Wacky New Years Eve in Boston

We started the day by blasting on each family member's room and waking them up, after all it's the end of the year and there's much to do before the fireworks are done. First We woke Lior and Tal (Noa was already awake and jumpy) then we went and joined Nissim and Eli that watched Family guy all night long at their room so they were tired... not enough to ignore us.

The hotel is connected to a mall by an internal elevator and a tunnel network that looks like something that came out of a Zombie movie combined with a מיקווה, After we were joined by Eti and the gang we had our breakfast in the mall's food court

All of us in the food section

Niss had to stick his hand in the picture

Tal and her health sandwich

After we enjoyed a large amount of junk food we went back to the hotel and got dressed for the freezing cold that went outside

View from our window while we got dressed

Briana, Her friend and Ron joined us to the city, we took the Subway there where an odd couple was speaking too loud about their day job and life, We don't believe they are 100% healthy...

The tribe has invaded the train

We were a bit stuffed in the train and it's not as good as the metro system we experienced in New York, If you by accident take the wrong side of the tracks you have to pay another ticket to get to the other side. also, Ron has bought tickets for everyone but somehow the ticket wasn't good when our last passenger tried to pass (Perli as usuall got stuck), but she had initiative and joined another guy and passed like a pirate with him.

There were Ice sculptures outside but there were not that interesting

we got off the train in the government district and had our lunch at a Chinese restaurant there. Perli took a child's menu then everyone envied and changed their order to a child's menu :) I took a chicken and It was very good, I would recommend it (Wagamama restaurant in boston, link needed)

Tal tried to make a spoon stick to her nose but forgot it only works in the freezing outdoors :)

and Noa measured her new 2011 glasses,

From there we went to an ice skating ring in the middle of Boston and everything was covered in snow, the line was a bit long so we didn't quite skate. it was a beautiful sight, a bit cold but beautiful.

Perli and I had some kind of a lover's quarrel and we set our way back to the hotel to rest and talk a bit, on our way back we've noticed that the river next to our hotel was frozen solid

we threw some snow balls down there and they smashed on the river like it was made of cement
I went to rest a bit, Perli went to the mall, when she returned we talked and reconciled. I love this girl.

Perli also got me a present, she said that it looks like me :) she also attached a very romantic gift card.

Then we got downstairs to drink some lobby coffee

And then back to our room to get ready for new years

Perli brought some candy for the occasion

all the hotel rooms had animal robes in their closet so we decided everyone should dress up in their robe (most of the family resided in the hotel and each had a robe) everyone got a tiger robe and I was the only one with a zebra robe (prey?!)

we ate some pizza, had some wine, coffee and sweets (the room service coffee arrived cold... but we forgive)
Perli, Niss, Eli, Tal and me decided to get to the elevator with our zebra robes and sing "Happy, Happy, Happy new years" to strangers for a while,

then we've decided it's a too silly and got back to our party at room 825 (the newly wed's room). David and Franny wanted to sing in a quite place so they took a song book to the bathroom and started singing. we heard them and took a photo of this surreal phenomenon

 then we all gathered and viewed the fireworks in the city landscape

exhausted and happy, we went to sleep

David and Franny's Wedding

We got dressed for the occasion in the Marlow hotel that's very special, we'll do our best to feedback on it. We joined the family in the hotel's second floor and had the 'כתובה' written and signed by the witnesses :)

David and Franny's wedding occurred so close to our own wedding so I guess we were too overwhelmed and exited to actually experience it in full. Our own wedding memory is still so fresh in our mind that I guess we compared certain elements from their wedding and ours. Our wedding was not Reformist like David and Franny's so we've seen different things that we might have wanted in our own wedding, in example the fact that Franny was asked if she wishes to be wed (in a conservative wedding the bride isn't asked at all...) and they expressed blessings to one another, that was very sweet and exciting, Also I was asked to be one of the holders of the חופה which is a very honorable place, I'm very happy to be a part of this family. Perli led her father to the חופה and Briana led Franny.

The ceremony was a bit long to my taste and I think that if a Rabbi doesn't usually speak Hebrew he shouldn't bless trying it... but still it was beautiful because the young couple was a more powerful sight than the Rabbi. Perli dressed to kill with her new black dress, new red shoes and a shiny bracelet.The young couple seemed very excited :) And there was a large investment in gifts and graphic ornaments. additional Pictures and videos will be uploaded as soon as humanly possible :) at the end of the party we returned to our room and got ready for a new crazy day (Tomorrow is new years...)

good night

Snowy Framingham

We woke up in a dream house, Franny's house is built like a doll's house, it's a labyrinth and they have a very sweet taste. Briana and Bennet's hospitality was very kind and they helped us know our way through the maze of the house. The snow was about 30cm high outside and going out was truly magical. It's a bit hard to describe how beautiful, clean and romantic the view outside is, while the snow is still white it brings light to everything.
even two days after the storm the snow was still dry enough not to stick to itself and It felt like a smooth blanket.
We've uploaded some photos to a presentation below so you can see for yourself. Although it's a Jewish home, Christmas tradition is so beautiful so why not add a Christmas tree? Eli And Niss were sleeping in the salon, Frozen but happy Hoping that we'll have another vacation in the snow like this, also enjoying a cup of hot chocolate in the snow with my girl cannot be compared. After a short laundry and ironing session we were almost set to go.
The car we rented was kind'a nice but we had to return it to the rental (by the way, we got a very nice service from National rental service) We stopped at the first Dunkin' Donuts we found on the way and headed to the hotel to set-up for David and Franny's Wedding ! stay tuned :)

New York: Brothers in arms, legs and times square, away to Boston

In the middle of the night We were so hungry I made an Omega from my window to the 24/7 Mcdonald's that's was in front of our hotel and jumped back to the nest to feed the wife :)
We hardly slept because we were worried about Nissim and Eli, if they had missed their flight and if they will be able to join David and Franny's wedding. They had a flight booked from New York in the afternoon, no where to stay in new york (we talked to the hotel clerk and told them about the situation, they had no availability but they didn't mind if they joined). They joined us and we took Eli to Times Square in the 15 minutes he had to spend in New York. We tried to create a panoramic view but a lot of security forces asked out to step off the way because they were self important. we still managed to get some shots (presentation below) And someone put a fence with a large warning "Danger" around a snow filled empty space, strange city this New York. We were short on time to get from New York to Boston and we had to feed the children so in the way back to the New Yorker Hotel we got 12 Dunkin Donuts but some fell on the carpet...

Nissim and Eli were exhausted and needed some rest so we sacrificed our room to their dwelling, their trip was not easy and Nissim had no mood for mostly anything...
At first we thought we'll take the rail to Boston, then we found a Greyhound/Peter-Pan bus but they wanted 40$ each (200$ for 5 people), which was a rip-off so in front of the bus station we've found a car rental service that offered us an adequate car for 150$ (which is 50$ less than the bus ride for 5).On our way to the car Eli stepped in a deep water puddle and his right foot was all wet and started freezing, Perli quickly drew a dry pink sock and a nylon bag and like MacGyver and solved this crisis quickly :) we decided to take the car and we shoved all our packs into it and took off to Boston. New York is not a nice city to drive in, even less friendly than Tel Aviv... and driving with snow all over is crazy !
We were a bit cramped but we had a lot of fun and laughter throughout the trip, we also had a pit stop in a junk food facility in the way. Lior had a clever way of voting "Even or Odd" while Eli and Nissim were arguing about something they each chose even or odd and Lior counted until they told him to stop. at first they didn't understand why Lior said "7!" we laughed and soon forgot what the argument was all about.
Perli filmed some of the trip in time lapse 15'' shots:

First we thought we would arrive to Framingham but we decided to meet with Eti, Ron, Tal and Noa first in Hotel Merlow in Cambridge (feedback on this hotel will come shortly, it's very nice)
then we made our way to Framingham, it was beautifully covered with snow but we didn't take pictures... sorry...

The snow storm and honeymooners relaxed

An amazing sunrise we had this morning, Perhaps next time I'll use different settings but it came out well.
In the morning I went outside to get a cup of coffee and I was struck of the freezing cold I was dizzy like a drunk.Perli decided to model the junk food we ate during the night:

good morning junk food !

then we set our way to the nearest Dunkin' for our daily ritual hot chocholate and donut festival.

Then we headed out for 5'th avenue and it was all covered with snow, click this picture to get a larger view:

Snow piles on police cars

5'th avenue stores are very welcoming, they place Christmas candies in strategic places for innocent customers...  , If we were local we would probably buy stuff but because we lack time to browse or return a product if we wanted to. a lot of people buy things they don't actually need and then return them because in the states you get your money back if you regret. we kept touring 5'th avenue, the holiday shopping spree is crazy and people were running like ants right after a large nest disturbance.
also had a long snowy walk through New York's Soho, Chinatown and got to the 9/11 memorial site, there wasn't much to see there because they are still under construction, but we still wanted to visit.

We had a long day so we took the train back to 34/8'th Penn station and dropped in Macdonald's for a nice kosher meal :)

 Then we returned 'home' to New Yorker hotel and rushed to the internet to see what's going on with Nissim and Eli, their flight was delayed, then canceled and we didn't know what was going on with them. The Clerk in New Yorker hotel told me that if needed, they can join our room without extra charge but it'll be crowded...

Meanwhile Perli noticed her hair has been made all straight from the snow and dryness and there was much rejoice.

Stormy morning In New York

Perli with a pink hummer limo

We really wanted to have a snowy New York and I guess we found what we've looking for. the snow storm hit New York so hard most of the businesses were closed and we just had fun walking around in New York, viewing it in a very different way than we see in the movies...

The snow was about 20cm in the morning, we went and got our morning Dunkin Donuts ritual and got warm with 2 hot chocolate drinks and went on our Quest, we went to 5'th avenue to see what's happening there and we discovered that it's crazy, most of the stores were closed and the clerks were helping clear the snow out of the sidewalk, I've done a panoramic view and for New York this is crazy:

click to enlarge

we also had a short visit to the Trump tower, which wasn't that exciting as what went outside

:

This kid must be having even more fun than us:

one department store we went in 5'th avenue had a waiting room designed especially for exhausted individuals like us

after we relaxed a bit we kept traveling in the snow

but after that we were so exhausted and frozen we fell like rocks and woke up only the next morning :)