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.