Category Archives: Blog

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is something that you just have to go to once in your life. The surface is 428 meters below sea level – the lowest point on the face of the Earth. It’s part of the Great Rift Valley and is fed by the Jordan River to the north. Its salt content, because of the lack of outflow, is about 34% or 10 times more than the normal salty ocean that we swim in. Essentially, it is two lakes held together by a thin thread in the middle. There are “health resorts” on the Jordanian and Israeli side which promote all sorts of minerals that are supposed to make you young again. Yeah, right.

There is actually nothing quite like going into this hyper-salty lake/sea. It is very difficult to stand up and for the most part it is pretty uncomfortable to hang around for more than about 15 minutes. If you shave the night before, you are in for a rough time, and if you have a cut, think pain. There is no way out in this bathtub. It will attack you wherever it sees a weakness and if you make the mistake of putting your eyes in the water, you will suffer temporary blindness. Yep – it was a lot of fun. Probably the greatest single moment was that moment when you get to stand under the fresh water shower and remove the salty deposits. That will keep your hair looking strange for several days no matter what.

As for reading the newspaper, it is easy to do. Swimming is impossible, floating is fun, and more importantly, if there is anybody in your party that cannot swim, they will overcome their fear of water and swim. This has to be the place where Jesus walked on water.

There were Russian groups here that were all staying at the hotels by the beach. You had to be a hardcore salt water person for that. For me, been there, done that, great stories, funny photos, but I couldn’t wait to get to the shower.

Jaffa

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How strange that we were strolling to Jaffa for an evening out and we caught a wedding!? Jaffa is the oldest part of Tel Aviv and is the original settlement. It has a good flea market, an impressive clock tower, and lots of small, winding streets that lead to the hilltop for good views. There is a train station that has been converted into trendy shops and a scattering of bars and restaurants. It was the old train link to Jerusalem. But this evening we caught a wedding. The photographers wanted us to be part of the photo shoot and so we dutifully cooperated. It was a great moment – the sun setting, old Jaffa in the background, and the modern Tel Aviv in the distance with the ever present beaches forming a crescent around the edges. And a beautiful bride too. Not bad for a stroll along the boardwalk!

Masada

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The funny thing about Masada is that the introduction video is really bad. It is part 60’s Hollywood and part dreadful narration with such a bad accent that you feel like someone from Disney should come by and help them out. But having said that, the place is breathtaking.

The story is a compelling part of our religious folklore. Nasty Romans conquering Jerusalem, 1,000 Jews stuck on a plateau, a desperate last stand, and then death by the self-inflicted sword rather than the rotten Romans. How was the news of this incredibly heroic sacrifice passed on? It seems that there were a couple of people who were not quite buying into the whole sacrifice thing. You can certainly count me as being one of those guys!

Masada sits around 500 meters above the surface of the Dead Sea with stunning views across the desert landscape. The actual spot where the Romans made their successful approach is easily identifiable. What is also interesting is that if you are strolling through the Roman Forum in Rome, there are three clear arches that stand out. The smallest of the three is the Arch of Titus, whose design inspired the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and represents the victories of the Romans over the so-called rebels of Judea.

If you are fit and it is not too hot, you can take the serpentine foot path to the top of Masada, which takes about one hour. If you fancy a luxury journey to the top then take the cable car. It is three minutes, holds 65 people, and spares you the onslaught of the mid-day sun. The visitor’s center is very good and there is free drinking water available in the fountains around so you can fill your bottles up too.

Masada is also a beautifully layered maze of Roman architecture built by King Herod. He built a palace here complete with Roman baths. This place is truly one of the most extraordinary places to visit. It is sort of like Table Mountain in Cape Town with an iconic story and Roman architecture to boot!

Israel

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Israel is a strange place unlike any other place I have visited. Locked in between hostile desert nations and four seas, it creates its own karma. Everyone has a story here. The modern history of Israel is tragic and brave and unresolvable at press time! The people are in siege mentality and you feel it. It’s not that they are unresponsive. Everything works really well. The beach looks like Rio de Janeiro, but has no crime, and the market is old world charming. The troubles here are “untroubling.” Most locals put it down to rain. Yes, we have some problems just like we have occasional rain but it never lasts too long and eventually it dries up.

Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

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Next day was a free day; a Sunday. We got a limo and a guide and a bunch of us headed to Jerusalem. That morning there were several news stories about some problems in the Old City and so we had some trepidation. Yet in the interest of massive curiosity and fear of the CNN factor getting the better of us, we pushed ahead. We are in the travel business after all. This is what we do. It made the day even more exciting than it already promised to be!

Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a short journey of about 70 km or about 43 miles. En route, we stopped to look at the settlements and take in the wall that separates Israel from the Palestinian territories. A fascinating, albeit slightly strange, experience. We drove up to Mount Olive for a view across the city. The Dome of the Rock, the ancient Al-Aqsa Mosque, all sitting there in the distance.

Eventually we headed towards the inner city, lost the car, and walked the old town, the Souk (old market), and the Arab quarter. We followed the Stations of the Cross to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was allegedly crucified and where his body was laid to rest before wrapped in a shroud. That shroud can now be found in Turin.

We stopped at the western wall and I touched it. It was quite a magical feeling. The guide, who actually was very good, managed to cover about 5,000 years in an hour and gave us the essential lowdown. There was just this sense that we were at this ancient vortex of civilization. Arabs, Christians and Jews all played out in this incredible holy city. It was sort of like Sunday school coming back to me as a field trip. This holy place was loaded with stories and relics from the very beginning of civilization to the torturous modern history that still plays out in the streets every day.

Actually as a city, Jerusalem was lovely. There were picturesque narrow winding streets, reminding me of a Turkish bazaar, nice people, and an intermingling of the old and the trendy. Great food if you can adjust to hummus served all day long and pomegranate vendors squeezing fresh juice on every street corner. Jerusalem was dramatic and iconic and left me with so many questions. I wondered how I had ever survived my religion class. Not to mention the politics in all of this which we started to touch on. But that would be another day and a walk through the modern twentieth century Israel. Complicated doesn’t even get close.

The Hotel Intercontinental David

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The hotel staff at the Intercontinental David were nice but not overly friendly – like they didn’t quite trust us. The service was decent, but not brilliant, as if they had other things on their mind. And obviously they do! Everything was spotless and clean but there was an edge and you always had this feeling that you were an outsider. And we were.

The guides went out of their way to put their point of view across and everyone had the same point of view. It was logical and understandable but sometimes it formed a gulf as if they suspected that you were probably too sympathetic to the Palestinians. But in spite of all of this, I started to like the place. The buzz of Tel Aviv got to me. I liked the mix and the history and the California feel to the beachfront. I liked the scene at night and unashamedly, the Bauhaus architecture. The tension became part of the vibe and I was getting the hang of the place.

Welcome to Tel Aviv

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When we got off the plane, the guy with the sign was right there. Perfect. Welcome to Tel Aviv, ACIS and Pietro Place! The interrogation that I had feared was nonexistent and we were through and walking to the van in next to no time.

It is a short drive into the center and our hotel, the Intercontinental David, was in a nice neighborhood close to an old market place. It was a 5 minute walk to the beach which honestly is never far away in Tel Aviv. We met up with some friends and strolled along the promenade towards Jaffa, the old city, and had fabulous seafood overlooking the sandy beach and the Mediterranean. It was dark, but it sure looked good to me.

A Late Flight to Istanbul

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The great thing about flying on Turkish Airlines from Boston is that they have a very late flight at 11:40 pm. In addition, if you are heading onwards to Tel Aviv, as I was, connections are pretty good. Package that with a business class fare that is not one of those jaw dropping dreadful price points that make you wonder who ever pays for those flights at full fare, and you have it. Dinner at a good restaurant in Boston and a late night flight departure is a great way to spend the first part of a transatlantic flight. The preparation at least is going to be decent!

Turkish Airlines, as I found out, unfortunately did not have flat beds, but staff were pretty good, seats were decent for business class and the rest I simply can’t remember as I took an Ambien! Next stop was Istanbul about 9 hours later. Istanbul is a funky airport. Old bits shoved onto sleek new bits makes for a decent transit stop. Tel Aviv was next on my journey and flight time wasn’t bad. Actually, service on the Tel Aviv flight and leg room was better than the long transatlantic flight. They must know we all take Ambien for the long hauls!

What Cuba Needs

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What Cuba Needs

My Israel and Jordan post is coming soon (check Facebook for live updates!) but right now Cuba is everywhere. 2015 is set to be a record breaker in terms of visitors welcomed to the island. There will be 2,000,000 arrivals between January and July alone; this is a 16% increase year-on-year. 3,000,000 visitors came in 2014. For the first time in its history, and with the relaxation of rules for Americans, this trend is going through the roof. Between January and May, over 50,000 Americans legally visited Cuba.

Good news all around? Well, sort of. Here is the problem. It begs the question of what Cuba needs. One word – infrastructure. It is cute to drive in a ‘55 Chevy but there are only so many ‘55 Chevy’s to taxi us around. Unfortunately, hotels cannot support the boom and they cannot build efficiently and fast enough to absorb this increase. So what happens? Logjam. As everything has to go through those old, commie agencies, it’s triple logjam. This is all before they figure out the non-stop air services from USA cities. Right now, the island of Cuba could not support a 4,000 passenger luxury cruise line docking in Havana Bay. There are not enough buses to do the sightseeing, not enough guides to take you around, and not enough restaurants to feed you.

So dear Cuba…please. You have a great island and probably the most fascinating and beautiful in the Caribbean. Let’s get organized. Tourism is great. But right now, you are too pricy and you have no space.

The End of Delays?

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The End of Delays?

How about this for a nail biter? To cut down on the inevitable airline delays, air traffic controllers are starting to use time instead of distance to space out airplanes. While this doesn’t mean that the really silly game where they tell you that the flight takes an hour longer than it really does, and without that ridiculous announcement from the pilot that we have been “held up a little bit but will try and make the time up,” is going away, this is a good thing.

Incidentally, what is that “make the time up” thing? Is he going to fly 1,000 mph instead of the usual 650 mph? How does that work? Or is there a short cut from LA to Boston that I didn’t know about? You know the deal…if you go over Memphis and catch the magic jet stream, it only takes two hours. Nope. Actually, they are working on reducing delay time in a smart way. The idea is if you space airplanes by time instead of distance, you can actually optimize and improve timing for landings and take offs.

At Heathrow in London, they started to use this system. Typically, planes are spaced three to seven miles behind each other depending on the airplane. They have begun experimenting with minutes rather than miles.

The results are remarkable. Most of the Europeans have already authorized air traffic to adopt time-based spacing by 2024. The FAA is working to jump on the European band wagon. Bottom line, what used to seem too close is no longer too close anymore. Analytics and headwinds are all thrown into an algorithm and out pops spacing by minute. Good news for everyone in the future although I am not quite sure how I feel about being that close to the jet in front of me. In the meantime, don’t think that the announcement from the pilot stating, “There are 18 planes in front of us but we should be set for takeoff in the next 30 minutes and with “luck” we should catch up to get you there on time,” are going away. Incidentally, what’s the luck thing? Yikes.

The Revolution

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The Revolution

You know that moment when some unbelievably smart person figured out that a suitcase with wheels actually could be turned so that the wheels went on the widest part not the narrowest part? It was one of the great game changers in travel. Then the bag moved to a 4-wheel option and you could maneuver your bag like a Mini Cooper through a city; holding it tight to your body but always upright in a busy airport. Yet still, you have the hassle of either being the first person on the plane, paying the extra bucks for first class, or sweating that your bag is going to get dumped down below in the hold where you will have to “check and pay”. The worst of all nightmares since you may never see the bag again. The cost of bag check-in on a budget flight can often be more than the flight itself. Then there is that resentment of all of the people who got on before you that stuck their bags in the overhead bins.

Now there’s a solution and it’s a revolution. Overhead baggage compartments are being redesigned and refitted as we speak with a view to increasing the depth by a few more inches so that the bags can be pushed in vertically on their sides. It is literally doubling the possibility for carry-on baggage. Alaska Airlines is leading the way. Partnering with Boeing, Alaska were the first people to understand that change was not just a good idea, but a necessary idea. The sacrifice? Two inches of head room. There is even room on top of the bags to put tiny bags, coats, or you name it. The time that it takes for an airline to be fully ready to fly and passengers to be comfortably seated with bags all set, is projected to greatly decrease. In other words, departure times are going to improve! Yay! Tempers won’t get frayed (as much) and flight attendants won’t have to break the bad news to a disgruntled passenger who simply cannot bear the thought of checking in their bag. All great news.

Now the re-fit begins. Pretty soon there will be sleeping compartments up there too!

New England in the Fall

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It’s the season. They are officially out there…leaf addicts. They jump on buses in search of the perfect foliage red. Armed with their cameras and sketchbooks, they come from near and far to witness this once a year event that happens only in certain parts of the world – the moment when the leaves on the sugar maples, the oaks, dogwoods, my favorite the sourwoods, and the sumacs turn into bright, burning reds. This is New England in the Fall.

In my local town of Ashfield, MA, we celebrate this event with a Fall Festival. The whole town turns out. It is a tiny town of 1,700 but that weekend Main Street looks like a movie set. There are apple sellers, the fabulous Double Edge Theater performing at Elmer’s Store, there are the Morris dancers and music on the main stage, and of course interspersed between them all are the out-of-towners and the leaf addicts. At the town hall, artisans sell their wares while apple pie and local cheeses compete with the fried dough and cotton candy. There’s only one winner – there always is only one inevitable winner – the fried dough with maple cream and confectioner’s sugar. It’s so bad; it tastes so good.

More importantly, if you are lucky and the sky is blue when the leaves begin to hit peak, you realize that this is a moment; a dance to the music of time. The birds have flown, the dragonflies are hanging in, and the occasional bee is scraping the last piece of pollen from my hydrangeas and windflowers. It is a chance to reflect and enjoy and a chance to socialize before the wood piles replace the perennial gardens and winter sets in. Before the snows arrive after Thanksgiving and those beautiful fall days are a million miles away. The magic of New England, the magic of our town of Ashfield, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Europe’s Tourism Revival

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While I’m en route to Israel and Jordan, I have a few flight flashbacks and overseas observations that I’ve been excited to share with you….

First: Europe’s Tourism Revival!

Good news for Europeans. The majority of European destinations saw a significant increase in visitors for the last part of 2015. Top of the pops was Iceland, a personal favorite of mine (check out my Iceland videos here), which saw a 30% increase in visitors. This is something, incidentally, that we noted here at ACIS at our Global Teacher Conference in January. It has sold out already and this is during the peak of the winter months with little sunshine but the possibility of the longshot aurora borealis. Positive gains were noted in Montenegro, Ireland, Croatia, and pretty much the whole of former Yugoslavia. Probably helped by a weak Euro and cheap flights. The continent of Europe is in a robust vacation mode and it looks as though 2016 will see a continuing trend.

With so many of you taking to the skies, I want to hear from you! Comment away and I’ll respond!

Pietro Place is on the Move! Stay tuned for explorations of Israel and Jordan…

The Feast of the Jamón

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My daughter recently got married and among the many things that we had to eat, we elected to have a serrano ham on the bone as part of the entertainment. Why the Feast of the Jamón? Jamón serrano is a true cornerstone of Spanish gastronomy. It is a type of cured ham that is generally cut into very thin slices and can be seen at any good tapas bar in Spain.

So the wedding was fabulous and the food was delectable. As I had predicted, the jamón was getting a lot of activity. I have two dear Spanish friends who live in Madrid and were at the wedding. At one point, one of my friends noted that the catering assistant, which the caterer had respectfully provided, was not properly cutting the jamón. He stated, “I cannot take it anymore. I have to give this guy a red card and get him off the job. He’s killing the ham!” (Which was already dead of course). Within 5 minutes, he came back with a bright red t-shirt, and his brother sharpened up the knife but remained in his suit, sending the assistant on his way. The cutting of the ham began in earnest. In quite an extraordinary display of expertise, no matter how many times people came to the ham, because of the thinness of the cut and the way that he moved around the bone, we had ham all night long.

There was only one glitch, someone came up to him and said, “I love prosciutto.” He looked at them appalled and said, quite defiantly, “This is the feast of the jamón and prosciutto is for sandwiches. Jamón is to be consumed with the finest red wine. Prosciutto can be complimented with Coca-Cola!”

I got my ham from LaTienda.com. It was fabulous. If you really want to splash out and pay serious money you can get the jamón iberico but for me, the serrano was fine. Best of all, we all got to see an artist perform for the best part of 3 to 4 hours. Thank god the party went on until the early morning!