Samuels in Israel

We're back!

2006-06-14T05:58:00.000+03:00

Well unfortunately, I believe this is the end of the Samuels in Israel. I know we left you hanging back in April, but we are now back in California and on to other adventures, like summer camp and then moving to LA (in August). We were very sad to leave Israel, but happy to be able to see family and friends again. We leave you with more pictures of our adventures in the last months. Thanks for your support!

This was our last adventure in Israel. We stayed in Amirim, a vegetarian moshav overlooking the Sea of Galilee

We had to go see Elvis in Israel

Saying goodbye to friends

Amazing vegetables of the Machane Yehuda market in Jerusalem

On Lag B'Omer Israelis light bonfires all over the country. This one happened to be in the yard next to our apartment building.

Nikky and Jen went hiking in Ein Gedi while their men studied for finals

Soccer game with Beitar Yerushalayim and Nazareth

Israelis observe their Memorial days of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Hashoah with a siren and everybody stops what their doing (even driving) to stand in Remembrance

Our last Shabbat with friends in our apartment

The Samuels at the Dead Sea

The old city of Jaffa

Rosh Hanikra, Acco, Haifa and Zichron Yaakov

2006-05-23T22:09:00.000+03:00

The Rosh Hanikra coast

The Rosh Hanikra grottos

Street of Acco

Josh enjoying some amazing hummus, falaffel and Turkish coffee in Acco

View of Haifa

Old synagogue in Zichron Yaakov

I believe we definitely made a record for ourselves of visiting the most places in one day. We checked out of our rooms in Rosh Pina at the beautiful Mitzpe Hayamim with the intention of getting in as much as possible on our way to our next overnight in Zichron Yaakov. We started off at the coastal border of Lebanon, Rosh Hanikra. This is not only an amazing coastal area, but there are also incredible grottoes that were carved by the sea into the chalky cliffs. Definitely not a site to miss! Next we got back in the van and made our way down the coast to the old, walled city of Acco where we enjoyed an amazing hummus lunch, wandered through the marketplace and the tunnels below the city. That night our destination was Zichron Yaakov, one of the first aliyah communities in Northern Israel. On our way we stopped on the Carmel mountain in Haifa to look at the Bahai temple and the port area. What an amazing view. When we got to Zichron we wandered around and then had dinner at the Tishbi winery. Yum! This pretty much ended our Northern Israel trip with the Samuels.

Katzrin and Tzfat

2006-05-22T22:21:00.000+03:00

The ancient synagogue in Katzrin

View from Tzfat

This was probably our shortest day of the tour because Rhoda, Josh and I all had to be back at Mitzpe Hayamim for massage treatments. What an amazing way to end a day! So in the morning we headed out to the Golan to visit the ancient Jewish city of Katzrin. Most of this area was built around the 3rd-4th centuries, completely abandoned in the 13th and 14th centuries and then rediscovered in the 19th-20th centuries and now you can get a fairly good idea of the homes that people lived in, the utensils they used and even the synagogue they prayed in. Modern day Katzrin is actually a bustling industrial area which includes the Golan Heights winery, Eden distillery and many other factories. Next we headed off to the old city of Tzfat. As you might have noticed this seems to be a place that we visited more than once and you are correct, but it is just one of those places that you can never get sick of. We realized while we were there that many people in Tzfat take off for vacation during Pesach because for many religious families this is the best time to spend with their families. So it was a little more quiet than usual, but just as amazing. We had lunch with a view of Mt. Meron and then headed back to Rosh Pina for a nice relaxing afternoon at Mitzpe Hayamim.

Tel Dan and Metulla

2006-05-11T11:05:00.000+03:00

Maneuvering through the streams of Tel Dan

View from Metulla of a town in Lebanon

After an amazing vegetarian dinner a little live music and a good night's sleep we were all ready to go for another day of touring in the north. Our driver Yossi was able to get our van temporarily fixed and the whole day we were holding our breath so "Lucky" wouldn't overheat again. It did. "Lucky" was a heck of a tour van. Anyway, we woke up, had a wonderful Kosher for Passover, vegetarian breakfast at our hotel and then headed out for Tel dan, a nature reserve and archaeological site. Josh and I had visited here with HUC and thought that Rhoda and Peter would enjoy it. I think this was definitely a highlight of the trip. We all greatly enjoyed wandering through the cobblestone pathways and maneuvering through the streams. When we were done with Tel Dan we headed up to Metulla which is on the northern border of Israel and Lebanon. This is a fascinating area. The way that the land and the cities are set up when you stand on a hill in Metulla and look out towards Lebanon (with a little help from some binoculars) you can actually see people walking down the street and tending to their every day business in the Lebanon border town. Even though Metulla has had it share of problems from being on the border, it is a beautiful area with hiking trails and a cute little center of town. Definitely somewhere I hope to visit again.

Heading out on the road...

2006-05-11T10:02:00.000+03:00

Bet She'an

Hanging out on the freeway with our overheated van

After celebrating Pesach for two days in Jerusalem we headed out on the road with our guide Yossi. We left Jerusalem and drove through the West Bank towards Bet She'an and then to our final destination for our next three nights, Rosh Pina. The drive towards Bet She'an is very fascinating because you drive past Palestinian and Israeli towns that are right next to each other, yet they are all living peacefully. Bet She'an is right on the other side of the border of the West Bank and Israel. When we arrived at Bet She'an we had our first realization that besides Jerusalem most of the restaurants in Israel shut down for Passover, but we managed to find a little food and then we wandered around the ancient Tel of which it is believed that there are atleast 20 layers of settlements dating back as far as the Neolithic period (5th millenium BCE). Since the area was having a heat spell that day we cut our visit a little short and then headed off to Bet Alpha, an ancient synagogue that houses a preserved mosaic of a zodiac wheel from the 6th century CE. The plan for the rest of the day was to visit the Golan Heights and some overlooks of Israel and Syria. Unfortunately we had two factors going against us. First was that it was quite overcast and so the views were not so fantastic and second was that for some reason the car seemed to be overheating. So... we did manage to drive a little in the Golan to get an idea of where we were in relation to Syria and then the car decided it wanted to take a little rest on the side of the road. So, we got to hang out on the freeway right below Rosh Pina and Tzfat until someone else could pick us up and take us to Mitzpe Hayamim which was to be our home for the next few nights. It was quite an adventure and we were all very happy to get to the hotel and relax for the evening.

The beginning of Pesach

2006-05-10T10:39:00.000+03:00

The grocery store prepares for Passover by putting signs in front of the cans stating that they are Kosher for Passover

Religious men burning the items from their house that are not Kosher for Passover

Our new seder plate (Thanks Jeff and Kim) with some alternate items:
-wasabi for horseradish
-a liquid resembling blood (hot sauce) for a shank bone

Josh leading our friends Matt and Ryan out of Egypt
(Josh is wearing his kittel from our wedding as he must do each time he leads a Passover seder)

So as soon as our trip in the Negev ended we began our next adventure of Pesach with Rhoda and Peter. They visited us in Israel from April 10-26. Throughout this time they were able to experience Pesach and Yom Hashoah as well as travel throughout Jerusalem and Northern Israel. I will try and recap all of our experiences, but seeing as they were here for a little over two weeks I might leave some things out. In Israel the first 24 hours of Pesach is a Chag which means that everything shuts down. So, our first task was to go grocery shopping and get everything we needed for our Pesach seder as well as the next day. My favorite part about shopping for Pesach is that the stores label things Kosher for Pesach and store away all of the items that are not Kosher. Just a side note: The Kosher restaurants who stay open also have to completely change their kitchens so everything is Kosher for Pesach. Josh and I hosted our first seder in our home. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work as I'm sure some of you know. For those of you who don't celebrate Pesach my closest comparison would be preparing to have Thanksgiving at your house. Josh mainly led the seder with a little help from our friend Matt and I did most of the cooking with everyone lending a helping hand. I made my first attempt at vegetarian matzah ball soup. I must say I think it turned out quite well for my first time. I even made the matzah balls! I would say that evening as a whole was a little alternative. This was partly due to the food and some of the substitutes we had to make on the seder plate, as well as Josh having us march around the room with matzah held over our heads. Hmmm... It was quite an experience nonetheless and a great start to the Samuels vacation in Israel.

HUC Tiyul in the Negev

2006-05-01T18:08:00.000+03:00

View from Sde Boker, Ben Gurion's kibbutz

Us and some of our friends hiking Ein Avdat

THE NEGEV

Viewpoint of Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt

On April 6-9 HUC took us to the Negev which is in the South of Israel. To many Israelis this is the most beautiful area of Israel, even though it is all desert. This was definitely the best trip that the school has planned. (Atleast we thought so) The first day we went to visit Ben Gurion's gravesite and kibbutz Sde Boker and then we went for a hike in Ein Avdat. That night we slept under the stars in the desert, no tents, no facilities. We greatly enjoyed this, but some of Josh's fellow students weren't as excited about the idea so they opted to go stay at Kibbutz Yahel where we were to stay the following nights. We woke up the next morning and hiked straight from our campsite into the mountains overlooking Sinai, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It was definitely one of my favorite hikes this year and we even got a little bouldering in. The end of the hike took us down to the Red Sea and the city of Eilat. There we spent some time on the beach, tossing the frisbee and snorkeling in the Sea. We spent Shabbat on Kibbutz Yahel. This is one of two Reform kibbutzim in the Negev. Unfortunately their guest services left much to be desired. We shared a room the size of a decent sized walk in closet with two of our friends. The room was made equally small by three bunk beds adorning its walls. Yep, I said bunk beds. I realized as I climbed up to the top bunk that people our age are just not meant to sleep in bunk beds. Oh well, we survived. The last day of the tiyul we visited Kibbutz Lotan. This is an extremely progressive kibbutz not only because it belongs to the Reform movement, but because they practice Creative ecology, recycling anything and everything, Natural Health and Birding. Check out their website: http://www.kibbutzlotan.com . I was in heaven there. They offered us tea made with fresh herbs and cooked on a stove using solar energy. We also had an amazing, Organic lunch. This was a fresh change from the quite disgusting food we experienced at Kibbutz Yahel. Overall it was a very nice, relaxing weekend in the Negev!

Northern Israel with Jeff and Kim

2006-05-01T13:13:00.000+03:00

Our campsite with a view of Tiberias across Lake Kinneret

Josh, Jeff and Nikky at the Zavitan waterfall in Yehudiya

People on their way to celebrate Shabbat in Tzfat

View from Mt. Meron

So I just realized that I am quite behind in posting. At this point we have just experienced the Pesach holiday in Israel, Yom Hashoah and are about to head into Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut, the days of Memorial and Independence, but I still haven't even written about our last weekend with Jeff and Kim. They were here for about three weeks and have now been gone for about a month and here I am just finishing up about their trip. So their first and last weekends they were here we did a little hiking and camping. The first was Mahktesh Ramon and the second we opted for the greenery of the North. Our first night we camped on the Eastern side of the Kinneret(Sea of Galilee) in what we realized the next morning was a popular fishing spot. For us it just served its purpose of a nice place to rest our heads. In the morning we woke up to not only many fisherman, but a beautiful view of Tiberias across the lake. That day we headed to Yehudiya Nature Reserve for a nice hike along the river with amazing hexagonal pools and then at the end to a waterfall. When we all turned the corner to see the waterfall there was a feeling of deja vu. This is an extremely popular place for youth trips to visit when they are in Israel and we all realized we had been there before. That night we opted to spend Shabbat in the mystical city of Tzfat. Unfortunately, since Shabbat was nearing it meant that after the hike we had to scramble over to the city in order to get a place to stay and gather some food before things shut down for the 24 hour observance. After going to an Orthodox synagogue to experience their shabbat services we spent a very nice Shabbat dinner in our hotel noshing on hummus, pita, fresh veggies, and challah. Not so gourmet, but served the purpose. The next morning, being reform Jews we broke Shabbat and headed out to hike Mt. Meron. This used to be the highest point in Israel before they aquired Mt. Hermon near the Syrian border.

Makhtesh Ramon

2006-04-03T12:53:00.000+03:00

Jeff in the sleeping tent

Us on top of a small peak in the crater

Hiking in the crater

Look at the difference in the rock formations

Our lovely van. It even made beeping noises when we backed up

View of the crater

Us and some friends hiking around the crater rim (as you can see it was a little chilly and windy)

Preparing shakshuka in the kitchen

Nikky and our friend Josh in front of the hang out tent

Josh and Jeff hanging out on Shabbat. I think this is the first time Josh has ever worn a scarf

Since Jeff and Kim are visiting us now we decided we needed to try and get away on some adventures. The first weekend of their visit we rented a van with some friends and drove down to Makhtesh Ramon, the Ramon crater in the southern desert of Israel. The crater itself is now a 250,000 acre national park. The pictures will better explain what the crater and its different rock formations look like. We camped at a bedoin style place that had a large tent where we slept and then another tent where we could make meals and hang out. It was somewhat glorified camping. It was a weekend of great company, amazing food and even more incredible was the hiking and exploring of the fascinating area we were in.

Purim

2006-03-25T14:55:00.000+02:00

Making Hamentaschen with friends

Purim festival on Ben Yehuda Street

Josh acting as the King for our Ethiopian familes

Jeff gets his first welcome to Israel with a Purim party

Nikky and our friends Rollin and Jen

Josh watching the cantor read out of our Megillat Esther

Us and our friend Scott on the night before Purim when the festivities began (don't worry Josh is just pretending to drink from the bottle)

Yeah, so I know Purim was a over two weeks ago, but we've been busy and haven't been able to write about it so here it goes! Purim is definitely one of my favorite holidays in Israel. It's not like Halloween in the States where kids dress up and go trick-or-treating. Purim in Israel is really a celebration for everyone. The entire week of Purim people are in the festive mood and walking around with wigs and masks on. I think this was actually the first time I really got Josh to dress up in a costume. Actually we dressed up two nights in a row and as different things both times. The Monday night before Purim we went to a party at school that our friend Matt was putting on to raise money for the Ride to Reform which in turn raises money for the Reform community in Israel. It was called "Matt and his friends" and it was basically a bunch of our friends putting on a show of their talents. Seeing as Josh and I are not very musically talented we were not a part of this. Oh well! The next night being Purim we had some friends over to our house and then went to school to hear the Megillat Esther read. This was a special occasion because they were actually reading from a Megillah that we were given for our wedding by our friends the Nissims. This was also a special night because our friends Jenny and Ronen were visiting and my bro, Jeff arrived in Israel. Since everyone was having such a blast at our Purim extravaganza we didn't quite make it out into the streets to see the Purim craziness, but Jeff and I did make it out the next day to a street fair on Ben Yehuda. There was a lot of music, juggling, contortionists, comedians and balancing acts. Oh, and then later that day we were off to our friend Jordana's house for Hamentaschen making. This was a very full Purim! The next week we continued Purim even more with a celebration for our Ethiopian families that we have been working with. Josh dressed up again as King Ahashuherus. He's sure getting into the spirit!

We're an Aunt and Uncle!

2006-03-25T14:44:00.000+02:00

Our niece Abby Esther Goldberg was born on March 22 weighing in at 6lbs, 12oz! Isn't she cute? We are greatly looking forward to meeting her when we return to the States. Congratulations to the entire Samuels/Goldberg family.

HUC Tiyul

2006-03-20T15:33:00.000+02:00

On February 21-23 HUC took us on a trip to the Golan Heights and the Galilee. Directly quoted from our itinerary here was the goal of the trip:

explore the roots of biblical settlement in the area
gain an understanding of pioneer settlements in the early days of the State
learn about present day communities and development towns
be introduced to the security issues of the north
experience the beauty of the Golan and Galilee as Israelis do – by hiking

They definitely accomplished their goal. The first day our group went to Zichron Yaakov, one of the first Jewish settlements in Israel. For lunch Josh and I took a few friends to the Tishbi Winery restaurant/tasting room. It was amazing! Then after lunch we took a hike in the Carmel forest. The second day we wandered around Tel Dan which is a nature preserve and archaeological site all in one. Definitely a place we would reccomend! Afterwards we heard a woman talk about what life is like in Kiryat Shmona with constant threats of katusha rockets from Lebanon. Luckily they have had a long period of calm, but the citizens there are always a little on edge. We also visited a Druze village where we tasted some local bahklava and turkish coffee and then we were off to Tel Hai which was one of the four original settlements in the Galilee. Our third day was geared towards life in the Golan. We heard a woman speak who is a huge Golani activist. She actually named her two children Golan and Kinneret. Yikes! Then we were off for one of the highlights of the trip, hiking Nahal Gilaboon. Hiking is really the best way to see the beauty of the Golan. Then after we were nice and sweaty we took a trip to Mt. Bental to the overlook of Syria and then it was time for wine tasting at the Golan Heights Winery. That was a great way to top off a really good trip. Thanks HUC!

African Adventure

2006-02-08T12:03:00.000+02:00

So I know that you are all greatly anticipating our Africa blogs from our trip to Uganda and Tanzania and they are sure to come at some point, I promise. While you wait I thought that you might enjoy looking at some of our pictures. We have posted what we think is the best selection of our hundreds of pictures on our flickr site for all of you to view. The address is www.flickr.com/photos/nikkyandjosh. I do want to say that it was an amazing trip and I would greatly encourage all of you to go to Africa and experience it for yourself. Here is a list of some of the activities that you will see pictures of:

Shabbat/Havdallah and Chanukah with the Abuyadaya Jewish Community
Hiking around Sipi Falls
White Water Rafting on the Nile River

6 day Safari in Tanzania in which we saw elephants, giraffe, wildebeast, gazelles, impalas, baboons, monkeys, lions, cheetah, leopard and much more.

Major highlight was seeing Nature at work when the lions went for their kill and caught a zebra as well as seeing a hyena chase a gazelle.

Gorilla Trekking in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Relaxing on Lake Bunyoni

Trip to Petra

2006-01-26T16:32:00.000+02:00

We're back. After a month off from writing its time to get you up to date. On December 22, my cousin Lara visited us from San Francisco for about ten days and we decided to take a trip to the mysterious Jordanian city of Petra. The journey began as we started to drive out of Jerusalem towards Eilat where we had planned to stay the night before crossing the border. Getting out of Jerusalem is tricky since the city is not a grid like LA or San Francisco. It is very easy to get lost while driving and we did just that. As we ended up on the other side of the security fence...in the Palestinian territory we knew something was wrong. All of a sudden every sign was only in Arabic, we could hear the call to prayer outside our windows and there were muslims praying on the side of the road. We quickly made an illegal u-turn and had to wait in a long line at the checkpoint. When we got to the Israeli border guard we told her that we had gotten lost and ended up on the wrong side of the fence. She said "are you joking? Get out of here NOW!" She then waved up to the other guard to let us through and back into Israel. It was so easy to drive into the Palestinian territory but so difficult to get back into Israel. There should be signs informing drivers that "you are about to leave Israel and enter another country. Are you sure you want to proceed?"
We finally got on the highway and enjoyed a beautiful 4 1/2 hour drive down the eastern border of Israel through the Judean desert. We arrived in Eilat in the evening and had an awesome dinner at a Yodveta (a kibbutz known for amazing dairy products) restaurant. The next morning we were picked up and driven to the border where we met our Petra native guide, Ashraf. After the border crossing we took a van ride a few hours until we reached the city of Petra. To enter the ancient city of Petra we had to walk through a narrow ravine carved out of sandstone and all of a sudden we saw the famous treasury. Watch the opening scene to Indian Jones and the Last Crusade and you will know how awesome that first sight is. Petra has an interesting history and one that can be explained much better at http://www.ancientroute.com/cities/Petra.htm
All of the structures were built directly out of the mountains. The builders were extremely talented and this is a place that is worth a trip. Enjoy the pictures.

Apology

2005-12-15T17:33:00.000+02:00

Sorry, I know some of you are probably wondering if we ever made it back to Israel from Greece since we haven't posted anything since then. Yes, we are in Israel and are just having a hard time keeping up with the blog. One major gliche is that our computer doesn't seem to want to stay on anymore. Yeah, not a very nice thing for Josh when he has a sermon and papers to write before the end of the semester. It seems to be overheating so now we're using it with a book propped under it so the fan can get some extra air flow. Yep, this is my brilliance at work. So since we are majorly behind I just thought I would give a quick recap of the last month before we get some more posts up. Here is a list of some of the highlights in the last two months:

-Hosted two shabbat dinners
-Went on a Shabbat hike
-Attended not one, but two Thanksgiving dinners where the Americans were the minority
-Went on a trip with the school for four days in the Northern part of the country
-Made sushi with friends twice
-Hosted our friend Jeremy for three nights (we'd love more visitors)
-Josh led services and chanted from the Torah
-We got our Visas renewed, yippee!

Okay, I think that is about it for now. I don't want to bore you. So hopefully you can expect to see some more details on some of our highlights in the near future. Here is a recent picture of us! Enjoy!

Another Shabbat Hike

2005-11-21T12:45:00.000+02:00

We had our second opportunity to go hiking around Jerusalem on Nov. 12. Josh and I did the car renting this time and he ended up driving seven people in a Kia diesel minivan. Very snazzy! Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of him behind the wheel. Sorry! For the hike, we went to the Bar Kochba caves and then Mitzpeh M'shua.

We have another day?

2005-11-21T12:04:00.000+02:00

So the next day we were supposed to fly out of Rhodes around 4:30 and the other groups that had taken that flight had been picked up by the bus around 1:30 so we just assumed it would be the same for us. After dinner we went to try and find the tour guides that were in charge of the package to find out the details, but they were not around. There was a little sign with flight information on it, but unfortunately it was in Hebrew and we were a little confused since it said the flight wasn't leaving until 10:30 p.m.. We figured that must have been a mistake or maybe a different flight and went to sleep still thinking we were leaving in the afternoon. When we were checking out of the hotel at noon we spotted some people heading over to the sign so we decided it would be a good idea to have them translate. We had read the sign right. We were flying out at 10:30 that night and being picked up at 8:00. So now we had to figure out what we were going to do for the rest of the day. We decided to walk along the water to the old town. It was a beautiful walk along the cliffs, but by the time we got into town we were ready for some lunch. So we had lunch, wandered around the old town and new town of Rhodes and relaxed on the grass in the moat. It was a relaxing last day in Rhodes. Now back to Israel, until our next journey....Africa.

Beach day on Rhodes

2005-11-19T12:05:00.000+02:00

So now that it has been almost a month since we traveled to Rhodes I am finally going to be finishing up the Rhodes blogs. For what we thought was our last day on Rhodes (explanation to come) we decided to spend our time relaxing on one of the beaches on the eastern side of the island. We had our map and some recommendations and so we decided to drive and check out three different areas that were in close proximity to one another and then we would make our decision. They were all very nice beaches with good views, but one was a little too built up and another was a little too empty and so we chose the one that was somewhere in the middle of these two with amazing views and a few establishments. Since we were in Rhodes after their main tourist season nowhere was extremely crowded. Unfortunately, the establishments seem to close down and thus, leave us with very few options for food. The area we chose to relax in was not too crowded, but did look like it had some restaurants that were still serving. The only problem was that, the restaurants that are open are working at about half their capacity, meaning each time we would ask about something on the menu they would comment, "Oh, we don't have that today". We heard that a lot throughout our trip. I guess there are good and bad things about going to an island after the major tourist season. One of the benefits was that we pretty much had our stretch of the beach to ourselves and no one came around collecting money for the lounge chairs. So we spent the day relaxing in the sun, playing cards (which was a favorite pastime during our trip) and I worked on the blanket I am knitting for our cold winter in Jerusalem. This was a great end to our trip! After our day on the beach we decided we had to go find a place to have Greek coffee and bahklava. This was our other favorite pastime during our trip. We loved having a little snack in the afternoon before heading back to the hotel. Those of you that seem to recall that Josh and I are not coffee drinkers are absolutely correct, but we fell in love with Greek coffee while on our vacation. Who would have guessed? So we drove to Faliraki, one of the more built up beach areas and found an amazing spot right on the beach with the best bahklava we had yet.

Eastern Rhodes

2005-11-18T15:09:00.000+02:00

On our fourth day we headed out on the road again, but this time it was just us. We were slightly delayed in our departure because our rental car would not start. Fun! So we had to get someone to jump it for us. Kind of annoying, but luckily it didn't happen again while we were renting it. So, for our daily adventure we decided to go check out Epta Piges, seven springs and the village of Lindos which were both supposed to be sites we shouldn't miss. Unfortunately, we were not that impressed with the seven springs. I guess being from Northern California we're a little spoiled with the redwoods. That's okay, we took a short hike in the forest and then continued on our way. Our next major stop was definitely worth the trip and that was Lindos. This is a village that lies below the Acropolis of Lindos. The village is filled with white 17-century houses that climb the mountainside, some with mosaic courtyards outfront. Lindos also lies on the sea and is a popular spot for sunbathers. By the time we had arrived in Lindos and had lunch we didn't really feel like sunbathing, but we did take a nice nap on the beach and then walked up to the Acropolis and through the labrynth alleyways of the village.

Driving around Rhodes

2005-11-14T12:21:00.000+02:00

Okay, I know I have not been good about getting the blog entries for Greece done and I'm sorry. I have been doing a little subbing for an english speaking preschool and it has been occupying a lot of my time lately. So now I am going to try and attempt to finish Greece and move back to Israel.

When we got back to our hotel from our day in Symi we decided that we wanted to rent a car for the next three days so we could drive around the island and see some of the other towns and beaches. That night we also ran into a couple from HUC that we didn't know were going to be there and so we decided it could be fun to all roadtrip together around the western side of the island. They are part of the fourth year Cantorial class and so that is why we hadn't really gotten a chance to get to know them, but we all had a great time hanging out together. We rented a little four dour Fiat and I was the designated driver seeing as Josh only knows how to drive stick shift in 1st gear and reverse and all of the cars were stick shift. That's okay. For the most part it was fun having the freedom to drive all around. There were only a few hairy moments trying to drive through the small towns and their narrow streets. Luckily I had three other sets of eyes in the car to help me navigate.

So we set off along the western coast of Rhodes. This side of the island is much more known for its scenery. It is quite lush and has amazing views of the sea and smaller neighboring islands. We stopped at a few beaches and toured around some ancient ruins of castles and monasteries. Basically we just drove and if something looked interesting we'd stop. This made for a real adventure. We wound around the coast and through some of the more inland areas. For lunch we ended up in an area that is famed for its honey. This made for a fairly unpleasant visit to this part of the island because we were always surrounded by bees. Luckily noone got stung. After lunch we decided to head towards the wine country. Josh and I were really excited to check out this area because we have such fond memories of wine tasting in California. Unfortunately, this wasn't quite the same. According to our standards, we believe that the wine on Rhodes is really not that tasty. We also had an opportunity to try some of the local Souma which is a liquor made from grapes. It is made somewhat like Ouzo, but we were told it is more pure. There is no flavor added in. Josh decided he had to prove his manhood and take a shot of a 70% Souma. Yum! After all the wine tasting I think we all decided it was time to head back to our hotel for a little dinner and relaxation.

Symi

2005-11-07T14:55:00.000+02:00

Our next day in Greece we decided to check out the island of Symi. Symi is about a 2 hour ferry boat ride from the port of Rhodes. The ferry took us to Gialos which is a Symi's port town. As the boat pulled up I went crazy with the camera, because as you can see the facades of the homes are beautiful. Unfortunately we were only able to spend a couple of hours in Gialos because we were on the ferry boat's schedule, but it was nice to wander around the promenade and harbor area as well as to check out some less populated areas a little away from the main center of town. After Gialos the ferry took us to another part of the island to see the Monastery of Archangel Michael of Panormitis and then it was back to Rhodes for the night. That evening in the hotel we ended up playing a dice game with an Israeli couple. For those of you who have played "hot dice" with us it was very similar, but they played with 1 fewer dice and had some different rules. It was really interesting to see how the game had changed as it had been passed down to different people.

Vacationing in Rhodes

2005-11-06T13:36:00.000+02:00

For the remainder of our vacation we headed to Greece for six nights on the island of Rhodes. Rhodes is part of the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea. Rhodes can be very hot and crowded during the summer, but luckily we got there right after the heat and the crowds. We signed up for a package to Rhodes, which is very popular amongst Israelis. You pay a fairly small fee for airfare, hotel, airport transport and two meals a day. It's a budget travelers dream! So our first full day on the island we decided to head to the old city of Rhodes. The old town is comprised of Byzantine, Turkish and Latin architecture with quiet, little alleyways, bustling squares and tourist shops. All of the little homes within the old town are also very colorful which makes for a large difference between the old city of Jerusalem and the old town of Rhodes. Also, right outside the city walls of Rhodes there is a port where all of the ferry boats and people's personal boats are docked. It's amazing to see some of the old wooden boats that are still in use.

The old town of Rhodes does have a Jewish quarter. This is known to be one of the more quiet, residential areas of the town. At one point in time this area was thriving with thousands of residents, but since many of the original occupants were sent to Auschwitz the area is no longer thriving. We did however visit an old Sephardic synagogue that is still in use, mainly at the high holidays because otherwise they don't have enough people for a minyan.

Sukkot in Jerusalem

2005-10-30T12:46:00.000+02:00

After a few fun filled days in Haifa we returned to Jerusalem for the beginning of Sukkot. Sukkot is a seven day holiday of rejoicing and celebration for which we are commanded to build a hut (sukkah) and make it our home. These sukkot are to remind us of the huts the Israelites lived in while journeying through the Sinai desert on their way to Israel after being freed from slavery in Egypt. In Biblical times, Sukkot was considered the most important Jewish holiday. The sukkah has to be a temporary structure and it is used mostly for eating. Since Jerusalem is a religious city there are sukkot on many balconies. The kosher restaurants and hotels also set up a sukkah so their customers can fulfill the commandment of eating in the sukkah. Above are some pictures we took of different sukkot around the city. It is amazing to see even the smallest of balconies with a sukkah on them. Enjoy!

Hanging out in Haifa

2005-10-30T11:50:00.000+02:00

First we have to apologize for taking so long to post a blog. The only excuse that can be given is "The Chaggim" . This is a phenomenon that happens every October in Israel where everything is put on hold due to the outrageous number of holidays this month. We counted only seven days of class this month which meant that Josh had a lot of vacation to go traveling. So...after breaking the Yom Kippur fast in Jerusalem we headed off to Haifa with a few friends. One of our friends was house sitting for some family friends so we got to stay in a real house for a few days. It was definitely a great way to start vacation. We relaxed, went to the beach, hung out in the hot tub and cooked great meals. Haifa has been compared a lot to San Francisco and is sometimes called the "sister city" in Israel. One main reason for this is that it is a very hilly city just like San Francisco and you get amazing views of different points of the city and the Sea while you are driving around. The house we were staying in was at the top of the hill and so had beautiful views of the hills and sea in the distance. Along with amazing views and beaches Haifa is also home to the the beautiful Bahai gardens which are pictured below.

The Dead Sea #2

2005-10-04T17:35:00.000+03:00

I know, I know been there, done that! Well if you could go rub mud all over yourself, float in a salt sea and mineral baths all for a low price of $10 you would do it as often as you could too. Also, this time you get to see not only Josh, but Nikky covered in beautiful black mud. The Dead Sea is such an amazing place that we actually met a man from Finland who had traveled to Israel just to spend 2 weeks at the Dead Sea. He has a rare skin disease and his doctor told him that spending two weeks at the Dead Sea would make his syptoms subside for 2-3 months. Amazing! For the two of us and our friend Jordana this was just an opportunity to get out of the city and relax for a day before all of the holidays began. There is quite a lot going on in Israel during October and this was a nice start to the month. I'm sure this will not be the last that you will see of the Dead Sea. If you're lucky maybe we'll take you there and rub mud all over you as well! :) L'Shana Tovah u'metukah! May you have a happy and sweet new year!

Hiking in the hills around Jerusalem

2005-10-02T18:15:00.000+03:00

Sorry it has been so long since there was a posting to our blog. I know that many of you would like an update on Josh and his classes and hopefully that will come soon, but since I now have more time on my hands I thought I would atleast tell you about the hike we took in the Jerusalem hills. One of the faculty at HUC really loves to hike and so offered to take some students on hikes around the area. Seeing as we love to hike, but don't really know where to go, we jumped at the offer. So yesterday morning we woke up bright and early (which is always hard on Shabbat) and ventured out to the hills beyond Jerusalem. We started out hiking at about 9:30/10ish and didn't finish until about 4. Needless to say it was a very long day. There were definitely trail markers, but somehow we kept losing them and ended up trekking through the thorn bushes. I believe this is how we finally found our way back to the car 6 hours and 10 miles later. Ouch! Good thing Josh and I were prepared with the right hiking gear. So you're probably wondering what the scenery was like. Well one thing's for sure, it definitely isn't like hiking in California. Boy do I miss the redwoods! One thing though that does make hiking in Israel unique is all of the ruins that you find along the way. We were hiking amongst caves, fortresses and mosaics from the Ottoman empire and even during the Crusades. The picture of Josh and some friends is taken in front of a cave about 10,000 years old. The black part of the cave is from the fires people used to light for cooking and heat.

The Dead Sea

2005-09-09T15:50:00.000+03:00

Last week I decided to visit the Dead Sea with my friend Matt. We decided to go the night before while eating at a fun place called Restobar. We really had no clue how to get down there so we both did research late that night. We ended up waking very early and arriving at the central bus station before 8am in order to take an 8:30am bus to the Ein Gedi Spa. The 90 minute bus ride was amazing as we snaked through the Judean hills and then made a right on Highway 90 which runs parallel to the Dead Sea. We ended up at the Ein Gedi spa where for only $10 we had complete access to the facilities, most of which we didn't even use. The reason we went was to spend a day in one of the hottest places on earth and the lowest point on earth as well. Besides that, I had been wanting to cover myself in Dead Sea mud and take a float in the sea since before we arrived in Israel. The temperature was around 100 and very dry. Before we stepped into the extremely salty water we engulfed ourselves in mud. Supposedly the mud from the dead sea works wonders for the skin. I just think it feels wierd and looks cool. But I have to admit, after soaking in the water with the mud my skin was softer. So for all you people that care about healthy skin, come visit us and we will take you there. Click on the picture to see us up close. So the Dead Sea has the highest concentration of salt compared to any other body of water in the world. There is no life that can live in the huge sea and it is impossible to sink. One can even read a newspaper while floating. I love it. Quick shout out to the S&Y boys.

Nahalat Shi'vah and the Soreq Cave

2005-09-09T15:15:00.000+03:00

The other week, my Hebrew teacher took my class on a field trip to the Nahalat Shi'vah district of Jerusalem. Nahalat Shiv'ah, the third neighborhood built outside the walls, was established in 1869 by the Builders of Jerusalem Society. There were 7 people that first settled in this desolate area and everyday they were targets from their Arab neighbors. Most Jews at that time actually lived in the Old City. These 7 people helped extend the boundry of Jerusalem. Since then it has been renovated and is now one of the prettiest entertainment zones in the city. Coffee houses, restaurants, galleries, pubs, and beautiful yards make up this tiny district off of the Ben Yehuda mall. While we were there we visited some galleries and spoke to the shopkeepers in Hebrew. We also visited an old Sephardic shul tucked away in an alley. It reminded most of us of the Sephardic shul's in T'zfat.

A couple day later the school took us on a field trip to the Soreq Cave which is located on the western slopes of the Judean mountains and on the southern face of Mount Yaela. In 1968 a regular stone quarry blast opened up an entrance to a stalactite cave that had been hidden from humans for millions of years. This is one of the coolest places to visit. It's also nice that the temperature is constant year round so during the summer it's a great place to walk around in. Here are some examples of what's inside the cave. Notice the picture of the stalagmite almost touching the stalactite. This particular formation has been named "disappointed love." To learn more about this cave please come visit and we will take you. Here are some more interesting formations.

Food

2005-09-02T15:01:00.000+03:00

Not everything in Israel is about history, religion or the disengagement of settlements. It's also about having fun and eating good food. So this will be a short entry on a few awesome meals. The first was eaten at Sakura, a decent Japanese restaurant in the Nahalat Shiva area of Jerusalem. It's no west coast sushi, but it comes close. I highly suggest ordering the Jerusalem roll that has yellowtail, ahi, snapper, cucumber and avocado. This is the second time Sakura has made the blog.

Another tasty Jerusalem establishment is called "The Waffle Lady." This is a little hole in the wall with a couple waffle makers and tons of toppings. Late night or mid afternoon, any time is a good time to visit the Waffle Lady. Our favorite so far has been dark chocolate and cinnamon. If anyone visits us, this is surely a place that we will go to.

Another great meal in Jerusalem is home cooked Mexican food since Jerusalem has no Mexican restaurants worth visiting. The students from the west coast miss Mexican food more than any other so we all got together and made our favorite dishes. Nikky and I brought guacamole, black beans, and sauteed peppers and onions. All on the spicy side. You can see how excited we all are about Mexican food.
More to follow...

Zichron Yaakov and Tisha b'Av

2005-09-01T19:08:00.000+03:00

Sorry folks for the long delay between blog entries. So a few weeks ago we were invited to stay with our friends Sarit and Udi at their home in Zichron Yaakov for a weekend. The town is a bit north east of Caesarea, on the way to Haifa from Tel Aviv. We took the train from Jerusalem and it was a really relaxing trip. Zichron Yaakov reminds us a little of the Napa/Sonoma areas. There are a bunch of wineries and the views of the rolling hills and vinyards were a nice break from the Jerusalem stone buildings in Jerusalem. We happened to be visiting our friends during Sarit's birthday. She had invited a few friends to help celebrate and all were Israeli. We quickly learned how difficult it really is to communciate with Israelis in Hebrew outside of Ulpan classes. Although we are both learning a ton of Hebrew, it it still extremely difficult to hold conversations at the speed of Israelis. Luckily everyone spoke English but we felt bad having to always make them switch languages just so we could understand. During our stay up north we went to the beach with all of Sarit and Udi's friends. This particular beach is in sharp contrast to the densly populated beaches of Tel Aviv. We spent the whole afternoon there enjoying the warm water of the Mediterranean and watching Nikky play with poy (don't know how to describe it so view the picture).

When we returned home it was Tishe b'Av (the Ninth of the Hebrew month of Av). This is considered the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. A number of horrible events have occurred on this particular day throughout the history of the Jewish people. For example, the destruction of both the first and second temples in Jerusalem, and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 all happened on this day along with other events. Tishe b'Av is a fast day and in Jerusalem many people gather at the Western Wall to pray and remind themselves of what happened to their ancestors years ago. People actually spend the whole night in front of the Wall and it really is an interesting site to see.

Disengagement (Hitnatkoot)

2005-08-22T15:24:00.000+03:00

So as you all are probably aware Israel is in the middle of evacuating settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. Many people have been asking us about the mood in the country at this time and how safe we feel. Instead of responding to everyone I decided to use this forum. I also greatly encourage you to go online to: www.haaretz.com to get the news from Israel (in English). I highly reccommend the interactive map on the ha'aretz disengagement page. I have noticed as the first week of the hitnatkoot ended and the second week began the international news is sadly not as interested, thus it is better to get the news straight from Israel. First of all I will tell you that we are completely safe at this time since we are living in Jerusalem which is a couple hour drive from Gaza. At times you can ignore the fact that this event is happening at all. With that said, the mood here is very sad. I am definitely a supporter of Israel doing what they can for Peace, but it definitely does not make this situation any easier. I am completely confused and saddened by this whole process which I believe many people in Israel are at this time whether or not they support the pullout. There are thousands of people who now have nowhere to live because they were forced to leave their homes and communities. Many are living in hotels right now until a permanent solution can be found. What makes the disengagement even more frustrating is that the same government that is taking these people away from Gaza was the one that told them to move there in the first place and even sold them the land. The settlers were told to move to Gaza, build communities, raise their families, and farm the land. Now that they have done all this they are forced to leave. In some situations there are three generations who have lived in these settlements and family members who are buried there as well. There are people that will argue that they should never have gone there in the first place, but many of the settlers not only believe that this is the land they were promised by God, but they also believe in Zionism and the creation and sustainability of a Jewish State. Now they feel like they are being let down.
At the same time I do have to say that I feel for the Palestinians who have been refugees for many years. I don't quite understand how all this mess began, but I do hope that once the Palestinians get back the land that they will make use of it, educate their youth and build infrastructure. I hope that the pain and suffering that the settlers are going through at this time will all be worth it in the end.
I also want to mention that even though we are very far from where the action is going on it does not mean that people are not protesting. Jerusalem is a predominantly "orange" city which means that most Jerusalemites are against the disengagement. Since we arrived in Jerusalem at the end of June there have been people protesting and handing out ribbons in support of the protest against the disengagement. There was actually a point in time where I thought that the entire country was against the disengagement because their campaign was so strong, but actually it is believed that about 3/4 of the country is for the disengagement. Luckily at this time things have been going fairly smooth and there have not been too many problems. We can only hope that this will continue to be a smooth transition for everyone involved.

Destruction of Jerusalem 70 CE

2005-08-14T19:32:00.000+03:00

For our third field trip of the summer we went to the Old City to learn about the destruction of the second temple and Jerusalem in the year 70 CE by the Romans. After this period the Jews were sent into exile into what is known as the diaspora. From then until now, Judaism has changed from a temple based religion with sacrafices and inscense to a rabbinic Judaism that focuses more on communities, prayer, studying and acts of bettering society and kindness to others. Anyway, we went to excavation sites that have remnants from the destruction of the temple in 70. Since the stones were so large that were part of the temple walls they still remain today as they were right after they fell to the ground. Some even have writings on them from that time. We saw a virtual movie of what the temple mount looked like and then went to the areas. Next to the southern wall of the temple mount (the western wall is the "holy" wall) there are huge stairs that used to be the main steps that led to the entrance of the temple. They were built unevenly so no one could rush up to the entrance. All of the retaining walls to the temple still exists and in the exact spot where the temple sat, now sits the Dome of the Rock mosque and beside it the Al Aqsa mosque. The rock in the former mosque is supposedly the place where Abraham was put to the test and almost sacraficed his son Isaac. It is also the place where Mohammed ascended to Heaven. Our tour guide, Gingi (red head in Hebrew) brought us to a spot where men would blow the shofar (ram horn) to signify different events. They would stand at the corners of the walls in high guard towers. Gingi took out a shofar and while blowing it, we were for a few moments living in the 1st century. It was very cool listening to the actual sounds of temple life. Finally we took some pictures of the western wall (the western retaining wall of the temple mount) that has since more recent times been transformed into the most holy spot in Judaism.

Our second tiyul

2005-08-09T20:10:00.000+03:00

On Thursday we went on our second tiyul (field trip) with HUC. We finished up the first temple period and this week we will be seeing studying the second temple period. We visited some of the only remnants of the first temple period which were burial caves of the upper class families. The dead were layed out on a concrete slab until there were only bones left and then they were buried in the caves. Part of the reason why all of the caves are uncovered is because unfortunately people pillaged the stone to build new homes. On our way from the caves into the old city we went to Hinnom Valley which is a beautiful park that is part of a valley which stretches all the way to the Dead Sea. Then we ascended Mt. Zion into the old city. Our guide "Gingie" bought us some bagelim and za'atar for a little snack. Woah was that za'atar salty. It's a little weird that bagels are just sold on the side of the street here with no sanitary measures being taken at all. Our sanitary standards have definitely decreased since arriving in Israel. When we arrived at the old city we visited the tomb where Kind David is thought to be buried as well as the site where the last supper supposedly took place. It is unfortunate that religious Jews have made King David's tomb into a synogogue and have put up a mechitza (separating wall inbetween women and men). Our guide wanted to give a teaching on King David to everyone in our group right in front of his tomb but was not able to because of the mechitza. In the old city we wandered through the cardo which is an old market place that has been revamped into new, modern shops and then we went to a lookout point where we could see all four quarters of the old city(Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian). At the end of the day we went to an amazing Arabic resaurant in the Muslim quarter called Abu Shukri where we ate some of the tastiest hummus, falafel, and arabic salads around.

The City of David

2005-07-31T15:14:00.000+03:00

For the first official HUC
field trip,
we went to the City of David and learned about Jerusalem during the time of King David which was around 1000 BCE. We studied about the times during thefirst temple period and we were able to walk and explore the exact locations where David, Solomon, and the prophets lived. To understand why David chose Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, we went to an amazing lookout spot at the Haas promenade. There, we could see exactly why the location of Jerusalem was optimal as being the epicenter of Israel during the reign of David and Solomon. We could go into that but we won't bore you. If you're really interested, please ask us. From the promenade we also had a view of not only East and West Jerusalem, but the fence/wall that separates Israel from Palestine. While in the City of David we wandered through Hezekiah's tunnel which is an ancient hidden waterway that used to bring water into the city. It takes about 40 minutes to get through the narrow, dark tunnel which is filled with water that goes anywhere from your ankles to your calves. There were also points where we had to duck our heads. It definitely made us appreciate our modern way of life. In case you are wondering, the guy in the tunnel is friend and fellow rabbinic student, Matt.
Finally, as we were leaving the City of David we saw a bunch of young men walking together and all carrying machine guns. No one in our group thought it was awkward. It is a way of life here and it actually makes us feel safe, eventhough they all looked like seniors in high school.

P.S. if you click on a picture it enlarges

Mea Shearim and the Wine Festival

2005-07-22T12:19:00.000+03:00

For over a week now, Hebrew has been the focus of our lives. We both entered an Ulpan (intensive Hebrew classes) and are now on our way to becoming fluent. School has officially begun for me and it is very exciting. Since we both are done with classes in the early afternoon we decided to visit the Mea Shearim neighborhood. This is an extremely orthodox community and people need to be prepared before entering. Women need to be almost completely covered and men should also dress respectively. Even if one does not know about this, there are signs posted all over the entrances to the neighborhood.
One reason why we visited Mea Shearim is because of the large amount of Judaica and books that can be found on the main streets. Compared to almost anywhere else in jerusalem, Mea Shearim has the cheapest prices. Although we couldn't decide on Shabbat candlesticks or a kiddush cup, we bought a few books, one of Shabbat dinner recipes and the other for school. The other thing that Mea Shearim is known for is their bakeries. The smell of chocolate and freshly baked challot flow into the street. Mmmm.
After strolling through Mea Shearim we headed to the Ethiopian Orthodox church on Ethiopia St. just south of Mea Shearim. We walked into the courtyard and saw a few monks walking around and looking at us. So we walked up to one and asked if we could look inside. I think he started to speak in Amharit or Geez. I began to speak in Hebrew but no one could understand each other. Finally the monk caught on to what we wanted and told us to enjoy and to take off our shoes and hats. Unfortunately it was not the most interesting mikdash (holy place) that either of us had seen in Israel.

A few days later we went to the Jerusalem wine festival at the Israel museum with our friends Ryan and Yohevet. For only 45 NIS (~$10) we received a nice wine glass and unlimited tastings from about 40 wineries. Of course we spit out every sip. One of our favorites was a cabernet made at a kibbutz near the Golan Heights. This was a great place to practice Hebrew. The festival was situated right next to the Shrine of the Book (the building that holds the Dead Sea scrolls) and the museum's sculpture garden. More to follow.

Our first trip to Tel Aviv

2005-07-13T17:15:00.000+03:00

On Sunday, the summer interns at HUC organized a trip to Tel Aviv. It was a great opportunity to take a break from Jerusalem and go hang out at the beach. Tel Aviv is about 30-45 minutes from Jerusalem so it's an easy get away. When we first arrived in Tel Aviv, Josh and I headed off to the Shuk HaCarmel (Tel Aviv's open air market) to get ourselves some hats before going to lay out in the sun. The sun is extremely intense right now so we needed some extra protection. After wandering around the Shuk we headed to the beach to cool off. The water is extremely warm and we could hang out in it all day, except for the fact that it is filled with jellyfish. Yikes! So we took a quick dip and then we relaxed on our lounge chairs, played some backgammon and smash ball and just enjoyed a little peace and relaxation.

Josh's birthday and walking in the old city

2005-07-13T16:20:00.000+03:00

On Josh's birthday,July 7 we decided to wander through the old city, check out the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and buy some things for our apartment. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is one of the holiest sights in all of Christianity. It marks the site of the Crucifixion and holds Jesus' tomb. The entire church is a labyrinth of small chapels where the priests are constantly praying and wandering around with incense. It is quite an amazing sight to see.

For dinner we decided to go back to Sakura, the Japanese restaurant and brave the sushi. It definitely wasn't as good as our favorite, Zushi Puzzle in San Francisco, but it fulfilled our need for sushi. We sat at the sushi bar and so got to sample some delicious carpaccio as a gift from one of the sushi chefs. Very tasty. After dinner we headed over to a local bar where people from Josh's program met us for some drinks. At one point they crowned Josh with a flower wreath and started singing Yom Huledet Sameach (Happy Birthday) .

Our new home

2005-07-05T15:30:00.000+03:00

The day after Nikky's birthday we signed our new lease and moved into our Jerusalem home. It is located at 6 Moshe Hess and is across the street from Hebrew Union College. I look forward to walking home for lunch, waking up 15 minutes before class, and even taking power naps inbetween classes. Okay, maybe that won't happen, but it's very nice being so close to school. The Old City, the shuk and the center of Jerusalem are all within a 5-15 minute walk. We are situated on a quiet street with a great cafe (Cafe Hess), a little corner store (Makolet), and if anyone stays at the King David hotel, it will take them about 2 minutes to walk back to the hotel from our front door. The apartment came fully furnished, the kitchen was stocked with everything we need, and the balcony (mirpesset) gets a very refreshing Jerusalem summer breeze. It has taken a few days to get our apartment to feel like home. If you want to see more pictures, such as what our bathroom looks like, please let us know, but these should give you an idea of where we spend much of our time.

More walking and Nikky's birthday

2005-07-03T22:00:00.000+03:00

We apologize for the delay inbetween blog entries, but we had no internet connection for about 5 days. The morning of June 29, Nikky's birthday we decided to take a stroll through our favorite Jerusalem neighborhood called Yemin Moshe. This area was named after Moses Montifiore and established in 1891. To learn more about this beautiful neighborhood just outside the western Old City walls, check out http://www.jafi.org.il/education/noar/SITES/yeminmosh.htm .

Later that night we ate a delicious meal at a restaurant off of Rivlin Street near the city center and then met some friends out at a bar that serves Guinness on tap. The pints tasted very good (tayim meh-od). Oh, and the great thing about Israeli pubs is that they serve you the best olives you've ever had.

Walking the Old City

2005-06-27T16:30:00.000+03:00

After the first couple of days wandering through Jerusalem it was time for Shabbat and rest. We went to an orthodox shul in the Emek Refa'im neighborhood called, Shira Hadesha. We will definitely go back and be part of the spirited community. On Saturday we decided to walk through the Old City. It hasn't changed a bit since we were last there. The open market was still crowded and the views were awesome. After climbing up stairs to reach a roof top we took a picture of the old meeting the new. Seeing the Dome of the Rock through satellite dishes was an interesting sight.

Since it was Shabbat, the Jewish quarter was extremely quiet, which actually made the transition from the busy other sections peaceful and refreshing. We took the picture that almost every Old City tourist takes because it really is a great view of the Kotel (Western Wall) and the Dome of the Rock. As we were exiting the Old City we saw a store that had Nicole's name on it.
If Nicole doesn't find a job soon, maybe she can stand in front of the sign and greet people.

After a long rest in the afternoon we were ready to hit the town like all Israelis do after Havdallah, which marks the end of Shabbat. Before we ventured out we took some pictures of the beautiful Jerusalem sunset.

For dinner, we gave in to our need to find a Japanese restaurant and went to Sakura off of Rivlin St which is host to many bars and cafes. We felt at home drinking Nigori Sake and eating wakame salad. Yumm!

Leaving USA and arriving in Israel

2005-06-26T21:43:00.000+03:00

A few days ago Nikky and I left New York City and boarded El Al en route to Israel. Spending time in New York was great and being with our friends and siblings was a terrific way to say so long to our home. Rachel and Jason had a bunch of our friends over on Wednesday night for cocktails and dinner on their roof. We all observed one of the most spectacular sunsets in New York.

After a long and cramped flight where neither of us slept more than 30 minuets and watched two aweful movies, we landed at the new and improved Ben Gurion airport. We landed in the morning and finally arrived in Jerusalem a few hours later. Even though we were exhausted, we felt we had to explore the city a little.

We walked up to Mahane Yehuda, the open air shuk (market) and immediately became immersed in the everyday Israel/Arab community. Nikky was checking out all the vendors to see where we could get the freshest and cheapest produce. Unfortunately none of it is organic. I like the spice guys. The zatars smelled sooo good. I can't wait to get some.

After the market, we walked to HUC and saw where will be going to school. It is a pretty campus, across the way from the King David Hotel and the walls of the Old City. The school is really in the heart of Jerusalem.