From one angle, Mom and Dad are just the latest in a string of pilgrims come to visit me (and maybe enjoy the scenery a bit). Alissa was here this summer, Brian and I somehow missed meeting up here but caught up in Boston, and just recently my good friend Mike came and crashed on my floor for a few weeks. By now I've developed a sort of standard tour: starting in TLV, down to the desert, up through Jerusalem on the way to Haifa.
On the other hand, travelling with my parents is a strikingly different experience. First off, the food is much better. I've recanted my opinion that Israeli restaurants are limited and uninspired; they're just not usually in my budget. Also, it's been liberating to travel by car instead of public transport (though they've perhaps missed out on an educational perspective). But it's also been a fun opportunity to engage in some of the more touristy activities that I don't do with my grungy bohemian friends.
Today was a triumph on all fronts, if I may say so as the family tourguide. I'll let Mom describe the ruins in Caesarea (Kessaria, Qesariyya...). Suffice it to say we soaked up sun and history both. With a few hours free before dinner, I queried the tour group for their final hopes and aspirations in the Holy Land. Dad said he'd like some sort of agricutural tour so, in a brilliant blend with Mom's longstanding desire to put names to the faces in my life, I phoned a friend.
Half an hour later we pulled into kibbutz Gan Shmuel where we found Guy, one of my flatmates in Haifa. While I've been galivanting about the country, he's taking the winter vacation to put in some of the 115 days he's required to work this year to fulfill his obligations to the kibbutz. Luckily, he'd already put in his hours (about 12AM-7AM) so he was able to give us a tour of the dairy production. Mom and Dad asked lots of good questions and I came away affirmed in my opinion that, outside of PVF, a kibbutz sounds like a terrific place to grow up. Dad thought the place looked a bit scruffy, but Mom and I loved the haphazard collection of bikes and lawn art.
After a quick run-in with the police for calling while driving (I played the tourist card and got a warning) we made our way to Derryn's apartment. She's a friend from my Ulpan Hebrew class and another face to add to the list of names.
And then it was time to get ready for dinner with Ygal! Again, I'll let Mom tell it but I will take credit for picking out a very nice restaurant right down the street from their hotel; it's also a place I've been curious about for ages since I walked past it twice a day for five months during Ulpan. Despite the inconspicuous storefront and off-putting signage ("Hanamal 24: Fine Dinning") it was reputed to be one of the nicest restaurants in Haifa, and it did not disappoint.
And now it's nearly time to close this chapter and send my visitors back to the frozen tundra that is the East Coast. But as they say, this won't be the last time they can visit. And I'm still waiting for Rebecca to make her pilgrimage.
P.S. from Hana: Caesarea was 400 acres of Roman ruins next to a brilliantly blue Mediterranean Sea. The brochure said it could take anywhere from 2 to 6 hours to finish walking through it all, but we managed to take a brief nap in the shade and still finish it all in less than two hours. Once upon a time, Rebecca flippantly said, "you've seen one amphitheater, you've seen them all." We have seen quite a few of them by now, and I see her point. But it is always fun to imagine the lives of the people who moved through the streets, stored grain in the the warehouses, sat on the stone bleachers and watched the chariot races. It is hard to imagine that life was ever comfortable, but they did have a lovely climate here in this part of the world.
Ygal Groiser is Jon's second cousin -- their grandfathers were brothers. Jon's grandfather came to the US from Russia in 1914 (?) using Ygal's grandfather's papers and the two families lost touch in the 1930s or so when the Russian family was moved to Siberia. We had a lovely dinner at the very nice restaurant that Benjamin chose for us. Ygal drove all the way from Ashdod to Haifa to meet us, and then he told us story after story about his family and his experiences as an immigrant to Israel 25 years ago -- making the rest of us feel as if we haven't done much with ourselves yet. He came here knowing only Russian and he now is fluent in Hebrew and English. He told many stories about how much his friendship with Leon meant to him, and said that while he is not a sentimental guy, saying goodbye the last time Leon and Lilah came to visit about 7 years ago brought tears to his eyes. It was a great way to end our trip to Israel.
Tomorrow morning we start the long trip home. It will be one of those 24 hour days, moving from one mode of transportation to the next. But the next bed we sleep in will be at home.
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