the close of an eventful trip

My adventure of gallivanting around European cities, planting veggies, and hanging with my goats is officially over. I have finally settled into my trip's final destination in Jerusalem — but don't worry America...I will be back on October 10th.

 (Since blogs are pretty narcissistic already, I figured I'd continue with the trend for the visual element.)

I started my internship yesterday at the Jerusalem AIDS Project: Operation Abraham, a non-profit that works within Israel as well as in 27 countries abroad. The NGO works toward HIV/AIDS prevention and education, by doing things like going into schools in Israel to teach kids about AIDS, and even training doctors to reduce the risk of spreading AIDS through male circumcision (yeah, I went there). From what I know so far, I am going to be acting as the group's communications guru, PR specialist, and website developer. I have a lot on my plate, and hopefully I will be able to buckle down and pull off a good job.

Tonight is Tisha B'Av, the first of many Jewish holidays I will be in Israel for. The holiday commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temple in Jerusalem, and there is a 25 hour fast. 

As for the blog, this is my farewell post until I try my hand at WWOOFing again (which I am sure will happen in the near future). I'm going to keep with my experience in Israel on my regular website, www.reneeorenstein.com. If you haven't had enough of my antics already, you should check it out.

Thanks to everyone who read and I hope you enjoyed it!

Over and out.

Athens

My last stop (before Israel of course) was the ancient city of Athens. We visited the Acropolis — theater of Dionysus, the Parthenon, etc. — wandered around the fruit and veggie markets, and ate some meals in the windy streets of Plaka. We also ended up walking through a seriously sketchy area to get to the Archeological Museum, but we survived just fine.

Parthenon

  ancient bling

 So I have a theory about karma and coincidence, because every time we are about to leave a city, something troublesome or annoying happens. It must be the city's way of telling us that it's time to leave. So in Athens, on the last day, we tried to find the Greek Costume Museum, which apparently did not exist. Then we attempted to ride the funicular up to the top of Lykavittos Hill, and it was broken. Finally we tried to go into the cultural center and the national library, both of which were closed that afternoon. So by the time the day was over, we were ready to leave.

We took a late train to the airport at 11:00 p.m., and hung out until our 2:15 a.m. flight to Tel Aviv. I am settled into my apartment in Jerusalem and it's amazing. It's a nice feeling to return to a familiar/holy/bangin' place after having traveled to all those places where I didn't know which way was up. It's good to be back in the motherland.

Bosco and Mykonos

So Bosco is back again, with single #2, My My Racecar, officially released. You can download it on iTunes/amazon...wherever. He is also performing at the Puma party tonight on South Street Seaport, so if you are around NYC, RSVP and check him out.

Next up, today is our last full day in Mykonos, Greece. We have done nothing but lay around poolside, beachside, and barside. We slept, swam, and ate...a lot. Not to mention we took a little detour to the hospital on Adrienne's 24th birthday, because I decided to get an eye infection. There was a man all bloody and scrapped up lying on the bench outside (looking all mummy-esque) but I went right in, sat down, the doc gave me some drops, and sent me on my merry way. Now I have to wear my glasses for a week or two — good thing my specs are so stylin'.

Platy Gialos at night - the beach right by our hotel

RRRRoma.

Rome was definitely the capital of Italy. The roads were big, the buildings were grand, and the fountains were Trevi.

We only had two and a half days there, but we packed them well. We saw the Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, and Campo di Fiori on day 1/2. Day 1.5, we went to the Colosseum where I kept thinking about Beldar Conehead's epic battle with the beast, when he was victorious thanks to his new found golfing skills he acquired on planet earth.

We explored Palentine Hill and the Roman forum, before heading to the Jewish Quarter, where we ate lunch and had some amazing bread, which is very unusual for Tuscany. We toured the synagogue, which was the most beautiful synagogue I'd ever seen.

Day 2.5, we went to the Vatican museums and saw the Sistine Chapel, where once again, pop culture got the best of me. I kept thinking about the episode in Arrested Development where Buster and George Sr. reenact Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam." 

Firenze Photos

We did too many things in Florence to write about each one, so I am giving you a photo entry of the highlights. Ciao bellas.

Greta Garbo exhibit at the Ferregamo Shoe Museum

Duomo

Adrienne getting a marriage proposal

meat shop...

balsamico

old medical journals

illegal picture of David

crazy hair on the Ponte Vechio

children's book?

Boboli Gardens at Pitti Palace

my new Italian leather shoes about to squash some poor, innocent tourists

another illegal photo in Santa Maria Novella

Jewish Synagogue in Florence

Santa Croce

 view of Florence from Piazza Michelangelo

gardens behind San Miniato 

vineyards in Chianti wine region

San Gimignano

view of San Gimignano from the tallest tower

district flags of Siena

Siena cathedral with Beetlejuice columns

Il Campo (Siena) in preparation for the bareback horse race

barrels of Chianti wine at Sant Appiano

Cinque Terre

After we left the farm, we traveled to Cinque Terre, which is comprised of five coastal cities along the western border of Italy. It is pretty much hippie-heaven; UNESCO declared it a protected territory, there are recycling bins everywhere, and hikers flock to trek in the beautiful scenery.

Cinque Terre is also known for its vineyards. Since its so hilly, there are tiers of grapes along the mountains.

tiered vineyards

We stayed in the only hostel in Manarola — we had to lug our heavy suitcases up a mountain and about 40 steps to arrive at the front door. But I packed it, so I carried it with only a little complaining.

 Manarola

In Cinque Terre, you can either hike between the villages or take the train. So in the a.m., we were ambitious and started out on the trail. We hiked north to Corniglia, where we had to march up 382 steps to make it into the town. That was fun...

steps up to Corniglia

From there, we decided to take the harder trail up into the mountain for a bit of a mid-morning workout, to reach the next village. Turns out, it really went up the entire mountain. I kept thinking it was going to turn and head back down, but in the end, we ended up with a tremendous view and some buns of steel.

view of Corniglia

We finally made it down to the next village, Vernazza. It was quaint, lined with little shops and cafes, and was definitely my favorite town. We grabbed some lunch, got lazy and decided to train it to the most northern town, Monterosso.

Monterosso

Bosco and Venice

First, everyone should know that Bosco Delrey's first single is out and available on iTunes. And it's damn good. You can read about him on MadDecent's blog or just search Bosco Delrey in the iTunes store.

Next on the docket, I'll tell you about Venice. We only stayed one night and it was raining and miserable weather, but the city was one of a kind.

It was refreshing to go to a place with no need to look both ways before you cross the street because there are no cars, only boats. Big ferries traveling up and down the Grand Canal, two person gondolas driven by men in striped shirts and straw hats, and motorized water taxis were the only means of transportation. During the day, the streets were mobbed with tourists and were quiet and empty at night. Venice is a museum in that it's kept alive for people to come visit.

Murano: We traveled to the island that produces all of the famous Murano glass, which was lined with shop after shop that were selling dizzying amounts of jewelry, plates, figurines, creepy clowns, vases, wine stoppers, and chandeliers. We had a hard time finding an actual glass workshop, but luckily we wandered down a corridor and saw one man working. Most likely, a lot of the products there were imported from Asia, considering some of the pricing was pretty reasonable. We found two amazing stores though that had to be authentic. One had vases and glasses with flower decorations on them, and the other had the most incredible chandeliers I have ever seen. If only I had the money or a house to decorate! 

Jewish Venice: On the second day of our trip, we visited the Jewish Ghetto in Venice and toured three of the five remaining synagogues. During the 14^th and 15^th Centuries, even though the Jews were confined to one area, Venice was apparently one of the more tolerant places for Jews to live in Europe. Jews from different cultures immigrated to Venice but stayed separated, which explains why there were 5 different synagogues to accommodate the different traditions. Today in Venice, there is a permanent community of only 30 people who are recognized by the Jewish Community (excluding Chabad-Lubavitch and the hundreds of Jews who travel through Venice on trips and travel). Sorry there are no pictures of the synagogues because the tour guide was watching me like a hawk, but I did get a shot of the Kosher restaurant and glass figures of religious men.

Today is our last day on the farm, and tomorrow begins our long haul of traveling to Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, Mykonos, and Athens. My life as a WWOOFer is put on hold for a while, but will hopefully resume at some point in my life. ‘Till then…ciao bellas.