After almost a week in Lima, it was a relief to arrive in Cuzco and begin touring the Sacred Valley in Peru. We’d planned three nights in Ollantaytambo and one night in Cuzco. It sounded reasonable, but in retrospect, we should have added another few nights and cut short our return trip through Lima. After… Read More Exploring the Sacred Valley in Peru
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. On this “Sabbath of Sabbaths,” the entire country shuts down. As non-Jewish visitors to Jerusalem, we don’t always get to observe the religious side of holidays (and are conscious of appropriation as well); however, that doesn’t stop us from appreciating the secular benefits of a Jerusalem without… Read More Yom Kippur in Jerusalem
A friend got married in Lima and invited Bertrand and I. Of course we went, and we had an amazing time. Bertrand and I hadn’t taken a vacation together without the kids since Jasmine was born. Somehow, we convinced my parents that watching a two-year-old and a four-year-old for eleven days wouldn’t be an imposition,… Read More Nine Awesome Things to do in Lima
One of the joys of becoming an outdoor person myself is dragging my family along on my outdoor adventures. On Independence Day, while visiting my parents on R&R, I woke up feeling like taking a hike. I quickly researched the area options, and inspired by fond childhood memories, settled on Sugarloaf Mountain. By the time… Read More Hiking Sugarloaf Mountain with Family
Our last trip with my parents was to the North Coast to see Akko and Haifa. This was the first trip I’d planned where we just weren’t able to do everything we’d hoped, simply because everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) took longer than we’d planned. My parents left early on Friday morning with the… Read More Family Travel – Northern Israel with Kids
Living in a developed country where hiking and walking and touristing are easy has turned me into an outdoor person. While my parents were visiting, I of course, dragged everyone along on my treks. Our second big trip was to Jordan. We drove down to the Eilat crossing through Mizpe-Ramon, spent one night in Petra,… Read More Family Travel – Petra and Wadi Rum with Kids
Travel with kids in Israel is a great experience. We took advantage of my parents’ visit this spring to travel, and travel a lot. Just like last summer when good friends visited, I took two weeks off work to travel locally. “Locally.” Our first trip was to the Dead Sea. Because my parents would be here… Read More Travel with Kids – Ein Gedi, Masada, and the Dead Sea
Sometimes the easiest way to get out of Jerusalem on the weekends is just to inform Bertrand that I’m going, grab a kid, and go. A few weeks ago, Jasmine and I took advantage of a beautiful Saturday to drive down to Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv. oth Old City Jaffa and Jaffa Port… Read More Jaffa with my toddler
It’s been hard to write about Jerusalem lately, but last night we spent a lovely and peaceful evening in the Old City, and for the first time in a long time, I felt hopeful. If you haven’t been following the news out of Jerusalem for the past few months, and perhaps even if you have… Read More Happy Chanukah, from Old City Jerusalem
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of seeing several Israeli and Palestinian interpretations and explorations of the conflict (what a terrible and passionless word) through their art. None of the artists pretend to present any solutions, but it’s been eye-opening to me to see how each of them sees the pain, the peace… Read More Exploring the Peace Process (or lack thereof) through Art