I End Where I Started . . . Sort of

Well, here it is. My very last blog entry during my wonderful three month trip in Europe. It's hard to believe it's over, and yet, I am extremely looking forward to being back in Israel.

I have travelled through several countries, each quite different from the other. Italy is where I spent most of my time, and as I sit here in Milano after travelling to other countries, I almost feel like I've returned to a place that is very familiar; a place in which I know how to communicate with the people and where my everyday tasks are much easier. Two of the countries are very big in their relevance to history and the rest of the world. Italy can claim many enormous things as theirs without which the world simply would not do: Spaghetti, olive oil, wine, pizza, coffee, fashion, architecture, painters, history, landscape, Bianchi, and many other things I can't think of right now. Then you've got England, where the rest of you all really started . . . America, India and many others. They are the home of theatre, Shakespeare, mystery novels, royalty, comedy, poetry, poshness, telephone booths, double-decker buses and London black-cabs. The whole place is one living stereotype. Only when I got there did I realize how much I already knew about the place, whether it was from a sketch of Monty Python that was filmed there, or a movie or book.

But then I meandered over to Ireland. Which is not known for much more than beer, whiskey, leprechauns (which don't even exist), some old music that no one listens to any more and green hills. I was suprised to learn that the population of the Republic of Ireland is only a little more than half of that of Israel's! I couldn't believe how small it was! But I'll tell you what: What Ireland lacked in exporting product and practice, they made up for in culture. People are extremely friendly and you are never far from an awesome place to sit down for a pint and have some great chatting with some random people. The accent is the best accent in the English-speaking realm. They are much less advanced and clean than England or Italy, but they truly are a rich people.

I can't avoid to use the cliche that I'm ending back where I started. But that's not true. Maybe physically. But I feel I have learned so much on the way that my whole outlook about the world and its inhabitants has matured immensely. Maybe I'm back in the same place, but it's not the same me. In Judaism, we believe that time runs not in a circle, but in a spiral, passing by where it was before only slightly in a different place. You are never in the same place again. Year to year, we celebrate the same holidays at the same times and we continue our tradition over and over without too much change. But each year, any given festival can be quite different from the year before. We are moving, like an inward-spiral, towards a specific point or goal.

I have tried to pass through countries and pick up positive aspects of their cultures. And I would say I have suceeded. I speak Italian pretty well, look the wrong way now when crossing the street, and, well, have learned a bit about the Irish pasttime. But I never stopped functioning in the way that I believe in functioning. Maybe Italy is not as lenient as Israel, but I certainly got my bike onto trains that do not allow bikes. I was allowed into the Metro with a big box after the guy manning the station told me there is no way I'm getting in and would turn off each entry point as I inched closer. There are other examples. I think you really have to go out into the world with part of you made of clay and part of you made of rock. You cannot act however you want wherever you are, but you certainly should not become one of them.

Thank G-d that things really went extremely well when they could've been disastrous. I survived numerous airports with no lost passports. I made my way through Napoli at night with no stolen wallet. And I pranced through Ireland and I still have my dignity! And I have met some truly awesome people that I cannot wait to see again in Israel or elsewhere.

As I head for the next chapter of my life, I expect that I will often look back on these experiences and say, "Those were the days!"

Ciao, Kol Tuv, In Boca Al Lupo, and Buon Viaggio a me!

Still Here

Yup. I'm still here in Dublin. Why? Because somehow I came to the conclusion that it would be advantageous to just not get on my flight to France and stick around Ireland a little longer. Ireland is great. The people are so friendly. Yakov, one of the guys I met during my London stint, was here (because, well, I convinced him to join me), and he's coming back for new years! It should be an awesome party with 400 Jews from around Europe! It's been cold, but I bought a coat at Penny's for 10€. I went to a part a little on the edge of Dublin called Farmleigh and it was really pretty there. Also, Yakov, Rubens (the guy I'm staying with), and I took his car from work (sweet) and made a day trip through Wicklow, the county south of here. Seeing hills covered in snow and ice was crazy! It's been a while! And yes, we even went to the Jameson distillery and I was one of the official whiskey tasters . . . oh boy. It was an interesting evening. . .

It was freezing . . .

At Farmleigh . . . The Sunken Garden

A Frozen Pond!

Dooblin!

After checking in to a great hostel right in the center of Temple Bar for €11 by the name of Barnacles, I went searching for some good traditional Irish music. Bar after bar, pub after pub, I only found guys with their guitars wishing their name was Jason KBMraz or whatever. Someone saw my last quick "enter, listen, leave", and so he said to me in this great Irish accent: "Skyooz me, are you lochin' far soom tradishnal Ayrish Music?" "That is exactly what I'm lochin' for," I responded, impressed and surprised that it apparently was written on my forehead. He said, "Right, ya see dat der street? You'll reach a sqwaar, goo past dat and there'll be a poob on yer right called Alivr Sint Jaan Go-Goody, alright? Goo oop to deh farst floor, and der you'll have yer good Ayrish music!" I had him repeat the name of the poob about seven times only to discover, when I arrived, that it had written on it: Oliver St. John Gogarty. Okkk . . . . Anyway, moral of the story is that I walked in, got myself a half-pint of cider and started listening to the music, which was awesome. The same guy came over and said, "Are yeh byerself?" So he invited me over to where he and his cousin from Manchester were sitting. Can you imagine the accents I was dealing with? The story ends as every one does that begins in an Irish pub, I imagine. He ended up buying me drinks which was quite generous, seeing as a drink costs about 6 Euro (about $10!), so we stayed laughin' about who knows what until tree in da marnin'. We took a picture and I went right around the corner to my nice warm bed. On my grand entrance into the hostel, the guy at the front desk said, "Hey mate, . . . Welcome to Dublin!" And that . . . was my first day in Ireland.

I'm still not sick of London

I went to the Cabinet War Room from World War II that Churchill and the rest of his immediate strategy team used to stay underground and out of harms way. It was very interesting and cool to be in the same place that was pretty much left the way it was on the last day of its use.



Then, I met up with Corinne for lunch. She was happy to see me. . .


We went to the British Library, which turned out to be WAY cooler than I thought. They had many treasured documents, such as two copies of the Magna Carta (That's three-of-four for whoever's counting!). We saw music written in the actual hand of Mozart himself, including his wedding certificate! We saw Beethoven's tuning fork! We saw an original of Alice in Wonderland and of Tess of the D'urbervilles, where you can see Thomas Hardy was originally going to name it, "The Daughter of the D'urbervilles", but he crossed it out. We saw Jewish books and scrolls from 800 years ago, and we saw parts of Shakespeare's First Folio with Romeo and Juliet!! We even saw a piece of paper which is believed to be written in his own handwriting! How cool!!



Then, we went to Hogwarts . . .

It was cool. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us take any pictures once we were actually on the grounds, but it was definitely an experience I will never forget (something to do with revealing certain aspects of their daily lives . . . I didn't really understand what they meant).

Tonight I saw 39 Steps, which is a comedy showing at Picadilly Circus. It was pretty funny. After the show, I decided to take a strange way home, since I'm becoming a little too familiar with the streets what having been here for two weeks. I started getting a little lost and in random alleyways, so I headed towards the nearest main street. Suddenly, there was a group of people lined up outside a building. I obviously had nothing better to do, so I went and joined them. There were about sixty people being kept behind one of those temporary fence things you see at parking lots or football games. There were also about ten with crazy serious cameras. I knew it was someone famous, I just didn't know who. I forgot to mention there was a nice black car parked right outside at the curb at the end of the "walkway". Within two minutes, who comes out of the "Stage Door"?!?!? KEIRA KNIGHTLEY!! As in, Elizabeth Swan from Pirates!!! I couldn't believe it! And I didn't have my camera! I was so mad! So she scribbles a bunch of autographs and then turns to the cameras and does her thing, and then gets in the car and is driven to I-don't-even-wanna-know-where. Then I head up the block to see the poster of what was playing at that theatre (Misanthrope), and someone walks by me who looks really familiar. I was this close to saying, "Hey, wait, aren't you the guy from Shakespeare in Love?" (my all-time favorite movie along with Pirates), but I decided not to. I just checked online and I was right! Well anyway, I continue walking home and I think, "Well, all the other plays are finishing now, too!" So I went behind the Theatre Royal, where I saw Ian McKellen for those of you who read my blog thoroughly, and the same paparazzi were there! It was just them, though, minus the crowd. But a nice car pulled up and sure enough, someone famous came out. I didn't recognize her. Anna Friel, anyone? Anyway, the flashes exploded for about thirty seconds, and I am sure there was not one millisecond that was in the dark. It was like daylight. And the worst part was, she was playing with it! She was all dressed up in a small black dress that showed how disgustingly skinny she was, and she was moving in model-fashion to the rhythm of the cameras. It was ridiculous, as if the group of paparazzi and the celeb have a pact: I'll give you a living if you make me look good. Unbelievable.

Bath, Rocks, and Paper

The Menorah at Trafalgar Square

Today, I joined Corinne (another of Yoni's friends from Northwestern) and two others on a not-cheap tour to Bath, Stonehenge, and Salisbury where the tallest cathedral tower whatever-you-call-it is in Europe AND the original Magna Carta document (one of four in the world, this one being the most well-preserved). It was very cool to see bubbles coming up from some crazy distance below the ground.

The water was so affected by the air, time, and what-not that it was all green and things were definitely growing in it. It was so untreated, they even said it might be dangerous to touch. But somehow, they managed to purify (if that's what one can call it) some of the water, and here I am, tasting it . . . ew . . .

Yes, I met some ancient Romans there. Funnily enough, they had English accents.

We then head off for Stonehenge, one of the world's biggest and oldest mysteries. The truth is, it's quite obvious what it was. It was a form of clock and calendar put together. It's not a coincidence that each month the sun shines perfectly through a different "gate".

I will definitely admit that it is incredible that we do not know who built it and how they got the stones from Wales (or was it Ireland?)! And then how they got the stones that weigh around 20 tons each to stand up and then plop one on top to make a stable standing structure. I guess I solved most of the mystery after much contemplation . . .

Channukah Sameach!

The Tower of London

This has been quite the week full of interesting activities. I saw Nanda, an au pair from 13 years ago, for the first time in, well, 13 year! I saw two plays in the West End: Billy Elliot and Phantom of the Opera. I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon and saw the whole Shakespeare bit. Sat in on a case at the Royal Courts of Justice (with the wigs and all). British Museum, Museum of London, and the Tower of London, including the Crown Jewels and armor from the 16th century that Henry VIII actually wore. Met a Jewish lord. It's been a great week! And tomorrow night, a special Channukah/Shabbos party at Chabad with all me mates.

Shakespeare's Home