- What We Did - What We Did

Now That We're Home

Our One Year Trip

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What We Did > What We Did (44)

Old Jaffa

We walked all the way down the tayelet to Old Jaffa from our hotel. Here we explored the town, although there wasn't much going on. We wandered into the shuk area, where we saw what a classic market in Israel looks like.
Night on the Town with Yoav

WE met up with Yoav for dinner at this great little local joint. Then he took us to an "anglo" party that his friend was throwing at some club. It was a fun evening catching up with him and meeting some of his friends.
Walk to Rabin Square

We visited the spot where Rabin was shot just outside of the Rabin Square.
Lunch on Sheinken Street w/Yoav

Yoav introduced me to Orma and Ella's Cafe, which is a happening little restaurant in the area. WE had a wonderful afternoon walking around and talking, eventually meeting up with his friend Hannah at a coffee shop. I walked all the way back to the Alexander Suites from there, about an hour walk, in the blazing sun, and wearing my new sandals that weren't quite broken in yet -- that was a recipe for a major blister!
Watching the Sunset on the Mediteranean

The sunsets in Israel are like no place in the world. I sat on the rocks that jutted out along the beach, and watched the gorgeous sunset along with many other spectators!
Reunion With Asgeir (Norweigan friend)

We met up for lunch at Aroma Cafe in the New Port area. Then we walked over to the beach to hang out and catch up some more, since it had been 7 years since we last saw each other in Jerusalem.
Yom Kippur at the Gilron's in Beer Sheva

We had such a beautiful and reflective Yom Kippur spending it with Amy, Yishai and Miryam. We spent much of the days walking to and from shul, lounging around and talking, and of course in synagogue. It was so amazing seeing the town shut down for the holiday.
Ben-Gurion's Gravesite

The site is located at the top of Ein Avdat Canyon. The view from up top is amazing, a vantage this first prime minister of Israel rightly deserves.
Hike Through Ein Avdat

I had actually done this hike when I was last here. It's a gorgeous, easy walk to get to the spring at the end. The more difficult part came when Yishai, Jason and I decided to climb to the top of the canyon, at parts needing to use ladders for the climb straight up.
Makhtesh Ramon (Israel's largest crater)

This breathtaking crater is such a site to marvel at. We walked along the edge, taking in the amazing views from up top. Miryam also gave us a very thorough explanation of how this crater was formed, since she had just learned this for a test she took.
Scultpure Garden Exlporation at Makhtesh Ramon

The swings were our favorite of the large sculptures, most of which were interactive. We loved swinging on these, and taking in the view of the amazing crater.
Sunset from Camel Point in Mitspe Ramon

The tall camel-like lookout on top of a hill in Mitspe Ramon was a perfect place to watch the sunset over the desert. It was incredibly windy up there, and as soon as the sun disappeared, we all made a b-line for the car to get out of the intense wind.
Varied Eilat Activities

Unfortunately my camera wasn't working today, so I couldn't take a picture of the things we did. We walked along the main esplanade in Eilat, and did a little shopping. Then we headed over to Coral Beach, laid out for a bit, and went snorkeling in the beautiful Red Sea. We came home and watched the beautiful sunset over the mountains!
Shabbat Dinner in the Gilron's Sukkah

We enjoyed a beautiful meal in the lovely setting of the sukkah in their backyard. It was a gorgeous night, and the compnay was of course unbeatable.
Bet Guvrim Cave Crawling

Since Miryam had worked at this site, she was able to take us through the caves using just the lights of our flighlights to illuminate our way. Some of the holes were incredibly tight squeezes. Definitely not an activity for a chlostrophobic!
Family Reunion with the Leeper's

I got together with Aaraon, Maayan, and Shalev to get to know these cousins. It was a strange occurence meeting them in all places at Yom Kippur services, and making the connection that we're 4th cousins once removed, all stemming from the Serbin Family circle.
Masada

Not sure what inspired us to climb the snake path leading up to the top of the fortress in the mid-afternoon heat. We made it, but not before a couple breakdown's, and thoughts we were going to have to turn back. Although not the highest mountain or steepest climb, it was the desert heat that really was getting to us on this hike.
The Dead Sea

Floating in the dead sea was a wonderful way to ease our soar muscles after the intense Masada climb. It was so much fun playing around in the buoncy of the water. The fun only lasted until the salt started to sting every crevice of our body. They say it's therapeutic though!
Hula Valley Nature Reserve

We had hoped to catch the migrating birds, but supposedly missed them by just one day. It was still beautiful to walk around this swampy marshland that has been reintroduced to the area. We especially enjoyed watching the African Catfish swarm the food in the water.
Hamat Gader

The hote springs and varieties of animals, especially the 200 crocodiles are the main attractions here. We splurged in the Spa Village to escape the screaming children in the main hot spring area, which was much more relaxing.
Nazareth

This home to Jesus was an intersting town to explore. Seeing how both Christian and Muslim Arabs live side by side was very cool here. The Basillica of Annunciation was a site to behold.
Visit to Danziger Library in Kiryat Shmona

It was very nice of Amir, the principal, and Adrienne, a teacher my mom befriended, to give us a tour of the school and library. It was nice viewing how the library was doing, so I can report on this back home.
The Banyas Waterfalls and Springs

We did the easy 2 hour hike from the waterfalls to the springs and back. It was a gorgeous day, and we enjoyed every moment of it.
Safed

We explored the galleries and back allies of Safed, taking in all the grandeur of this area. Jason was really struck by how important this place was to so many religious Jews, he thought about picking up a copy of the Torah and reading it. We had a coffee overlooking this beautiful view in the picture.
Rosh Hanikra

We took the short cable car ride down to the grottos. Here we explored the amazing caves and grottos with the water surging in and out of them. We also came accross a crazy woman who hopped the fence and was attempting to swim in the water -- many people were marveling at what this lady was doing.
Lunch in Akko

The old city of Akko is a wonderful place to wander around, especially taking in all the colorful sites of the shuk. We had a traditional lunch of hummus ahd phul, and then topped it off with a halava dessert from a local vendor.
Haifa Bahai Gardens

Unfotunately since we didn't make a reservation ahead of time, we couldn't go all the way down into the little shrine area. The view from up top though was spectacular. The Bahai faith certainly know how to pay homage to their prophet, since this is where Ba'ab is buried.
Lunch in Zichron Yaacov

Adorable little wine town, where we walked around and ate a delicious lunch. The area really reminded us of how quaint wine country is at home, and we just loved it here. PLUS, we got to befriend a little local dog at lunch who was giving us a lot of love, hoping we'd give him some food.
Carmel Market Tel Aviv

On Jason's shuk scale, he officially has rated this markey 4.5 out of 5. This was a gorgeous market, with amazing fresh foods. It all smelled amazing. This couldn't be more opposite then a Chinese market!
Sunsets in Tel Aviv

Everyday the sunset over the mediteranean is absolutely stunning. We made it a point to watch the sunset on many evenings while there. Although the first evening we were there the sunset at aroun 5:45pm, by the end it was setting as early as 5pm!
Stroll down Roschild Street and Seeing the Globe Exhibition

So apropros to have a globe exhibition lining the street. There were literally about 50 different artistic globes depicted un fun ways. We ended up eating lunch at a cute restaurant called Pastis here.
Hanging with Yoav and Katie

This was a fun evening where we first had dinner with Yoav at Ben Siegel, and then met up with Katie at her house to hang out. Another fun night in Tel Aviv!
The Arab Shuk in the Old City, Jerusalem

So much fun wandering around and looking at all the interesting things here. It brought back a lot of memories from when I used to spend time here.
The Kotel

No trip to Israel is complete without a visit to the Western Wall. The energy and mix of people here is always fascinating to be around.
Jason's Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall

By coincidence we happened to pick National Bar Mitzvah day for children injured by terrorist attacks. There were dozens of Bar Mitzvah's going on all around us, and Jason joined with another boy to make a minyan. It was such a special day.
Bar Mitzvah Crew

Barcuh, Ezra, Naomi and Katie helped us to celebrate Jason becoming a man on this special day. We all went out to lunch after the ceremony.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Located within the Old City, this is where Chirtians believe that Christ was crucified. IT's an enormous church, with lots of different nooks to explore. WE sat and watched as people entered into the exact spot where Jesus was crucified -- it was an emotional experience for many people.
Mahane Yehuda (the shuk)

We explored this outdoor market, taking in all the beautiful food. We even tasted the most incredible piece of halava. We ate lunch in a cute little restaurant at the end, of laffa with cheese and vegetables in it.
Israel Museum

On Tuesday evenings the museum is open until 9pm, which I checked out while Jason was working. Unfortunately the permanent exhibit is closed for renovation. I still got to see the Contemporary Chinese Art collection, the Holyland (lifesize model of Old Jerusalem), the Dead Sea scrolls, and some of the sculptures in the sculpture garden.
Coffee with Jen and Janet at Coffee Bean

It was quite a blast from the past to see Jen Gootnick after almost 15 years since our last meeting. Janet Rothman also just arrived to Israel the day before to study on a 6 week program, so it was very cool to run into her.
Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial

This is an incredible memorial located on top of Mount Herzl. There are some educational exhibits, as well many moving memorials for the 6 million murdered. Since I was last here, they have redone many parts of it, and it's truly a not miss experience when in Israel.
Walk thru Mea Shearim

This is the ultra orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem. You must dress modestly to enter the area. It truly feels like your stepping back in time, with men and women in traditional garb. Jason even sported his kippah this day to "fit in".
Dinner at Nana Restaurant in Neve Tzedek with Adi and Assaf

We enjoyed a delicious meal at this hip restaurant. It was so much fun catching up with Adi and Assaf in this festive place.
Lunch with Katie and Yoav at the New Port

This was a great meal to end our 5 weeks in Israel looking out onto the Mediteranean.

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