Jay & Nicole's Farewell Activities


	Jay & Nicole's Farewell Activities September 2011 *(click any picture for enlargement)*

*In early 2011 it was sadly confirmed that we would be leaving Israel. Even though we weren't scheduled to move until September, I began the messy pre-packing process much earlier.* When it came time to plan our farewell party, we knew we had to look for a different venue than our messy apartment. At that point we remembered a nice sailboat rental that we had a few years back. We contacted the same boat company and found that they rented out bigger boats ... yeah!
*Planning then began for our "Farewell Flotilla".* *Nicole created and sent out the following invitation:*


*OK, we didn't actually hire a Pirate Ship ... or even an Old Schooner ...*
... but this Party Boat was just what we needed!

On Sept. 7th ... promptly at 5:30pm, as should be expected from the many Swiss guests, we met at the Tel Aviv marina and boarded the boat ... along with our coolers and provisions. As we were loading everything, it felt like we were going on a 1 week cruise instead of a 2.5 hour boat ride!

	*The boat was actually bigger than we had requested, which allowed people to spread out.* *Most folks remained in the main area, but some went to the roof or to the front of the boat.*


*As we quickly motored out to sea, we got a nice view of Tel Aviv that we had never seen before.*

	*It was a very comfortable evening, with lots of sun and a little breeze ... perfect weather!* ===> Can you see the Embassy of Switzerland? It is located somewhere behind the hilly park; no one is working late tonight!

	*<=== The taller downtown buildings could be seen in the background.* *We headed north and could see the cities of Herzliya and Netanya in the distance. ===>*


*Erol and his adorable son were the most photogenic of the group; we hope this trip was a good father-son experience for them!*		*Steve, Nicole's replacement, got to meet some new co-workers.*


As we got further out to sea the view got better, but the waves got bigger. Since we could no longer move around without ending up in someone else's lap, we decided to return towards shore and look for a calmer spot. That way we could comfortably serve the snacks and beverages.

	*<=== Thanks to Delta scheduling, Kelley was able to fly in from NY for the party. As her and Jay were catching up on things, there was a loud airplane noise ... was it an attack?* ===> Luckily it was only a plane from the small airport which we were getting close to. We found a little cove, which was nice and calm.

*As the boat anchored, Jay called everyone up to the roof.* *He then explained that the group needed to complete a little exercise before the snacks and drinks would be served.*
*The exercise was called ...*	*... Owah Tana Siam*	*The Ambassador was confused ... as that was no language he had ever heard before!*

	*<=== You begin by raising your arms and saying "Owah"* *Then you put you arms on your hips and say "Tana"* Then you reach for your ==> toes while saying "Siam"

	*As you repeat the steps, the pace is increased ... even faster ...* *... and the words mesh together.* *Give it a try to see if you get the somewhat embarrassing result!*	*Result: Oh what an ass I am*

*After this brief exercise ... everyone was sweating ... so they cooled off with a swim!*

*Jay began the exodus from the boat ... soon followed by others.*

	<=== Life preservers were thrown out ... ... for those who wanted ==> to protect their beer.


*The warm sea water allowed the swimmers to easily float.*	Nicole then began a routine of water aerobics ...	*... while others discussed the latest political topics ... ha!*

*OK ... time for a picture ...* *... smile & wave !*


*Refreshed Swimmers*	*It's now Happy Hour ... yeah!*	*Cheers !*


*The snacks and drinks were then put out ... hopefully to satisfy the famished crowd.*


*While the feeding frenzy continued, the Captain pulled up anchor & we headed back out to sea.*


*The old Tel Aviv port runs along this part of this coast ... it is now a huge tourist attraction.*


*As it began to get dark, the swells got bigger and the boat bounced around quite a bit.*


*We made a quick stop back at the Marina to drop off anyone who was feeling a bit queasy.*

	*We got back out to sea just as the sun was setting ...* *... and as other boats were heading back in.*


*After happy hour, people headed to different parts of the boat and did their own thing.*

*One of my goals was to see Jaffa at night, which ended up being as beautiful as I had hoped.* *Unfortunately, with the rocking of the boat, the pictures didn't turn out very well ... hopefully you have a good imagination!*

*After viewing Jaffa we turned around and headed back to the Marina ... too bad we didn't jump back into the water at that point, as the trip ended much too soon!* *There was another rental after us, so we had to quickly clean up our mess ... which went fast with everyone's help.*

Since most people had to hurry home, we had very little time to chat after disembarking. Overall Nicole and I had more fun than we had expected ... we hope everyone else did too! Note: When the boat was docking, we were a bit concerned as Erol's son began to cry uncontrollably. We could only smile afterwards when we learned that he was sad because the trip had ended; cute! *Thanks to Danit and her boat rental company ... and to all the Farewell Flotilla participants!*

*Jay & Nicole say Goodbye to Jerusalem*

	We took Nicole's replacement Steve, and his family to Jerusalem for an introductory tour. We started with breakfast at the American Colony Hotel, which is one of the more famous places for foreigners to stay at. *<== Doris, Alex & Steve*

*While enjoying the wonderful buffet breakfast, we met up with Tanya, a Palestinian friend who works out of the Jerusalem office.* *We also unexpectedly ran into Lucas, Laila & family ... Swiss that also work in the local office.* *Jay, Tanya & Nicole ==>*


*We then drove a short distance to Jerusalem's Old City ... a 1km x 1km historic walled area.*


Once inside the walls of the Old City, we entered the labyrinth of small streets packed with people ... residents, vendors & tourists. There are people from many different cultures living in this area and most of them get along ok with one another.


We walked to our favorite viewing spot on top of the Austrian Hospice, where we got an overview of the Old City. Within this view are some of the most important historical & religious sites in the world. The area by the golden dome, in the picture above, has very important Jewish and Islamic sites. The tall dark domes, on the right side of the picture, are important to Christians ... we'll look at them all!


We walked towards the golden dome and came to the area where the Jewish Temple stood 2000 years ago. Located in this area are the Dome of the Rock (D), Western Wall (W) and Al-Aqsa Mosque (M).

*The Dome of the Rock is a very beautiful building. It houses the rock on which Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son.* *The Old Testament tells the story of Abraham and is revered by Jews, Muslims & Christians alike ... so this site is favored by all.*

*The Western Wall is the most important religious site for the Jewish people to pray. It is the only part of the Old Temple which is still standing.* *This site is also called the "wailing wall" since many Jews cry in sadness at the thought that the temple was destroyed.* *Traditionally they write a "wish" on a piece of paper and stick it into a crack in the wall ... they hope it will then come true.*

*The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third most holy site for Muslims.* According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad made a miraculous night journey from Mecca to this location on a heavenly horse. He held prayers here and then was taken to Heaven, before being returned to Mecca.

*We then walked through the streets and markets (shuks) to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is the holiest site for Christians.* *The outside of the church is nothing much to look at, but inside is an amazing series of complicated rooms and chapels.* This is the traditional site of Mount Calgary, where Jesus was crucified, washed and then buried; sepulcher means grave. Multiple churches were built on the sites where each of these actions took place ... then they were all merged into this very large structure.


*A mosaic wall depicts the crucifixion & an ornate chapel commemorates where it probably occurred. At some future date I'll create a much more detailed set of picture pages for Jerusalem.*

We shopped for some last-minute souvenirs and then concluded the tour. Upon getting into our cars, our beach buddy Nicolas and his friends walked by ... this world can sometimes be so small! Nicole and I went to Tanya's for lunch and we met her wonderful father and brothers. We had to say some sad goodbyes and then we headed back to Tel Aviv to face our hungry cat. It was sad to say goodbye to Jerusalem. With Old Town's many historical and religious sites, it is easily one of the most mysterious, intriguing and complicated places that I have ever visited ... and I doubt I'll ever see anything as interesting again. This city is "ground zero" as far as getting a peace settlement finalized and we hope to hear about some positive results in the near future!

*Jay & Nicole say Goodbye to Tel Aviv*


*When we first got to Tel Aviv, back in 2007, the inner-city looked big, crowded and un-inviting.*


*When we focused on the sea-front though, our perspective changed immediately.*

*I had always wanted to live along a sea shore and now we had a chance to live near a beach ...* *... and luckily Tel Aviv has one of the nicest in the world !*

*We looked for an apartment in the southern part of Tel Aviv, known as Jaffa.* *lt was further from work and "city life", but the places were bigger and we liked the idea of living in a 4000 year old area with a mix of Arabs, Christians and Jews.*

	*It was quite large, with three floors, four balconies & a large terrace ... where we spent most of our leisure time.*	*We couldn't see the sun set, but I saw the sun rise whenever I stayed up all night to watch an American sports event :)*
*We looked at many apartments and were very happy to find a place that was new.*


	*We ate most of our meals out on the terrace and had quite a few small parties out there; yummy BBQs, fondues & raclettes!*


*In the evening, we'd frequently take a 5 minute stroll to Jaffa's Old City; a labyrinth of small streets.*


We had a favorite place to watch the sunset from; wedding parties and foreign tourists provided some entertainment. A friendly ginger cat would often meet us and Nicole gave him drinks of water.


*From the top of the biggest hill, we got a nice view of Tel Aviv coastline.*


Nearby was our favorite beach bar, called Honey Beach. They were known for serving up a great local dish called Shakshouka ... which has a spicy tomato sauce base, with sausage and a couple eggs cooked in it. When served with pita and tahina (sesame seed paste) ... yum!


Further up into Tel Aviv was our favorite place to go for happy hour ... Mike's Place. Most foreigners ended going there, as the atmosphere was relaxed and the food/drinks were a good value.


The most enjoyable aspect of Tel Aviv though, was to spend time at one of the beaches ... ... which we could reach within a ten minute walk from home.


*The water was warm enough to swim during most of the year.*	*Playing paddleball was the most popular beach sport.*	*Reading and relaxing is what we did the most.*

*My inflatable kayak was quite fun to take out ... especially since I got some exercise while getting a unique view of the coastline.* *Unfortunately I could only use the kayak when it was calm, which didn't happen as often as I would have liked.*


*During the last few weeks we went to the beach almost every night for a swim, BBQ, or sundowner ... most of the time we were joined by our beach buddies Evelyne, Pascal and Nicolas.*

	*<== Preparing to be searched? ... or getting ready to do pull-ups?* The result of exercise .... ==> ... the kind where you lift the bottle up to your mouth

*Even though we'll miss every aspect of the beach life, we'll miss the sunsets the most :(*

*Each evening had a different scenario of waves and clouds, making each sunset unique.*

*Sometimes the sun looked striped, like Saturn and at other times it looked like it was melting.*


*The sunsets could also involve boats ... or kitesurfers ... or they were glorious by themselves.*

*So with heavy hearts we said goodbye to Israel ...*

*... and hello to Colombia ...* *... which will be the subject of another story ... coming soon!* Note: The Swiss Embassy is in the building on the right.

*Return to Jay's Main Page*