Amazing Israel

The first Bank holiday weekend for the year we decided to reprise a great holiday from last year - a bit of a Middle Eastern adventure for 10 days or so with Angus and Jamie.  Last year Jordan & Egypt - this year Israel, although it was a close call with the Border Agency whether my passport would turn up and we would actually get to go.  Never fear, after an emergency courier from Liverpool the evening before we were on our way to magical Jerusalem.  

The view of Temple Mount and the Old City from the Mount of Olives

Our first night we arrived to stay in our pilgrim's guesthouse in the Old City late, after the shops had closed for the night.  It was incredibly evocative with the golden stone everywhere as we walked through Damascus Gate and wound our way through the cobbled streets.  The next morning we woke to hear hymns floating up to our window being sung by people walking the Stations of the Cross on their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - built on the site believed to be that of the crucifixion of Christ.

Damascus Gate by day

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (above and below)

The Eighth Station of the Cross on Via Dolorosa

The Garden of Gethsemane

While the sights in the Christian Quarter were amazing, the Jewish and Muslim Quarters of the Old City were also incredible, particularly the Wailing Wall (below) and the Orthodox neighbourhood. 

 Leaving Jerusalem we travelled into the West Bank and saw a different side of Israel.  Having seen (and felt sympathy for) the Jewish men and women pressed against the Wailing Wall as being the closest place to Muslim-controlled Temple Mount that they were permitted to pray, it was confounding to see the wall surrounding the West Bank (graffiti below on the Palestinian side) and in particular to travel to Hebron. 

In Hebron we saw armed Israeli soldiers patrolling a boarded up thoroughfare in the midst of 'Area A' - supposedly the Palestinian controlled area - so that Zionist Jewish settlers, ostensibly prevented from settling in the area, could travel to and from the synagogue along the road. Palestinian children had been prevented from travelling to school along the road and Palestinian shops were boarded up and abandoned. This is most definitely a land of fierce contradictions (although many Israeli Jews denounce the Zionists so there is a myriad of different views).

Israeli army checkpoint amidst boarded up shops in Area A in Hebron

While in the West Bank we spent a night in Bethlehem and visited the Church of the Nativity which contains a small grotto said to mark the birthplace of Christ. It is incredible to think that every Christmas service all around the world is focussed on an event happening in this small place.  

We had had such a good time in the Dead Sea on the Jordanian side that we had to revisit it while in Israel. Armed with Moses the musical camel we took a road trip down to the Dead Sea and spent some time floating, soaking and hamming it up below sea level.  

Moses leading us into the desert

Shoreline - 422m below sea level

Also in the Dead Sea area is Massada - the remains of a fortified settlement on top of a mountain where in approx 80AD a Jewish community committed suicide en masse rather than be taken by the Romans who had put them to siege. It is a decent walk up but a reflective time on the top. 

Leaving behind the dry and dusty Dead Sea we travelled north to the chilled out Sea of Galilee with its kibbutzes and organic food. We ate well, relaxed and tried (but failed) to walk on water. 

Last stop Tel Aviv, via Nazareth, Haifa (home of the Bahai Gardens) and Acco, former Crusader stronghold.   We were packing it in! but for a small country Israel has so much to see.  

Basilica of the Annunciation of Mary, Nazareth

Ba'hai Gardens, Haifa

Crusader tunnel, Acco

Tel Aviv was a great last stop - incredibly clear blue water and golden sand right across the road, and a cool chilled out vibe (with amazing food) that meant a really relaxing wind down to the end of the trip. And a great place to spend a birthday!

Israel - you've been great and I hope to be back someday!

M

Jubilee spirit

The Sunday of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations featured a 1,000 strong flotilla of boats making their way down the Thames.  Happily Shaun's work is in prime spectator position so even in the rain we were treated to a grand display. 

The man-powered boats start to make their way towards Tower Bridge





Waka passing under Tower Bridge

M



Bar-celona

For Easter we decided to head (finally) to Barcelona, the city everyone had been raving to me about but which we'd never managed to actually get to.  Barcelona turned on some sunshine and we enjoyed a great 3 days wandering the streets, seeing the Gaudi architecture and absorbing the Catalan vibe.

S channeling his Euro metro side

La Sagrada Familia dwarfing the rest of the city..yet still under construction

Close up on the Sagrada pinnacles - crazy doves and tree tops

Inside La Sagrada Familia - the 'forest canopy'

What is this strange warm orb in the sky?

Gaudi architecture - La Pedrera

Rooftop of La Pedrera

Little tapas stop

Casa Batllo (above and below)

Time for a little mojito

Back to London nice and refreshed having spent the weekend surrounded by colour, crazy creative shapes and lots of sunshine. 

M

18 December 2011...

One year on and it was time for a wedding anniversary celebration somewhere cold, snowy and preferably with a Christmas market (which could provide commemorative boot-shaped mugs for the occasion).  So, Luxembourg for the weekend!

We stayed in a cute little hotel near the centre of the old town in Luxembourg (city) which was built across a steep river valley with some fierce-looking ramparts to wander. 

As Saturday night drew in we were treated to our first snowfall of the winter - big fat flakes tumbling out of the sky.  The next morning we woke up for a day of exploring castles in our rental car to a winter wonderland scene immediately north of the city which was fantastic.  Luxembourg - tiny country but a lovely couple of days.

M

Oh What A Summer!

Our summer holiday this year was the Walkers Haute Route that runs from Chamonix in France to Zermatt in Switzerland across the Alps. We started at Champex Lac and hiked for 11 days up and over 10 mountain passes covering 170 odd kilometres.  We had brilliant weather, albeit surprising when we awoke to the mountains covered in snow one morning.

At times the trail was pasture complete with cows (their bells really do reverberate through the Swiss valleys) and at other times thin mountain paths with perilous drops and the danger of falling rocks.

One of the real pleasures of the Walkers Haute Route is that at the end of each day, whether we were in a village staying in a small hostel or in a mountain hut, we were met with fantastic hospitality and great cheese. And sometimes a stunning view like the one below from the dining room of the Cabane de Moiry which overlooks Moiry icefall.

Finally after 11 days we arrived above Zermatt with the Matterhorn standing proud to welcome us.

All in all it was a fantastic trip into the mountains that has whet the appetite for further high altitude wandering.

M & S

Training while its Raining...

Desk jobs don't exactly prime you for a lengthy hike in the Alps.  So, it was time to dedicate three of our summer weekends to the pursuit of fitness and firmer thighs walking up and down some hills in Wales.  We tracked a trail along a medieval dyke, wandered the high paths in the Brecon Beacons and scrambled up Mt Snowdon and its neighbour.  And in the moments when we weren't taking the photos below, it rained...and rained...and rained...

Alps here we come!!

M