Finally, at long last, the big day has arrived! The Kohns excitedly left for the airport to board two separate planes. Yes, you heard correctly...Zachary, Benjamin and I flew ElAl and Yehuda, Leora and Joshua flew Continental.
July 15, 2010
Upon arrival, after my cell phone was not activated and I had a minor panic attack, we were all reunited and arrived safely at Sarah and James' house in Raanana. After a quick trip to Hertziliya beach, we all collapsed into bed.
July16-17, 2010
Friday was a fun day filled with a delicious pizza lunch at Tic Tac Toe Pizza on Achuza followed by an awesome afternoon at Park Raanana. Of course, the highlight was an amazing shabbat filled with great friends and wonderful stories. There's nothing better than being together with close friends :) We haven't even left yet and we already miss them!
July 18, 2010
Sunday morning was off to Jerusalem to check out our apartment, get settled and scope things out. The apartment was absolutely GORGEOUS! So much better than I ever anticipated...
We unpacked, went to the Mister Zol supermarket to stock up on some essentials, ate lunch in a mall cafe with Savta, and then walked and ate dinner with Savta and Roy on King George Street. On the walk back, Savta and Roy took us through beautiful, winding back streets and everyone was interested in the scenery and how new and different everything looked. An amazing, yet exhausting day.
After putting the boys to bed, Yehuda and I went to the kotel for a very emotional visit. Saying our personal prayers and spending quality "alone" time was truly special. Walking back to our apartment in the crisp beautiful Jerusalem night air, all I could think was that I cannot believe that we are actually here...
Truly the trip of a lifetime...
July 19, 2010
The kids (and I) all slept in. I'm sure that this jet lag will eventually pass...
Today we were determined to give the kids a flavor of what Jerusalem is all about -- different neighborhoods, people, customs, and flavors. We started by walking around Rechavia, our neighborhood. Then we proceeded to Mea Shearim and Geula. While Joshua was hot, tired, and unimpressed, the other kids thought it was quite cool to see how different the neighborhoods are from where we are staying and from Teaneck. After getting back into the car, we proceeded to drive to the Old City, straight through She'ar Yaffo and down the tight winding roads to the Kotel entrance. While Joshua, again, was unimpressed and Benjamin was fast asleep, the big kids were really in awe of the beauty and splendor.
Next we proceeded to Machane Yehuda, which was quite an experience. Joshua even perked up to the sights and sounds of the open air market. He thought that it was pretty cool to shop this way :) We bought delicious fruits and veggies, bourekas, rugelach, and toilet paper--a much needed essential. We then returned home to cook for dinner to start the fast of Tisha B'Av. Zachary eagerly cut all of the veggies for salad while Leora set a beautiful table. Dinner was delicious and after some nice baths, the boys fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.
I can't wait to hear to hear about Yehuda and Leora's trip to the Old City and to Ir David to visit the Kotel and hear Eichah. I'm sure that it was meaningful and emotional. I wish I could have been there, but someone had to babysit for the boys....
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