{"id":644,"date":"2016-12-22T12:04:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-22T12:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/22\/au-revoir-israel-bonjour-france-israeli-museum-and-arrival-in-paris\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:59:44","slug":"au-revoir-israel-bonjour-france-israeli-museum-and-arrival-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/22\/au-revoir-israel-bonjour-france-israeli-museum-and-arrival-in-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Au Revoir Israel, Bonjour France: Israeli Museum and Arrival in Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nNov 27, Sun<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nJerusalem-Paris:<\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nAs agreed, we
\narose early and went down for breakfast at 7.00 am so as to wish our friends
\nfarewell. Then Llew and I lingered over our breakfast as we had finished
\npacking and had our bags ready. At 9.30 am, as decided, our cab arrived at the
\nhotel and transported us to the hired cab. The Israeli Museum did not open till
\n10.00 am but we wanted to be there at 10.00 am, so as not to waste any time. <\/span>Accordingly, we
\ntold the cab driver to come to our hotel at 9.30. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Visiting the
\nRussian Orthodox Church:<\/o:p><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n            <\/span>Since we finished our breakfast
\nreally early, the two of us decided to go for a walk around our hotel as there
\nwas still about an hour before the arrival of our cab. We were really happy to
\nfind signs directing us to a Russian Orthodox Church and since it was a Sunday,
\nit was only appropriate that we should go in for a visit even if we could not
\ncatch a whole Mass.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

 <\/span>The Church was only a few minutes
\nfrom our hotel and it is strange that we did not see it earlier. Like most
\nRussian Orthodox churches (and we had seen loads of these in St. Petersburg in
\nRussia), this was ornate and filled with incense. We took in the sights of
\npictures and icons and when we had spent a while praying, we left and made our
\nway to a store to buy some socks for our friend Cheri-Anne who had been looking
\nfor them. <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>           <\/span>We then took our purchase and
\nreturned to the hotel so that we could board our cab and get to the museum as
\nsoon as possible. <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nVisiting the Israeli Museum and Seeing
\nthe Dead Sea Scrolls:<\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nLlew was very
\nuneasy about our stop at the Museum as he did not want us to miss our flight.
\nSecurity lines at the airport were notoriously long and we wanted to give
\nourselves at least 3 hours before our flight departed. Accordingly, we told the
\ncab driver that we wanted to get to the museum as soon as possible. We got
\nthere about 9.45 am and were actually able to buy our tickets before 10.00.
\nThus, as soon as the museum opened at 10.00, we, who had found out exactly
\nwhere the Dead Sea Scrolls are located, made a beeline for them. They are in a
\nspecial white building built in a conical design (to imitate the tops of the
\npottery jars in which the Scrolls were found).  
\n<\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nWe were the
\nfirst visitors into the Museum and into the Scroll Building. We met an old man
\nwho guided us about but told us that photographs were strictly prohibited. The
\nbuilding is round in shape with the scrolls exhibited in upright glass cases
\naround the periphery. We found that some of them were just scraps in a bad state
\nof repair while others were almost intact and remarkably well-preserved
\nconsidering their antiquity. In the center of the Hall is a structure that
\nlooks like a huge rubber stamp. All around it are copies of the scrolls\u2014but the
\noriginals are in the glass cases where they are kept in climate controlled
\nconditions under very dim lighting. The scrolls are rotated every few weeks so
\nthat the same ones are never on display\u2014this is another way of preserving them.
\nWe took a very good look at the scrolls and were absolutely thrilled that we
\nhad the opportunity to do so \u2013 as it is very unlikely we will ever return to
\nJerusalem.<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nHowever, having
\ndiscovered that there were another two exhibits that I simply had to see, I
\npulled Llew in with me. One was a nano-sized Bible\u2014the smallest in the world.
\nOn a computer chip, no bigger than my finger-nail, the entire Bible has been
\nreproduced. It was simply incredible. This exhibit also had its own gallery.<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe Model of Old Jerusalem:<\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Finally, the last item on our agenda
\nin the museum was the viewing of a model of the city of Jerusalem as it had
\nexisted during the reign of King Solomon and before the destruction of the
\nTemple. There was a viewing platform from which we could survey the entire
\nstructure and it was simply magnificent. In fact, in retrospect, I do believe
\nthat it was more stirring for me to see it than the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is
\nhard to imagine how grand Jerusalem was in its heyday. Needless to say, the
\nTemple dominated with the structure holding the Arc of the Covenant and the Ten
\nCommandments made most prominent. It was a perfect example of urban planning\u2014a
\nsort of carbon copy of Rome in its own heyday. I took many pictures but then we
\nhad to hurry out.<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>A few minutes later, we were in our
\ncab on schedule (at 10.20 am) and heading to the airport to get there by 11.30
\nam\u2014which gave us exactly three hours before our departure. We had an absolute
\nnightmare going through security because our Easyjet flight was at the smaller
\nterminal and, to our amazement, once we cleared all the formalities, we had to
\nboard a shuttle bus and get to the main terminal from where our flight took
\noff! I still can\u2019t understand why we could not be cleared at the main terminal
\nitself! So, in the end, it was a horrid end to our wonderful travels in Israel,
\nbut these glitches occur and we made it with time to spare at our departure
\ngate and arrived safely in Paris at the start of our next adventure. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nIn fact, (I
\nknow Ian will find this hard to believe), but as luck would have it, we were touching
\ndown at Charles de Gaule airport at exactly 6.00 pm when the glittering,
\ntwinkling lights on the Eiffel Tower are switched on to hail each hour. They
\nremain in that twinkling state for about 5 minutes\u2014and that was the welcome we
\nreceived as we spotted the Place d\u2019Etoile on our touch down. <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nConclusion:                                               <\/span><\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nGoing to Israel
\ntruly is a life-changing trip. Both Llew and I were so glad that we finally
\nticked that item off his Bucket List and that we did so in such a thorough
\nmanner, in such great company and with so much enjoyment. Our guide Moti was
\nvery knowledgeable and most obliging. Being on a private tour meant that we
\ncould add items in a spontaneous fashion to our itinerary. We saw and did so
\nmuch that I am still processing it all. Writing this travelogue allowed me to
\nrelive many happy moments with much vividness\u2026but I know that it will be years
\nbefore I fully distill all the experiences we encountered in this profoundly
\ncomplicated land. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThanks for
\nmaking the time to read this travelogue and to armchair-travel with us. Please
\ndo note that the opinions expressed are entirely my own and you might not
\nnecessarily be in agreement with me. But this is what I saw and what I
\nexperienced and it is one person\u2019s impression of a decidedly complex trip.  <\/span>         <\/span> <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n      <\/span>  <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nov 27, Sun Jerusalem-Paris: As agreed, we arose early and went down for breakfast at 7.00 am so as to wish our friends farewell. Then Llew and I lingered over our breakfast as we had finished packing and had our bags ready. At 9.30 am, as decided, our cab arrived at the hotel and transported… <\/p>\n

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