Last Day in Paradise

Well, we're back in Brussels now, but we both miss Israel.  Wednesday morning we got up and packed to leave before going to breakfast at 8.  It was in the hotel cafeteria, where we had eaten dinner.  They had some interesting things, most of which were good.

Then Gabe and I walked around for an hour or so before we headed up the road to Capernaum and Tabgha and the Church of St. Peter.  There were a lot of people, but it was a pretty church. 

Then we went back past Ginosar to Tiberius.  It's also a cute town with lots of personality.  There were shops and things like in the Old City, but also new stores.  Inge always shops at a store called Crazy Line, so we went there first while Gilbert went and had a coffee.  I got a couple pairs of dress pants, a skirt and two cute tops that I could wear for business.  It was a nice store.  Then we walked down the market street to the beach.  Inge and Gilbert sat at the restaurant where we were eating lunch while Gabe and I wandered around.  It wasn't anything super special, but they had interesting things. 

What's surprising to me is how similar things are.  Like gelato... I haven't been to a city yet that hasn't had it.  And it's always the same flavors.  What was weird in Tiberius was that there were slushies.  Like Icees, but flavors like coffee and avocado.  We didn't get a chance to taste them, but will when we go back.

We then went to the restaurant to have lnch.  Gabe and I each got schnitzel and shared with Inge.  It was very good.  I'm not sure if I've ever had schnitzel before, but it tasted relatively familiar and was very good. 

We sat by the water for a long time while we ate.  It's obvious that the lake is down the 15 feet, but that's the only reason why there is a beach - otherwise the water would have been up the wall.  But everyone on the beach was enjoying themselves... There were several groups of people smoking from hookahs and the smell of cannabis was in the air. 

I did find it interesting that there were so many hookahs.  In the markets they were smoking incense, on the beach was cannabis, and other places it was just tobacco.  You don't see them in the States very often, so it was just different to see them everywhere.  People walk down the streets with them.  Of course, the Red Light District in Amsterdam is probably going to be just as astounding, but I'll find that out tonight.

After lunch, we headed back to Tel Aviv after getting ice cream.  Strawberry sorbet and cappuccino, which was very good.  Both Gabe and I fell asleep, but it was the same highway that we had been on to go north, so we didn't miss anything, or at least we don't think we did.  Once we got back to Tel Aviv, we packed and Inge packed two suitcases for Marion to come get from me.  So Marion is coming to Brussels next Monday or Tuesday for two nights to pick up all of Inge's things.

After packing, we had a light dinner and Inge's friend Hilda came over.  She brought me an awesome hat and a very nice scarf.  We had tea and ice cream and cake. When she left, Inge took us out to see the opera building, which was very nice.  It also had a movie theater and a couple of coffee shops.  Gabe and I danced to the trumpet player on the plaza that connects all the arts buildings. 

We headed back to the apartment and relaxed for a bit.  Inge got out her accordion and I tried to play and Gabe actually did play.  Mostly Do Re Mi, but still, it was fun. 

Then we headed to the airport at 10:30.  We got there about 10:45 to check in.  We said goodbye and headed in.  Our flight was at 1:10.  We got a little confused trying to check in, because we didn't know where to go, but we figured it out.  You had to line up and be interrogated for security in the main lobby.  Passports checked and questions asked, like, how long were you here and where were you staying, but also how often we see each other and how long we've been dating.  Then they put your bags through an x-ray machine after putting a whole bunch of stickers on them.  They raised their eyes at the fact that we had a knife in our bag, but it was okay when we said we had put it there.  They only checked our big bags there, not our carry-ons. 

The x-ray machine was fun.  It slowly pulled the bags up the ramp, sat inside for a bit, and then was shot out the other side with quite a bit of force.  It was kindof funny to watch.

Then we got to the check-in counter and checked our bags, no problem.  We got our tickets only through double checking passports, and then headed for security, where they checked our passports again.  We had no problems through security, and then had to show boarding passes and passports again at border control.  The airport really was nice, and there was a giant fountain in the middle that dropped rings of water from the 20-foot ceiling.  We roamed around the duty-free shop for a while and then showed our passports to get to the gate.  I got a grapefruit juice and had a granola bar before we boarded, showing our passports a final time. 

The flight wasn't bad.  Somehow, we ended up with first class seats, and I fell asleep quickly. Gabe slept a little bit, but I couldn't tell you what happened on the flight.  Apparently there were quite a few crying babies. 

We landed on time (5AM) in Brussels, to an empty airport.  We retrieved Inge's two bags and got a taxi back to the apartment.  It was a 35 Euro charge for a 10 minute ride.  But we got back, took all the stuff up, and went to bed for a few hours.  I got up at 9 or so to do homework and check email and everything.  Gabe got up around 10:30 and we ate together.  Sam came and ate with us, too. 

I studied a bit, then took a shower and went to class.  We packed a bit, too.  Class was average.  I took (and most likely failed) a quiz, but we're allowed to retake it.  Gabe went wandering.  I walked him to the end of the street and showed him what I thought might be interesting, and then left him to explore.  He found a grocery store and the car museum and got lunch (beer and a sandwich) and mostly just walked around. 

After class, we finished packing, had a snack and came down to the train station.  Which is where we are now.  On the train to Amsterdam.

Tonite we're going to Red Light District after dinner somewhere and then we're staying on a boat that's a hostel.  Tomorrow we're seeing the Anne Frank house and maybe going to the Heinekin Brewery, and of course walking around and seeing what we can see.  Then we'll be home tomorrow night. 

For now, we're going to enjoy the train ride.

Toodle-oo.