Our last day in Israel

Seems so long ago now.... We came home yesterday, exhausted after an early morning flight.

Friday morning saw us tidying up the apartment, one last play on the equipment before it all got picked up. Then for the first time we saw the place without it , really quite spacious and nice. Would recommend apartment to anyone thinking about Israel as their next holiday destination.

Pre lunch stroll around the Old Port in Jaffa, just south of Tel aviv. Paul had a revelation while we were in Israel " Bloody hell... is this where Jaffa oranges come from?" . So we had to put this on out itinerary before we left.

Poising for the camera, it was really pretty if a little over renovated!

Entrance to the harbour , and on the right, supposedly "Andromeda's rock" A greek myth which an American family shared with us.

View from the restaurant where we ate lunch. We had tabbouleh, made with cracked wheat, very healthy with a side order of Falafel... mmmm. Daniel had shrimp tempura without the chilli sauce... finger licking good!

Tel aviv as seen from Jaffa. The beach stretches all the way along the coast...we stayed beyond the edge of the picture.

Daniel drinking Jaffa orange juice in Jaffa.... a photo moment!

We followed this trip with a last visit to the beach. The "boys" were trying to tunnel under the mat, all in the name of therapy! So we stayed on the beach until 6pm to try to stretch out our "holiday"!

 Dinner out on the marina, followed by a mad packing session so that we could get a couple of hours sleep before we headed to the airport.
In true Paul fashion the trip to the airport was timed in true military fashion... and we arrived at precisely 3.30am, 2 hours before our 5.30am flight. So we had just started to queue through the first security check, when we were approached with the question "where are you flying to?" response Zurich with Swiss air... then question 2. "Why are you late?"
We looked at each other thinking but we are bang on time, when she told us that in Israel you must turn up 3 hours before departure, they have to check for bombs.... all we could do was apologise. She fast tracked us through!!!
As it was 2 hours was just about the right amount of time, as after passing through the copious amounts of security (We were deemed bomb free and safe to travel!) we boarded and had an uneventful, on time flight home....

Would we go back to Israel?   Yes!

I am going to have a few days off from blogging, lots to implement and catch up on now we are home. Also Nonna comes to visit tomorrow so time will be precious this week.
However I am hoping to continue my blog, so watch this space for updates!



Home !!!

I will update later, but have added pictures to my Dead Sea blog.

Jerusalem....

Well we coudn't come to Israel ad not got to Jerusalem....

So Ornit had suggested we take it easy in the morning at the beach here and then head over to Jerusalem after lunch , and the heat of the day was passing! So thats what we did.

We arrived in Jerusalem around 4pm, and the car park that Paul had painstakingly programmed into "The GPS" didn't exist so we abandoned our little budget car down a steep hill and prayed it would be there on our return. Off up the hill we headed into the old city of Jerusalem via "Dung gate", this led us immediately to the entrance to the Western "Wailing" wall.

The boys outside the The Western wall.



The men's side of the wailing wall... The ladies side was busier but also smaller!!

Sorry today we forgot the camera so picture quality is rubbish again. We didn't get the full experience but Paul and Daniel did go and rest the hands on the wall.

From there we got lost in the street market for hours, of course we bought some "stuff" and Tshirts.

Lots of the streets of the market are covered by vaulted ceilings, a real rebbit warren. I strongly recommend a street map not the Budget rental car map. After exiting at the Damascus gate, re-entering the warren, walking along Via Dolorosa, drinking a big expresso and asking at least 3 different people  we found "The Holy Sepulchre".

We found it....

It is quite amazing as a church as there are 5 different denominations represented within it!

 This is the empty tomb, we didn't queue up to go into it....



 So after a few more wrong turns we eventually made it out into the Jewish quarter for some dinner.

The old city is really diverse as all the different religions live, work and respect each other within it! How it appears to us as tourists anyway!! It is very easy to tell which quarter you are in by the cleanliness levels.

We left by the Dung gate again, and saw the end of a Jewish wedding. It is really pretty at night.

Thankfully we found our car where we had left it down the hill.... Of course navigating out of Jerusalem was a long, and winding path. We passed a police car parked at the side of the road... not sure if they were pointing a radar gun or a real gun....
Again something we saw alot of inside Jerusalem... Guns, soldiers and security!!!

Off to Jaffa today for lunch....

The Dead Sea

Therapy finished yesterday, and I needed a night off from blogging...

So that meant today we had to put into practice some of what we have been learning... It was tough! Daniel was expecting a team of people to descend and there was only us!!! When we said we are going to the Dead Sea his first question was "Who is coming with us?" "Shai or Anat?"

So the next few weeks will be challenging for us, all of us!

Off we set for the Dead Sea, around 80km. Strangely our GPS didn't recognise anything after Jerusalem... I say stangely but I have already explained the GPS system, say no more. So in good old fashioned style we consulted the rental car map! Not too difficult a route to follow.

The approach from the car! The Dead sea is quite far below seaa level, and around it is pure dessert. It was quite hazy but the bluer piece above the dessert is the sea. the coast on the other side is Jordan. We were stopped by the Police not far from here...asking the purpose of our visit!!!

In such a short journey I was amazed by

1. How many cars broke down at the side of the road.
2. How many people were stopped by the Police, and looked like they were receiving tickets.
3. How closely we drove to the West Bank barrier wall, and how gruesome it looked.
4. The number of camels saddled up at the side of the road.
5. How many soldiers we saw. We did cross into the west bank, (this is where the Dead sea is located) And we were stopped by the police and soldiers.

Eventful for an hour and a half trip... we also received a call from Ornit, just as the sirens started, telling us "Don't worry" there is a practice siren, evacuation day today ( Thankfully someone had already warned us) but then she said "Got to go to the shelter" and Paul was like why do we need to too???

That is the West bank with the wall dividing the 2 areas.... after taking this picture there was a check point, where I saw a soldier checking someone's pictures on their camera! I put my camera away for a little while!

Dead sea arrival coincided with lunch, so we took our time just to allow mid day to pass. I am really pleased we had read about the Dead sea and what to expect before hand...

1. You have to pass through what looks like desserted no-man's land.
2. Pay to enter.
3. Hike down to the water... it has receeded so much!
4. Walk across the mud flats...
5. It is pretty ming mong!

Pictures will follow... I used the proper camera today!

However having said all that it was pretty amazing. The mud experience I can take or leave, but the salty, tingly, floaty experience was great. Even Daniel had a relaxing float... the most relaxed I have ever seen him in the water before. He wasn't really impressed by the mud either. In the water you have to be so careful not to drink the water or get it in your eyes so we didn't insist too much on the mud front. Also it is weird but you can't swim on your front for this reason, and if you do your legs just disappear up behind you and the lifeguard tells you off!!! We thought maybe 10 mins in the water and we would be done but an hour later and we were still having fun.
The temperature guage hit 38 degrees there.

Paul has ticked off another life long ambition. He also says I have to write that the Dead sea shrinks down by a metre every year and the beach recedes by 15-20 metres.

A photo opportunity....

Jerusalem tomorrow? Watch this space !

Day 8...

Yes, we have had 2 tough days, emotionally and physically drained! My imagination is being drained through the day as we are really putting into practice all we have been observing and learning.
We are not attempting to become experts at this but we are hoping to make a difference to Daniel and his development. We are all constantly being challenged by people, situations and environments... and the last couple of days haven't really allowed for any frivolities.
Our lead therapists today, said that they don't always achieve all their goals with the families who come for short periods of time but with Daniel they have succeeded. Although I think Daniel has surprised them all with his unending enthusiasm for play! The rougher the better!! We have one very bruised little boy, but he had fun getting every single one of them. Well most of them...

A recommendation if anyone is thinking of visiting Israel and requires directions. Lots of sign posts, and street names are in Hebrew and English, however if someone gives you an address before you set off, ensure your Sat Nav recognises and can find it!!! After our first experience we learnt that you had to check in Google maps the name of the location, then type it into Sat nav to double check... preferably where you have Internet access. We received an email Saturday giving us direction's to Shai's house. Firstly the Street name was spelt 2 different ways in the email... "Bat hen" and "Bat chen". Google map said "Bat Khen" and the Sat nav found this. The actual street sign said " Bat chen". The village didn't exist on Google map by any spelling combination... When we arrived spot on time . Our host was really surprised!  We didn't let on that we had spent 30mins preparing for the 25 min drive before we left home...

It doesn't help that we have borrowed a "Mio" sat nav. Paul keeps telling/ shouting at it to stop being so "smug" and give up the directions before it is too late... Last nights drive home involved a 2km trip round the block back to our original departure point, followed by a  missed turn due to lack of warning from the "Smug bitch" (Paul's expletive") adding 5km onto our trip. Sorry if you are the proud owner of one of these but they are a rip off.

We have had a major break though here ... Drum roll... Daniel can go PEE PEE all by himself and he flushes the toilet! "Hallelujah".

One more day of therapy . We are getting ready for our free time. We think we are definitely going to Jerusalem, The Dead Sea and maybe Jericho, We are open to advice.

Exhausted

Today has been tough and we arrived home at 9.15pm  from therapy!

Apart from therapy today we drove to Ceasarea, up the coast, more to give Daniel a sleep in the car!

I need to sleep so will update tomorrow....

Shakshouka

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakshouka

Paul has had a Shakshouka day.... lunch and dinner!!! Bearing in mind this is really a breakfast dish , he was doing quite well!
We went to Tel aviv port area , (day off) and had a walk on the boardwalk... Daniel cycled. It isn't a port anymore, but somewhere to promenade and eat, cycle, run, shop....eat....

This was Daniel with his pirate sword, his parrot is the orange balloon attached to the back of the bike.
Apologies for the quality of my photos, I am using my iphone as it is the only way I can upload to the computer... we forgot the camera cable!

So we had a sunny 32 degrees today, all are a little pink.

My culinary tour today started in the "Mystic cafe" for an expresso. We have no machine at home, so every opportunity to get one while out is pounced upon!!
So I noticed these people being served something about 10 inches, so intrigued I had to ask what it was???  "Kubaneh" this isn't the way it is spelt but how Google found it. Bread that is baked forever but isn't hard... served with grated tomato, chilli dip, hard boiled egg ( still in shell) and salad. So that was my lunch...

I had already started when I took the foto and mine had been cut in half. It was really tasty!

Home for a dip in the pool upstairs, Daniel didn't fancy the beach... being a Saturday it was heaving with jet skiis, so I was happy to go to the indoor pool.

Then it was time for dinner and we had been invited to Shai's house with all of our therapists and kids. So of course on the menu was Paul's new favorite dish "Shakshouka", with Israeli focaccia made by the kids, salad (typical israeli salad doesn't include lettuce) and baked aubergine with tahini. Daniel eventually had a great time, and was even trying to tap dance.

So tomorrow is "Monday" here and back to the grind stone.

Shabbat ....

Yeah the weekend starts earlier here!

Today it seemed a good idea to someone that we would do some therapy in the big Fleamarket in Tel aviv ... Sheinkin Market. Not a Flea market as we know it , but where you can buy everything from fresh fish, jerusalem spices, rubic cubes to dancing dragons (Daniel's purchase!)

These type of markets are not top of my list of things to fit in... especiallly for 2 hours in 30degree heat but off we strolled. Well we had fish waggled in our face, sweet pecans thrust in our mouths, dollops of cooked rice sprinkled with fresh herbs splatted in our hands and cool juice at the end of it all.

 

The advert for the juice bar!

Paul bought, on a recommendation some of this.... we were told it was cheesy and savoury! So we thought mmm ....lunch! Wrong it could not have been sweeter, and unfortunately reminded us of our recent friend the cockroaches  and it's tentacles! Paul hasn't been deterrred and is slowly munching his way through it.

Something we encountered 3 or 4 times today in Tel aviv was people walking around carrying puppies and kittens which they were trying to sell in the street, to anyone. If I lived here we would have a house full, it is too sad!

Tel aviv is just jam packed, the number of cars , and accidents we have seen is reminisent of Italy. Driving isn't as crazy here thankfully.

Lots of public places here to have "security" cordons around them and you have to show the guard your handbag, empty your pockets etc. So for some reason the fleamarket wasn't in the cordon, but the nice craft market which followed on from it was!!

Sheinkin Market reminded me of the big market in Torino "Porta Palazzo"... I felt less threatened here in Tel aviv.

We are free tomorrow and unsure yet what we will do. Top of the recommendations is the Port in Tel aviv. We are such rubbish tourist we haven't yet even checked it out on the internet.

A late cycle this afteroon around the marine and Paul was contemplating his next purchase....

"Which boat shall we get Daniel? Above left or below right?"







 

This is home at the moment. We are on the far right , looking on the other direction!

Just up thanks to an early morning call from number 1 son, and posting my blog which I thought I had lost last night.. Off to investigate what we will put on our agenda today. This evening we have been invited out to Shai's house for dinner, with his family and some of the other therapists. So I don't think I will be posting this evening!

Have a good Saturday....

Mashed potatoes!

You know it is really hard to think of a title for your blog everyday... and I could just go along "Day 1,2,3 , but today I have used Daniel's new favourite food which surprisingly (for me anyway) appears frequently on the menu here. I mean in restaurants! Our gastronomic tour continues. Although yesterday my culinary skills were stretched when I had to make mash potatoes and was reduced to boiling the potatoes in a Frying pan.... it just didn't feel right! Luckily the taste wasn't compromised.

So here is Daniel waiting for his mash today for lunch....

We went bowling this morning  where Daniel was a "skittle" and then we did some aversion therapy... Daniel doesn't like dressing up.....

Therapy this morning was lots of fun for Daniel!

I sneaked off to the hairdressers while Daniel and Paul enjoyed the park....

Hence sweaty boy with smiling Mummy!



Hairdresser's is cheaper here, comparing to Switzerland, on par with UK. They spoke English too. A nice experience for me : )

We went to the beach in the centre of  Tel Aviv this afternoon, so we sampled the coffee there too, Daniel had an ice-cream....

The sea is there on the left somewhere....



Then it was home time for some evening sleep therapy.

Today required a supermarket trip, so I shot off and left Paul at home with Daniel. (This was after a 3 hour therapy session so justified time off). It is just so confusing! The Supermarket that is....

I bought some sausages for Daniel's lunch, which were really tasty but  ....too spicy! I bought some things which looked like mini cornish pasties ... so good Daniel asked for seconds. I bought some wotsit resembling crisps but... they were peanut flavoured and not only that they were filled with peanut paste... minging! And for Paul I bought what I thought was a green pepper salad... but it was green chilli salad!

Half of one later I thought my ears were going to fall off!

Luckily I bought a nice bottle of wine and some cake to round off a big day.

Currency here is New Israeli Shekel... and the rate is 4 to a swiss franc, so I was watching my total at the checkout.... going into the hundreds very quickly and thinking my god what have a bought....
Coffee is affordable here and I forgot to fit one in when I was out! A big regret by 3pm...

So Paul was doing some aversion therapy this afternoon in our break... Daniel didn't like the wig so I think this was his way to get in a small nap!

 It has been a HOT day here in Israel today and we have pretty  much been busy at home. We did round off with a cooling dip in the swimming pool!



Daniel needed a little swing in the hammock at the end of his day!



Day 3

 Tank defences or harbour defences.... mmm yes it keeps out the water which can be a different "enemy" sometimes!

         

         Tuesday has been really busy... and we only came home from the beach an hour ago!

         

         We were actually pleasantly surprised today. We went with the therapist to a kids park today and found it to be really nice, clean, well kept, safe, shaded and really appropriate eg. not full of stuff that you can just imagine your child falling off of and crashing head first onto stones. (Generally what is found in Italy and Switzerland)

         

         We had lunch in a fairly authentic/locals caffetteria, really interesting meatballs... I am not sure what the meat was... it wasn't red! Tasty. Daniel had salmon for the first time today, and it went down a treat.

         

         We spent the afternoon doing therapy at the beach. Fun, sun and alot of sand. My legs feel very abraded. Followed by dinner and a beer. This time we had a typical dish called "will fill this in when I remember the name " it was like spicy chunky, tomato sauce with an egg cracked into it... tasted better than it sounds. We also has some authentic tapas, which were really good. I have just had a cup of tea and some fig rolls to finish off my gastro experience.

   

      We saw a man with a solar panelled kippah on .... And another semi proper Jew (He had little pigtails by his ears), selling lighters?? at the traffic lights? That seemed incongruous to me. We are probably going to take a trip into Tel Aviv tomorrow, something to look forward to.

    One of Daniel's "games" today was to crawl like a soldier... when he was asked to do this, Daniel looked at the therapist blankly... "Does he know what a soldier is? All Israeli kids do!" The therapist asked us. So I told him to crawl like the little green men/soldiers from Toy Story!!!

Day 2

Monday has been a tough long day. Daniel has just started to encounter the fact that the day will not always go his way. We have had tears, tantrums and whining. It is only the second day so undoubtably there is more on the way. We are learning lot of new tricks to get Daniel to cooperate and obey without realising.  ; )

Death to the roaches was celebrated by a picnic on the beach.

We went to a different beach today, but Daniel is just fascinated by how the water goes in and out and how fine the sand is. Walking off the beach there was a sudden "Carry Daddy.... too hot!"
Great sun shades on the beach, which are free!!! It is a reasonably new area which is all being regenerated .
I forgot that the beach across the road, at the approach there is a huge structure which from a distance looks like a sculpture of an anchor, which I thought was quite topical! Walking past it yesterday Paul pointed out that the structure was actually to stop tanks! Still in use or now modern art? I thought this was a good story, now Paul just admitted he made it up... will take a picture and let you decide.

Paul has just stated that he hasn't seen any "Extreme Jews yet" We did see a little boy wearing a Kippah with a black and white football design on it. Seemed a bit bizarre. But no long beards, wide hats or droopy black clothes. Sorry if have offended anyone

Pest control came in to "organically" spray the beasts. On return home, Paul cleared up the bodies and so far so good. I haven't been exaggerating this story, even the Israelis who have come into the apartment and seen the rodents have been spooked!

Learning how to give Daniel a massage while he is sleeping.  Can't help thinking it would be much nicer awake. Amazing what he sleeps through.

Day 1 of Therapy

So much to learn.

Daniel has had a great day, alot of new people, lots of therapy and a trip to the beach.
I think he thinks it is just a big playground with lots of big playmates, so far he has co-operated really well and is being challenged alot.

The cockroach saga continues. We have had several appearances today especially 30 mins after the killer poison was sprayed. Tomorrow pest control proper is coming in. So after a quiet afternoon we rejected the idea of a night in a hotel, we had been lulled into thinking we were all clear, until I saw one scuttle across the sofa!!! Another long night.... although now it appears to be the babies escaping.

We had lunch out to avoid the roaches, and while sitting finishing lunch, saw a couple of guys, dressed normally with hand guns attached to their waist like men in other countries wear mobile phones... So my first question to Paul "What are the gun laws here?". Oh I think it is legal.... he replied. So just been reading about it and usually even some teachers carry guns , not to control the children but deter terrorists! Is the country safer? In their minds yes...

We fitted in a trip to the beach this afternoon. Daniel spent the hour chasing the sea in and out. It was great to watch.
Photo may follow if we ever find the download cable?

Therapy ended at 9pm, so we are all very tired but also very positive. Daniel was in bed by this point, while Paul and I had some reflective homework to do.

Cockroach vigil continues.

The journey begins....

Pre flight play time.

Just before we left Zurich we had time for a short play. Just as well, with 1hr and 20 min transfer in Frankfurt it was run, run,run. Paul even asked an idling golf buggy cart driver for a lift but he had just been called to a job.Thank goodness for Trunki.. Daniel clung on for dear life as we sprinted ! If you have ever transferred in Frankfurt you know what I am talking about. Tel Aviv flights also have their very own security clearance just to get you acclimatised to entering the country... so everyone gets a pat down, including the kids. Onward flight was smooth. As was the car rental and drive to apartment, helped it was the day of rest and roads were desserted. (So far we have only got lost twice... only used the car twice as well!!)

Practise therapy session... yes this is our apartment or as we like to refer to it "Daniel's personal playground" Unfortunately we are also sharing with several cockroach familllies!!! Argh, if anyone has heard our honeymoon story about the small animal feeding in the cupboard ... we are now starring in the sequel! Just been delivered an SOS bottle of "Mosquito" spray.... they are 2 inches long and don't fly!!! They have promised action in the morning, A long night to continue blogging.

On a brighter note, here are Paul and Daniel leaving the apartment this morning for our first adventure out. Beautiful weather, sea, boats, beach round the corner. All very mediteranean like, as are the people. First impressions of the country so far are good, and people seem to be friendly, and helpful. From limited experience today, everyone is scanned on entering public places eg shopping centre. Our car was searched too! So is it a safe country? In the supermarket probably. Whilst enjoying one of our vices ... Espresso coffee, we were presented with a menu, I only knew this because it had prices on it. Everyone speakes English but everything isn't always written in it! Meals out could be interesting. We have already had a "wrap" from some "grannies" with a makeshift stall (they spoke English) but we did have something unrecognisable spread onto the wrap. It was very tasty! We will probably visit the granny stall again.

Big day tomorrow, starting early. Day will hopefully include a good therapy session, a visit from pest control and trip to beach.

"D" Day, or Departure date....

Ok we can now see our spare bed, our bags are packed and under weight so pondering what else I can take with me? Although  as we have to negotiate on to 2 trains to get to the airport maybe I should just go as they are .... Don't want Paul suffering from a bad back before we even get there.

So this morning, after I returned home from my German class.(That wasn't vital info, I am just informing you that as a foreign immigrant in this country I am attempting to learn the language and integrate!! Albeit not very successfully!)
Anyway on checking my email, I found an email from our therapy manager entitled "Airport Security Butler"... it was a letter from their company vouching for our visit to Israel, to be produced at airport if we had a problem!!! 

***++/-****

 WE LEAVE THIS AFTERNOON!

We aren't the first foreign visitors they have received, and this is this first it gets mentioned... Paul almost went into overdrive!

"Do we need to bribe someone?"

Let us hope the early arrival of our flight means the airport in Tel Aviv is quiet ..... To be continued.

My "Bucket" list of expectations:

1. To get lost several times.
2. To eat something I don't recognise.
3. To see a significant difference in my son after our trip. I can't say or decide what this will be, another story to be continued...
4. To console my son after he has got salt in his eyes, whilst swimming in the sea.
5. To enter Israel, I am not so sure about this one anymore, as initially it wasn't really questioned.
6. My husband expects to be in a bad mood tomorrow morning!
7. I don't expect to see any unrest, cruise missiles etc. as I don't plan to go looking for it.

My bucket isn't very full as I don't want to be disappointed!

Feelings at the moment sway between excited, nervous, anxious and hopeful.

Daniel of course is very excited and still thinks we are going Skiing! Thats in between swimming in the sea and playing with some people.

Time to sign off and catch a train.
Wish us luck!

Is it possible to blog from my iPhone!

Just giving this a go to see how tedious it is from my iPhone.
I am also thinking about my expectations from our trip? What are my aims? A list I think I need to compile.
I heard about a bucket list ... What a good phrase!

Off to therapy with daniel, I have an hour to contemplate list!

2 More Sleeps...

Well we can barely see the spare bed. Very much organised chaos at the moment. The ironing is nearly done, which always gives me a satisfied feeling... even if around me the house is a mess.

Paul was sent to work with lots of photocopying to do, so that will add to the  pile.

I am really looking forward to some sun. Although at the moment I don't envisage getting out into it much, although Daniel announced today he was going to swim in the sea....best take the arm bands.

A bit perturbed that no-one has given me any suggestions or tips about visiting Israel! Has no-one been there?? Share please....

Pre-conceptions.... or mis-conceptions?

I am full of preconceptions about Israel.

If you look at websites, its all about historic sites, beautiful beaches, lovely, lively cities.
They all speak English, but if you ask Google Maps for directions half the street names are in Hebrew.
If you read the BBC news website, well you just wouldn't visit in fear of being shot or bombed!

So what is true?

I came to Switzerland thinking everyone would be super clever, super advanced and super rich. My misconceptions were soon proved false... but the trains run on time and public toilets are clean!

What will be proved false in Israel?

Another burning question is what to visit in our 3 free day?

Having recently read that Jerusalem is not really Israeli controlled, "safe to visit"? I don't know... worth visiting with a 5 year old.... unlikely!
The Dead Sea is definitely on our list.
If anyone has any other suggestions please chip in. Remember we are travelling with a 5 year old with about as much interest in old buildings as I have in a car engine!

4 days before we leave, our Therapy manager asks for a teachers report??? Nothing like planning ahead. Her other request was medical notes, I nearly told her we only had a luggage allowance of 3 bags.

The plan of packing goes ahead i.e. the pile on the spare bed is growing. Tea bags ...check. Foreign travel can be irksome without Earl Grey tea, best pack some Italian coffee too.

Has anyone got experience they would like to share?

Coming home

As we arrived home late last night... I imagine Friday will see the trolley piled higher but I am sure Daniel and "Trunki" will be top of the pile.

The trip starts on Friday

As many of you know we will embark on our "trip" to Israel on Friday evening!

If you haven't heard you maybe thinking "Israel" WHY? Yes we have heard all the jokes, about fat people and rucksacks, cruise missiles and walls. And yes we are still planning on going.

Well we decided to take a leap of faith, not the religious type which you would normally associate with Israel! We are taking Daniel to follow an intensive course of Development Therapy. We first met the therapist Shai Silberbusch here in Switzerland in February and he gave us such a positive feeling we decided to give it a go. So 3 months later  we are starting the process of packing bags.
Flights booked, accommodation booked ( want paid in USD when we arrive, so hopefully there is an apartment there when we arrive.) rental car booked. Paul read that driving in Tel Aviv is no worse than Rome... he has never driven there either but puts 7 years driving in Northern Italy as enough experience. We are borrowing a GPS on our 2nd day, so drive to afore mentioned apartment could be interesting!

Why did I decide to write the blog? We have just spent a busy weekend in the Midlands, where we stayed with The Hockley family, and Chris's suggestion to write a blog on our trip stuck in my mind! Here I am a virgin blogger, hopefully I can keep it going through our trip!

So I am going to post this and share it with you all. And endevour to keep blogging.