Crossing Sheik Hussein

Shalom Aleichem!!

Arrival in Amman was the first time that I had to buy a visa on my whole trip. It only cost 20 Jordanian Dinars but just like everything in Jordan - it took time! Finally I got through immigration and jumped on a bus to downtown Amman where I checked into a 3 star hotel.

Jordan is an interesting country as it has an ancient history (the Greeks and Romans were here) however most of their cities are very new and industrial. Things are expensive too as the exchange rates are terrible with 1 euro buying 0.9 Jordanian Dinars. The money system here is confusing with three levels of currency. 1000 Fils = 1 Jordanian Dinar (usually referred to as a "JayDee") and 100 Fils = 1 Piastre. Prices can be advertised in any 1 of the 3 types! Some things are cheap like a Falafel sandwich will set you back 800 Fils max but a 3 star hotel will cost you 20 JD a night!

Amman is a pretty boring city to be honest and the downtown is not so exciting with mostly travel agencies and corporate offices. It feels like any other big city and is a little dirty. However if you take the time to explore you will find some hidden gems. On the first day I set out to see the ancient Citadel, propped up on one of the hills of the city. This site has been settled by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and in later times Muslims. There are some well preserved remains, although small, throughout the site including the temple of Hercules, a Byzantine church and a Muslim royal palace. Also on the site is Jordan's first archeological museum, a cute little collection of artifacts found around the Citadel site. I spent a good hour walking around the site and admiring the impressive view of Amman city. Down the west side you can see the ancient Roman Amphitheater (which I visited later) and in the distance a great flagpole (flag-less at that time because the King was not in the country) that used to be the tallest in the world.

On leaving the site I met a tour guide who tried to sell me a trip and tour of other nearby sites. After bargaining hard I managed to crack a good deal and so off we went! The first stop on the tour was a small village called Madaba (about 45 minutes outside Amman) which is known as the city of Mosaics, so-called because of the many ancient mosaics found in the city and the numerous mosaic factories working today. On the drive down the guide explained the history of the area including the biblical story of the many nations that resided in the area such as the Moabites.

We arrived in Madaba and went straight to the St George's Church which houses the most famous Mosaic. The Mosaic is an ancient map of the area showing Israel, Syria, Egypt and Jordan. Although it is 1500 years old it is surprisingly accurate and is the oldest surviving map of its kind. In 1967, excavations in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem revealed the Nea Church and the Cardo Maximus in the very locations suggested by the Madaba Map - amazing!

Next stop was Har Nevo (Mount Nebo), the biblical location where Moses looked into Israel and passed away. At the top of the hill is a church dedicated to Moses where monks live and many pilgrims visit from all around the world. The view is quite amazing, the opposite to what I am used to! Looking into Israel you can see the dead sea as well as Jerusalem (the other side of the mount of olives. It was amazing how close I was to the holy land.... but I would have to wait a few more days before entering.....

That evening I went searching for a place to eat in downtown Amman.... surprisingly hard! I found a place down a little side street which only makes Felafel. It was a tiny little establishment with an Arab dude with a funky mustache making and cooking felafel balls at the speed of light! I dubbed him "The Felafel man" and attempted to order my sandwich (he didn't speak much English but at least he gives you free fresh felafels to try while you wait!) .

The next day I walked up King Hussein street to the King Abdullah bin al-Hussein mosque. This mosque is not some ancient wonder like you would find in Istanbul, however it is impressive with its stunning blue dome and fresh white minarets.

Next I was off to the Roman Amphitheater (the one which I could see from the Citadel). This theater is in very good nick and is still used today. It sits in the middle of downtown juxtaposed to an array of crappy, half complete apartment blocks. I sat at the top and watched the myriads of tourists from all over the world wandering through. Next to the theater is a museum called the "Museum of Popular traditions" and contains a small collection of traditional clothing and jewelery worn by different tribes from around the area. I found it disturbing to see signs of tribes from BeerSheva described as Palestine. (Later, I found it even more disturbing that there is a TV channel called Al-Quds dedicated to Israel bashing - although this may not be Jordanian in origin).

The only other thing to see in Amman is the vegetable souks (markets) behind the King Hussein Mosque in the heart of downtown. Unlike Israel or Egypt there are no great traditional Bazaars or Souks to explore. The vege market is the closest thing you will find - it is still fun to wander through and hear all the sellers shouting their latest deal to the crowd.

That evening I visited the Hashem restaurant (as recommended in Lonely Planet). This restaurant is a vegetarian (slash kosher) dream! There are no menus but I just asked for something of everything ... and was brought a selection of salads, pita, hummus, and tea. Yum!

The next day I left Amman and headed north. I managed to strike a deal with the tour guide from before to take me to Jaresh and Irbid (including a tour along the way). Jerash is probably one of the most impressive Roman ruins in the world. It was destroyed in the middle east earthquake of 749 CE but after extensive excavations has been revealed as remarkably well preserved. The most impressive stretch is the Cardo Maximus and the Oval forum at the south end. There are also two large temples (dedicated to Zeus and Artemis), a long hippodrome, two amphitheaters, a couple of Byzantine churches and much much more!!! The site is huge and with its many pillars an arches is truly an awesome site. The town used to be called Gerasa and was a major trade connection point between Jerusalem, Damascus, Baghdad and Philadelphia (the old name for Amman). I was guided around the main sections and was also allowed to explore on my own for 30 minutes before we had to head off. The site was packed with Jordanian school kids singing and drumming. I was approached by some 15 year old gilrs (with Hijab and all) and was asked if I had a girlfriend - when I answered no, they quickly retorted - "well why not - you are very good looking!" - what a crack up!!!

That afternoon we arrived at Irbid. There is nothing to see in this city, so I was only stopping here because it was close to the border with Israel. As there is no too much tourism here, I found it very hard finding a hotel (let alone of cheap one) and had to settle for a slightly more expensive, but luxurious, hotel. Oh well - 1 night in luxury is all good!

Irbid is a university town and is sprawling with young hip Jordanians students. The main drag of the downtown (called university street - funny that) is packed full of American fast food restaurants, Nargileh bars (known locally as Arguileh) and internet cafes (in fact Irbid has the Guinness world record for the most internet cafes!). I really preferred Irbid over Amman - it had more of a young vibe and great nightlife. The city is relatively clean and modern and the residents seem to be more western and connected to the world.

In the evening I popped into a local Arguileh bar (well technically not a bar, because no alcholol is served) and ordered an Arguileh to smoke and some mint tea to drink. That night was a big night as Real Madrid were playing Tottenham Hotspurs - so the place packed out pretty quick. The locals at the bar were very friendly and were interested to know about me and my travels. They were also kind and made sure I was comfortable the whole night and even recommended to me a new type of tea to try - tea with sage... yummmmm!

The next day I took a taxi down to the Sheik Hussein border crossing. I thought it would be a quick crossing but boy was I wrong!!! Firstly there are no signs in English or information people to assist you. I just attempted to follow the crowd (which was large and consisted mostly of arabs and a couple of israelis). I figured out that I needed to get a exit stamp - which I had to queue 45 minutes for! Next I had to pay tax (well I assumed we had to pay as everyone else was doing it) and I walked outside to attempt to cross. Carrying my heavy backpack in the hot sun I walked to the crossing only to be told that you cannot cross by walking - only by bus! So back I went to wait for the bus! The bus came, and on trying to get on was informed that I had to buy a ticket..... Finally I was on the bus. However the bus took almost 1 hour to drive about 50 meters!!!!! By this point I was quite pissed off, hungry (I had not eaten and it was like 3pm) and thirsty!!!

Finally crossed to Israel!!!! No buses - but luckily managed to hitch a ride with some kind Israelis to Beit Shean where I headed straight to the Kosher McDonalds!!! After I had re-energised I hitched a ride to the Kibbutz (Sde Eliyahu) where I will be staying for the next few days. My mother's cousin Arieh (originally from Wellington) lives on the Kibbutz with his family (4 out of 6 kids are currently on the Kibbutz) and mother. It was great to see them again after about 1.5 years. I spent a lovely Shabbos with them enjoying the last of the Chametz that the Kibbutz has to offer!

Pesach is soooo close! I am quite excited - I love Seder but am sad that I will not be spending it with my Family. I am also not looking forward to trying to find kosher l'Pesach food in Jerusalem that is not Kitniot - I remember it being quite difficult!!!

Anyways... my next update will be from Jerusalem. I wish everyone a Chag Pesach Sameach V'Kasher!!!!!

Ottoman style

Salam Aleikum! I am currently in Amman, Jordan! Lets recap the last week or so....

I arrived in Thessalonki in the evening and checked into a cheap hotel in the city centre. I decided to go explore downtown and I quickly discovered Aristotelous street/square which is the main cafe/restaurant drag connecting the downtown to the waterfront.

The next morning I headed out to buy my bus ticket to Istanbul from Crazy Holidays travel agency. Then it was time to properly explore the city. I wandered around the many shopping streets until I arrived at the White Tower, an old strategic lookout tower perched on the waterfront. Historically it was part of the fortified ramparts than surrounded the city, but today only a section of the walls remain as well as this tower. The tower is an excellent museum that presents the history of Thessaloniki on 5 floors and the 6th floor is the lookout rooftop. The history of the city includes Byzantine, Ottoman Turks, as well as a significant Jewish story. The Jewish quarter used to be a large part of the city however the holocaust destroyed most of Jewish life here.

Just up from the White Tower is the International Fair tower and 2 museums. I wanted to visit the museums but for some strange reason they close at 3pm everyday and it was 3.30 when I arrived. So instead I continued deeper into the city until I arrived at the Arch of Galerios, a Roman creation built to celebrate the victory over the Persians. For some reason the area around the arch seems to be the hippy suburb with lots of funky alternative stores and cafes. Heading back towards my hotel I passed two more impressive areas. The first, on the edge of the hippy zone and just up from the Arch, lies the Rotonda - a idolotorous temple / church / mosque build over 1600 years ago. The second impressive area I passed is the Roman Agora which is an ancient Roman marketplace. At the east end lies an impressive intact ampitheatre.

That evening I jumped on the bus that would take me to Istanbul. I thought I would sleep for most of the ride however this did not work out! I got woken up plenty of times, including when we had to get out at the border to go through immagration and duty free! As the bus arrived in Istanbul I was impressed by the size of the city and the beautiful minarets popping out across the hills. The bus pulled into the Otagar bus station, a massive complex with endless buses on multiple levels. I was told that there are free transfer buses to different locations around the city however when I walked over to the bus transfer point I could not figure out which bus I needed to catch! Luckily I managed to find one guy who could speak english and he helped me figure out where I needed to go. I had to catch a bus to Aksaray and then transfer to the tram which would take me to Sultanahmet, the old city where I was planning on staying.

Getting off the tram (which was packed!!) I was quickly greeted by the two most iconic symbols of Istanbul - the Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque. These two architectural wonders sit 400 metres opposite each other and are truly awe inspiring. I was lucky to find a good hostel 2 minutes away from the Aya Sofia - right in the heart of the old city.

After getting some rest I decided to go explore Sultanahmet. I started by visiting the Blue Mosque but was not allowed in at that time because prayer services had just begun. The mosque is huge and has many ellaborate domes and minerets. I entered the courtyard which houses the ablutions fountain and watched the worshippers washing their feet as they prepared to pray. After that I made my way down to the ferry terminal south of the Golden Horn (an inlet that runs off the Bosphorous between the continents and heads west) near the Galatta bridge. From here I caught the tram over the bridge all the way to the end of the line. From there I transferred to the underground Funicular that goes up to Taksim square.

Taksim square is the top of the shopping and nightlife district that runs down Istikil road. I arrived here after dark and was impressed with how the whole area is lit up with colourful street lights, fashion stores, american fast food joints and bars.

I had been warned before I arrived in Istanbul that single guys like myself are often targets of money scams. It works like this: Somone young Turk will approach you and start speaking to you in Turkish. Of course you say "sorry I do not speak Turkish". Then the guy will say "apologies, you look Turkish". After this he will attempt to befriend you and ask you if you want to join him for a drink. He will then take you to some dodgy place and then introduce you to his female "friends" (most likely prostitutes) and then you buy some drinks for everyone and you have a good time. At the end of the night, when it is time to pay you ask for the bill and discover that it is like 500 euro or something crazy. You ask to see the menu - he shows you a fake menu with crazy prices. You say you that you don't have the money, so they force you to withdraw from an ATM - often at knifepoint. Crazy huh!? Well thank G-d I was aware of this because I was approached 3 times in this manner. Each time I politely told them to piss off!

Anyways .... that evening I headed out to the local Couch Surfing meetup. It was a nice evening, however there were not many travellers who showed up but like 50ish locals. It was fun though meeting local Turks and enjoying the local brew Efes.

The next day I headed out to visit the Aya Sofia (also known as the Hagia Sofia). This impressive multi-dome complex was originally built as a cathedral in 360CE and has been added to and modified over the centuries, most notably in 1453 when the Ottamans converted it into a mosque. There are two levels inside, including an upper gallery. It is quite fascinating to see the blend of Christian and Muslim design elements throughout the layout of the building. Upstairs are some impressive examples of early Christian mosiacs as well as an excellent view of the main dome.

I returned to the Blue Mosque, this time I succeded in going inside. I was given a plastic bag to carry my shoes as one must remove their footwear on entering a mosque. Although outside the mosque is truly massive and ornate, the inside is mysteriously small and simple. The design work includes basic geometrical patterns on tiles as well as paintwork on the ceiling.

Side note... I found it interesting to see on different advertisments around the city the turkish months of "Nisan" and "Tammuz" which appear to coincide with the hebrew months by the same names.

Just past the Aya Sofia is the Topkapi palace, a grand royal construct built for the Sultans of the early Ottoman empire. The palace is quite stunning and houses many different rooms including lounges for the sultans to chillax in, ceremonial rooms such as the circumsicion complex, as well as a treasury and harem. The treasury contains a collection of priceless jewels, gifts, glassware that was owned by the sultans throughout their reign. The most interesting part of the treasury was the relic room that contained a fascinating collection of Muslim relics. These included the footprint of Muhammed, keys to the Kabbah in Mecca and Moses' staff. It appears that Muslims believe these to be genuine and hold them in high regard.

The most stunning part of the palace had to be the Harem. In the old times the Sultans would keep a collection of beautiful women to admire, be entertained and bear children with. They would have a sub collection of favourites who had special priveleges and whose children gained higher status. The rooms of the harem are beautifully decorated and contain low sofas. The harem was looked after typically by black eunichs.

That afternoon I visted the Grand Bazzar, Istanbul's equivalent of a Souk / Shuk. Although it houses 4000+ shops, an antique market and stretches for miles it was really quite a let down. The bazzar is completely under roof and does not have the charm of other souks that I have visited. It felt more like a shopping mall.... I got myself lost in the heart of the market and spent a total of 15 minutes inside as I did not plan on buying anything.

That evening I went out to a funky Nargileh / tea bar with an Aussie dude and 2 british chiks who were staying in my dorm. It was such a cool place, perched on the edge of a steep street, lit up by candles and with lots of cushions to plonk yourself on.

The Aussie dude, Nick, and the British girls from the night before joined me as I explored Istanbul the next morning. First stop - the spice market. This cute little market felt a bit more genuine with loud vendors shouting at you when you walk past, powerful aromas of fresh spices and cheap kebaps! Next to the market is another impressive mosque which we popped into briefly to have a look (one of many that we visited that day).

We walked across the Galatta bridge and explored the backstreets of the area north of the Golden Horn until we arrived at the Galatta tower (we passed a couple of synagogues on the way as this area is a large and historical Jewish area). We went up the lift to the top of the tower and were blown away by the impressive panorama of the city. The city appears to stretch for miles in all directions and is dotted with minarets and their accompanying mosques. You can also see across the bosphorous to the Asian side of Istanbul. For those who don't know - Istanbul is the only city in the world that is on two continents - Europe and Asia. It is seperated by the Bosphorous straight and is connected by two super-huge suspension bridges. The Galatta tower is an old lookout/lighthouse and today houses a restaurant and nightclub.

We walked a lot that day! We continued along Istikal road to Taksim square then down to the waterfront palace of Dolmabache (I visited this properly later), then all the way back to Sultanahmet (popping into a few mosques along the way). We took a quick break in a funky coffee shop for some genuine Turkish coffee and apple tea.

The next day I had planned to do a Gallipoli tour.... however the bus did not show up :( !! So instead I transferred the money to another tour which included exploring Istanbul. The first part of the tour was a cruise along the Bosphorous for about 1.5 hours. The tour guide pointed out areas of interest along the way including some palaces, mosques, impressive mansions, trendy parts of the city, old castles and the massive cross-continental bridges.

The next part of the tour took us to the top of the Pier Lotti hill (named after a French author) for a quick tea stop. The view from the hill is beautiful (and it was a beautiful day) as you can see right across the Golden Horn. We took the cable car down and then we were taken to the Dolmabache palace.

The palace was also built for the Sultans, however it is significantly newer with only 4 sultans being in residence during the Ottoman period. Designed by French architects, it was an attempt to appear European to the Western world. The reality of course was different, as it still contained a Harem just like in the old days. To enter the palace you have to put plastic bags on your feet to aovid damage (I guess) to the wooden floors. As you enter your jaw drops, and stays that way from room to room. Everything in the palace is stunning beyond belief. The 4+ tonne chandeliers, the exquisite sofas, pianos, rugs, panelwork, staircases, frescoes, decorations....... You knew that you were in the heart of royalty! We only got to see a selection of the rooms including the official meeting rooms for ambasadors, the harem and the Sultan throneroom. Truly stunning!

The final part of the tour took us across the Bosphorous suspension bridge to the Asian side. We stopped at a cafe with an awesome view looking back across to Europe. The asian side is more residential, and also contains some of the more trendy and wealthier parts of the city. It is weird to think that I visited Asia for 30 minutes!

Returning from my tour I knew that there was only 1 thing left to do in Turkey before I left - experience a Turkish Hammam (bath). I joined up with Nick (the aussie dude) and we went looking for a Hammam. We came across one, but decided against it as it was pricey and touristy - more like a day spa. So we returned to our hostel to book through them. It was a good decision as it turned out cheaper, was much more genuine and we got a free taxi ride there.

The Hammam was in some random, non touristy part of town and felt a bit historical. We were greeted by 2 fat old men who told us to change and wrap a towel around us waist. First stop - the sauna. After sweating it out for 10 minutes it was time for a scrub and soap massage. This was undertaken by the fat men! They didnt speak any english, and were a little bit eccentric with one guy making cat noises and the other guy tickling my feet! The scrub was really good - I dont think I have ever been cleaned that good! Next was the soap massage. We lay down on a large warm stone and was massaged with a creamy soap from head to toe. The men were pretty rough and clicked every part of my body! Finally you are rinsed off, your arms and torso are stretched and then back to the sauna before being dried. It was definately a cultural experience that I will never forget!

Finally that evening Nick and I accompanied by a couple of Austrian chiks went to smoke Nargileh and drink some beers over a game of never never! Always fun to play with randoms!

I really wanted to have a nice Shabbat experience in Istanbul however the shules are very difficult to get into due to security issues and the Chabad is temporarily closed because they had a baby! My advice is to contact the Jewish community at least 2 weeks before visiting if you want to visit a synagogue. There are quite a few shules around town including an Ashkenazi synagogue. On the tour our guide actually pointed out one of the historical Jewish areas but I do not know much of the history.

On Sunday I was off to my next location.... Amman, Jordan. The Istanbul airport is crazy - packed full of people trying to get through immagration. I have never had to queue so long in any airport! Even on the runway a strange thing occured. Due to some backlog there were plenty of planes waiting to take off. Looking out the window I could see a line of about 10 planes standing nose to tail waiting for their turn to enter the runway .... so weird!

Anyways... I have arrived now in Amman. I am safe and loving life!! But you will have to wait until the next update to hear all about my Jordanian adventures! B'Shalom!

Malakas!

Its all greek to me.... Indeed I am in Greece, and even though they have funny letters that I can not read I have truly had an amazing time here so far! But wait... I have to catch you up on the past two weeks of madness!

Think back to Friday morning, 2 weeks ago in Rome. I went to go check out one of the national museums housed in an ancient Roman bathhouse, just near the train station. The museum contains an interesting display of statues, bronzework (including an impressive bronze statue of a boxer that was almost 2000 years old and in pristine condition). The building itself is interesting - an ancient brick bathhouse used as a communal bathing place all those years ago! During lunchtime I met up with Gaia and her mate Bruna and we went to chill in the Villa Borghese park. Gaia took us to a beautiful area with luscious green grass and pastel blossoms sprouting from the trees. It was so good to relax in nature away from the bustling city.

That evening I went to the Great Synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat. The shule is grand, however not as impressive as the Florence shule. The service was beautiful as the main songs were sung by a choir with perfect harmony and acoustics! I had shabbos dinner with Gaia's family which was lovely. The next morning I popped over to a local (and much closer) shule for Shacharit.

Saturday night ... time to experience true Roman nightlife. I met up with Gaia and her friends and we went out to Campo de Fiori for a few drinks and good times.

Sunday morning started with a Museum - this time the Palazzo Mussiomalle Terre which houses an impressive array of Roman statues, busts, mosaics and plasterwork as well as a cool collection of Roman coins (some dating over 2500 years olds). For lunch I popped over to explore the Jewish ghetto. On the street behind the Grand Synagogue are scores of kosher restaurants, cafes, judaica stores etc and is quite a funky place to hang out.

Monday was my last day in Rome and I had only 1 more place to visit.... The Vatican. I left early, as I wanted to avoid the queues, and I arrived just after 9am. It is weird to think that you are technically leaving Italy and entering a new state! It does not feel or look any different, and there is no passport control or anything life that - you just walk and bang... you are in Vatican city! I entered through St Peter's square which is a large eliptical arena surrounded by columns. This is where the pope addresses his audience every week - you can even see the balcony that the pontif stands on! At the top of the square stands the mighty St Peter's basilica - the world centre of Catholicism. After passing through security I entered into the basilica. It is huge inside, and surely is impressive. It was funny to see lots of nuns running around - I was so tempted to go and hug one! (someone left this advice on my facebook page lol)

On the eastern side of Vatican city is the entrance to the Vatican museums. These museums are so popular so I was lucky that I only had to wait 30 minutes in the queue. There were lots of Pakistani men trying to sell umbrellas (as it was lightly raining) and a few locals trying to promote the "skip the queue tour" in which by paying 10 times the price you can go straight in - I think I can wait!

The museums are massive - the biggest I have been in yet! There are many different sections, and a few were closed off for some reason. I spent approximately 5 hours inside wandering through the displays that included egyptology, ancient roman, and pre roman estrucan works. I am glad I invested in the audio guide as it not only helped me to understand what I was looking at, but also acts as a map around the vast complex. In the centre of the museum buildings is PineCone courtyard, and the connecting hallways all contain amazing and interesting artworks including tapestries, maps and stuccos. For the Renaissance lovers - there is the Raphael rooms with some very complex and symbolic fresco works by the art master and his students. And of course there is the highlight of the museum - the Sistine Chapel. The ceilings and walls of this small chapel contain the finest examples of Renaissance work by MichelAngelo. On the roof is the story of creation from Genisis and contains the famous Adam and G-d work where the two are almost touching fingers (http://arachnid.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/michelangelo-sistine-chapel-adam.jpg). On the front wall is the powerful display of Jesus, the redeemer.

I wanted to visit the Vatican library, but unfortunately it was closed, so instead I continued through the remaining galleries which included a modern and contemporary Christian art gallery. This gallery contained many cool works by my favourite, Dali. There was also plenty of older christian work including a unique tapestry with the famous "Last Supper" by Leonardo DaVinci based on the original painting on display in Milan.

My last evening in Italy..... By some random coincidence, a friend of both Gaia and I was in town - Jon from the US. So weird that I bumped into him in Rome!!! So anyways, we all went out to get Pizza and chillax. After saying thanks and bye to Gaia and her family I headed out to the airport. I had a 6.40am plane to catch so I figured I would just sleep in the airport to save the hassle. Besides being kicked out of the terminal at 12am (we could go to the next terminal which was 24 hours) and being harassed by some sicko lady it was actually a cool evening as I bumped into 2 Canadian chiks who were heading the same way as me!

I had managed to find a couchsurfing host in Athens so on arrival I headed straight out to their place via metro and tram! I was kind of half asleep because my original plan to sleep in the airport had been scrapped due to the fact that the Canadian chiks and I were chatting all night! My hosts were sisters, Nefeli and Idili who live together with their mum near the city centre. I quickly was introduced to George - their best friend, who practically lives at the girls place (well at least when I was there lol). I am just going to throw it out there - these 3 duuudes are amazing! I really had such an amazing time with them and I never felt so at home!!!!

Something cool that I learnt about my hosts is that they are involved in the film and media business. They have a recording studio in the basement in which they use to dubb films and series into Greek. Its kinda cool to know that their voices are on television throughout the Greek world! They also are involved with film production and are about to host a film course on a Greek island over the summer.

The first evening in Athens was fun as we all headed downtown to the Monastiraki district to smoke Shisha - there is like a whole street full of Shisha bars.... and smoking is still legal inside bars in Greece. Joining us was also the Canadian girls from the airport. Monastiraki is a funky nightspot filled with bars and classy coffeeshops. You can also see the Acropolis - which at night is all lit up.

The next day we were joined by another couch surfer, Sarah, who was surfing at the girls place (also from canada). George offered be our tour guide and the plan was to go visit the Acropolis. However, Greece being Greece - the site staff were on strike! So instead we wondered around the hills surrounding the Acropolis site which has stunning views looking out over the whole of Athens. From the top you can see the Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, Temple of Hephaestus and many other archeological sites. You can also see out to the sea with some islands popping up over the horizon. That afternoon we visited the Acropolis museum which contains artefacts discovered on and around the Acropolis hill. The most interesting item is the collection of 5 maidens taken from one of the temples near the Parthenon. (The 6th maiden is in London and the Greeks want it back!) That evening we went to go eat some Greek food.... however the typical cuisine is anything but Kosher so I had to settle for a Greek salad (still good though).

The next day we tried round 2 at the Acropolis. Success - the strike was off and we could visit the site. George (for a bit), Sarah and I explored the site which included the Parthenon, the theatre of Dionysis and down the hill - the temple of Zeus and Hadrians Arch. Afterwards we wandered through the central city until we came to Syntagma square, the heart of downtown which houses the Parliament. The sisters met up with us and we all went out to grab a Greek coffee (not dissimilar to Turkish coffee) in the Neasmyrni district.

I wanted to cook something for my hosts to enjoy - so we made Falafel! It was very yum, even though I grossly overestimated how many chickpeas we needed! The evening ended with a crazy game of Circle of Death.... the first of many to come!

For Shabbos I headed down to the local Synagogue and then enjoyed dinner by Chabad. It was really interesting to chat to the Rabbi's wife about Athenian Jewish life. It turns out it is not so different than that of Wellington - and they do not even have a kosher store!!! I had told my hosts that I would be back around tenish - turned out to be more like 2am! They were freaking out so much that they even tried to call the Rabbi - of course to no avail! We spent the whole night chatting away about all sorts of random and funny stuff. So as you can imagine - I skipped shule the next day and had a great shabbos shluf!

Saturday night was party night - Greek style! Some of my hosts mates came down and it was time to crank the circle of death - round 2! We played 2 rounds that night and consumed lol! Then we headed off to the clubs... Greek clubs are popular so there was no chance we were going to get into one of the best! We went to a club called Candy Bar and danced the night away!

Sunday morning hangovers are never fun! Drinking water helps! Anyways... off to the Archeological museum of Athens. It was free on Sunday - yay! It has an interesting collection of impressive statues and artefacts but the most interesting items are the golden death masks. The most famous is the mask of Agamemnon which, like the other masks, shows the impression of his face still to this day - creepy!

In the afternoon we all went down to the Marina, a hip funky seaside hangout packed full of funky restaurants, bars and of course - super yachts.

I really had an amazing experience in Athens! It wasn't so much the place or the history or the museums (although these of course were very interesting) - it was more the people. In particular: George, Nefeli and Idili - with whom I hung out with every night 'til the wee hours. I had such a good time in Athens that I have now booked a flight back.... In August I will fly from Tel Aviv to Athens, party it up in the Greek Islands and then fly direct to Cairo.

I took a train this morning to Thessaloniki and hopefully tomorrow I jump on a bus to Istanbul.... so excited!!!!!

Until next time you Malakas!

All roads lead to rome

Rome.... the great ancient metropolis that has been the centre of the world for millenia! And here I am roaming the streets of modern day Rome (excuse the pun!). Rome seems to have more catchphrases than other citys.... "When in Rome... do as the Romans do", "All roads lead to Rome" and "Rome wasn't built in a day"... just to quote a few!

Anyways... what have I been up to recently? Well.... I really was lucky that even though I had a shitty experience with the theft and all, at least I met some amazing people in Florence... 2 girls in particular who really made my Florentine experience one that I shall not forget. I originally met these two chiks (Rachel and Sheila) at the Chabad dinner and we decided to go visit Pisa together....

The three of us jumped on a local train to Pisa. The city itself has nothing really to offer except of course for the world famous leaning tower. Imagine if that tower had never decided to lean over... noone would have heard of Pisa!! You have to walk about 15 minutes from the train station but it is definately worth it. The leaning tower is the bell tower of a beautiful and grand basillica plonked in middle of the so called "field of miracles". The cathedral is quite typical of tuscan architecture with an elaborate stucco facade. The tower is much smaller than I originally imagined! We decided that we must take the typical cliche photos of us holding up the tower.... It took us a good ten minutes to figure out the perfect shot!!! After that we lay on the grass in front of the church and chilled!

That evening I was invited to have dinner with the girls. After dinner they took me on a night tour around Florence which included a stop at the lucky pig (a bronze statue of a hog, which apparently brings good luck if you stick a coin in its mouth lol), another trip up to the Michelangelo lookout (which by the way is just as stunning at night) and finally a pitstop at the "secret bakery" (a bakery that opens late at night, only known to locals and students). On the way back home (this was like 3 in the morning!) we stopped outside the ornate Santa Croce cathedral - another fine example of Florentine architecture. I think by the time we actually went to sleep the sun was coming up!!!

The next morning, after not much sleep, I boarded a train to Rome. It was quite funny seeing all the "I heart Roma" tee shirts inside the train station (for those who don't know, I have a friend called Roma). My host is Rome is Gaia, who I became friends with in Wellington when she was or an exchange for her PhD. As I had some time to kill at the station, I headed down to the Colosseum - probably Rome's most well known icon. It is quite impressive, although for some reason it does not look as old as it actually is....

Gaia picked me up and I was greeted by her lovely family who served me delicious Roman-Jewish cuisine consisting of Artichoke and pasta!

The next day I had to sort out my Israeli passport issue... so off to the embassy. After trying to convince the security of my case, they finally let me in - however I could not take anything with me except documents. I entered into a security room where I had to go through a thorough check which included some Israeli security dude rubbing my entire body to check that I was not carrying anything dodgy! Jeez they are paranoid!!! I finally was allowed to go inside and after completing a couple of forms, I could receive a new temporary passport.

Walking back from the embassy I strolled through a huge park in the north of Rome, known as Villa Borghese. It is a great place to get away from the noise and chaos of the city - although the southwest end of the park is packed full of tourists riding bikes and segways and of course bangladeshi men trying to sell you junk that you dont really need! The park edges onto Piazza del Popolo, which from the top of the hill gives you a nice panoramic view of the city. You can see domes of churches popping up all over the place!

I continued to walk south through the Colonna district which is where you will find lots of high fashion stores, and high class shopping .... but more importantly here is where you will find some of Rome's most famous sites. First stop was the Spanish steps. This was hyped up way too much! They are just steps, nice steps.... but steps all the same! Below the steps is a funky sinking boat fountain and the steps themselves are packed full of tourists!

I continued right down to Piazza Venezia. This is an impressive site. The site houses a realitively modern monument that was built in honour of the first King of unified Italy. It is a really impressive monument, in gleaming white and housing an impressive array of bronze statues. You can walk up to the terrace of the monument for an impressive view over the city. (For a more impressive view you can pay to go to the very top - flag!)

In the afternoon I went to visit the area known as the Roman Forum and Palantine hill. Situated between the Colosseum and Piazza Venezia is a huge area which once was the epicentre of ancient Roman life. Today it lays in ruins, however the excavations have uncovered some fascinating temples, cardos (ancient markets), roman streets, arhces, pillars and even an almost complete sport stadium. I spent almost 3 hours walking through the ruins! Some of the site is extremelly important in terms of understanding Roman history including the house of Augustus, the great Roman emporer. For me the most interesting site, was that of the Arch of Titus. The arch has a clear depiction of the victory in Judea over the ancient Jews. It shows the soldiers returning from war carrying the spoils.... including the Menorah!

The next day I went back into the city to check out the Pantheon. This complex is over 2000 years old and once was a Roman temple to the gods. It was later converted into a cathedral and has had continious work done over the centuries. The famous renaisance artist Raphael was responsible for designing the dome, which is one of the most complex freestanding domes ever constructed! Inside is stunning, especially when you raise your head toward the dome! Interestingly there is a hole in the middle.... not sure what happens when it rains!!! Also inside is the grave of Raphael, who was given the priviledge of being buried here due to his contribution to the art world.

Just a few blocks away from the Pantheon is a large square called Piazza Navona. Circled by restaurants and cafes, the square hosts many street artists. Down from Navona is the Campo de Fiori which by day is a food market, and by night is an open air pub! It used to be the place where public executions were held!

Eastward is the famous Trevi fountain. One of the most stunning water works I have ever seen, it stands tall against a building in a tiny square. In front is a small crystal clear pool, where there is a traddition to throw money over your shoulder into the pool to ensure your return to Rome. The place was packed with tourists!!! And so many people throwing their money away.... apparently an average day racks up 3000 euros!!! I heard that this money is collected and then given to charity.

I returned to the Colosseum - this time to go inside. Following the circular path I climbed up through the galleries. It is quite interesting to see how the eliptical monunment was constructed, as the foundations are quite clear inside. You can also see what was constructed underneath the original stage - a series of rooms to hold the gladiators and animals. The colosseum has a series of information placcards and small museum displays to explain the story and put everything into context.

From the Colosseum I wandered down to the Great Synagogue of Rome. There is a Jewish museum but unfortunately I got there just as it closed. The shule stands tall and proud, and looks very similar to the many churches scattered throughout Rome due to its prominent dome.... however the lack of a cross gives it away. Next to the synagogue is the Tiber river, Romes equivalent of the London Thames, or Paris Seine. There is a small island in the middle of the river called Isola Tiberina, which contains a couple of churches, gelato shops and a small synagogue.

I had some time to kill that evening so I went for a casual stroll. The thing about Rome, is that everywhere you walk you will bump into some ancient ruin or grand cathedral. And that is exactly what happened.... just up from the shule are some old ancient ruins including the Portico D'Ottavia and a little further up are some ancient temples. These temples are interesting because today they are populated by stray cats! Across the road is a cat sanctuary and the strays get fed every day outside the temples.

At 8pm I walked down to the Trastevere district, one of the nightlife centres of Rome, for some drinks with the local couch surfing contingent. Gaia, and one of her friends from Milan joined us - and although drinks were expensive - good times were had by all!!!

I do have more to write because I am too tired and I have to get up early tomorrow to get to the Vatican I must leave my blog update here.... to be continued......

Trust noone

Buongiorno!

Well I must say that Italy so far has been an emotional roller coaster!!

Lets get the bad shit out the way first.....

So the long of the short of it is that some dude in my hostel stole 2 of my 3 passports, 200 odd euro, my ipod, my camera and my cellphone!! Life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The guy that took my stuff played me like a fiddle... fed me bullshit stories about his job, his life and even his name. He was a nice outgoing guy who bought me drinks and even trusted me with his own wallet!! He seemed like a trustworthy good honest type! How wrong I was!!! I stupidly left my things in the dorm hidden in my bag for 1 hour. Stupid!!! Came back to find everything gone..... Curiously though he left my credit cards and one passport.... how kind of him!!!

He originally told me that he would be staying in Florence for a while and that he would come to Pisa with me on Monday. He dissapeared last night .... never to be seen again. I talked to the hostel staff in the morning and we looked at a copy of a document that they had for this man's booking. Turns out his name is Paul, not Ari and he is from Canada, not California!! I now know beleive that he was scamming me the whole time.... What a douch!

I have learnt 2 lessons from this experience. 1 - is trust noone! (except your friends and family of course) and 2 - material things mean nothing!

Anyways such is life.... I now have a new phone number (+39 327 068 2020) but no camera to take photos :( Oh well it is more about the experiences right??!!! The blog shall continue as my record of this amazing trip!!!

Dont worry about me guys! Honestly, I am/was pretty upset, but I am ok! Life goes on....

Ok and now for the good......

Venice! The city of Gondolas, canals, glass, crazy loud italian men and great food! (As I had written my travel notes on my Ipod until now, I will attempt to share my experiences from memory). I arrived in Venice in the evening and it was bucketing down! The lonely planet had let me know that finding cheap accomodation in Venice is difficult so I headed to the only hostel listed. I arrived, totally soaked, only to find out that there was no vacancy! Luckily the receptionist was kind enough to ring around and find me a place! She sent me off to a one star hotel situated in a conviently central location!

The rain stopped the next morning, thank G-d!, and I headed out to explore the city. Venice consits of a collection of islands, canals, bridges and alleyways. With the exception of one island and a small block of venice proper, there are no cars to be seen... just ferries, boats and gondolas. The public transport system is great and consists of a series of ferries that go around the islands stopping at floating bus stops. There are also taxi boats and gondolas, if you have the money! I bought myself a 3 day pass and after 4 boat rides it had paid for itself!

My first location to visit was the awe-inspiring San Marco square. I took the number 1 boat-bus down the Grand Canal. This trip is a must as it gives you a great view of Venice as you zig zag yourself down the main boat "highway". San Marco square is home to the San Marco Basillica, a truly amazing Catherdral with beautiful domes and golden paint work. Across the square sits a huge bell tower made from red brick. I took the lift to the top and was blown away by the gorgeous view! The 360 degree view reveals canals and marvellous grand churches (which there are many!!) scattered throughout. Also in the square is the Doge's palace (home to the historic governors of Venice), a funky clock tower and millions of tourists.

I decided that it was important to explore the city by foot as well as by boat and so I invested in a walking guide (only 4 euro and also works as a discount card) and followed the itineraries suggested for the San Marco district, the Castello district and the Ghetto. The winding streets, alleyways and squares reveal a thriving city packed full of restaurants, designer stores, tourist traps and boutiques. There are so many churches to see in Venice that after going to 5 I decided I had had enough!

I really wanted to do a Gondola ride but at 80 euros an hour, it was not going to happen! Luckily you can have a 30 second experience, by crossing the Grand Canal for 50 cents! Tick this one off the list!

The next day I decided to go check out the Ghetto. This is the Jewish area of Venice. It has a fascinating history and in fact was where the word ghetto came from! Originally there was a metal foundry in this location which is old Venitian is pronounced Jetto. When the Jews came in the 15th century their Ashkenazic pronunciation changed the word to ghetto, as we know today. Jews that lived in Venice had to live in the ghetto, and were only allowed to leave by day. They were also only allowed to have certain professions such as money lending. Entering the Ghetto you notice the tall buildings, as real estate was limited so the Jews had to build upward. The spainsh jews arrived later after they were kicked out from Spain and brought great wealth and connections to Venice. Because of this the Sephardi Jews were allowed special priveliges, such as building outside the ghetto and building freestanding synagogues (as opposed to synagogues hidden inside buildings like the Ashkenzim had to do).

I went to the Jewish museum and did the Shule tour. This was worthwhile, as we could visit 3 of the original shules generally closed to the public. We were shown both Sephardi and Ashkenaz, both very much influenced by the Venitian artistic styles. You can spot the syngagoues from the outside only by small domes and large windows in sets of five, to symbolise the 5 books of moses. Today there are only 100 or so Jews that live in the Venice. However there is a kosher restaurant, Chabad house and Yeshiva, 1 active synagogue and a few jewish shops selling touristy venitian style menorahs etc.

Ooo that reminds me.... Every where you go in Venice you see Venitian masks by the truck load!!! I really wanted to buy one but to schlep it around would be a hassle!

I grabbed lunch at the kosher restaurant, called Gam Gam. I ordered a delicious pasta dish with a creamy green sauce! Yum!

After lunch I went to explore the Rialto region which is famous for its impressive bridge (one of 4 that cross the grand canal, but by far the most impressive), and the extravagant markets. One part of the market sells all sorts of touristy junk from I heart Venezia t-shirts, to Venitian masks that are way over priced. It is still however fun to wonder through and experience the atmosphere. On the other side are the fruit and veges markets (and on certain days fish markets) where you can buy food that is also overpriced! See the theme here? Venice is expensive!!!!

The next day I took a trip on the public boat-bus to the Island of Lido. A long thin island, which boasts Venice's best beaches. It was weird to get off the boat and be contronted by buses and cars! I walked down to the beach just to have a quick look. Nothing much to see except for some Pakistani dude trying to sell scarves to keep out the cold!

I wanted to check out some Venetian art, and the best place for this is the Academia gallery. The gallery was quite impressive with some quite ancient works, mostly from the insides of churches.

On my last day it was raining again!!! Yay for me! Actually it was bucketing down! I can not actually complain because all in all I have had maybe 3 days of rain on my whole trip! I wanted to go out to Murano island as it is the home of Venetian glass so I grabbed my jacket and off I went. The boat ride was a bit rough - lucky I dont get sea sick! I tried to explore the island but the rain was too bad so I had a quick look in the windows of some of the funky glass shops and then I popped into the glass museum. The museum houses a collection of glass from Venice over the last 500ish years, showing the progression in glass making techniques and styles. Some very interesting and strange pieces were on display.

That evening I met up with some couch surfers (including a kiwi dude!). One guy was from Venice and he showed us around some interesting places that I had not discovered which was nice! On returning to my hotel I was amazed at how high the water level had risen! It had even started to flood the entrance to my hotel!!! I was told Venice is sinking, but did not expect to see whole roads dissapear under water!!

Not sure when I did this, but I also visited the grand Salute church that sits at the entrance of the Grand Canal. It is truly impressive from outside, but the inside is suprisingly dull!

Goodbye Venice.............. Hello Florence!!!!

I managed to find a cheap hostel quite quickly in Florence. I dumped my stuff and then headed off to the first must-see: The Duomo - this basillica suddenly appears as you turn the corner of any of the downtown main streets. Unlike many other large catherdrals, it is located in the heart of downtown and surrounded by apartment and shopping buildings. The decoration of the church is dramatic, with its amazing white facade and impressive red brick domes. I must say that the Duomo is the most impressive church i have seen on my travels! Inside is just as impressive with high ceilings as well as walls plastered in amazing artwork and stained glass. Outside the church is a large bell tower, also ornate in design. There is no lift to get to the top so I decided to pass!!

There are 2 must see galleries in Florence. The first is the Academia gallery which although small houses the famous David, carved by Michelangelo as well as other interesting Italian renaissance works. Next stop is the Uffizi gallery. This gallery is huge and extremely popular with tourists. My advice is to buy your ticket online, because I waited for 1.5 hours standing in line to get in!!!! It was definetly worth it - the gallery contains many of the greatest works by the Renaissance legends including DaVinci, Michelangello, Botticelli, Donatello and Raphael. The one painting that stood out in my mind (maybe because I have seen it before and I dont know much about renaissance art) was the birth of Venus by Botticelli.

Florence is a small city so very easy to walk around. I think I have walked just about the entire city! The first thing you notice, beside the amazing architecture, is the amount of American students! Tuscany houses many international schools, where students (mostly from the US) come to study Italian and art history. It is kind of cool because it feels like a student city and there are lots of student deals to be found throughout. I walked down to the Piazza della Signoria, a square that contains the Palazzo Vecchio and an interesting display of statues. One in particular stands out - a carbon copy of David. The David statue used to stand here, so a copy was placed for those who can't afford to go see the real thing (don't think that is the real reason lol).

Continuing through the winding streets you come down to the river and the Ponte Vecchio bridge. From a distance it looks like a whole bunch of funky small apartments were build on the edge of a bridge. When I walked across I discovered that the the apartments were actually all jewellery shops. Originally there used to be butchers along the bridge, but the mayor of the city wanted something more classy so he kicked them out and replaced them with goldsmiths which over time evolved into jewellery shops.

Thursday night was St Patricks day. I went out to a local Irish pub, and enjoyed a few green beers! I met lots of students from all over the world! Good times!!!

Shabbat: I went to the local Synagogue for services. I was truly suprised at how amazing and huge his old shule is! In true florence style it has huge beautiful domes and amazing paintwork inside and out! The service was done in the traditional italian way and the voice of the chazzan echoed throughout the huge interior. The shule is weird because there is a pipe organ at the front - kind of felt like a church a little bit! After the service I went to the local Chabad for dinner. The Chabad rabbi is an older man and he was orginally sent out by the Rebbe to look after the Jewish students. Apparently there are 500 Jewish students in Tuscany every summester. The dinner was nice and the guests were a mixture of Israelis, American families and students. There was so much good food - I couldnt even finish my chicken!!!

I went to the morning service on Saturday and was back at Chabad for lunch. I was chatting to the Rabbis youngest son (he is one of ten kids!!) and he took me on a walking tour around the city and up to piazzale Michelangelo - a lookout spot up a small hill. The view from the top is like a perfect postcard panoroma. The grand churches of the city pop out across the skyline in all their glory. Even the great synagogue dominates the eastern part of the cityscape.

I went back in the evening for Purim. The service was kind of boring as there were no young people and no organised party!! But at least I can say I made the mitzvah of hearing the Megillah!

I planned on going out on Purim day to Bologna, where a large student Purim party was to be held but due to my misfortune with my stuff being taken I had to unfortunately cancel that plan! Oh well.. you win some, you lose some!! So instead of stressing myself even more I just had a chilled day including visiting the Strozzi gallery which houses an impressive collection of Picasso, Dali and Miro works. It is a unique gallery because it is disaplayed anti-chronologically and you truly get a feel for how the artists influenced eachother.

Tomorrow I will pop over to Pisa to see the famous tower and on Tuesday I am off to Rome.

I hope everyone is well!

Ciao

Pretending to be rich on the French Riviera

Wow it seems like forever-ago that I was in France!

By the way I have put up a few more photos for you all to enjoy. You can see the album here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=295746&l=e3bbe7d0a9&id=505828375

On the train from Spain to Marseille I had to make 2 changes, including passing through Figures the village where Dali spent most of his life. Unfortunately I could not stop and the train continued along the coast passing small villages and huge flocks of pink flamingos.

Leaving the station in Marseille I was quite suprised to see how many North Africans there were. The suburb of Belsunce sits right below the station and here you can find Moroccans, Algerians and plenty of Kebab stores!

I checked into a cheap hotel for one night and wondered down to check out the old port. This area is the heart of the city and the port is filled with hundreds of yachts. Bars and restaurants line the ports edges while and old fortress guards the entrance. Perched up on top of the highest point of the city is the Notre Dame de la Garde cathedral which dominates the skyline.

The next morning I took a bus up the hill to see the cathedral. Inside the cathedral is an unsual site - hundreds of paintings line the walls including impressions of ships and plane crashes! The view from the top is amazing. You can see the whole of Marseille as it stretches into the hills. You can also see out into the ocean. There are 3 main islands, not far from the mainland including the Ile D'If, made famous by the story "The Count of Monte Cristo". The prison from the story still stands and apparently if you visit it you can see the tunnel that was dug all those years ago!

Returning from the cathedral I decided to walk from the old port to the Prado beaches. It took me about 1.5 hours but it was certainly worth it. The coast line is gorgeous with little bays and lagoons. I made a quick stop at the Pharo palace, a Napoleanic mansion with a great view toward to the old and new ports. The Prado beaches hug the coast for a few kilometres and consist of both sandy and stone beaches. Being winter there were not so many people out but I could imagine that this area would be packed in the summer!

For the last couple of days in Marseille I managed to find a couch surfing host. His name was Thibaud and he really showed me a great time! He came and met me and we cycled back to his place together. It has been a while since I have cycled and boy am I unfit!! Did not help that I had my backpack on me too!

That evening we went to town for a couple of drinks and I was lucky enough to get a ride on Thibaud's motorbike! We zoomed down the main streets... Good times!

The next day I wanted to go and visit Ile D'If but unfortunately it was too windy and the boats could not stop there. So instead I went to the Frioul Islands. As you walk along the island you can see plenty of rugged coasts and interesting plant life, but to be honest this was not so impressive compared to New Zealand. The islands also host some ancient ruins and fortresses.

It turns out that Thibaud's neighbour was Israeli and so we popped in to say hello. We ending up listening to 70s and 80s punk rock and drinking beers! The Israeli dude also recommended a good kosher Shwarma place downtown so off we went!

We cycled into the city and found the kosher place and damn was it a good feed! After we were both full we popped down to a local shisha bar to watch the big game... Arsenal versus Barcelona.

Next stop ... Nice

Nice is a cute little beach town and is the heart of the French Riveira. Also to my suprise, Nice houses a sizable Jewish populatin of 25000 and has a few kosher restaurants. On the first day I went out and explored the city. The main street down town stretches from the train station right down to a large square just before the beach promenade. The square was all kitted out for Carnival, which had just finished the day before, including large floats, grandstands and screens.

If you face the sea and turn left you come to the old city of Nice which is a series of thin alleyways, markets and restaurants. The markets are a delight to all the senses, especially the nose with strong smelling cheeses, freshly baked baguette, nutella crepes and all sorts of meats... Beyond the old city lies the port, very similar to Marseille's old port.

The next day Joel arrived from Sweden and we decided to go chill with the billionaires in Monaco! We took a train and headed straight for the Monte Carlo casino. As we are actually quite poor we decided against going inside (they charge you just to enter!) - instead we sat right outside and drank Monaco beer (at 6 euro a bottle ouch!). I have never seen so many expensive cars in once place... Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Bentley.... Rich people everywhere! We then walked to the port and were blown away by the size of the boats! Private yachts as big as a football field! From here we wondered down to the beaches to enjoy another expensive beer! Monaco may be the place where Europe's rich and famous come out to relax but to be honest I was not so impressed. The city itself is not that stunning and the beaches are pretty average.... I guess its the tax free living that is the main draw!

After returning from Monaco we headed down to the main square where the final celebrations of Carnival were happening (turns out they were delayed because of the weather). There was some strange performance by some local kids but the main event was out on the ocean. We rushed down to the beach to try and find a place to watch the show... everyone else in Nice had the same idea! The final act of Carnival is to burn the King. Floating out on the ocean was a giant dude perched on top of a barge. He was then set alight and this was followed by an impressive 30 minute firework display... one of the best I have seen!

The next morning we headed to the Nice museum of contemporary art. I was hoping to find Andy Warhol's famous Campbells soup cans, as I had read in the lonely planet that this is where it is kept. Well... it was not there (although there was another work of Warhols on display) ... instead we saw all sorts of funky, weird "art" from strange blue men to crazy installations. I really do not understand most modern art, I must admit!

Finishing up at the museum we decided to climb up a small hill near the beach. On top lay the ruins of some old fortress, but it is the view over the city that makes the climb worth it. Interestingly the Jewish cemetery is also found up the hill.

That evening was Shabbos, so Joel and I rocked up to the local Chabad. After Kabbalat Shabbat we were sent off with a family for a delicious meal. It was really interesting chatting with a local family and boy was the chicken good! For shabbos lunch we were also sent off to a family, this time a younger Israeli chabadnik and his French wife. Thank you Chabad for the nice Shabbat experience!

Saturday night - time to party! We me up with some Couch Surfers who were studying in Nice and also a German dude from our dorm. In the pub we met all sorts of strange characters including some dodgy Canadian who kept hitting on the girls, some Aussie dude who was out drinking while his wife was sleeping and some very drunk british guy straight out of lock stock! Good times!

Well now I am in Italy... Been to Venice and now in Florence... You will have to wait until my next update to hear all about it! ;)

Ciao!

Carnaval!

Bonjour!

Yep I am back in France :) Before I tell you about my French adventures I better recap the last couple of weeks....

Granada was my next stop in the south of Spain. I had found a couch surfer to host me but had no idea that his english was not so good until I called him to arrange to get to his house. It did not help that the train station had no spare maps or any information in English! It took me some time, but eventually I made it! Oscar, my host was a really good guy and really made sure that I was comfortable.

The city of Granada is a beautiful city nestled in the hills under the great Siera Nevada mountain range. On the first day I decided to explore the old city. Situated just below the famous Alhambra fortress is a spread of white houses and apartments and lots of boutique restaurants and cafes mostly serving north african and arab dishes. There is still a strong connection in Granada with Islam, as it never really was extinguished here unlike in other parts of Spain during the inquisition.

Walking back down to the new part of the city I encountered a huge protest. I am not sure what they were shouting about, but I think it was something about freedom of expression.... bloody hippies!

The next morning I went up to the Alhambra. The complex is massive and contains a collection of mosques, palaces, churches, bath houses and gorgeous gardens. The Alhambra looks out over the entire city and was built there for strategic purposes. The Nazarite Palace is the highlight of the complex, with amazing stucco plaster work, fountains and tradittional muslim design blended with christian symbolism.

I didn't get a chance to see the whole complex because Oscar came and picked me up as he was taking his kids to the ski resort on the Siera Nevada. Hmmm a chance to go snow boarding in Spain... I was not going to turn that down! The Siera Nevada ski resort is huge with many chair lifts, gondala cable cars and amazing ski runs! At the base of the resort is a mini city with cafes, bars, ski hire and even a supermarket. After hiring my equipment, I went straight to the top and had a few greats runs... as well as a few bails! Good times!

That evening I was quite exhausted, as you can imagine, so I decided to meet up with a few couchsurfers in the area for a quiet drink (or two)! I ended up meeting four American girls who were studying in Granada and we went to a quirky Tapas bar in the new city. In Granada the tapas are free with ever drink and you can usually choose what you want. I had a great night (even though I had to walk home because the buses had stopped) and I even got to do a quick Haka to show the girls lol!

Next stop - Barcelona! Everytime I hear the name Barcelona that song by Queen comes into my head lol! Anyways it was great to be back in a port city - i really miss the sea! In Barcelona I was staying with a couch surfer called Juan. Juan is a great guy! He is orginally from Peru, and being South American he is naturally full or energy, outgoing and fun loving! Thanks to him I really had a great time in the party city of Barcelona!

Barcelona has a similar energy to Madrid, with excellent night life! Lots of funky bars fill the alley ways throughout the downtown area. The main boulevard is called La Rambla and stretches from the main port, port Vell, right into the heart of the city. Along La Rambla you can find everything including restaurants, bars, icecream vendors, pet shops.... but most interestingly are the many buskers including magicians, and people pretending to be statues. Some of the later are quite extraordinary - my favourite being the dude on the toilet who sits there reading his paper, sitting on the loo all day! If you give him so money you can score a photo and a he will fart as you walk away hahah!

The old part of the city is known as Barri Gothic and contains an impressive gothic catherdral. Also in the area is a history museum which contains an excavated roman city that lies below the gothic quarter. The museum tells the history of Barcelona over the last few thousand years and even has some gravestones written in Hebrew.

Going back along La Rambla I popped into the Mercat de la Boqueria, a funky food market. The market is a rainbow display of fresh fruit, veges, fish and most importantly: ham!

The next day it was time to explore the Eixample district. This was a suburb that is a prime example of town planning with criss-cross avenues and a main diagonal road cutting the district in two, creatively called Avenida Diagonal! The streets here are filled with high fashion stores but the thing I came to see are the Gaudi creations. Gaudi was a famous Spanish architect who used nature as inspiration to design really out-there, Doctor Suess style buildings! I visited two of the most famous - La Pedera and Sagrada Familia. La Pedera is an apartment building with really strange chimneys and balconies that look like vine leaves. The roof and one apartment are open to the public so I had a quick look around before heading to Gaudi's most impressive creation, the Sagrada Familia.

The Sagrada Familia is a huge catherdral which they started to build in the 1800s and they will not complete until at least 2020! It is truly inspiring, with its huge spike towers and amazing stone work. Inside is full of light pouring through ornate stain glass windows and bouncing off the white washed walls. Currenly only 4 towers are complete, but the final design will have 13 representing the Apostles and Jesus. I can only imagine how impressive this will be once complete!

That afternoon I popped down to Port Olympic near some of the main city beaches. Here scores of fancy bars line the port and the beaches ready to pump through the night (in the summer that is!) After that I met up with Juan and we both got haircuts together... mine was way overdue! It only cost 3 Euros!!! We then went out to have a few drinks including a 1 Litre Mohito - Yum! Later that night we went to go meet up with the couch surfing crew and I met all sorts of interesting people travelling the world just like me! Good times!

On Friday I went to visit Park Guell, another Gaudi creation. This park looks like a cartoon and is packed with children playing as well as buskers and street musicians. I sat and listened to a great south american band singing and pumping some Spanish beats! The park is up in the hills quite far from the ocean, so you get a truly amazing view of the whole of Barcelona city and the Mediterranian sea. There are also parrots flying overhead as you walk up through the park.

For Shabbat I went to the local Chabad shule (spelt Jabad in Spanish haha) where I experienced an interesting blend of typical Chabad style mixed with Spanish Sephardi tunes! There were other tourists there from Argentina, Brazil and the US and after the service we were all invited back to the Rabbis house for Shabbos dinner. There must have been at least 40 guests and we sang and drank L'chaims through the night! On Saturday there was a nice Kiddush after shule were I met all sorts of interesting people - good times!

Juan and his friends were going to Carnaval on saturday night and I was invited to join them. I am so glad that I agreed! The party runs for 4 days and is all over Spain, but we were going to a town called Sitges, known for its large gay community and is the second biggest Carnaval in Spain! We took the train and arrived to see hundreds of people dressed in all sorts of crazy costumes dancing the night away! We found ourselves a space outside a club and danced until the wee hours of the morning! Carnaval is something like the Rugby Sevens on steroids, with hundreds of crazy people drinking, dancing and living the hedonistic lifestyle!

We got back to Barcelona at 5am and I got the chance to have a quick nap before I had to head out to catch my train for Marseille at 9am! Hangover and tired ... great combination!

Thank you for the great times Spain! And now back to France...... Baguette!