Friday, April 01, 2016

I went to Israel- post 1

No joke! A couple of weeks ago we went to Israel.
Light and stone in Jerusalem. Pretty much everywhere.
It was amazing. The last time we traveled to Israel, Dave and I were both 23 years old.  We ended up staying 2 years. We returned to the US just before our 25th birthdays, planning to to bounce back and forth living between countries as often as we could. But.. .life happened.  It took till this year, when a son who is himself 25,  gave us an envelope with already purchased airline tickets in our names, for the trip. We were speechless, in fact I still can't believe it, and we are already there and back! Also- the son? A keeper.
My closest friend from the Jerusalem days is a photographer there. She welcomed us into her home in the Baka neighborhood, and we joined in daily life. Above, our room in her tile floored flat, and the view from our window.
Debbi and her home.
You can wander all over Jerusalem without ever getting bored. And we did.  So many alley ways .
Our old neighborhood, Nahlaot. It has become bohemian chic. Our former landlords' flat is now the shoemaker's entrance. It is surreal to travel as middle aged tourists for a week, to a place you lived for months and months as, let's say, a more colorful young person.
Israel is easy to visit- and if you love handmade, even more so. Handcraft is celebrated everywhere. But so is wireless technology, and it makes life very comfortable when traveling. 
What photographers do when we get together. 
Apparently, Dave and I  looked more at home than we thought. We were constantly asked where we were from. We'd answer the US, and the reply would be "No, where are you from Here" meaning, they thought we were ex-pats. Dave's beard, which is long enough to exude a Jerusalem-like spiritual quest (but is, in fact, just a beard)  and my rusty but surprisingly returned Hebrew skills helped, I think.
Dave with street art on the closed shutters of the Mahane Yehuda Market, at night. More about this next post.
 Looking plenty touristy, hiking in Ein Gedi, a national park oasis in the Negev desert. Improved access has made it popular (good--but also a little sad). The water levels are so much lower-- we were looking forward to swimming in the waterfall pools. You can see we would have looked pretty silly if we'd tried.
In Jerusalem I wallked by one yarn shop, filled with  mostly acrylics and other non-wool blends, so I wasn't terribly interested (snob? yes) . They had a display, above left,  of what looked like cotton jersey bias trims wound into skeins , called Colombialand. It was very tempting. I wasn't sure what I'd do with it. Someone used it (I think) to yarn bomb/stitch bus benches in the neighborhood I was staying in. Brilliant!-the perforated metal became a canvas.
Street art on the shutters for Moses Eggs in the market at night.

I'll need to have a part 2--thanks for hanging in if you made it this far!

13 comments:

Kym said...

Ooh, my! Thank you for sharing your trip! What a beautiful place -- so nice to return to, I'm sure. XO

Manise said...

Wonderful trip! Such a thoughtful gift from your son.

Beautiful photos. I'd love to go and visit some day. On my bucket list. It is funny go back to places as an older person. Everything seems smaller and different- some due to change and some due to one being in a different place and time in life.

Carole said...

Your photos are fantastic, of course, and I feel like I was right there with you! So glad you guys got to have this experience.

steph said...

And they say you can never 'go home'.....looks like you all slipped into your old lifestyle seamlessly. What a trip!!! Can't wait for part 2.

Ellen Bloom said...

I loved watching your day-to-day posts on Facebook from Israel, but I really LOVE your description and photo collages on the blog!

Tobie said...

I was just there too! I go every year and stay for a month to play with my grandkids. I stayed in Katamon. I love your photos.

Trinity said...

I love travel posts, especially when they are to places I've never been to or even thought about visiting. Your photos and stories are quite convincing! It looks like a beautiful and vibrant place! Looking forward to part 2.

MarmePurl said...

Wow. Just Wow. All of it.

Tyche's Minder said...

What a great use for acrylic yarn. Beautiful photos, as always.

margene said...

How exciting to see Jerusalem though your artistic eyes. I love the patterns, colors, and textures of the beautiful and amazing city. Thank you for sharing your trip!!

pdxknitterati/MicheleLB said...

Wowowow, what a beautiful place and what a beautiful post! Thanks so much for sharing. And I love that yarn bombing!

Vicki Knitorious said...

WOW! WOWOWOW! The color, the light, the pattern and texture!! I am so looking forward to Post #2. And that son?? A keeper FOR SURE! What a fabulous gift.

Kirsten said...

I've finally found the time to sit down and read through each of your Israel posts -- the next best thing to sitting down with you in person and hearing about your trip. How did those portraits Debbi took of you come out? New Author photo perhaps? Those yarn bombed benches are incredible.