A little personal stuff
Hi Friends,
Many of you commented on my being away so I decided to write a little about my family trip with my wife Maria and sons Keenan and Noah. I’ve also included some photos to share with you.
In my desire to see the whole world and teach my children about its beautiful people, cultures and history, we decided to go to Greece to explore the Parthenon and to see where the first Olympics were held in Athens. I can share with you that they cleaned up the city a lot in the last 10 years and our visit there was awesome. In one of the pictures on the hotel rooftop in Athens you’ll see the Acropolis in the background. It’s pretty amazing that this was the first real city in Europe where it all started 3000 years ago.
We then went on to Santorini, one of the most beautiful and romantic places in the world (and I have been to MANY). Santorini was created by a massive volcanic eruption and then they built the city on top of the lava rocks 1000 feet above sea level. The Aegean Sea is spectacular and we had two awesome suites with views that will take your breath away. My kids who are 10 and 12 had their own suite and had a ball with their independence. I am not so sure the people in the room next to them appreciated the fact that kids had so much fun. I did. I highly recommend that you make Santorini one of your “must see” places in your lifetime and, if you go with kids, make sure they have their own room so you can enjoy the romantic moments watching the most glorious sunsets while a gentle breeze caresses your face.
From there we flew to Israel where I was born and where my father lives. It was great to see all my aunts and uncles and to introduce my kids and wife to them. I haven’t been back there for 12 years so it was really fun catching up and eating way too much. I came back feeling somewhat bigger than when I left.
Although there is still a lot of tension in the Middle East, our side trips to the Dead Sea (the lowest place on the earth) and the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem were highlights for all of us. The Dead Sea is so full of salt that you actually float in it like sitting in a chair. It’s wild! You can scoop up handfuls of sea salt from the bottom and actually taste the salt, which is extremely strong.
In Jerusalem, we went to the Wailing Wall and the old city. It was like going back 5000 years. The vendors were selling and haggling with buyers and I taught my sons the art of negotiating when they wanted to buy small bracelets for themselves. Even though it was just a few shekels, the art of negotiating was in full force. I got the vendor to my price, but I gave him the money he wanted anyway just for allowing me to teach my sons. The extra dollar I paid was more than worth the lesson they learned. The fact that his son was also watching him and learning made it even more fun.
King Solomon built the original city and the West Wall of the Temple Mount is said to be what was left of his original temple after its destruction. (see photos)
All in all it was a great few weeks and I am sparing you the 162 pictures we took.
One of the reasons I want to teach as many people in the world how to Have It All is so that they can create life-long memories for themselves and the ones they treasure.
All my best,
John
- http://twitter.com/TeachESL TeachESL
- VictoriaC
- http://www.johnassaraf.com john assaraf
- http://www.johnassaraf.com john assaraf
- Isaura Mashiko
- Isaura Mashiko
- Sudheer
- Sudheer
- http://www.alastacey.com Stacey
- http://www.alastacey.com Stacey
- Lisa
- Lisa
- Raymond
- Raymond
- Raymond
- Raymond
- Jennifer
- Jennifer
- http://terrihughes6hotmail.com Terri
- http://terrihughes6hotmail.com Terri
- http://www.searchcoloradorealestate.com Kimm
- http://www.searchcoloradorealestate.com Kimm
- Chris Baek
- Chris Baek
- http://www.excesswines.com Debbie
- http://www.excesswines.com Debbie
- owen
- owen
- http://www.listen.to/namaspirit SSuzi
- http://www.listen.to/namaspirit SSuzi
- Gwen Small
- Gwen Small
- Karen
- Karen
- http://WWW.BEAUTIFULSOLUTIONSBYJANET.COM JANET
- http://WWW.BEAUTIFULSOLUTIONSBYJANET.COM JANET
- http://krysofeurope.blogtoolkit.com Krystyna
