Israel was intense. Or should I say it still is – hopefully we’ll be able to cross the border tomorrow into Jordan with no problem (I hear it can take a while, they’re extremely strict here). We’ve spent the last 6 days here and have had our fair share of ups and downs. Overall though, it’s been an incredible experience. Let’s get started…
Our $25 Burger King meal - accidentally king-sized
Our first day started at around 3AM. We flew from Rome at 2PM on Monday, had a quick stop in Istanbul (along with the most expensive fast food I’ve ever purchased), and finally landed in Tel Aviv by 1AM Tuesday morning. One thing that happened on both flights – people started clapping when we landed. Have you ever experienced that before?? Kevin and I looked at each other in confusion. Congratulations, pilot, you didn’t kill us! Let’s celebrate with a round of applause! So anyway, after a quick tram ride and an hour long stroll through Tel Aviv (we found Occupy Israel, talkative bums and lots of kitties), we finally found our hotel. Kevin was happy because there was a strip club down the block, I was happy because we finally could sleep in air conditioning.
Breadmaking at the market
After waking up a bit after noon, it was time to hit the beach! Tel Aviv is known for its amazing seaside, so we were excited to check it out. We discovered a few interesting things about these beaches on the Mediterranean. First, lifeguards take their job very seriously. They sit on a Baywatch-like tower and yell in Hebrew all afternoon. Maybe they were yelling at us, and we just couldn’t understand them… Next is Matkot, While walking down the shoreline, we saw at least 50 games going on in one small area which sounded like a giant drum circle.
Matkot on the beach
They look so innocent...
And finally, did you know its jellyfish season? We didn’t either, until we felt our first sting… then our second sting… uh oh. It wasn’t the actual jellyfish that was stinging us, but the tentacles that had broken off and were floating everywhere. I started to freak out a bit, so took a break and watched some impressive matkot games. As I was laying there, I noticed a rash on my stomach. The jellyfish got me in my bellybutton!!! Uffda. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in air conditioning, watching the first English TV we’ve had in a while. Guess what was on… Baywatch.
View from Old Jaffa
Old Jaffa Port
The next day was a whirlwind adventure with Israeli public transit. In our earlier travels, all we had to do was find the train station and viola, the work is done. But I read that Israel has the #2 bus system in the world, and often taking a bus from city to city is much quicker than taking the train, so we thought we’d try it out. First, a shared taxi (basically a minivan full of old Israeli women). Next, a cushy air conditioned bus that traveled directly from the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv to the CBS in Jerusalem. Since there are no maps or timetables for the buses here, we sort of had an idea of what buses we needed to take, but of course nothing is as easy as it seems. Thankfully, every person we asked was more than happy to help us. Along with directions, everyone made sure to welcome us into their country. No one ever welcomed us in France! Let alone help us with directions.
It was a long hike down hill
FINALLY we arrive at Mount of Olives hotel, only a quick hike from the Old City. We get organized and off we go, ready to walk the same path as Jesus… Or Abraham… Or Muhammad. We stumbled upon the Garden of Gethsemane, the grave of the Virgin Mary, and wandered around the Old City for the rest of the night. More on that later. For now, I'm off to enjoy a chocolate hippo and Maccabee beer. Shalom!
We stumbled upon the Garden of Gethsemane - that tree is over 2000 years old!
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