Day 67: London Day 2. We awoke early and enjoyed a nice breakfast in the hotel and then boarded the double-decker bus for a trip to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards. However, with the weather turning bad and the traffic heavy we missed the changing of the guards and decided instead to remain on the bus for a lengthy drive and chance to see more of London. Of course, as the rain got heavy at the kids’ request we donned the plastic ponchos provided by the bus and rode on the top level. After a three hour tour, a three hour tour [thunder-clap], we exited the bus a little damp and headed for sushi at one of the sushi conveyor-belt restaurants. The kids tried many different sushi dishes and Avi had fun grabbing the different dishes as they rode quickly by on the conveyor belt. Rebeka enjoyed the sushi and tamayo while Avi and Esti preferred cooked salmon. We then continued our day with a ride on the Underground to the National Science Museum. We spent two hours at the museum and still only saw about a quarter of it. After the museum we enjoyed a light Indian dinner. With the day ended, we packed for the last time oversees and went to bed, saying a sad goodbye to London and the end of the overseas part of our trip.

Day 68: A Travel Day. With tears in our eyes, we boarded the plane and settled in for our trip back to the United States. The flight went well and we enjoyed the great service, delicious food, and entertaining movies. We arrived in Newark, NJ on time and were greeted at the airport for the first time on our trip! this time by Scott’s parents. A two hour drive and a visit to a diner for dinner later, and it was bedtime for the Shapiros.

Day “69-90.” So here’s the thing: Writing this blog has been fun and practical. It has turned out to be a great and convenient way of sharing with those friends and family members that want to know what we are doing. It has also been a great way to keep a journal for the family; as it happens, it is pretty hard to remember what we did for each day of our fantastic journey and the blog helps us with our memories. Having said all that, and as important as it was to us, we are guessing that we are at the point of our trip where you (the reader) don’t care so much about the details. So, here is the Cliff Notes version:

We stayed at Scott’s parents for about 10 days, with that visit punctuated by: a two day visit to some of Monica’s family; an overnight trip for Scott and Monica without the kids that consisted of theatre (small town), mediocre food (Italian), and a quiet night at a hotel (Mount Laurel Marriott); a party for Esti’s birthday catered with some of the best smoked fish we ever had; 18 holes of miniature golf for the kids; and a visit to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia. At the end (day 78), we board a Southwest 737 and flew through Las Vegas to get back to Sacramento. We arrived home hot and tired, spent some time with Violet, and then after a quick swim our beds never felt so good. On Monday (day 81) we’ll all get in the car and drive down to Camp Ramah where Monica and the kids will spend a month. Scott will stay at camp for 10 days (punctuated by some day visits and trips), and on August 2 he will come back to Sacramento, sleep, and on August 3 he will return to the offices of Downey Brand. Or at least, he says he will!

So, that’s that. And we think this will be the last blog entry. But who knows, maybe in seven years the Shapiros will travel again; and maybe new entries will show up then. Stay tuned.

With love, Scott, Monica, Rebeka, Avi, and Esti

Israel to London

Day 63: A Day of Rest. With tired children we decided to spend the day at the pool. The kids enjoyed the swimming and spending time with friends. Most of all they enjoyed the freedom of going to the market on the kibbutz by themselves. We planned on an early dinner at the Port of Tel Aviv, but after hitting traffic, looking for parking, and deciding on a place for dinner, we did not sit down to eat until after eight. We enjoyed dinner at the same restaurant we ate at early on in our trip. The food was delicious and we spent the time reminiscing about our trip. After dinner we wandered around the port watching the many people enjoy the beautiful scenery and the fine dining. More exciting then dinner was Avi’s first ever use of sarcasm, responding to a warning about not getting too close to the warning with, “No, I’m going to jump in!” Our drive out of Tel Aviv was exciting as we passed many places we visited during our first two weeks in Israel. We arrived home late and put some very sleepy children to bed.

Day 64: A Beautiful Sunset. We set out today for a day at a water park; we promised the kids a day of water slides. Our plans quickly changed after we tried to go to two different water parks, both closed to the public, open only to private parties. Can you imagine a theme park closing for a private party? The kids being flexible and understanding agreed to a change of plans with the promise of a water park at a later date. A quick call to Ayalon Institute at Kibbutz Hill provided us with a new destination. Ayalon Institute, located in Rehovot, was the location of a secret ammunition production plant from 1946-1949. Located below the grounds of a functioning kibbutz, 45 civilians spent 8-10 hours a day producing a maximum of 40,000 bullets per day used during the War of Independence. The tour was interesting and ended in the actually factory where the bullets were made. The evening ended with a barbeque on the beach with old and new friends. We enjoyed visiting with our friends, while the kids enjoyed playing in the sand and on the beach with other children. We watched the sunset, enjoyed delicious food, and sadly said our goodbyes to our friends. Of course, our plans for an early evening did not happen.

Day 65: Goodbye to Israel and Hello to Mary Poppins. The Shapiro Family packed for the last time in Israel. The morning started with an early swim and quick meal of everything we had left over that we were not bringing back to the United States. We said goodbye to the Morgenshtern family and headed to the airport. Without difficulties we returned the car, checked in, and passed through security. Our flights to London went well; the kids busily played cards, drew pictures, and read their books. And, when we arrived at the hotel we found it to be charming, like something out of Mary Poppins. By 1:00 am we were all asleep.

Day 66: Our First of Two Days in London. We awoke and found that a 66 day trip was taking its toll on both adults and kids; fatigue was setting in! We enjoyed a slow and peaceful breakfast in the hotel, and then walked to and boarded a double-decker tour bus for a tour of London. Our tour included an orientation to London, some time at the Tower of London learning about the Crown Jewels and the history of personal armaments, a cruise on the Themes River, and a trip through the Underground. We enjoyed a traditional tourist lunch at Planet Hollywood and a dinner at a local restaurant, and managed to get the kids in bed by 9:30.

The next chapter

Day 59: “On The Road Again.” The Shapiro family packed up and say goodbye to our friends in Modi’in and headed to our next destination Kibbutz Givat Brenner. Before heading to the kibbutz we made many stops including the post office to pay the two parking tickets we received during our journey in Israel, and then for lunch and dinner with friends. We had lunch with our friend Reina and her new bridegroom Alon and then shared with some dessert as Alon showed us Macabean, his hometown. After saying a sad goodbye we headed out toward Jerusalem to have dinner with a friend of a friend. We arrived and met the family who graciously invited us into their home. We spent time visiting and talking briefly about Israel politics. The evening ended with a delightful dinner and some address exchanges.

With map in hand we headed to the kibbutz. We arrived to find a spacious apartment, even if the décor was a little outdated. The kids unpacked their clothes and anxiously awaited the arrival of the Morgenshtern family. With excitement in the air the Morgenshterrns arrived and gave us the tour of the kibbutz. The kids met the horses and played on the playground at 11:00 pm and of course at midnight we headed out for some late night ice cream-the perfect way to end a great day.

Day 60: Touring and the Beach. The kids woke early and headed to the market to buy some breakfast, which included chocolate pastries and chocolate milk in a bag – all delicious. Heading to the car, our friend Oded eagerly planned our first stop, the Chaim Weitzman Institute, where we watched an interesting video about the life of Chaim Weitzman, the first president of Israel. The tour continued with a visit to Chaim Weitzman’s house, grave, and his presidential car. Oded shared stories from when he was a child and he climbed around in the now glass-enclosed car. After our tour we loaded back into the car (ours, not the one in glass) and headed to the beach for some relaxation. The sand and water were beautiful. The kids spent their time on the boogy board riding the waves, building sand castles, and finding shells. After the beach we went to dinner at the home of Oded’s childhood friends. The evening was lovely and the kids enjoyed playing with other kids.

Day 61: A “Down” Day. After much discussion we decided to say close to the kibbutz. We swam at the pool at the Kibbutz before and after lunch. Lunch was at a local dive that had some of the best hummus of the trip (pine nuts AND almonds). After swimming the second time we headed into Rachovot with the Morgensterns and Karwins for a night of pizza and ice cream. But, even with such a relaxing day, the kids were still exhausted when they went to bed at 11:00.

Day 62: The Living Arts. The kids got a bit of needed sleep, arising around 9:00, with the exception of Esti who had Monica awake at 7:00. We then had breakfast in our room in the Kibbutz, loaded up the car, and headed to Ein Yael on the southwestern edge of Jerusalem. Ein Yael is a living history museum where kids are taught, by doing, all about the way people living thousands of years ago. We started by making pita on the style of out door oven used by the Bedouins to this day. We then made some hanging yarn ornaments and flutes made of reeds. We then advanced to the ceramics class and made some small bowls, after which we ate our picnic lunch. We ended the day by making frescos and mosaics (plus a second trip to the pita station). The kids really enjoyed the site.

After Ein Yael we headed toward the German Colony in Jerusalem to meet up with our friends the Edelsteins, proving the old rule that when traveling thousands of miles around the world you always end up going to dinner with other people who are traveling and who are from the same home town! We spent a lovely time visiting with the Edelsteins (and their daughter Ruthie who babysat for us previously), and then we all headed to dinner at a kosher Moroccan restaurant. Finishing dinner late we headed back to the Kibbutz for some rest.