Goodbye Haifa, Goodbye Israel

Last Tel Aviv Sunset

View from Jerusalem Promenade

The rest of January flew by, and before we knew it, we were packing and saying goodbye. On the last day of Career Israel, we went to the beach to watch the sun set, got our rooms checked, and headed to a bar on Nachalat Binyamin for one last night out. The morning came too quickly, and we were kicked out of our rooms at 9am! This left us with an entire day to kill and a lot of luggage to haul around. So, we dropped our bags off in the common room of our building and spent the day saying goodbye as everyon left at different times. Eventually, it was time to head to my first post-trip destination: Anat's! I got to relax/unwind from the whirlwind of events that made up the conclusion of Career Israel.
Wednesday, I spent the day in Jerusalem while Anat went to work. I explored the Old City and surrounding areas, pondered the meaning of life at the Kotel, ate rugelah from Marzipan, and bought more souvenirs that I didn't need. Wednesday evening, I watched Anat play basketball in her work league- she's so good! Good game, Anat!

Yalla Maccabi Haifa!

On Thursday, I headed up to Haifa to spend some time with Guy, Ariel, Dani, and crew. We started the weekend with a night out at the Loft, a really fun dance bar in Haifa. It was nice to be there for more than 5 minutes... we danced til 3 am! Saturday afternoon, I played in my last Israeli soccer game. I'm gonna miss the tiny fields that are actually concrete courts! It will be weird to play on a large, grassy field when I go home.

Since I hadn't been to a Maccabi Haifa basketball game yet, on Sunday, I went with my friend Taly from work to check out the team! We picked a great game to go to- very exciting- fans screaming and cheering, lots of scoring, and HAIFA WON! This is a big deal because they're not very good this year.

On Tuesday, I traveled down to Beer Sheva University to visit my friend Nati, from camp. It was really cool to be on an Israeli University campus- most of the students at other universities live at home, but because Beer Sheva is so far from everywhere, the university has a real campus feel. We went to a student bar and hung out for a while- felt like any campus bar at a small school.

Singing in the Kitchen

Wednesday for dinner, I went to Caesarea for a work dinner party event called Singing in the Kitchen! It was a great night- everyone arrives around 5 and starts cooking and the people that aren't cooking play the keyboard, guitar, or sing!  We played a version of spin the bottle where, if it's pointing to you, you pick a card and have to do whatever it says! I had to wear a pair of silly Harry Potter-ish glasses (perfect, right?) After the cooking, singing, and games were done, we sat down to a delicious Russian themed dinner. After dinner, I went back to Haifa, since I can't stay away for too long.

Philly Pride!

Superbowl at Mike's Place!

I couldn't believe it was my last weekend in Haifa already. We hung out, went to some bars, and relaxed a lot. Sunday night, we drove to Mike's Place in Tel Aviv to watch the Superbowl. When we got there, around midnight, it was already packed! We walked around, collecting chairs anywhere we could find them, and waited for the game to start. Luckily, a table emptied just before the game started (1:30am!). As is tradition for Guy, Ariel, Dani, and Ran, we ordered burritos and watched the game! The bar was full of American and Israeli, packers and steelers fans and lots of cheering and shouting for both teams made the game really fun to watch. The game ended at 5:30am, and as we drove back to Haifa, we saw the sun rise. It was a great night!
The next day, Guy informed us that there was a picture taken at Mike's Place of Dani, Ariel, and Ran's backs in a popular Israeli newspaper! My shoulder's in the picture, too!
My last few days in Israel were a blur of last minute trips to all my favorite places, including The Wok, Tel Aviv (and the beach), and Jerusalem. On my last night in Haifa, the boys had pizza night at Ariel and Dani's. It was a great way to hang out and say l'heitraot to everyone! I also got to say l'heitraot to Anat before I left for the airport. Which brings me to where I am now: writing my last Israel Blog entry and trying to accept that I'm going home.

Signing out from Israel, 

Stef

Israel in a Week! Pamela and Brian's Visit Part II

Brian, Pamela, and I at the Kotel

When we arrived back in Tel Aviv Tuesday afternoon, we were pretty tired so we napped and took our time showering and getting ready for the evening. Brian decided he wasn't even close to his hummus and falafel quota, so we went to Abbu Dabi, a great hummus place near my apartment. It's Jamaican themed and they play music for you while you eat. After dinner, we took a nice long walk up to Rothschild to see the street and the night life there. We stopped for ice cream at Iceburg and it was pretty good! We took our time walking around and enjoying the nice atmosphere walking along Rothschild.
Wednesday was our big Jerusalem adventure.

We got on yet another sherut and headed to the Jerusalem shuk. Our first stop was Marzipan! They have the best rugelah I've ever had! So, we bought a bunch and ate as we walked. We walked through the shops near the shuk and the cash seemed to jump right out of our wallets! We bought lots of gifts for ourselves, family, and friends. We haggled with shopkeepers and got great deals on everything we bought. We all started with mostly empty bags, but they got heavier as the day progessed. We made our way to the Old City (we navigated really well thus far) and did more shopping in the Arabic quarter. After a while, we still hadn't found the street that leads to the Western Wall, so we decided to get some falafel for lunch and then find the Wall. You'd think it'd be easy- such a large site and so popular, but no, it was not easy. Feeling rather dumb, we had to ask a soldier for directions, and we finally made it to the wall. Brian headed to the men's section, while Pamela and I took on the women in the crowded, tiny women's seciton. We pushed our way through and spent some time admiring the Kotel. Once we were ready, we met up with Brian and took a few pictures for the fam. We left the Kotel and walked through Mamilla Mall, looking for Pamela's boyfriend's cousin. We found her Kabbala store after some confusion as to where it was and looked around for a bit. They had really cool Kabbala jewelery and Pamela got a really pretty (and unique!) ring with  Hebrew enscriptions of the Matriarchs and a yellow gem on it. By the time we got back on the sherut, it was 6pm already! We had to hurry back because it was Becca and Brian's last night in Israel! We went to Tony Vespa for some really good, pay by the weight of the slice, pizza with lots of toppings. We waited for the rain to stop, then walked back to my apartment to shower and wait for Becca. We were all exhausted from the excessive amount of walking we did that day, not to mention the shopping and eating. So, Brian packed, Pamela and I relaxed, and then I went to Becca's room to spend some time with her. Becca, Heather, Eve, Keren, and I stayed up pretty late while Becca packed. It was really weird thinking that Becca was leaving and none of us wanted to go to bed cause it meant saying goodbye.
Thursday morning came too quickly, and Brian, Pamela, and I headed to Benedict's to enjoy a delicious Israeli breakfast before going to the airport. We got shakshuka and omlettes and once again were too full to move after we finished eating. We had to get going, though, since Brian had a flight to catch (or so we thought). Brian's flight was really delayed and he ended up spending the night in Berlin, but he made it to Switzerland eventually and officially began his year abroad!!

Israel in a Week! The End of Pamela's Visit

After taking Brian to the airport, Pamela and I headed to Mini Israel, a really cool museum that shows models of all of Israel on a 1:25 scale, so you can walk through the whole country in about an hour!! Google maps told us it was a 15 minute drive from the airport, so we caught a cab and headed to Latrun. 25 minutes later, we started to worry- the cab price was going up fast and we were nowhere near Mini Israel! Panicked and hoping we weren't lost, we watched the cab fare increase for a few more minutes. Finally, we saw the sign for Mini Israel and breathed a small sigh of relief. 130 shekels later (about $40), we were at Mini Israel! It really is a cool place, we walked through all the sections of Israel, taking lots of pictures and getting really excited when we recognized places, even though we knew most of them. We saw all of Israel in just 2 hours! We didn't even need the whole week. Well, okay, it's cooler to go the places in person, but still, the models are nearly exact replicas of the buildings. They even had skiiers on Mt. Hermon, even though ski season is only about 1 week long. We went to Tel Aviv, Yafo, Jerusalem, Haifa, the Golan Heights, the Negev, the Dead Sea, Masada, and even Eilat.

We decided to catch a bus back to Tel Aviv, since it was so expensive to take a cab on the way there. However, this was easier said than done, and for a while, we weren't sure we'd back it back! We walked for about 10 minutes to the bus stop, where a rather nosy Israeli told us we were going the wrong way and wouldn't let us on the bus (he wasn't even the driver and we definitely DID NOT ask for help). The bus he sent away without us turned out to be the right one, which we found out about 20 minutes later when we waited for a bus that never came to the bus stop across the street. We asked a soldier for directions, and he said he was also going to Tel Aviv and we could follow him. So, we waited for the original bus we wanted to get on and began our adventure back to Tel Aviv. This adventure included traveling most of the way to Jerusalem, only to get off the bus in the middle of the highway, climb up some rocks/dirt and walk across a bridge to another bus stop. We were about to get on the bus to Tel Aiv when all these people rushed the bus and got on before us. The driver told us he was full and wouldn't let us on! We were cold, tired, and angry by the time the next bus came, and we weren't taking crap from anyone. Like true Israeli's, we pushed our way, blockaded the people behind us, and made sure we were the first ones on the bus. We made it back to Tel Aviv after almost 2 hours of traveling. What a day. By that point, Brian's flight was still delayed and he hadn't even left Israel. He could have come with us!
We decided to change it up for dinner on Thursday and shared fetticini alfredo, leaving room for Max Brenner Chocolate Bar for dessert! We took our time digesting dinner and walking up to Rothschild to get dessert at the wonderful Max Brenner Chocolate Bar. We decided to share waffles with nougat and white chocolate syrup and ice cream and a chocolate banana milkshake. It was delicious! We took our time eating, since it was such a rich dessert. Once again, we walked along Rothschild and enjoyed the warm night and the pretty walk home.
Friday morning, we went back to the arts market on Nachalat Binyamin to buy whatever was left that we hadn't already bought (which wasn't much). I got a really cool ring with the Hebrew words for love, happiness, health, and success inscribed in the silver. Pamela and I both bought some more artsy things we liked and decided we had to leave after we ran out of money yet again. We went back to my apartment and got ready for our trip to Ra'anana for Shabbat. We stayed with Uncle Dexter's aunt and uncle and spent a lot of time with their children and grandchildren. When we got off the bus at Ra'anana Junction, we figured it was a short walk to Estelle and Jay's. It ended up being more like a 35 minute walk, but since Shabbat had started, we didn't think we could call them to tell them where we were. When we got there, they were worried and relieved that we made it. We didn't have much time before we went to Estee and Ari's for a wonderful Shabbat dinner. We had homemade challah, vegetable soup, chicken, meatballs, rice, and zuccini quiche for dinner. Estee is a great cook! For dessert, we had apple pie. It was great spending time with the family after not seeing them for 3 months.
Saturday morning, we woke up early and went to Shabbat services. We were only there for a 45 minutes, though, since they ended early. We had some time to relax and read our books before Shabbat lunch. We spent most of the day Saturday reading and relaxing. We also went to Estee and Ari's to hang out with Noga, who is our age, and her friends. We hung out and played Clue! It was really fun Shabbat afternoon.
Shortly after sunset, Pamela and I headed back to Tel Aviv for her last night in Israel. We ate dinner really late because we were soooo full from the delicious meals we had in Ra'anana. We went to an Italian cafe for dinner and I had really good tortellini stuffed with spinach and ricotta in a rose sauce. We shared cheesecake for dessert, and were truly stuffed once more. We walked around for a bit, then went back to my apartment so Pamela could pack.
It was a wonderful 10 days with Pamela and 6 days with Brian. I really enjoyed having them here and we managed to do/ see a lot! We had an amazing time together and I was sad to see them go.

Israel in a week! Pamela and Brian's Visit Part I.

As the new year approached, two very special visitors arrived in Tel Aviv: my brother, Brian and my
cousin, Pamela. They had about a week to see all
of Israel, which made for a very busy visit, just the way we like it. Brian, Pamela, and I met at the Ben Gurion Airport and from there headed to my apartment in Tel Aviv. The first thing we did was have a delicious falafel dinner! It was some of the best falafel I've had so far. After satisfying our falafel cravings, we headed out to a bar to meet up with lots of camp friends that were also in Tel Aviv.
New Year's Eve Day was a warm, sunny day in Tel Aviv and we took advantage of this by walking from Tel Aviv to Jaffa to get the best hummus I've ever had! We walked through the Nachalat Binyamin arts market and we bought some hand crafted jewelery. We continued our walk to Jaffa, searching for Abbu Hassan, the hummus place we heard was the best in Tel Aviv. We were not disappointed! It was incredible! The hummus was warm and the chick peas melted in our mouths. After such a heavy meal, we took our time walking home, checking out the Old Yafo port and walking along the beach back to my apartment. Not long after we rested and showered, it was time for New Year's Eve in Tel Aviv!!
We had a party for all the Harlamites in Tel Aviv and barely made it to a bar in time for midnight! We got to be outside as the new year came in! Brian even managed to get a free bottle of champagne at one of the bars.
Even though we were out late for New Year's we had to wake up early on New Year's Day so we could catch a sherut to Haifa. We wanted to check out the Holiday of Holidays festival, a celebration of all the religions in the area, which turned out to be a festival with music, food, and some crafts for sale. We walked around for a bit, then realized we didn't really know where we were or how to get to Ariel and Dani's. So, we walked back up the hill to where we got off the sherut, waved a few down only to be rejected, and finally found a driver willing to take us to the Horev Center. Exhausted, we collapsed onto the couch at Ariel and Dani's and watched TV for a while. We were excited for dinner (our trip really did revolve around eating) at The Wok, a Thai restaurant with really good honey chicken stir fry. Before dinner, we met up with Pamela's friend Mayaan, who took us to meet some friends at a waffle bar. Even though we still had The Wok to look forward to, we managed to eat waffles with ice cream, strawberries, and bananas on top. This didn't stop us from enjoying our dinner. We had dinner with Guy, Tom, and the Haifa boys! We were very full by the time Mayaan took us to a bar to relax after dinner. We sat by the bar, talked to the bar tenders, who gave us some free samples, and had a relaxing night in Haifa.
I spent most of the day Sunday at cafes, since Brian and Pamela split up to hang out with their friends in Haifa and I wanted to meet everyone. I started with hot chocolate with Brian and his friend Naama, who he met on his Israel trip 5 years ago. After a short break, I met up with Pamela and Mayaan, and we went to another cafe for lunch. I had already eaten my leftover honey chicken from The Wok. Pamela and Mayaan ate shakshuka, and I tasted some, of course. On Sunday night, Brian, Ariel, Dani, and I stayed in and watched movies/ relaxes. Guy stopped by to say hi and it was great to see him! We went to bed early, since we had a big day of hiking planned for Monday.

Danger! Cliff Edge

On Monday morning, we woke up early, got some burekas, and headed to Kiryat Shmona to meet Ira and drive to the Golan Heights. We drove to the northernmost point in Israel and got to see snow on the Hermon! We hiked for a bit, checking out lots of waterfalls and the beautiful view from the Golan Heights. We even saw the largest waterfall in Israel! It was great to see Ira and spend the day outside.After saying goodbye to Ira and Mayaan, we caught a bus to Kfar Tavor, where Guy Waks picked us up and brought us to his kibbutz! We had a pizza dinner with his dad and saw some of the kibbutz.

We woke up early Tuesday morning to begin our tour of Kibbutz Gazit. We walked all over and Guy explained how the kibbutz used to be and what's changed over the years (moving away from a 100% shared culture). We walked for a while, up to the orchards where there is a great view of Mt. Tavor and the area around the kibbutz. We walked to the pomela trees and picked two to share and ate in the picnic area. Pomela is my favorite citrus! It's like a sweet grapefruit. After our yummy treat, we walked back to the farm to visit the cows. We got to see a just-born newborn calf!! It was so adorable. We also got to milk the cows- well, we put the suctions on the udders that milk the cows. It was really weird and I was worried I was doing something wrong. But my cow got milked so it's all good.

Since it was raining, we headed right to the dining hall, scrubbed our hands, and ate schnitzel and potatoes for lunch. We went back to Guy's parents after lunch and watched TV a little, but we decided to go back to Tel Aviv since it was raining and there wasn't much to do inside.