoiding all the sharp objects by the shore, in fact wear thongs if you can. Then, ease yourself down into the squat position and sit down on you backside. The high salinity would take care of the rest. Sure enough, feet, body were floating on the water, this provided entertainment for the best part of 20 seconds. The nutrient, rich mud proved to be more of a novelty than floating and soon we were covered head to toe in the mud. The salt was ridiculously painful in the eye not even the accidental rub of chilli in the eye comes close to the excruciating pain of having 38% salinity in your eyes.

So there it is. Israel, an amazing trip! I decided that 4 days was nearly not enough time and I've already decided this is one of the few countries I would return to.

The high level of security was also something else. On the way in we were cautious of the risks of having an Israeli stamp in the passport. On the way out we were shipped off to terminal 3, and interrogated at the airport, countless scans, particle samples and passport quizzes. The stamps of Malaysia, Dubai, Morocco and Indonesia raised some eyebrows but after convincing them that I was nothing but an Australian traveller I was granted my seat on the flight. We boarded the flight with minutes to spare and were soon flying back into London. Flight back was deadly long and uncomfortable and we arrived back in London well after midnight. Still, it was a lot earlier than the previous weekend.

Krakow

It's time to dust off the keyboard and re-invigorate the fingers. My hiatus has been warranted, at least I believe so. November, simply put has been consumed by work. It gnaws at my patience, infiltrates my social life and leaves me in a stupor incapacable of discerning reality from office life. In other words, work has been busy. The exodus of expats has slowly come to a halt and despite the reduced numbers each weekend unfolds like the many before: hazy, distant, reckless and spontaneous. Of course, we can't forget one of the mains reason for being in the UK.

To travel. Next destination, Krakow. We had heard good things about Poland, relatively cheap, decent grub laced with plenty of culture. Unintentionally this had somehow ended up as a lad's trip and the had been billed by some as Bucharest, part 2. It turned out to be an intense 30 hours in Krakow and one of my favourite weekend trips to date.

Relatively cheap. We managed to get flights for around £68, one night at the Holiday Inn for £33 including tour prices and spending money the trip cost approximately £250.

Food. Not too many surprises here, follows the traditional Eastern Europe cuisine. Plenty of meat, potatoes, sauerkraut. There were a couple of gems that we stumbled across.

Mushroom Soup - Served in a loaf

Zapiekanka - The perfect after hours snack

Plenty of culture. I'll spare you the details but since coming back I've found myself immersed WWII history.

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Salt Mines

Hookah - 30 minutes before the leaving for the airport

Home. Early flight back, time to meet my new house mates!

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - George Santayana

Long weekend: Madrid

There are particular words or phrases that transcend countries and cultures. Take for example, "Hot summer". For many Londoners this is regarded as any temperature that takes the mercury past 24 degrees Celsius. It should be noted that any sunshine is enough for a local to rip off their t-shirt and head to the park for some much needed vitamin D. Another example would be the phrase "Summer Bank Holiday Long Weekend". This on the other hand only means one thing in London: "Get out of London for 3 days!". So naturally we did that. The destination? Madrid, Spain.


I raced home after work, that's right folks, I'm employed and at this moment in time not enjoying it (but that's for another post). Did my laundry and turned in for an early night a couple of hours later I was up and out of the flat by 3:30 am. At 4:00 am I caught the Easybus 757 from Gloucester Place and was shuttled off to Luton airport.

The flight was bearable and allowed me to catch up on some much needed sleep for the weekend ahead. I awoke 30 minutes before landing to find my neighbour eagerly looking my way. "Sorry, I didn't want to wake you, do you mind if I go to the toilet?". Such manners, makes me wonder what would have happened if I had said "no" and gone back to sleep.


Disembarking from the plane we were greeted by our host at Madrid Barajas International Airport. It should be noted that the person we're staying with I have only met once in my life. Immediately we were whisked away back to her place in Getafe. Upon entering the house we were exposed to a beautiful house with modern decor and an adorable 1 year old baby with a knack of calling everybody "baba". Congee was served for lunch followed by a quick car wash and our afternoon spent absorbing European Art at Museo del Prado.



The 2 hour stroll through the museum with our lack of sleep had finally caught up to us. Taking it upon ourselves we indulged in a little afternoon Spanish ritual known as a siesta. At 10 pm we headed out for dinner (normal time apparently). On the menu tonight was Japanese/Chinese cuisine at the delightfully and delicious Jade Colonial. After many months living in London, the freshness of the food was welcomed by all. With all members sporting sizable bags underneath the eyes we sucked it up and hit the town for a spot of partying. We were driven to Buddha del mar which oddly reminded me a little of Tao in Vegas. The night ended in a blur: €200 for a bottle of vodka. Drinking games. Intoxication. Sleep.

Despite having little to no sleep the previous night we awoke scattered about the house wanting more sleep. In Spain "Hot summer" represents 35 degrees of unadulterated warmth framed by cloudless skies and 9:00 pm sunsets. Given the nature of our previous day we lazed about the pool for the majority of the day. Water tests had revealed that the pools PH levels were fine but the chlorine levels left much to be desired. Which meant a lot of water watching but that was fine by us. The next couple of hours we sat in the shaded area of the local Mc Donalds followed by more water watching and chatting until sunset. Traditional Spanish cuisine for dinner: Tapas and cerveza.

Without a doubt the underlying theme of the holiday has been relaxation and laziness. Monday was no different, I was awoken to the sound of Usher blasting through the hallways. I suspect this was no coincidence but more of a polite way of waking the guests. Given our previous days efforts (or lack there of) it was decided we take a train into Madrid downtown and walk about the shopping district. Urgency was required as we raced home, packed and headed back to the airport only to be advised that our flight be delayed. Work is going to be a struggle this week ...

Scotland

During the course of my adventures I've come to realise that new cities fall into one of two categories. The first are those places which are distinctly unique. These are the places which scream individuality and ooze a distinct culture. The other, are places which lack the redeeming feature that sets is apart from the rest. Descriptions of such places usually begin with "This kind of reminds me of...". Glasgow, is one of those cities. Of the 15 hours of so spent in Glasgow I couldn't help but make comparisons to other cities, more specifically Australian cities. It would be best to describe Glasgow as Melbourne populated with people from Penrith.


After an interesting night out in the town we awoke to gray skies and rain. Our Glasgow sightseeing was severely limited to indoor activities, more specifically the Museum of Modern Art or shopping. With those two options we jumped on the first train and headed east to Edinburgh.

Edinburgh falls into the latter category of destinations. Immediately stepping off the train you're greeted by cobbled streets and medieval architecture. The city of Edinburgh was bustling with tourists and locals, many of shops, pubs and restaurants were overflowing with festival go-getters. We dumped our luggage at the hostel and headed to a traditional Scottish pub for some local cuisine.

It would be decided that our afternoon agenda be spent with a leisurely trek up Arthur's Seat (Despite protest from the girls). The ascent was cardiovascular workout, the descent provided comical relief in the form of wrong-footed slips and falls accompanied by plenty of groaning (Again, the girls). Feeling extremely exhausted I headed back to the hostel to sneak in some shut eye before our evening ghost tour.

The ghost tour of Edinburgh would be better classified as entertaining as opposed to scary. Our over-exuberant tour guide took us through the underground vaults or Edinburgh, through the narrow alleyways and finally to the cemetery. One particular eerie moment occurred with the group huddled together in the underground room. We were told by our host that "Behind that wall bodies were buried. Visitors to this particular room have reported the sensation of warm breath with the lingering smell of stale rum against the back of their necks". Then somebody farted. It was then, I knew I would not be scared.

Feeling drained and uninspired we opted for a quiet Saturday night. Turns out we were sharing our hostel room with a one Natasha Lea Jones of Pooka fame. The following day we explored Edinburgh Castle and treated ourselves to some free Fringe Festival entertainment.