[travels] socal

I don't imagine I'll be a stranger to Southern California, but it's still worthwhile to write about the places that I have seen.

I first visited during the beginning of October.  My purpose was twofold; attend my friend's wedding in Santa Barbara and visit my boyfriend who has just started graduate school in Pasadena.  The trip started with a flight into the famous LAX airport, where I was promptly picked up by Brian and his rental car, but was still held up waiting for my bag that had been checked gate-side. 

After a good night's rest, we took off for Santa Barbara via PCH.  We took a pitstop at the Santa Monica pier, which I discovered was the end of the famous Route 66.  There was a small amusement park on the pier, but to my dismay, it was booked for the day for a private event.

Amusement part on Santa Monica Pier

 

Fishermen's poles on Santa Monica Pier

Santa Barbara is a delightful town with a charming main street and a beautiful pier of it's own.  The wedding took place in a park and the reception was held at a local gallery.  It was a beautiful night of laughter, dancing, and other festivities.  The next day was spent frolicking by the beach.  We tossed frisbees and footballs, sometimes separately, sometimes at the same time.  Some were daring enough to dive into the cold water while others continued to fill up on cheese and crackers.  Afterwards, Brian and I walked along the entire span of the artists fair, starting at the Santa Barbara pier.   There were beautiful paintings, sculptures, pieces of jewelry, and my favorite, kaleidoscopes!  Another highlight of the drive down was the fruit stand that we came across with fresh peaches and avocados. Delicious!

The rest of the weekend was spent exploring Pasadena.  Brian showed me around Caltech.  The small campus is filled with beautiful architecture, with turtle-filled ponds in between.  We also spent a lovely afternoon exploring different flora from different regions of the world, at Huntington Gardens.

Turtle chilling at Caltech

From the rose garden at Huntington Gardens.

[travels] martha's vineyard

The weather was perfect for our long weekend in Martha's Vineyard.  Despite being such a small island, Martha's Vineyard has a lot to offer, from charming main streets, to cool galleries, and beautiful shorelines and lighthouses (and how can I forget, delicious seafood!).

We spent the first day exploring Oaks Bluffs, one of the Steamship Authority Ports.  The 8am ferry got us to the island before it was awake, so we had plenty of time to wander through the delightful gingerbread houses.  The miniature Victorian style houses were all sorts of bright hues and had adorable names.  Walk in deeper, and you get to the tabernacle at the center, where concerts and town meetings take place.  That evening, we headed to Menemsha and the Fisherman's Markets for fresh seafood.  We enjoyed Crabby Patty wraps, clam chowder, and a lobster roll on the beach as we waited for the sunset.  We missed the sunset due to clouds, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

Brian standing in front of a row of Gingerbread Houses

The sun starting to set over Menemsha

The second day was split between Lucy Vincent Beach and Acquinnah.  Lucy Vincent beach is a local favorite.  We were able to secure a pass from our hosts at Summersweet Bed and Breakfast (Don and Gail are so sweet).  

I was most looking forward to seeing the Acquinnah cliffs because I had missed them my first visit.  After enjoying the view from the cliffs, we headed down to the beach, where we stayed awaiting the sunset.  

View from Acquinnah Cliffs

Raining in the distance

Despite looking forward most to Acquinnah, my favorite town in Martha's Vineyard was actually Edgartown.  The beach and lighthouse area feels untainted and has the perfect combination of flora and sand looking out to the water. 

Edgartown beachfront

[travels] Letchworth State Park: The Grand Canyon of the East

With it's 3 waterfalls and long beautiful gorge, Letchworth State park is called the Grand Canyon of the East.  Starting from the bottom falls, it was a leisurely hike to the middle and upper falls.

The best views were from Inspiration point near the middle falls, but the upper falls also looked impressive with the old railroad bridge as the backdrop.

Upper Falls

[Israeli Summer] Hiking my own backyard

The end of my last weekend in Israel is bittersweet.  I am looking forward to going home, but I'm also realizing how much of Haifa I've neglected to see in my hurry to see everything else.  This weekend was spent in town, exploring the beauty of my own backyard.

On Friday, we visited Nahal Me'arot (Caves Stream) Nature Reserve, just south of Haifa (by Ein Hod).    What was an archaeological dig site is now a tourist site, giving the visitor a glimpse into prehistoric life.  It is believed that, here, Neanderthal Man lived side by side with Homo sapiens.  Another neat thing is that the land was completed covered by the sea at one point.  We were able to climb what was once a giant coral reef.

Hiking the fossilized coral

Glimpse into Prehistoric Life

Saturday brought us to the Carmel Mountains.  We started hiking just outside of Haifa University, and were able to wander onto the Little Switzerland Trail. The mountain is known for its greenness because it receives more precipitation due to its proximity to the sea.  We decided to turn around when we got to a neighboring peak, where we were next to the old prison.  It had burned down some years ago, tragically trapping some 40 prison guards within it.  We could see the sparse trees atop the mountain as evidence of the occurrence.

Close to sunset over Mount Carmel

[travels] The Last Crusade

We have just spent the most amazing weekend in Jordan.  With only two days, our weekend was filled with sight-seeing around Wadi Rum with our Bedouin hosts and rediscovering the ancient city of Petra for ourselves.

Highlights from Wadi Rum include:
Visiting Nabataean Ruins

Camel ride through the desert
The camels took us through Rum Village and into the desert.  We trudged through the sand, sometimes speeding up to a trot.  The camels had long, fluffy eyelashes and cute smiles.

My camel friend.

4 Wheel-Driving up and down giant dunes (and around the desert)
Our Toyota pickup was our main form of transportation across the desert.  This study vehicle brought us up and down sandy and rocky hills.  Our guide enjoyed surprising us with quick turns and drops and also impressed us with the skill in which he maneuvered down steep rocky terrain.

Sand surfing down giant dunes
Imagine a snowboard with only 2 straps to insert your sneakers into.  The climb up the dune is grueling because you sink into the flowy, hot sand.  Boarding down, you pick up some speed, but reach terminal velocity relatively quickly.  Others straddled the board and used it like a sled.  Afterwards, we all poured sand out of our sneakers.

I'm the tiny speck that surfing down.

Jumping into sand from rocky ledges
As we walked through the sand, it flowed as if it were liquid.  But jumping into the sand was unlike jumping into water.  We took turns running along the rock ledge and jumping into the sand.  We always landed with a thud, followed by peals of laughter.

Jumping into the sand.

Climbing up different rock formations to amazing desert views. 
Our guide took us to different rock formations, like a mushroom rock, a siq, and rock bridges.  Climbing up these rocks was surprisingly easy because the desert wind had etched notches into the rocks, giving us somewhere to grip.  The view of the desert and mountainous terrain was breathtaking.  Not much green in sight, but the warmer color scheme was beautiful nonetheless.

Watching the sunset (and later the rise of the full moon).
We made it back to camp to enjoy a cup of tea before hiking up a bit to watch the sunset.

Sunset behind Wadi Rum mountains

Traditional home-cooked meal and tea 
Our Bedouin host (or rather his wife) made us a wonderful meal of chicken atop rice, fresh hummus and pita and potato stew.  The delicious food had us going back for seconds and thirds.

Listening to Bedouin music and singing along
After dinner, we rested on the carpet outside, watching as the stars (and Venus) came out.  Our hosts pulled out a rebab (stringed instrument, kind of reminds me of a banjo in shape) and sang worship songs for us.  He taught us some lyrics so that we could sing along.  He then asked us to share a song of our own.  The only song that our tired heads were able to think of was... twinkle twinkle little star.

Camping under shooting stars in the Bedouin tents
Once our hosts had gone to bed, we walked out of camp to a flat rock and star gazed.  The Perseids are peaking next week, so we were hoping to catch some of the shooting stars.  Others saw several, but I missed them.  I guess I don't have a very good attention span.

Missed shooting stars, but saw a beautiful full moon.

Highlights from Petra include:
Driving along King's Highway
King's Highway was an important trade route in ancient Middle East.  It is now a scenic, two-lane highway that connects Aqaba to Petra.  The cool breeze made the car ride enjoyable, and we stopped along the way to take in views of low-hanging clouds over the Jordan/Israel border and later on, of Petra.

Reenacting Indiana Jones's encounter with the treasury
A very famous scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade involves Indiana Jones riding up to the Treasury from the Siq on horseback.  Without horses or a soundtrack, we sang the theme song as we approached the Treasury on our imaginary horses.  Needless to say, we attracted a few stares.
Check out a short video montage of some clips that I took. Skip to 52 seconds for the Treasury.

Watching a sand artist create images with colorful sand
While in Wadi Rum, we were able to appreciate the beautiful burnt red, yellow, and black tones in the sand. In Petra, we also saw beautiful purples, oranges, and blues in the rocks.  These beautifully colored sands are used to make sand art, where images are skillfully set in sand in glass containers.  We walked by the workshop of a sand artist, and he showed us how he formed camels and mountains in the sand.

Climbing up to the royal tombs

Donkey-ride up to the Monastery and seeing colorful rocks along the way
The 900 step trek up to the Monastery was easier atop a donkey.  Well, in my case, it was atop a mule, name Shakira.  I struggled to balance atop my mule, since I had no stirrups.  Going up was scary, especially since the steps were sometimes slippery. But from the top, we had an amazing bird's eye view stretching far into the distance.

Drinking tea atop the mountain with the Bedouins
Our donkey guides invited us to tea atop the mountain.  Here, we were able to experience the view and learn about the lifestyle of those who still dwell in Petra.  We watched as kindle was gathered and set afire.  Tea and sugar (a full cup of it) was poured in a black kettle, and set in the fire.  We drank from makeshift cups cut from water bottles.  And we learned a bit about the lives of our new friends.

Highlights from Eilat
We passed from Israel into Jordan from the South.  Starting in Haifa, we took the midnight bus down to Eilot and crossed the border when it opened at 8am.  Between our 5am arrival in Eilat and our 8am border crossing, we lounged by the beach.  On our trip back, we had more time to explore the tourist town.

Boardwalk
Eilat is a resort town, known for its scuba-diving and beaches.  The pebbly beaches were not as impressive as the ones in other Israeli cities, but there was a cute boardwalk that was hopping by Saturday evening.  There were small shops, as well as higher end shops.  Our favorite was the slushie stands with over 20 flavors that we could mix for only 5 NIS.

Israeli Folk Dancing
At the start of the boardwalk, there was a circle of people dancing.  I had always heard of Israeli folk dancing, but had never seen it in action.  It was lively and everyone looked like they were having a great time.  I half wanted to join in, but I was tired from our weekend adventures.

Summer of Seas
As of this weekend, I've visited

[travels] Istanbul. Not Constantinople.

Ever since we learned about the splendor of the Byzantine empire in US history, I have yearned to visit Istanbul to experience the beauty for myself.  Modern day Istanbul is a very touristy place, and historic sites are clustered in Old City, making it very easy for the tourist to see the major attractions.  Three days is not nearly enough time to see all of Istanbul, but we sure tried our best.  We visited beautiful mosques, palaces, and even an underground cistern.  We took a ferry ride down the Bosphorus River to the Black Sea, leaving from the European side and landing on the Asian side.  We soaked in the culture from watching the whirling dervishes to taking a famous Turkish bath.  We enjoyed treats, like Turkish Delight, baklava, and stretchy Turkish ice cream (complete with show).  I took too many pictures to pick, so I've compiled some of my favorites into a video.

Turkish Bath

Bath houses were an important component of social life.  Not only could you unwind in the hot steam, relax with an olive oil massage, or clean up with an exfoliating scrub from your bath attendant, but you could also catch up on gossip.  It was a place to be seen.  It was common to visit at least a couple of times a week, and with all the offerings, I think I would have liked to just live there.  We visited a traditional Turkish bath to experience the offerings for ourselves.

Turkish Ice Cream
Not only is the ice cream delicious, but it comes with a show.  Here is a video of me trying to get my ice cream.  As a chemical engineer, I was also intrigued by the viscoelastic properties of this stretchy treat.

...more to come...

Israeli Summer: Adventure Weekend

So we're mobile pretty much every weekend, but this is the first weekend that we've had a car.  Having a car in Israel is an especially liberating experience; we are no longer tied down to the Egged bus schedule nor restricted by Shabbat.  Israel is such a small country, that even 500 km (restriction set by Avis) was enough to get us across the country (width-wise), twice!  We used this weekend as an opportunity to explore the Golan Heights and the Galilee.  We saw 2 of the 4 Holy Cities in Israel, Tiberias and Safed, leaving only Hebron (since we had previously visited Jerusalem).  Nazareth and Bethlehem are also considered holy cities for the Christian faith, so check and check!  We went hiking down to a waterfall and jumped great distances into deep pools along the way.  On the other extreme, we visited very artsy villages and purchased gifts for loved ones back home.  Oh, and beer tasting in the Golan Heights was a top notch way to wind down after a hot sweltering hike.

Ein Hod
Ein Hod is an artists village just south of Haifa.  Strolling through this quaint little town you'll find lots of flowerbeds, sculptures, and open workshops (go earlier in the day for more options).  Our first stop was a pottery studio, run by an American, because she had the best signage.  We were directed to her studio almost as soon as we entered the town.  We also visited her husband's antique book shop and Ms. Silver's photography shop.  Ms. Silver is a celebrated expert on Israeli photography, unfortunately we did not have much time with her as she was running out to catch a concert in Tel Aviv.  We had dinner at the Ein Hod Cafe where they were having Indian night, a pleasant break from hummus and pita.  The community is very friendly and relaxed, and seems like a very pleasant place to live.  Also, the cats roaming around Ein Hod are the plumpest that I've encountered around Israel.

Ein Hod Cafe

Tiberias
Tiberias is one of the 4 holy cities in Israel, it is situated on the Sea of Galilee (more like a lake, if you ask me).  The Sea of Galilee is important to the Christian faith because it's where Jesus did much of his ministry and performed miracles, like walking on water.  Modern day Tiberias is a large sprawling city.  The Old City is home to a few churches.  It has a nice promenade alongside the water with a host of restaurants and souvenir shops.  Other than that and the tombs we passed by, there was not much to see.  But the drive along the water into and out of Tiberias is beautiful as you see the city sprawling up into the hill from the sea.

Sea of Galilee, as seen from Tiberias

Nazareth
Nazareth is Jesus's hometown.  There we visited the Basilica of Annunciation.  This is where the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she would bear God's child.  The basilica was beautiful inside and out.  Outside, the white stone walls rose majestically and the Crusader flag blew proudly in the wind. Inside, there were mosaics from around the world, depicting the annunciation, as well as beautiful stained glass windows.

Basilica of Annunciation

Qatzrin and the Zavitan River
The following morning we headed out early to Qatzrin, the capital of Golan, for our hike. The drive through the Galilee into the Golan Heights is beautiful, and the landscape changes within the blink of an eye.  One second you can be looking at lush greenness, and the next you're looking at desert.  My poor navigating led us on a detour north, but we got to Qatzrin in due time.  We passed by the small city of Qatzrin in search for the Zavitan River.  Upon finding the trail head, we hiked along the river.  Enroute to the deep pools we encountered interesting flora and fauna.  We saw cacti next to leafy trees.  We saw long streams of ants carrying things 100 times their size.  We even saw a large family of what looked like gophers dash across the path in front of us!  The trail was long and hot, so getting to the deep pools and jumping in was a relief and a lot of fun.  I started out with the lower rocks and did baby jumps into the water, but after much coaxing (and watching little boys jump from much higher), I graduated to the higher ledge.  From there we hiked a bit more down to the falls.  The hike back to the car was hot and miserable, and we were running dangerously low on water.  We were like the walking dead by the time we got to the car, and we guzzled cold water to the point of brain freeze at the nearest gas station.  But we survived to tell the tale.

Upper Zavitan River.

Safed
Safed (Tzfat in Hebrew) is another one of the four holy cities in Israel.  It was the site of an important victory during the War of Independence and where Kaballah, Jewish Mysticism, was founded.  On a Saturday afternoon, Safed is a quiet town for Shabbat.  The community is predominantly Jewish, moreso than other cities in Northern Israel, because the Muslims fled during the War of Independence.  You see families taking their babies for a stroll and kids playing hand-games and football by the schoolyard.  Young boys lounge on the grassy hills and young girls chatter as they walk along the sleepy streets.  There is a calmness that seems to have settled upon the city, and it makes me somewhat envious.  In the US we put so much pressure on ourselves to constantly be productive that we constantly rush to get to some destination, never stopping to appreciate the little things in life.

View from Safed.  You can see the Sea of Galilee in the distance.

In the center of town, there is a large park, called the Citadel.  Atop the Citadel there is a memorial to commemorate the soldiers who had lost their lives.  Many (Birthright?) groups stop here to reflect and enjoy the view.

In memory...

I eavesdropped on a group of Americans as their tour guide read passages from The Prince.  He also shared one quote from St. Augustine that speaks to me:

People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; 

and they pass by themselves without wondering.

For more pictures, see my facebook gallery.