Have you ever been to place for the first time, but it really feels as if you've been there before? Well, that's how I felt the very first time I visited Israel.
Back in 1994, right after I graduated from high school, my family and me visited Israel on a 4 week vacation.
The very first day we got there, because of the time difference we arrived very late (around 1am) but after a long flight from Amsterdam (where we connected flights from) and a lot of sleep on the plane, we were not tired at all. So me and my brothers decided to go for a little walk in the middle of the "morning" and explore around the hotel in Tel Aviv.
Well, while walking around the streets I felt like I knew exactly where to go; like I knew the streets, the names and it was very easy for me to find our way back to the hotel after exploring around...
Then, life and God blessed me with the opportunity to return there, not one but twice after that very first trip and every time I've been there, is been nothing but amazing experiences always feeling right at home, like I've been there before and I knew the place like a local...
Now, today's photo challenge is to post a picture of "something I want to do before I die".
Well in my case is more like "to do
again", because I would choose to go back to Israel one more time, but this time with my wonderful husband. I would love to show him where his roots come from, the amazing culture that the Jewish people have, their approach to life and death, their food, their traditions. Show him that despite the size of their territory, they have a very rich in culture, amazing natural places and how their history is linked to everybody in this world one way or another...
I would love to walk around the streets of Old Jerusalem again, listen to all the many languages that are spoken there daily, being surrounded by people from different cultures.
Climb up to the city of Masala and see the sun rise from up that mountain.
Visit the beautiful Ein Gedi Nature Reserve which is a natural oasis in the middle of the dessert. The Death Sea is just a must see... Or even the Sea of Galilee on the way up to the Golan Heights...
To me it's just amazing that on such a small country, in a matter of hours you can go from the hot dessert to the green and luscious Golan heights, where it even snows some part of the year... Just amazing!
So, yeah, I will definitely put a visit to Israel on my to do (again) list, before I die.
And for those that mainly know about Israels through the "eyes" and interpretations of the media, when all we hear is about conflict and terrorist attacks, all I have to say that not once while being there in any of my trips I felt threaten or in danger and when you talk to the Israelis, you soon realize that their concept of life is very different that the one we have on the Western Hemisphere and that's one of the many things I admire of their culture!
What about you, any "to do before you die" ideas???
Have a great week!
on my Wii once again.
