israel!

shame on me! i have been back from israel for a week now and i haven't found a minute to write about my vacation. thumbs down! today i was asked by an "instagram friend" for travel tips about israel. i was flattered by the request, and threw him a loooong with what i did, hoping he would get inspired. and then i thought i could share my thoughts here, so that maybe some of you will get intrigued. 
israel is a very easy destination, this surprised me. 

rule number 1: RENT A CAR! it's so easy to drive around. when we made reservation online we forgot to ask for a gps, and when we got to the counter they told us they finished all the gps. we felt lost for a minute or two, but as soon as we jumped in the car we realized how easy it was to drive around even only with a good old map. 

so this is what dany and i did over five full days in the country, along with some travel tips that might be useful  (here i won't lose myself in places descriptions, those are for next time):

1. jerusalem.  
you can stay up to 3-4 days in the city. It's worth it. just make sure you pick a THURSDAY night, as it's so alive and fun. in fact, you will see NOBODY on the streets on friday nights and saturdays... we couldn't find one single store open for breakfast on Saturday morning! thursdays are like saturday nights in Italy, very much alive. 

we checked into a hotel with a very convenient location close to Jaffa Street. not fancy, but cozy enough. the name of the place is city center, and it's in the new part of Jerusalem, which is very vibrant. 

old city jerusalem... what to say about it. it needs a post of its own. 

for the time being, i'll only share pictures of it. 

2. bethlehem. 

from Jerusalem you can go to bethlehem in thirty minutes top: TAKE A CAB from the Mount of Olives to go there. the drivers will offer half the price than the hotels and tours, so you are going to spend about $75 per person. you need to take a cab because it's not possible to drive on your own in palestine, and you don't want to find yourself in trouble. the impression we got was that beyond the wall that separates jerusalem from palestine all was very quiet and calm, and i'm sure it is. but rental companies so not cover there, so if you have a car accident i let you imagine the pain. 

bethlehem is a nice city, i didn't expect at all to find KFC there!!! but there was. i guess i was envious... in italy we don't even have starbucks! the thing about bethlehem is that as you walk in the town you will see many shops closed. the christian community is slowly leaving, due to the lack of jobs and a relationship of 4 women/1 man. 

3. nazareth. 

two hours are more than enough here! the place is known as the arab capital of israel. lots of crowded streets. it took as one full hour to drive less than a mile and leave the town. crazy traffic and narrow streets!  

there's the church of the annunciation, sometimes also referred to as the basilica of the annunciation: the lower level contains the grotto, believed by many christians to be the remains of the original childhood home of Mary. 

if you leave jerusalem and head north to tiberias, it's on the way and it's worth a stop. 

4. tiberias. 

on the sea of galilee (which is actually a lake), tiberias is one of the hottest places in israel. it's below the sea level, so you can imagine the heat. 

we went there on saturday, and since it is a jewish city all the places were closed but one and only, where we had a delicious lunch and sipped a local beer (maccabee) to refresh a little.

5. haifa. 

great city. if you go, make sure the Bahá'í gardens are open. the view from up there is gorgeous. 

6. netanya beach.
beaches from haifa to tel aviv are all beautiful. white thin sand and wild. hope these speak for themselves. 

7. tel aviv. 

unfortunately, we got to spend only one night here, before heading to the airport for our overnight flight. 

we went to dine at jaffa port and had a great impression of it. we eat in a greek restaurant up on the hill, where i tasted the weirdest recipe (but yummy): lumb with yoghurt and mint leaves on pita bread. 

there are many restaurants in jaffa, local or ethnic. 

i hope i will have another chance to visit tel aviv better next time.  

in addition, some randoms: 

1. the best travel guides of all time are the FODOR's, they are only in english, but i usually buy on amazon. full of helpful details and they don't make too many mistakes :-) i traveled with other guides in the past and sometimes i got lost (for instance, in beijing, and you don't want to get lost in such a huge city where nobody knows a word of english and no directions at all!).

2. in old city jerusalem, remember to have a meal at Abu Shukri. they make the best hummus i have ever tasted (and i tried many, modestly!). it was suggested by every guide: not fancy, local clientele. 

i confirm about the quality of the hummus. i'm still dreaming of it (daydreaming, too!). 

so i hope i shared interesting things this time. more soon. 

children of myanmar

This essay was posted today on The Equals Record (with other pictures).

Before leaving to Myanmar, I had read so much online about it. Mostly, I was concerned about traveling safely in a country where traditions are so different and the political situation quite unstable. We all have heard a lot about Myanmar lately, and not all of it is good news. It seems that Myanmar is heading toward a more democratic government, but still in the outer provinces, those areas that are out of reach for tourists and seem so forgotten, ethnic fighting is happening. While gathering handful information, I learned that Myanmar is quite a bit more conservative than other countries in Southeast Asia, which means I packed t-shirts with leaves and long pants for those days. Knowing that the medical system and the pharmacies are still underdeveloped, I stocked up all the medicines I thought I may need. I learned that banks don’t exist, not to mention ATMs, and that dollars should not be folded or crumpled, or they will not get accepted anywhere. Last but not least, a friend of mine told me that during a trip over there a few years ago he tried to discuss about politics with his Myanmar guide, but there was no way the guy would even start to express his opinion about anything, and he mainly remained silent and looked embarrassed. Therefore, I decided it was wiser not to get involved in a political discussion in public.

These tips being absorbed, I considered myself quite prepared to live a nice trip in a mostly mysterious country.

But nobody, no blog, no article, no friend, had prepared me to the real experience and the feelings I would feel once there.

Some journeys leave you the same way you were before, they give you memories of fun things, wild landscapes, or even new recipes. You take tons of pictures, and maybe sometimes you know you will never look at them again. They are stored in your computer, and that’s enough.

But other journeys change you, for they are really meaningful–they touch your heart so deeply you instantly feel will never fully recover. It’s a weird and precious feeling, and this was the first time it happened to me. I started to think: Was this place waiting for me? Will I be the same person again when I go home? How can I tell my family all the details? Can I leave Myanmar and go back to my country like this was a regular fun vacation? Is there anything I can do to give back to these people what they are giving me?

Before leaving, I had also gathered information about orphanages and schools, and learned that Burmese kids are not even eligible for adoption. Myanmar isn’t the only country in the world with such rules, but still my heart skipped a beat when I read this. The only thought that adoption is not a possibility made me feel powerless, impotent. In Myanmar there are some orphanages, and sometimes international foundations are taking care of collecting donations or organizing volunteering experiences (for instance http://www.burmachildrensfund.org.uk/). They support the future of these children in various parts of Burma, and provide kids with shelters and education.

One day Husband and I visited a school at Inle Lake. These students were from two to six years of age, and they had families to go back to at the end of the day. They looked happy, they screamed and laughed all together while the teachers were quietly watching over them. We were strangers at first, but it took them a few minutes to show us how they would push each other on the swing.

And that’s when I started to wonder–those poor children who don’t have parents or don’t know who they come from, can they be this happy? Coming from a Western country, where human and natural rules are quite different, I realized I shouldn’t judge the situation with my old eyes. Instead, I should keep my eyes open while I was there, learn as much as possible about these people and maybe change my way to consider things. It didn’t take long to learn the most important and shocking lesson–Burmese are so welcoming to foreigners, and they are even more welcoming to their own people. There might be severe ethnic fighting going on in some areas, but to me that’s an unfortunate, huge mistake. I saw something inside them, something special I had never seen in others before. I saw families, made of mothers, fathers and children who may be quite unaware of what’s outside their country, but who are still happy, they KNOW how to be happy and enjoy the simple things in life, some authentic way of living that we think we have but in fact we have lost. I had never, ever seen and felt this peace inside myself. So, putting aside my initial reaction towards the adoption issue, I wondered. Would adoption be the best choice? Growing in a natural and beautiful and uncontaminated environment, where relationship bounds are tight and pure, growing in your own country and having the chance to know it and make it better in the very near future… isn’t this the better option? After all, there are so many other ways to help, if we really want to.

I’m not sure what the answer to my questions might be, but I’m sure of one thing–Myanmar is a country that can change you deeply. I changed over there. Like a snake, I left my skin behind, and soon was ready to get warmer under new sun rays, free from the past, eager for a new future and willing to learn how to make a day out of a single smile.

These are more links of interest, to support children in Burma, or just gather information.

The Burma Orphanage Project: http://burmaorphanageproject.org.uk/about/

Myanmar Orphanage: http://www.myanmarorphanage.com/

Stichting Care for Children: http://www.careforchildren.nu/en/

"For millennia women have dedicated themselves almost exclusively to the task of nurturing, protecting and caring for the young and the old, striving for the conditions of peace that favour life as a whole. To this can be added the fact that, to the best of my knowledge, no war was ever started by women. But it is women and children who have always suffered most in situations of conflict. Now that we are gaining control of the primary historical role imposed on us of sustaining life in the context of the home and family, it is time to apply in the arena of the world the wisdom and experience thus gained in activities of peace over so many thousands of years. The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all."

Aung San Suu Kyi - Opening Keynote Address at NGO Forum on Women, Beijing China (1991)

salzburg, last weekend

*april 6th-7th 2013 - family diaries.

we went to salzburg! austra is so close to italy, and yet it was my very first time there*

*friendly lifetime friends :-) they look the opposite, but they have things in common!*

*the kapitelplatz is a square with sights to see and even games to play. located here, is a large chess set.*

*hohensalzburg castle is atop the festungsberg mountain. we walk all the way up, but then the view was worth it*

*inside the castle*

*the oldest restaurant of europe!! St Peter, since 803. dinner was good in here, not too pricey, and we got a room just for ourselves. sometimes you are luckier when you don't make reservations! the atmosphere was enjoyable, candles and opera music made it really special. plus a bottle of white wine, which never hurts*

*flying Mozart!*

*last but not least! - Mozart's birthplace at Getreidegasse 9.

we took a house tour and learned a lot. i didn't know that the man spent so much time performing around europe, and had a crush on italy. the prolific musician was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy. and he wasn't any luckier with his children - he and his wife had six children, of whom only two survived infancy, and the two who lived to adulthood never had children of their own*

more about yummy food in my next post!