Sabbatical Week 1--England

 Sabbatical Week 1--England

So it begins. What I definitely am telling myself is a well deserved sabbatical. In 2011 the first week was pure relaxation--Fiji. This time, it begins with running around. It's still very much a vacation, but it's much more of a frenetic pace. So few days to do so much I want to do.

London--The Tourist Part.

My sons Micah and Jonah have joined us on the first parts of this trip--London and Paris. I am not ashamed to say that seeing the Tottenham Hotspurs may have been the main reason we went to London, and it did not disappoint. Tottenham is considered the historically Jewish team because of where much of the Jewish community was centered at one time. The fans still call themselves the "Yid Army," and so many Jewish fans throughout the world have adopted them as their "team." It was a beautiful 3-1 dominant victory. The stadium is unbelievable and brand new. They don't gouge on the prices, and the beer comes from underground. You'll have to look that one up.

We also did many of the other touristy things--a tour of Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, and Big Ben, Harrods, etc. We took a walking Beatles tour, one of the highlights of my trip over 20 years ago, but fairly disappointing this time. Still, we got the requisite crossing Abbey Road picture. We also saw two musicals: Lehman Brothers (Micah and I saw this while Karen and Jonah saw Back to the Future) and Six, about the six wives of King Henry the 8th. 

Overall we found London to be incredibly clean, the underground super convenient and easy to get around, the signage was awesome, the people were friendly, and even the prices seemed cheap compared to the Bay Area. I can see why people want to live here, despite the dreary weather and the anti-Semitism. Of course, America is no longer really any better. Speaking of which..

                                                    

London the Jewish Side

One is supposed to do a little study while on sabbatical, and I always love seeing the Jewish side of any city. London's Jewish history is fascinating, from the expulsions of various Monarchs to the welcoming back by Oliver Cromwell in the 1600's to the most famous blood libel of William of Norwich to being both protected and imprisoned in the Tower of London to their critical role in rescuing Jewish children during the Kindertransport in the Holocaust . We did a Jewish walking tour, visited the Jewish museum, attended services at the oldest standing synagogue in London, Bevis Marks, and ate at a great Kosher deli called Reuben's. 

People to See

Finally, we always see friends in whatever city we visit. This time it included TBA members Laura Jones, who went to synagogue with us but we forgot to get a picture of as well as Andrew Gordon. And we also got a great dinner with Justin Siberell, one  of my great friends all the way back from Elementary School and who was a significant part of Sabbatical #1, when he was the Consul General in Dubai at the time.

Now, on to Paris...