Perugia and Assisi

Today we visited Assisi - home of St Francis of ...

A beautiful, hilly town with an incredible, massive basilica and shops selling some of the crappiest souvenirs imaginable.  Though I did pick up a very nice St Francis snowdome.  And we ate absolutely spectacularly good pasta.

This afternoon Perugia's huge and impresive gallery of Umbrian art.  Housed in an incredible 13th century building and with more paintings of Madonna-and-Child than you can poke a stick at.

Tonight great pizza and a stroll around the beautiful streets of Perugia.

travel fatigue

One month in.

11 beds.
packed and re-packed my luggage 11 times-
most of my clothes are now stained and/or faded from over-vigorous washing.  And I am sick of the sight of all of them anyway.

Nevertheless having an awesome time.

today in italy

A long logistics day today.  Get up at 4.30, drive to Rhodes Airport, flight to Athens, flight to Rome, train to Rome Central, wait an hour and three-quarters then a 2 and a half hour train to Perugia then a bus then a walk to the hotel.  We made it.  Eventually.

We are now in Perugia - the capital of Umbria and a beautiful city/town.  Had a great wander around town earlier and looking forward to food and further exploration shortly.

Gennadi part 2

M and I are having a very greek time of it here on Rhodes.

 

After my last blog post, yesterday evening we drove to Prassonisi - a famous windsurfing and kiteboarding beach where the Aegean meets the Mediterranean.  The beach is wide and windy and the ocean is literally packed with really really good windsurfers and kiteboarders. 

 

Later that night we returned to Gennadi, where we played more backgammon, ate gyro and drank retsina (one of the most unpleasant drinks I've ever tasted - crappy white wine with strong overtones of pinocleen), then continued playing backgammon while drinking ouzo.  I won the backgammon of course.  In accordance with fine Turkish tradition (taught to me whilst losing to K earlier in the week), upon winning I shoved the board under M's arm and suggested we play again once she'd learned to play the game.

 

Today we drove most of the day and saw much of the island, with lunch at a highly recommended (but unimpressive-looking) fish restaurant called Lucas on the harbour in a little port town.  Awesomely fresh.  Rhodes is a beautiful island - once you get out of Rhodes town.  A very quiet and rural place.

 

Italy tomorrow.

what?

What the hell's going on while I'm away from Australia?!?!

I just checked The Age online and John Howard appears to be issuing passionate emotional appeals about Aboriginal welfare - using Hurricane Katrina metaphors. Weird!

Drop

We shared our 3 night cruise in Turkey with 11 dutchmen. We discovered (painfully) the Dutch obsession with Drop - foul-tasting dutch licorice.

It comes in a variety of forms - from soft to hard and sweet to insanely salty. The soft, sweetish variety is tolerable (but not good). The hard and salty types are beyond bad.

Amazingly enough, among the 11 dutch people on a 1 week holiday they had brought 5 varieties of Drop with them (to make it through those long turkish nights). They were keen to ensure that we tasted all 5 varieties.

Luckily I have a strong stomach and I kept them all down and luckily M is good with people so she avoided the worst few types. The turkish couple on the cruise had neither defence - they were struggling to spit it out before it was too late.

Gennadi and Amos Beach

M and I are presently in Gennadi, a small village on the coast of the Island of Rhodes in Greece. Gennadi (pronounced Yen-adi) is a world away from the horrors of Rhodes Town. It is pretty much unchanged from the first half of the twentieth century, except it's much smaller. More than half of the village's population moved to Australia in the 1950s and the population went from 3,000 at the time of WWII to 650 today. It's a pretty little town with awesome souvlakis and a long pebbly beach (i'm starting to get used to them - i don't think sand has been invented yet in europe). There are few tourists and it is pretty quiet... we're having a great time here.

We are presently caught in a heatwave. In both Turkey and Greece it has been 40 degrees plus for quite a few days now. I saw a thermometer yesterday which had been placed in the shade of a huge tree and it read 41 degrees. Much hotter in direct sun.

M and I are both very brown - me especially. In Turkey people kept talking to me in Turkish and in Greece everyone I meet asks me what part of the country my family is from. I was just told I look like a Greek tv star - I was a little insulted as I'm usually told I look like a film star. As yet no-one has mistaken M for Greek or Turkish.

Turkey was fantastic. Friendly, warm people, sun, beaches (mostly pebbles), backgammon, raki (the national drink - actually it was missable), Efes (the v good local beer), great food and much more. Amos Beach, where we stayed when not on our boat trip, is a beautiful cove near-ish Marmaris.

M's friends K&C - whose holiday house we were staying in - came over from London for a few days and we had a great time hanging out with them. We hired a boat for the day on Saturday and the four of us cruised to a few coves, jumped out of the boat for swims when we were hot and generally had an absolutely fantastic and memorable day. The captain was also memorable. Late 60s, huge white moustache, even bigger smile, so many gold chains it was amazing he could stand up and just a total dude. He thought so too of course - he had a big photo of himself (in slightly younger days and with even funkier hair) up in the boat right next to the wheel. I will post photos of him in due course.

The Kite Runner

Just read The Kite Runner - a novel about a man who had a privileged childhood in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970s before fleeıng to America after the Soviets invaded.  It returns to Kabul in modern times towards the end.  It ıs beautıfully written by a man who clearly has much affection for hıs homeland - although it ıs a little "neat" for my tastes in the way that all of the threads are wrapped up by the end.  Lıfe tends not to be so neatly packaged.  Thanks to my afghani friend W for the present!

Marmaris to Fethiye

M and İ have just disembarked from a 3 night cruise from Marmaris to Fethiye.  A very relaxing few days - periodically cruising to a new cove, jumping off the boat for a swim, readıng, eating and relaxing.  The water was extremely warm - and perfect to jump ınto gıven how hot ıt has been - it was 37 degrees by 8.30 thıs morning.

 

The passengers on the boat comprised 11 Dutchmen, 2 Turks and us.  Much smoking, reasonably extreme levels of politeness and a barrage of Steve Irwin questions.  Last night saw a very multicultural game of Uno. 

10:30am

Throughout our travels ın Turkey and Greece we contınue to see Englıshmen and Germans gettıng stuck ınto 1-lıtre beers from 10:30am and even earlıer. Very ugly.

Torunç

M and İ are presently stayıng in Amos Beach, a collection of holiday bungalows near Torunç, which ıs about 20km from Marmaris - which ıs sort-of near Dolaman Aırport ın Mediterranean Turkey.  İt ıs very hot here - 35 degrees plus every day (and apparently 50 plus in August).  Tomorrow we are off for a 3 nıght cruıse on a Gullet (a wooden turkısh boat) - then back to Amos, then on Sunday off to Genadi in rural Rhodes in Greece for a few days - then Italy.  We caught a catamaran here from Rhodes - an easy 1 hour ride.

 

Life is sımple here - eat, sleep, walk, swim ın the beatıful waters, clamber along the rocks and pebbles of the beach (ı keep comparıng the beach ıtself unfavourably to sandringham, but the water and the clıffs behınd and the dramatıc views cant be compared).  We have hıred a car - otherwise impossıble to get around - and I am sort of copıng with drivıng on the wrong side of teh road, though am not fındıng it so easy.  There are power blackouts lıke clockwork every mornıng and every evenıng.  I wrıte thıs from Torunç - the nearest shops to Amos.

 

Sitting on the balcony of our bungalow lookıng at the ancıent ruıns on the cliff opposıte and the dramatıcally blue-green waters whilst drınkıng an Efes beer ıs a pretty relaxıng way to spend an afternoon.

 

 

 

Greece

After leaving Israel on Tuesday, we had a day in Athens and are now in Rhodes.  Tomorrow we leave by ferry for Turkey, where we'll be staying in Torunc (a village some way out of Marmaris).

by ferry

The Acropolis in Athens was interesting, though surprisingly badly kept.  The Parthenon is heavily supported by scaffolding which hugely diminishes the effect - and the Acropolis Museum is only half-open.  Walking in the Plaka was fascinating for the sheer scale of the horrible souvenirs.

 

We are staying at a very cute little hotel in Old Town Rhodes.  The Old Town is surrounded by a wall built by the Crusaders and there is a huge Crusader fort here.  The town is absoutely overrun by tourists, many of whom are extremely pink englishmen and women who start drinking beer by 11 in the morning.  I had a huge culture shock on our first day here when we visited the main beach.  A long expanse of ugly pebbles, completely filled with umbrellas and fat, half-naked europeans slowly baking themselves.  And the restaurant touts are particularly irritating.  Yesterday we visited Lindos, another town on the island.  It was pretty much a smaller version of Rhodes Town although with a nicer beach.  We have had some excellent greek food though.

 

Today we visited the beatiful (and beautifully restored) sixteenth century synagogue and new Jewish museum.  There was a Jewish community here for millenia, until it was wiped out in the twentieth century by immigration and the Nazis.  1600+ Rhodes jews were deported to Auschwitz. 

Yad VaShem

Today visited Yad VaShem, the Holocaust Memorial.  It's an architecturally stunning set of new (2005) buildings on Mount Hertzl, just outside Jerusalem.  As you would expect, it has a very powerful emotional pull and is very sad.  It tries (and succeeds) in humanising the holocaust by telling individual stories among the greater horrors. 

 

 

Yemin Moshe

We leave Jerusalem tomorrow (sadly).

 

We've been staying in a (sort of crappy) apartment in the most amazing area-  Yemin Moshe.  Just outside the Old City walls.  It's pedestrian only, and paved with Jerusalem stone and all of the buildings are made out of the same material.  These photos don't really do it justice.  This one is better but still doesn't really capture the experience of walking down the paved streets.

Travel update

On Friday evening we returned to the Western Wall for the start of Shabbat. Lots of singing, thousands of people - all dressed up, many Haredi (ultra-orthodox). An incredibly emotional experience being at the epicentre of judaism.

Saturday *everything* was shut, except in the Arab sections of Jerusalem. We walked around the Old City before entering at Damascus Gate and wandering around the Muslim quarter. So different to the Christian and Jewish sections - incredibly vibrant and colourful. Then we continued into East Jerusalem and had coffee in an Arab cafe, before going to the Rockefeller Museum of Antiquities. A great collection of objects dating back up to 100,000 years. Absolutely worth seeing with some beautiful statues, old skeletons, ceramics, glass, metalware and amazing old objects. We then walked as far as the Mount of Olives before it became a little too unfriendly. We jumped in a taxi and in 10 minutes were back standing outside the King David hotel. Sat in the sun in Yemin Moshe (the area where we're staying) then dinner in Ein Kerem (a village near Jerusalem) with the son of friends of my parents and his Israeli wife.

Today the Western Wall tunnels which were absolutely incredible. A voyage into Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple and even earlier. The tunnels travel most of the way along the Western Wall (the Western retaining wall of the temple complex) and were dug out after 1967 - they are fascinating beyond description. Followed by the City of David (Jerusalem as conquered by David - it sits outside the Old City and is even older than it). Not as impressive as a tourist site. Then shopping in the Old City and a quick walk through the City Centre. Tomorrow the Holocaust memorial and more.

Diversity

Coming from Melbourne, where the Jewish community is relatively homogenous - most (but not all of course) are of Eastern European origin and have relatively similar traditions - Israel is showing me the diversity of the Jewish people.

Ethiopians, Moroccans, Indians, Sudenese, it seems like there are Israelis from everywhere ... as well as the usual mix of jews of European background. Last night we had dinner with an Australian-Israeli and his Israeli wife, who is half Afghani and half Iranian by background.

Guns

I'm getting used to the guns in Israel; actually it has been a lot easier than expected. Semi-automatic weapons are everywhere in Jerusalem. And they're not there just for effect - they are carried loaded, with extra clips on the belt. It's a little disconcerting (as an Australian) to look up and realise you're sitting next to a soldier taking a drink of water with his gun dangling and pointing straight at you. But you get used to it.

Today was a new experience, though. After our (fascinating - probably the best thing we've done so far) tour of the Western Wall Tunnels [they run right under the Western Wall starting from the Western Wall plaza through the Muslim Quarter, coming out in the Muslim Quarter] we were escorted through the Muslim Quarter back to the Plaza by 2 guards with handguns drawn.

Zealots, Zionism and etc

This country is giving M and I so much to think about.

The Zealots in Masada.
The unnumbered millions murdered for their Judaism throughout history.
The obvious connection Israelis have to the land.

The connections between Judaism and the Land of Israel are certainly far deeper than I had appreciated from the other side of the world.

Jerusalem and more

We are now in Jerusalem: I write this from the Old City where it is almost Shabbat. Earlier we went to the Western Wall, prayed and placed prayers into holes in the wall. It is very moving and filled with so many people. The fact that I could go there makes me very proud for reasons I won't go into in order to avoid being too political. The old city is intimidating still - although I'm sure I'd grow used to it in time; it's like a 2000 year old bazaar and full of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Armenians and all sorts of people from all over the world.

Earlier we went to the Israel Museum, which was very impressive. The Judaica and ethnography were fantastic, as was the art collection. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the 10th century bible were mind-blowing. Masada in 40 degree heat was hot. And moving and an amazing story and the fact that it exists at all is hard to comprehend.

We are staying in Yemin Moshe, the most exquisitely beautiful part of Jerusalem. The streets and the buildings are made of jerusalem stone and it is beyond description. It's a pedestrian-only area and is peaceful and beautifully kept. The apartment is ok.

Yesterday was mostly spent in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve in blistering heat. Another amazing experience. Beautiful animals (i fell in love with the ibex'), oases, vistas and just indescribable. Swimming in the dead sea the previous day was painful. Slathering ourselves in dead sea mud was great and our skin is now silky smooth.

Food continues to be fantastic overall. Israeli breakfasts should be compulsory. The Ein Gedi Youth Hostel food is passable (just). The coffee is not.

Food!

HAving some amazing food experiences in and around Tel Aviv.

 

Dinner last night at Orna & Ella, a very cool all-white restaurant that Natalie Portman apparently ate at recently (wow - celebrities!??).  Fantastic food and drinkable Israeli wine with Tel Aviv's (many) beautiful people.

 

Lunch on Sunday in a roadhouse in Acca with a mix of jews, arabs and randoms.  Amazingly good food.

 

Incredible breakfasts everywhere. 

SAlad, olives, bread, eggs, cream cheese, fetta, butter, jam.  Good coffee.  All of my dreams have come true.

 

Dr Shakshaka in the (very) old part of Jaffa.  North African jewish food.  Lots of couscous.  Lots of attitude.  Mint tea. 

 

Great juices.  Fantastic strudel.  Shawarma.  Falafel.  All good.

 

 

An arduous journey

Our journey from Melbourne to Ben-Gurion took 36 hours. 

A mere blip over a lifetime, but nevertheless a fairly painful amount of time to travel.

 

Melbourne-Sydney-Bangkok-London-Tel Aviv. 

 

The Good Shepherd.  From what I could hear an excellent film.  The mumbled dialogue was no match for the jet engines. 

Letters from Iwo Jima.  Awesome.  Ken Watanbe was fantastic, as was basically the entire cast.

 

BA is even worse than Qantas.  But the lounge at Heathrow is quite nice.

 

English people complain a lot.

 

Arriving in Tel Aviv shorly before Shabbat was fascinating - the streets mostly quiet, but a bustling market as people finished their shopping.

 

Israeli immigration surpriusingly stress-free.  M opted for her visa on a piece of paper but I got mine stamped in my passport [this is offered as an option as a number of countries will not allow entry to people who have visited israel]. 

My introduction to Israel - part one

M and I have begun our belated honeymoon and are in Tel Aviv on the first leg of our 8 weeks of travels.

 

We are having a fantastic time.  Tel Aviv has an amazing energy and beautiful beaches and I am loving being in Israel.  It is a very emotional experience for me - in particular today we visited the Museum of the Diaspora (the Jews of the world) and I was overcome by all of the history and by the continued existence of the Jewish people against all odds.  It is absolutely fascinating to see how much more complicated (and interesting) the reality of Israel is in comparisin to the theory one reads about.  More of my theories of life later.

 

Yesterday we took a tour to Israel's north - Ceasarea, Haifa and Akka (Acre).  Roman ruins, Crusader castles, arab souqs, Ba'hai gardens and much more.  All very rushed, but incredible.  The labyrinths of tunnels and chambers created by the Crusaders in the middle ages are beyond description. 

 

Old Jaffa (a few kilometres from Tel Aviv) is also very beautiful.  An amazing old town with narrow, winding streets and beautiful architecture.  Almost wholly unlike the soviet-style concrete monstrosities making up much of Tel Aviv.

 

Much great food.  But I won't bore you with the details.

 

Given that I'm on my honeymoon, also beyond description are the sights on Tel Aviv's beaches.