Adventuresam

Happy birthday, Mom!!!!! I hope you have a really great day!!  I love you!!

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When I tell people I planned a family trip to Palestine…

“Isn’t the Israeli–Palestinian conflict still going on?”
“Isn’t that area dangerous?”
“Why would you take your parents there?”

I totally get it. In fact, I welcome those questions because I think it’s an awesome learning opportunity.  Even though Palestine has a major ongoing conflict and a reputation for being dangerous, I did my research.  There weren’t any active flare ups and I decided that, at the time we were there, the trip over the boarder wasn’t any more dangerous than getting into a car.  There’s risk in everything we do.  And most Palestinians are actually trying to lead a normal, happy life.

So, without further ado, here’s a glimpse of Palestine from my perspective.

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My parents weren’t comfortable using public transportation, so they had opted to wait until the next day when they could go on a tour.  But, I didn’t want to wait since there was so much to see.  So, I hopped on a bus and went by myself.

As I was crossing the border into Palestine, I learned that people with Israeli passports can’t enter Palestine at all; however I did notice that some Palestinians do commute into Jerusalem for work. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again until your ears hurt (or eyes…since you’re reading this), but traveling makes you appreciate the things you’ve been given in this life. As I was crossing the border, I thought about how lucky I am to have a US passport that allows me to travel so freely.  In Israel, you can’t even cross a border IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY, and here I am, an outsider getting free access.

Crossing the border into Palestine, there seemed to be arbitrary treatment. Apparently, individuals who cross the border will occasionally have to be fingerprinted (although I wasn’t).  No one looked at my passport.  No one even entered the bus to check anyones identity and almost before I knew it, I was in Palestine.

I took in the sights and, at one point, went to charge my phone in a restaurant.  The guys who were working there were very friendly.  After some casual chit-chat, they asked if I was a Christian or a Catholic; woah, woah, woah, we’re jumping from straight-up casual small talk into a “3 glasses of pinot and pondering the afterlife” type of conversation? Or “Another Coca-cola Zero, please!” Cool.  Let’s do it.

The thing is, I’m Jewish, and found it interesting that they didn’t even consider that that was an option, especially considering we were 30 minutes away from Israel.  I decided to go with: “I’m kind of Christian, but not really a believer,” which they found to be a satisfactory answer.  A couple of beats later, out of curiosity, I asked what they would have said if I had told them I were Jewish. They responded that I woudn’t have mattered, as they have business friends who are Jewish but…Why didn’t they list that as an option?!

With my phone fully charged, and my belly full of Coke Zero, I thanked the men (the cokes were on the house) and gave them a sticker as a souvenir.

Now, you can find Pittsburgh in random restaurant in Palestine.

It was time for me to meet my parents back in Jerusalem and since I couldn’t figure out where to catch the bus, I surrendered to walking the couple of hours back. Unfortunately, you can’t walk across the border.  You’re not allowed to walk across the boarder?!  That still seems bizarre.  Luckily, I was able to hop on an empty tour bus who refused any sort of payment, and got back into Israel before nightfall.
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The next day, I told my parents I actually did want to join them on their tour as I had a lot of questions that I was hoping a guide could answer.  Unfortunately for us, the tour was canceled.  My parents wanted to check out Palestine anyway (who could blame them, it was so interesting!) so, as their loyal disciple, I led them back to Bethlehem.

One of our main destinations was the “The Hotel With The Worst View”.  No reverse psychology here; the hotel actually overlooks the massive, scary wall on the west bank; it’s quite overwhelming — twice as high as the Berlin Wall with barbed wire all over the top and an endless supply of watchtowers.

You don’t have to be an art major to figure this one out.

A 1-star wall with a 5-star sense of humor.

Even though there were some humorous works of graffiti on the wall, once you start learning about the situation it’s overwhelming just how oppressive and sad this wall really is.  This close to Jerusalem, there is no way to get past it without passing through a checkpoint.  The wall was built in 2000, and those born after that were born always knowing this as reality.  There’s no way for Palestinians to get goods across the border, and the better farmland is on the Israeli side. This means that the people in Palestine are forced to find a way to live under these harsh conditions.

Palestinians face this every single day.

One of the really interesting things about traveling to an area like this is being able to, as an outsider, see the way two sides view oppression. In Israel, this is called the Separation Wall and is seen as a security measure built to defend against terrorism. To Palestine, on the other hand, the wall is a symbol of racial segregation; they call it the Apartheid Wall.

Is this comic relief or foreboding imagery? #both

The wall was eye-opening, and while I wouldn’t say it was fun, it was a highlight of my trip to learn about current affairs and see the extent of the turmoil.

Make hummus, not walls— now there’s a sentiment I can get behind. My local government officials will be hearing about this idea.

QUICK intermission to discuss the art:

The hotel with the worst view and several murals in the surrounding area were created by Banksy, the anonymous English graffiti artist. While in Palestine, I got to learn a lot about his work and became rather attached to his art and his message. I even used one of his murals as inspiration for my Halloween costume when Ben asked me to “dress sexy.”

See, look at those sexy flowers, and the sexy backwards cap, and the sexy baggy pants…and that sexy message.

Renegade is sexy.  Photo credit: Ben

–END of my quick intermission (see? I like art.)—
Before that intermission, we had already visited the Banksy hotel.  And after that, we went to see the heart of Bethlehem.  We went to Manger Square, the specific spot where Jesus was supposedly born, although, I doubt it was called that at the time.

*Flashback to the birth of Jesus*

Wise Man #1: Hey, guys, I think we’re lost.
Wise Man #3: Yeah, I think we were supposed to take a left back at Manger Square.
But now, instead of a stack of hay, Manger Square is actually home to a massive church— the room upgrade Mary had always wanted.  It was beautiful, and there was a group of Italians singing “O, Holy Night,” which, it turns out sounds much better in Italian.  We felt pretty special to get such a private performance.

A star to indicate where Jesus was born…like the star the led the wise men…ah, okay, I see what they did here.

We walked around for a while to take in the whole spiritual experience (no rogue rabbis asking for “donations” this time), and then we waited in line for the bus to take us back into Jerusalem before dark.

Overall, our experience was a good one.  On the bus, I reflected.  I’d felt very conflicted the whole time I was there.  It was difficult.   Almost like you have to choose a side in the ongoing, complicated conflict that has no end in sight.

**

It was a powerful place, and I was so incredibly lucky to share this whole meaningful experience with my parents. I made a checklist:

☑Adventurous parents who are always willing to explore
☑Parents who are super supportive of your passion for travel
☑Willingness to learn, experience new things, and laugh along the way
☑Endless amounts of LOVE

And, I was able to check everything off the list.  It was so cool to have my parents along for this trip, seeing things that I usually can’t put into words and learning right beside me.

Here’s to more adventures! Love yinz!
‘mi

Our next stop was Jerusalem where the three of us walked through the winding, twisting, and turning streets of the old city. We eventually found our way to the Western Wall for Shabbat. There were a few really interesting experiences that took place here, I mean, you know, other than actually being there, which is a pretty interesting experience in and of itself.  “Best people-watching of my life” — Jo-Ann Travis.

So, there are two sides to the wall: the men’s side and the women’s side. Ben warned me that the woman’s side, which was smaller, wouldn’t be as exciting during Shabbat. The singing and dancing associated with Shabbat mostly happened on the men’s side, and the women were quieter (minus the crying and touching of the wall). The men’s side is bigger and longer, and women and little girls are not allowed inside.

HOWEVER, it seems the extra perks on the men’s side are not without cost–you get what you pay for, right? My dad came back from the men’s side with quite the story (inspired by true events). Picture this:

You’re slightly overwhelmed by the experience, overcome by the spiritual nature of impending Shabbat and the wall. You watch as people pray and cry; they are touched by something bigger than themselves. So you decide to pray, which you almost never do. You lean your head into the wall to begin prayer, when all of a sudden, someone you suspect to be a rabbi comes over and softly touches your head. The rabbi leans you into the wall and starts praying over you. You’re touched; this experience has awakened you to greater forces and– but wait. As you turn to thank the rabbi, you see that he has his hand held out. Are we shaking hands? Do I thank you for the blessing? Then you realize he’s waiting for you to put some money in his hand.

“Are you kidding me?” You say. “Aren’t you a man of God?”

“Yes,” the rabbi says, “but we’re still asking for donations.”

So you pull out a couple of coins from your pocket, and the rabbi reaches over to take the ones that amount to $5 (the largest of the coins). But what he really took was the little remaining faith you had left. So you leave the wall.

Talk about a spiritual journey…

The divider separating the mens side (left) and the womens side (right).

We shook off my dad’s experience and prepared ourselves for what was to come. It was 5pm, the beginning of Shabbat, and we were surely about to have a synergistic experience. My mom and I went to our separate part of the wall and found a seat. My dad, reluctantly, went to his (and really, who could blame him!).

All of the women were wearing wigs, and they were really beautiful. At 5:30pm the men started singing, and by 6pm it was dark. The men were really getting into it; they were boisterous and lively… if ever I had FOMO (fear of missing out), it was at this very moment. The women were quiet the entire time. So, at 6:34pm, exactly one minute after official sundown, I gave up on the idea that we were going to have fun; my mom and I left to find my dad who was waiting for us and super ready to leave.

Yeah so, we kind of thought that we’d want to be more Jewish after visiting Jerusalem, but this experience may or may not have had the opposite effect. Ben had tried to warn me…

Eating my feelings through mountains of Baklava. Don’t judge– Only God can do that.

I also visited the church where Jesus had risen, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There were so many people everywhere (flashbacks to Petra). And what would be a holy site without loads of vendors selling souvenirs. Giving into the religious feelings abound, I rubbed a clean sock on the stone of Unction where the body of Christ was cleansed. I still use it to protect my sunglasses in their case, just in case it does hold some healing powers. Better safe than sorry!

Two smiling faces (yours truly & Makai) wandering through Jerusalem at night. Thanks to Lynn for linking us up!!

The next day, my parents wanted to sleep in (understandable), so I went for a long walk to another Holocaust museum. I got mildly lost and ended up climbing a steep route, which was fun and added to the adventure. But when I actually reached the museum, I decided I couldn’t handle being sad and found a quiet place to charge my phone and read instead.

When my parents picked me up, we headed 394 meters below sea level to the lowest place in the world– no, not hell. The Dead Sea!!!

View of the Dead Sea from above. Despite its name, the Dead Sea is gorgeous.

At one point during this excursion, we went slightly off-roading for just a couple of minutes because we like to live life on the edge; although, we did have to do some real problem-solving to get back on the main road. Was this a test? Would we be stranded in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights? Only time would tell.

The roads back were either way too steep, way too rocky, or filled with loose gravel. So, because we didn’t want to fall off a cliff or damage the car driving through jutting rocks, we chose the loose gravel as the safest of our three treacherous options. Now, I won’t say that we didn’t get stuck…but teamwork makes the dream work, so when the car did get stuck, we all got out to unbury the car from the loose rocks. Our best helper, though, was a trusty old road sign that someone had knocked down. Two hours later (yikes!), we were unstuck and a little less embarrassed than when we’d thought we were going to have to flag down a car on the highway for help.

Back on the road to FREEDOM!!!!! Tip: don’t drive in loose gravel.

So, finally free from the gravel, we made it down to the water and got in. PSA: the rumors are TRUE! The water in the Dead Sea is just as buoyant as everyone says. It was so fun to bob up and down in the water and float next to my parents. When we got tired of floating, we decided to cake mud all over each other. We deserved a spa day after digging 2 hours to free ourselves from the gravel trap.

Mud monsters in love.

Come to the Dead Sea for an all natural facial!

Like (muddy) mother like (muddy) daughter.

So after a nice, relaxing time floating, soaking in the sun and the rejuvenating mud on our skin, we headed back to Jerusalem that night to get some much needed rest. Of course, we washed the mud off first… no need to scare the good people of Jerusalem!

Salty hugs,
‘mi

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This post is about our favorite place on this special family trip!  I think you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I loved reliving it!  I hope that it makes you smile and your day is fun, full of relaxation, laughter, and delicious food.  Can’t wait to celebrate with you soon!  xoxo

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That blue dot is us!

You know how you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need? Well Petra = not what we wanted, and Wadi Rum = what we wanted + what we needed. Mick Jagger, you can get both sometimes.

Anyway, let me set the scene for you. Worn out, tired, and still overwhelmed from drowning in a sea of people at Petra, my parents and I arrived in Wadi Rum desert. And what did I hear? Was that…silence? And did my eyes deceive me? Was this a mirage, or were there really no people out here? Had we just hit the tourism jackpot? Yes. The answer was yes.

Once we got out of the taxi, we were greeted by Awed, our tour leader. He saw our taxi and came driving up on his jeep with over 300,000 miles on it (they really take care of things out here in the desert).  Before coming on the trip, my mom and I had found out about Awed and his business, Wadi Rum Tour Styles (check him out; he’s great!). We poured over hundreds and hundreds of TripAdvisor reviews (because that’s just what you do when you’re about to go camping in a remote desert miles away from civilization with someone you don’t know), and felt confident enough to book him.

Photo Credit: Andrew Travis

Our fearless leader and his trusty steed.

From the get-go, we knew that booking our tour with Awed had been a sandsational decision (*wink*). He brought us to a secluded, sheltered area and set up camp. He made us some tea while we relaxed, and if we weren’t already feeling like complete winners, I kid you not, he made us the best chicken dinner any of us had ever eaten.

We slept here, in the open air.  My parents snuggled.

Awed cooked dinner.

Morning views.

Breakfast spreads. Hummus, spices, and oils.

Hellooooo perfect day.

My mom, the teacher.

A friendly face.

Please, let us touch you.

Solving world problems, together.

Hiking.

True love.

We did a lot of awesome stuff in Wadi Rum including fraternizing with some friendly camels, stretching and meditating in the sand, hiking through the landscape, and restoring a sense of peace we might’ve lost in the commotion of city life.  Awed took us to some really magical, incredible places, and the weather obliged; it never got too hot, and the sand stayed cool long into the day.  Poking a toe or two into the sand was downright delightful.  

I had traded in my Indiana Jones hat for Aladdin’s magic carpet, and I really enjoyed the change of pace. The consensus was reached: no matter where else we ended up on the trip, this would most likely be the favorite. And although we were sad to leave and dreading the hassle of taxis and border crossings that were waiting for us on the other side, we felt rejuvenated and ready for more adventure.

The Wadi Rum desert might not be an oasis, but it sure is refreshing.

Wadi Rum desert, cooler — in every sense of the word — than we thought,
‘mi

Happy Valentines Day!!!

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This was a trip of a lifetime and we were so close to one of the Seven Wonders of the World: Petra.  Thus, we decided to extend our family trip into Jordan. 

My lovely parents.

A little hesitation is expected for first-time Middle East boarder crossers but I assured my parents everything would be okay.  And it was! It was early, it was chaotic, but we made it over the border crossing at 5:30am. “We’ll beat the heat,” I said. “We’ll beat the crowds at Petra,” I said. We did not beat the heat. And we did not beat the crowds.

We walked across the boarder.

Once we were through customs a swarm of taxi drivers offered to drive us to Petra for a “fair price” (glad I did my research and had that itinerary with us!)

Eventually we bargained down a taxi driver who was willing to take us for a fair-ish price. He didn’t speak English, which of course, is fine, BUT it did prove to be a little difficult when we tried to understand why he had pulled over on the side of the road. Turns out, the car had broken down, and he needed his cousin to take us the rest of the way.  #sigh

Eventually we made it without any harm.

Cue the Indiana Jones theme music.

Managed to snap a pic with only a few tourists and a camel!

Like I said, Petra is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. But the thing about Petra was that it felt like everyone in the world was there; although, we did manage to end up in some cool (and relatively empty) spots!

(like this one!)

(and this one!)

My parents hung in there like champs!

Here’s a list of some other fun stuff we saw in Petra:

-Petra

-Sea of tourists amongst Petra

-Sea of tour guides and horses trying to sell us things at Petra

-Sea of aggressive vendors offering “no charge for looking” goods throughout Petra

No wonder it’s a “Wonder of the World” *wink*

Indiana Jones and the Rocks of Petra: Coming to a theater near you in 2018

Don’t get me wrong. It was beautiful, but it felt….like a lot.   When we left, I think it’s safe to say we were all feeling pretty relieved to get out of there, and we fled to the nearest vendor for some much needed ice cream and a seat in the shade.

Modern stone age family #TheNewFlinstones.

If I’m being completely honest, the whole experience was really hot and underwhelming.

Luckily, there was still more to see, more to do… more that could convince my parents that Jordan was really the worthy destination I knew it to be. I had no doubts we would find Jordan’s gems (foreshadowing to Wadi Rum Desert).

And anyways, what’s an Indiana Jones movie without a whirlwind of adventure?

This next trip and subsequent posts are dedicated to my incredible, supportive, adventursome parents. They both have birthdays this week and are on their way to Florida, in part, to celebrate.  Tell everyone that I said “hi and I miss them!”   I love you guys!

Happy Birthday!!!!!

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The Middle East gets a bad rap; that’s no secret. But just like any other place that has its problems, the Middle East also has its gems.  And for less than $300 for a roundtrip ticket from Pittsburgh to Tel Aviv, I practically couldn’t afford not to go.

I wanted to take my all too deserving parents on the trip of a lifetime (and also secretly pretend I was in an Indiana Jones movie, more on that in the next post) and, through a series of events, they decided to join me on my trip to Israel!

I was so excited.  I talked with anyone I knew who had been to Israel or was currently living there, bought several guidebooks and read them cover to cover, and planned a detailed, flexible itinerary with lots of options that was 12 pages long.  As I mentioned, I was excited!  This was going to be the first time since I was fifteen that we had traveled abroad together as a family, and the first time in almost a decade since my mom had taught me how to travel by taking me to Europe (thanks again!).

Flight checklist when traveling with your parents:

1. Rope
2. Snacks
3. More snacks
4. Even more snacks

Did I mention that the last page of the itinerary was dedicated entirely to food?  We love snacks.  The rope, as we had to explain to the confused TSA agent, was for making our bags as small as possible in order to meet the strict bag allowance.  But we didn’t need it!! Good thinking, though, Mom and Dad 🙂

One of my parents’ jobs was to pack food for the flight. They did not disappoint and filled an entire backpack.  We ended up having snacks for the entire trip, not just for the plane rides.  Perhaps going overboard with planning runs in my blood?   

And we only suffered one casualty, our peanut butter, which was confiscated as we were going through security at PIT International (the best airport in the world #2017 #lookitup)  Either the peanut butter was too much like a gel or the pilot had a peanut allergy.

One of the reasons I had booked this flight, besides the cost and going to Israel #dream, was to enjoy the 13 hour layover in Iceland.  Not seeing Iceland, exactly, but visiting with a friend who I had met four years earlier — Hulda.  You can read about her in a blog from 2013 called  THERE ARE GREAT PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.  She is incredible.

Hulda picked us up at the airport, drove us back to her house, let us sleep while she went to work, and then came home early to take us back to the airport.  Is there anyone kinder?!  I see why I wrote the title of that blog post from 2013 in all capital letters.  It was so good to see her!!!!

Anyway, finally we landed in Tel Aviv.  Usually, I’d have found myself a place to stay on Couchsurfing (or with my friend Nate, see below) but since I was with my parents I used Booking.com. So we show up at our first hotel… and they weren’t open.   Hmmmm.  We found some stuff to do (hung out with Nathan!) and then returned a few hours later.  This time, they were open but the hotel didn’t have our booking.  Gulp.  Really testing our patience as a family on day one.  

We were starting to get annoyed when the hotel man decided to make up for the problem by giving us the nicest room in the entire place!  My mum was skeptical at first until we went upstairs to look at it. “We’ll take it.”, all three of us said at the same time. 

Seriously, check out the view from our balcony!

Staying in that room the first night in Israel was sort of like eating out all of the cheese and croutons in a salad and then being left with the vegetables.  The vegetables would have been really good on their own if we just hadn’t eaten all of that cheese right before.  It was probably going to all be downhill from here.  But, as we sat in the living room (yes, there was a living room) and fully appreciated this grand apartment I thought  ‘who knows what’s actually going to happen with the sleeping arrangements on this trip?’  Now, you might think me since 12 pages of itinerary means I planned this trip thoroughly but, no, that turned out to not be true. #foreshadowing #mistakes

Let me use this opportunity to sincerely thank my friend Nathan, whom I had met in Nepal (also 4 years earlier).  Nathan had procured for us two golden SIM cards.  These were impossible for us to get without him (we tried for hours) and invaluable to us as we travelled. They allowed us to keep in contact with one another and also check to Twitter (not that we ever did that – but still, it was nice to know we could).

‘Mi and Nathan.

He also took us to the “best” hummus restaurant in town.  Although, we would have settled for the second or even third best if it was quieter and there was less yelling.

There’s a reason Israel is called the Holy Land: because of the gelato from Anita’s. That’s a fact, don’t Google it.

We visited with my parents old friend, Lori, before it was time to leave Tel Aviv.  We’d heard traffic was bad, so we had to get an early start. You know what they say, early bird gets the Shoshuka. Or something like that.

Day One: Learning Hebrew.

The next place we went was in total disrepair, though I guess that was the point. The ruins of Caesarea gave us a great view into the past.

And then it was up the coast to Rosh HaNikra –  which were some spectacular Grottos along the Mediterranean.

A very full day of traveling!

We didn’t have anywhere to sleep that night due to a clerical error. *cough cough.  My bad.*  I know what you’re thinking, why not stay at the ruins? Well, my dad is picky (he wanted a place with beds and a roof, imagine that!), so we found ourselves on the side of the road, Googling hotels nearby, supremely grateful for the SIM cards from Nate.

A nice mother and child stopped to see if everything was okay.  They spoke English and invited us into their home while we searched for a place to sleep.  After a couple of minutes the father of the family offered us their home for the night (very sweet), but we figured it would be best to stay somewhere without two crying babies.  #picky but also, #thatwouldhavebeenrough

The hotel we chose ended up being super fancy (read: expensive) but it was late and we didn’t have much of  choice and the breakfast buffet spread was iNcReDiBle.  My dad thinks it was worth it.  Before morning, though, we noticed we were sharing our room with other guests, some not-so-friendly cockroaches.  Ew!  We called the front desk to complain, and they brought us food to apologize.  It was a nice gesture, but wouldn’t that just make the cockroach problem worse by feeding them?  We fell asleep confused.  But again, that breakfast!!!

This seems like a good time to suggest yinz to follow me on SnapChat!                                  bammi23       I post lots of my travel updates on here.  And it’s always in real time because well, that’s how SnapChat works.  You would have seen a video of the breakfast spread that I posted!

Later, we spent hours at a Holocaust Remembrance Museum, crying as we walked around, before spending the rest of the day in the car heading south.

And getting to have dinner with friends! 🙂

The next day was an early one (they all are, really, with AdventureSam).  I wanted to avoid other tourists.

Greeting the day in Mitzpe Ramon.

My mom’s a yoga teacher, my dad’s a photographer, and I’m a traveler. ❤ ❤ ❤ Three hearts.

We had a wonderful experience because the tour buses don’t begin to arrive until 9am.

Mitzpe Ramon is called the Grand Canyon of Israel, and named after Israel’s first astronaut. 

I asked these guys what products they use to get their horns to look like that each morning, but I just got neighed at.

Further south, we visited a kibbutz.  It was our first time and I’m glad we did it together.  Growing up my mom told the three of us that she had had this dream of raising children on a kibbutz.  She said that when she was younger, she was 20% prepared to make this happen.  Fast forward a couple of years 😉 After our actual visit to an actual kibbutz, my mom realized that she was glad she never fulfilled her dream – apparently children who grew up on a kibbutz have all sorts of psychological problems from the way they were raised.  Not to mention it felt like a cult. #themoreyouknow

That same day (whew!) we were able to make it to Eilat, a southern town in Israel (and also drive to the border with Egypt, just to see).

Eilat is positioned along the Red Sea, renowned for its snorkeling, but not for having an actual red sea.

That night we stayed in an Airbnb run by very nice Jewish boy (we liked him Eilat #puns) and, you guessed it, woke up very very early the next day.  This time, the goal was to make it across the boarder, heading to Jordan!  The boarder station opened at 5:30am and didn’t let us bring water across. So, when the alarm went off (4:30am) we popped out of bed, chugged water, and headed out the door for another adventure.

For me, traveling is about the journey, and what better way to do that than to get up early?! And who better to share that with than the two people that love you the most in the world?!!

Shalom.  And happy belated Sukkot!,
‘mi

Months before the Dream team Team Team trip to New Orleans, I went to New Orleans for the first time,  although this time it was sans a team name. This trip was inspired by the amazing recommendations I had heard from my friends. Lynn raved about the great people and the smoothies, Noah told me all about the fried chicken in NOLA, Kristy told me about New Movement Comedy, which is a wonderful improv theater, Jay told me several hotspots, and Jocko, who actually bribed me by telling me he’d be in NOLA at the same time. Plus, Kat reminded me, Maddie actually lives there.  So that was that, and I booked my first trip to New Orleans.

About to touch down in NOLA!!!

I had my travel partner with me, Ben, and when we landed in NOLA we kept trying to get to the visitor’s center to find out more about the city, check out places we needed to go, you know…make sure we weren’t going to miss out on anything while in the city. But it was closed every single time. Not a very welcoming visitor’s center if you ask me. Luckily, the closed visitor’s center was not a reflection of how open and welcoming the people of New Orleans are. We quickly learned this upon meeting our Couchsurfing host, Uriah. Uriah is a legend— probably one of the coolest cats I’ve ever met. Everything was “egas” with him…What I mean is, he would attach “egas” (like Vegas) to all of his words. For example, Nola was “Nola-egas.” I guess it was pretty cool-egas. Very jazzy-egas, even. Or maybe it’s only cool when he says it. TBD.

The cool cats exploring NOLA-egas, baby!

So, while in New Orleans, Jocko took us on a tour of the parts of New Orleans that nobody wanted to see. We called it the AC D-tour (because we constantly took detours looking for AC), but while going around the city, we did see some pretty interesting things. There was a lot of art happening, which makes sense in such a soulful place. We saw someone making art out of some ruined wood from Katrina, and I saw my first ever Banksy in person

Banksy? Is that you?

Honestly, just walking around the city, we were able to see a lot of awesome stuff. The city itself has really fun architecture and just weird features all around. For example, we went to visit an above-ground cemetery. I’m sure there’s a reason for this, but basically, is it just so the ghosts have easier access to the living world? #voodoo.  

Spooky, but still very cool

Awesome architecture featuring stunning flowers. This place is so full of life!

Another one of my favorite things was the swamp tour. Now, you probably read about my swamp tour during the Team Team trip, but this was a pretty different tour. We took out some kayaks and went kayaking through the Bayou. It was really neat, and although we didn’t interact with any wildlife, it was awesome to see the Spanish moss hanging low and learning about how cars get out their “bugs”; I felt like I was in a movie!

Swamp kayaking-egas.

Super low to the water, secretly praying there are no alligators.

Of course it’s important to talk about excursions when visiting a new place. What did you see? What did you do? BUT you just know that when it comes to visiting NOLA-egas, you have to talk about the incredible food and the live music (I’ll never miss an opportunity to mention the music).

There is music everywhere in the city: a ton of incredible jazz, talented street performers…I even found a new favorite band here–New Thousand. The music is just so ever-present that we had countless dance parties in the streets. It was incredible.

Some of the many musicians we encountered during the trip. 

And now… THE FOOD. Here’s the thing about the food in NOLA: it definitely lives up to the hype. We had so many delicious meals– don’t worry, they’re pictured below. Overall, I was very happy with my food experience in New Orleans. I feel like a lot of time, people will build something up just because it’s what the place is “known” for. But New Orleans is absolutely a city that lives up to its hype.

Couldn’t leave without trying Muffulettas.  Even brought one back for Brian and Andrew.

Willie Mae’s obligatory fried chicken.

Cafe du monde beignets are an absolute MUST. And by “must” I mean “must eat them every day”

Bottoms up.

Waited in line for this “blitz” snow cone at Henson’s…super worth it.  That’s condensed milk.

Pork belly accompanied by some jazz-egas.

The menu called this “healthy” grits, but I beg to differ.

This city has charmed me for life. I can’t wait for the next time I can go back.
Long live Nola-egas,

‘mi

Disclaimer:  This is a Throwback Thursday blog post!  From August 2017

2nd Disclaimer: Sorry to disappoint, but this is not a recipe. HOWEVER, if you do have a great burger recipe to share, don’t hesitate to send it my way (it probably won’t make it into a blog post, but it’ll definitely make it into my stomach).

Now, moving onto the real topic of this post: My summer in Pittsburgh began with The Pittsburgh Speaker Series. This event was held in town, and for the first time ever, I bought tickets. For those of you who don’t know, the Speaker Series is like a local, TED Talk. They were expensive, so I’ve been flying solo, which has been pretty great.

The first speaker I saw there was Jeffrey Toobin (whom I had never heard of before but now am a really big fan of).  He is the chief legal analyst at CNN (yeah, not impressive at all). Of course, I sat in the front row (if I could’ve put an apple on his desk, I would have) and gave him a standing ovation at the end.

His taught us about the Supreme Court and how there are currently six men, three women, six Catholics, and three Jews currently serving. They hear roughly 75 cases a year, and he recommended that I go to DC to see their oral arguments.   Probably going to take him up on that.

Going to these events always makes me excited for the next one. The one coming in February is going to be extra fantastic, because I get to fangirl out over Rick Steves, the travel guide. I bought his book — hopefully he’ll sign it for me!

This summer was filled with all sorts of celebrity sightings. After the Summer Series, Colleen came to town, and I got to meet Buffy (the dog, not the vampire slayer…but still a celeb in her own right because she’s so darn cute).

Some other August standouts:

-I got to work with Brit a ton, so work was faster (and way more fun)!
-I became closer with my parents (hi, mom; hi, dad!).
-I got turned away from a local voting booth because they couldn’t find my registered card.  Went to my old voting station, they couldn’t find me either.  Went back to the original one where they had made a mistake and they found my card.  Voting took me over 3 hours because of this.
-I frequented H&R Block on the regular. Shout out to my representative, Barbara. She thinks the IRS is the American version of a terrorist. Which is hilarious. But now I’ve probably also been flagged for conspiracy.
-Joyce and I saw a rainbow.
-Ben and I celebrated a milestone at Cafe Du Jour. He also became an official ‘Burger when he signed up for a Giant Eagle card!

We also went hiking in McConnells Mills and got snow yetis! We captured them and put them in the trunk of our car. We’re planning to keep them as pets and raise them as our own. Just kidding, a snow yeti is a snow cone, and they were devoured within seconds.

Puppy day afternoon.

Speaking of devouring things in seconds, one weekend my friends Andrew and Brian, and their adorable little dog Pearl, accompanied me to my parents’ house in Findley Lake where we made some pork chops, which, yes, were also devoured within seconds #GetInMyBelly. Even though this blog isn’t about burgers, my summer was very food-centric.  At one dinner party Connie, Andrew’s grandmother, invited me and she had so many items there was an actual “menu!”  Steak, seafood, vegetables.  My stomach was very happy.

Pearl also became a big sister when A&B got new puppy Tip.

No pain, no gain…?

So in between the eating and playing with puppies, I decided to get my motorcycle license. During one of the classes, I fell (see the bruise above on my leg.  Not pictured: the one on my ego).   It was super embarrassing, and as soon as it happened, the teachers ran over to hit my kill switch. They didn’t make me get back on the bike, but they also told me that if I missed even one lesson, they were not legally allowed to pass me. If at first you don’t succeed… right? So I got on and tried again. Luckily, I only fell during an exercise. If I had fallen during the actual test, it would’ve been sayonara, license! A fall during the test = automatic fail. HOWEVER you can fall as much as you want once you get your actual license. Comforting, yes?

We look like a couple of martians meeting Earthlings for the first time.

On the actual test, though, your girl brought home the silver medal (not that it’s a competition….). Yup, that’s right. I got the second lowest score in a class of 15. And no, I’m not delusional. The lowest is actually the best when it comes to the motorcycle test. Kind of like golf…except louder.

Okay, ladies, now let’s get in formation.

After my bruise healed, or sometime in between the healing process, I was invited to join my first fantasy football team! There were 14 women on the team — all super cool; all capable of accomplishing anything. I called my team Brady and the Tramp as Tom Brady was my first round draft pick!  My teams theme music was the victorious sounds of Brady Gaga. Since it was my first time on the team as well as a few other women, Emily drew us a chart on all of the positions and descriptions. The chart really helped us succeed. Thanks, Emily! *pats butt in sportsmanlike gesture.

We let Diego pick the draft order.  Helen thought this was a joke but luckily I knew it wasn’t.  #hotdogs and #bacon  And then, Helen won the entire fantasy league!!!!!

Om nom nom nom.

Summer bod going strong with these healthy meals.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a summer blog post if I didn’t create a party shoutout list. ALL the parties were incredible, but I want to make sure there are some that get memorialized via this blog:

1. The Nolans’ — it was the most memorable memorial day we’ve ever had.
2. The Chris D.’s party where Kevin and I took a selfie (which was his very first selfie).
3. Matt Solter’s party. His mom remembered me from back when I went to college with his brother!

This was the summer Bel and I also learned to not apply old math to new stuff.

At the Renaissance festival getting transported back in time with the Wishing Well Wenches.

Got to see Cheese Curl and Clay and the Renaissance festival this year and meet some woman who are doing really fun work.  And did I maybe get inspired for a Halloween costume as well?! (Note: I thought I did when I wrote this… but actually, nah.  I went with Banksy.)

All about these Ted Talks. Just kidding, this is Dana Goldberg!

Smiles all around for summer!

Went to get our Mmmbop on and saw some Hansons.

A Hanson (Zach!) and a new fan-son (me!

A free concert series at Heinz Hall.

The summer was a great one, full of smiles, laughs, parties, and FOOD. Also, please send your burger recipes…writing this blog post has made me insatiably hungry.

August 2nd is my favorite,
‘mi

I’ve got more to say about my trip in Peru, and it’s MY BLOG DANGIT so here are some random musings!

Lima Drivers = The Worst
We spent some time in Peru’s capital city of Lima. I thought I had seen bad traffic and drivers before, but I’m sorry, Lima has the worst. drivers. ever.

There’s generally an etiquette when you and the car coming from the opposing direction are both turning left, where you turn at the same time in front of each other and high-five on the way by. But here, I try to turn left and they keep going straight at me. Meanwhile, cars behind try to go around to the right, and then we’re all just kind of stuck. So after much frustrated hand puppets and gesturing, we did our 18-point turns to freedom.

Bedtime Stories At Hostel Not Advised
We stayed in a hostel with a woman who told us a story about surviving a freaking plane crash in the Amazon! Seriously. The plane exploded after take-off and crashed into the rainforest. 84 people died, including one of her good friends. She was one of the flight attendants, and one of just 13 people who survived the crash. She had gone through just one day of Amazon survival training and made it through the night worrying about crocodiles until they were rescued. Didn’t fact check this one, her voice, eyes, and sincerity were enough.

Going Solo @ Museo de Arte Contemporaneo
I went to a museum alone which I love because I get to do what I want.

A Note On Stray Dogs in Lima
They look like they’re pretty well taken care of.

Stinky Sea Lions

You probably can’t really tell, but that weird rock formation is actually thousands (approx 6,000) of sea lions.

Food Notes!

• The food is unhealthy, oily and full of carbs. They have vegetables (see photo below), they just apparently don’t serve them.
• There was some sweet purple popcorn and cakes that looked good but… weren’t.
• We ordered quinoa and it came as a sweet drink. WHAT?! Must be some mistake.  They never had what I was used to.
• Breakfast and lunch, it’s all the same food.
• Peru ceviche is the best.
• Chifa = chinese food. Not very good, but very cheap, and the portions are huge.  Never go to Chifa when you’re not that hungry.  Also, ordered something called aeropuerto because I like airports.
• Avocado on bread (with an occasional egg I had to order separately ) was my favorite thing to eat.
  

Classic lack of vegetables even though they grow them here.

Proof that they sell vegetables (even though there isn’t any in their food).

Ceviche.  Best thing ever!  Ben says I eat it like I was starved once.

General Notes

We felt safe the whole time. There was only one brief moment where we didn’t when some guy asked where we were from and, without looking at each other, Ben and I simultaneously responded “Canada!”

The dancing in music videos isn’t sexual like in ours. It’s almost childlike.

Ben and I played a game each night where we said 3 things we were grateful for and 3 things we would change about the day.   One of mine was to buy one of the hats I saw the women wearing…

See one here.

I wanted to blend in so badly! We saw women wearing these cool hats everywhere but couldn’t seem to find them for purchase anywhere. Most of the women in the market had them on.  And at the bank.  There were CRAZY long lines for the bank that extended around the block — at every bank, even in small towns — and all the women in line were wearing tall hats. We thought buying one off of someone’s head probably wasn’t very respectful.

Finally I found one, and as soon as I purchased it and put it on, all the ladies in the market kept telling me how pretty I was. And no, of course I don’t have the pics to prove it.

A charming, mountain town… with hats!

Notice the hats.  And avocados!

4 Quick Facts! (Sorta)

1. The Peruvian currency is called the “sol,” which when pluralized to soles, does not sound like “souls,” but “so-lays.” So I was offering people 7 Souls for things, and getting weird looks, but feeling rather devilish. 
2. “Hot springs” are apparently weird, dingy “private” rooms that feel super dirty and smell like surfers and aren’t relaxing at all. But, I did get to laugh until I cried, so there’s that.
   
3. Peru has the largest speed bumps in the world (that I’ve ever seen). They even paint them black to sneak up on you.  They got us good.  Or bad.  I bit my tongue multiple times. 

   Here’s a ‘fun’ driving game for you if you ever visit Northern Peru: Both driver and passenger try to watch out for the speed bumps. When you see one, yell BUMP! as loud as you can. If the driver hits it too hard and causes a jarring impact, the passenger gets to get pissed off and ask “Do you want me to drive?”(We actually even saw a music video while we were there in which the girl was hitchhiking in front of a speed bump because the drivers have to slow down so much for them, so it’s a bit of an in-joke for Peruvians too.)

4. Peru has over 20 out of the 34 climates in the world, and very varied landscapes, with the Amazon Rainforest, Andes Mountains, Sand Dunes on rugged beaches, and more.

Beach straight out of a Tim Burton movie with handmade canoes for fishing in the Pacific Ocean.

These sand dunes look like they were painted, but they’re totally real.

Went really out of our way for this view so I had to include it.

And that’s my rather random round-up (hey alliteration!) from the rest of my trip in Peru. I’ve heard Peru called the Thailand of South America (I think because it’s the place that most people start on each respective continent but really, I have no idea.  Peru was the first country I visited in South America.).  It had a bit of everything for me, from natural beauty to city slums to epic quests for hats and vegetables.  I loved it, but still prefer quinoa the way I’m used to.

Hats off (because I lost mine),
‘mi

Of course, no trip to Peru is complete without a visit to Machu Picchu. So with only a couple days left, we took an enjoyable plane ride over the Andes Mountains, headed for a side trip to the classic Inca ruins.

Listening to an audio book, we learned that the ancient city was rediscovered on July 24, 1911, and we would be visiting on that day (106 years later)! Also, FUN FACT! My dad’s name is Andy, and we would be in the Andes Mountains, in the Osh Kosh region, and I used to wear Osh Kosh when I was young, and I love corny little verbal connections like these.  

Perfect clouds and a short flight from Lima to Cusco, capital of the Incas.

Planes and then trains. The luxurious Inca Rail where they served cookies and drinks. We didn’t have the option to take the crowded, local train.

Riverside views.

The line to get an early morning bus up to Machu Picchu.  Felt like Disneyland.

As you can see, the line for the early bus to Machu Picchu was ridiculous, so we went with the cheaper afternoon bus. There were kitchy things for sale everywhere in Cusco

While in town, we kept noticing what resembled LGBTQ pride flags and thought it was cool that the city was so open-minded and progressive and liberal, only OOPS, they’re totally not, and it’s actually the flag for the city of Cusco. Our bad, carry on, Cusco. (But seriously, look how similar they are.)

So anyway, we hopped on a bus in the afternoon and took it all the way to the top. We chose to take a private, guided tour for Machu Picchu to get a more intimate experience.

You know how sometimes you finally see a place in person and it’s kind of disappointing? Not the case here. The views from the top are breathtaking, and exactly as they appear online.

Machu Picchu.

Photobombing Machu Picchu.

No caption necessa–oh crap this is a caption.

Black & white cuz I’m artsy.

So steep! Hard living and hard life out here.

Pretty surreal landscape to set up your temple.

Inkalicious.

12 sided stone was a 12 out of 10. Would definitely  recommend

Once you get in to get a closer look at Machu Picchu it becomes even more impressive. See those stones right there? Nothing is holding them together! They have no mortar, they are just perfectly fitted. And they had no machines to smooth them out.

Our private guide told us that the higher your status within the community, the larger and smoother the stones that made up the foundation of your home would be. The craftsmanship is still incredibly impressive today, some 500+ years later.

After getting our fill of the views and soaking it all in, we decided to walk back down rather than take the bus.  It was a mad rush to make it before dark.

Ok, one more…

We ate some delicious alpha steak for dinner back in Cusco.  

In the morning, it was time for us to depart, the road was blocked because of a protest. They actually put rocks in the road so people couldn’t pass. Turns out the protest was for teachers who wanted to be paid more–same story all over the world!

We met some helpful Peruvians who walked us across the protest lines and picked up a taxi on the other side to take to the airport for our flight back to Lima.

Teachers protest with rocks in the road to block traffic.

Police in riot gear.

Machu Picchu was a real commitment to even get to, out of our way for sure, but I’m glad we went.  It was cool and classic, just not quite on the level of our camping misadventures.  I like iconic sites and I’m grateful to have visited this one — the first of the Seven Wonders of the “New” (or “Old”) World that I have ever seen.

Bucket List Checker,
‘mi

The Road to the Amazon is Paved With…

36 canyon tunnels. We had to drive down a one-lane highway through 36 canyon tunnels to reach our destination.

One of the 36 terrifying caves

FAQ:

Q: How does one do this safely?

A: Trick question. One does not do this “safely.” But one is granted an illusion of safety by leaving first thing in the morning, before there is too much traffic, and by laying on the horn the entire time.

Q: Well, what if another car comes while you’re driving through?

A: You need to be paying attention and one of you (the gringo) will need to put that baby in reverse and back, back, back it up.

See what I mean? You can’t hear the horn, but I’m on it.

Refreshingly, we made it safe and ‘sound’ to the other side, and man, was it worth it. Look at this view!

The Amazon? More like “The oh-DAMN-azon.”

So, after taking a few more snapshots and listening to a book from audible based in the Amazon, we made it to our lodgings. On the way, we laughed at a land-locked restaurant that served ceviche, or, as they called it “beviche.” Does this stand for “best ceviche” in town? Does the “b” stand for “beuno?” I’ll give the marketing team a B+. It’s about the intrigue; and it definitely kept us talking.

After the beviche, we made it to Tingana, the organic eco-farm where we met locals hard at work and a couple from Argentina..

Tingana.

We explored the lush landscape,

Things that will hurt you in the jungle…

learned about the different plants,

Things that will heal you from the things that will hurt you in the jungle.

watched the experts hard at work, and even got the chance to try some of the fruits. Muy delicioso!

One of my favorite outings in this neck of the woods—ahem, excuse me, this neck of the jungle— was taking a boat down the river to explore the flora and fauna of the rainforest. We took a boat out during the day, and during the night.

Half-expecting to see an alligator somewhere in here.

Canopy views.

Row, row, row your boat…

On the night tour: Imagine red, un-blinking eyes staring at you through the trees; animals communicating in the night; an alligator swimming past the boat, its eyes watching its prey (us) intently as it lingers on the surface. Just kidding— there are no alligators in this part of the Amazon. #thankgoodness

But, those red-unblinking eyes…that part is true. We used our headlamps to shine a light and see what animals were lurking; they were predominately spiders and other insects although we did spot a lot of blue heron and other beautiful birds sleeping in the trees (and attracted armies of moths in the process). We were able to get really close because it was so dark and quiet. Birds are so cute when they’re sleeping.

It was a magical Amazonian experience that would have been truly terrifying had we not been with experienced guides.

Some other highlights from this trip include but are not limited to:

1. Taking a tour of a Peruvian chocolate factory where I had the best chocolate of my life. I do not say this lightly. I don’t mess around with chocolate.

The satisfied smiles of two incredibly happy chocolate eaters.

2. Meeting this adorable stray dog.

Can we keep him, please?

3. Celebrating mi cumpleaños!! Ben woke me up with some of my favorite fresh fruit, palma de rosa, to be exact. We were also able to find this really massive (and delicious) cake at the nearby market. So we overdosed on cake, but the fruit from the morning balanced everything out… in a sense, it was a really healthy day…

Happy birthday to moi!! Wait, wrong language…

Another time, early in this trip, when we made it to a town near Huarez known for its famous ice cream—how could we not stop here? Luckily, there was a group of nuns grabbing a quick cone. They were kind enough to advise us on our flavor choices, and I was baptized in the creamy deliciousness of their recommendations. Ice cream, around the world, is as close to heaven as it gets. Bless you, nuns. Bless you.

After some more wonderful food (including mini avocados without pits), more humbling encounters (including the one with our hostel host in Moyamba, who ended up planting one of the seeds from our palma de rosa and naming the tree after me), and our desperate search to find a cock-of-the-rock bird (a myth, I tell you!), we headed out on a Friday morning.

But the thrills weren’t over yet; while driving and intending to finish up our books on tape (shout out to Trevor Noah’s memoir; we couldn’t have done this without you), we happened upon a 17-piece marching band. They were amazing, so we pulled over to watch them perform. I’m not sure if they were rehearsing or if they were still stuck in their garage-band phase, but we were the band’s only audience. We really enjoyed ourselves, and the lack of onlookers somehow made the whole experience even more special. And hey, when they hit it big, I can say with the confidence of a craft-beer-drinking hipster that I knew about this 17-piece Peruvian band before they were cool.

All in all, this trip was most definitely a success. And to end this post, I’ll give you guys a few takeaways—some tidbits of prime travel knowledge, if you will:

1. If you buy a really cool hat in the Peruvian mountains and show it off in the Peruvian Amazon, don’t expect the locals to know what the hell you’re wearing. (a teaser to the next post)

2. “Tengo ganas” does not mean “I’m excited” in Spanish. It just doesn’t.

Your Amazon woman,
‘mi