Last days in Israel

My year abroad has come to a close with my last month in Israel.  It has been a great year of relaxing and spending time with my family. There were good times and times of adjustments but all well worth it.  So for this last month I decided to do all my favvorite things from my time here so far.

I went to may favorite places to eat such as: Hashdera, a cheap variety of good foods in a trendy restaurant. I had malawah (flakey pankake) in Old Jaffa and a tasty chocolate croissant at the french patisiere. I had some freshly squeezed orange juice + smoothies, and couldn’t forget my favorite yogo!  I had ice cafes at both cafe cafe and my other favorite aroma cafe. There’s a lot of foods and hot spots I’m sure I’ll miss.

I ventured around tel aviv and checked out the artisan market at Nehalat Binyamin & the carmel market for a real israeli experience. I shopped along sheinken & took photos of beautiful bauhaus on Rothschild. I enjoyed bike riding throughout Tel Aviv, it was really relaxing.  I also saw this amazing fower carpet in the square. I was able to visit the Ashkelon Marina & swim in this country club. But of course my time wouldn’t be complete unless I visited Tel Baruch beach again for some swimming and relaxation. I also went surfing again and can see some progress.  I also enjoyed many walks along the beach and the wonderful Tel Aviv port. I even managed to see some random guys turn their car stero up and dance disco outside along the boardwalk Priceless,  I’ll be missing all these random happenings and the open, friendly culture.

Later I visited Jerusalem on the high holidays again (Yom Kippur). I was able to meet up with several friends before my departure as well.  I also enjoyed apples and honey to celebrate the Jewish New Year of Rosh HaShannah.  I went to sublet, and Galina again and even got a membership I’m sure I’ll be missing all the lounge bars and clubs in Tel Aviv and the European vibe.

So ends my wonderful time in Israel and abroad. This year I’ve seen 6 countries: Fordan, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and of course Israel. It was a fabulous time abroad, well worth the experience.  So begins my new year in Vancouver yet again.

Tel Aviv bauhaus

Sublet

my mom in Ramat Gan

middle eastern coffee shop

flower carpet

surfing in TLV

TLV beach with Fran

my last day in Israel w/ eitan

Greece

      I’ve always wanted to visit Greece ever since I was little.  So I was really excited when the opportunity came to go with my sister Francesca for 4 days in Crete.  Crete was amazing!!! I am so glad I was able to go visit.  I was expecting it to be very hot at the end of August, yet it was surprisingly cooler then Israel.
      In the short time I was able to experience so much in Crete.  I went to the famous old palace at Knossos and the beautiful port of Heraklio. 
      We took a boat trip out to Sissi and swam out in the crystal clear water.  It was gorgeous. We even both managed to drive the boat, which was sooo much fun.  There were about 50 people on board, but it could hold 140 people.  I guess I should add that to my resume lol  
       We then took a bus to Chania which is this beautiful port city with a mix of Venetian & Turkish culture. I loved it, it reminded me quite of bit of Venezia. The buildings were prettier and had a much more detail then the rest of Greece.  There were a lot of tourists and then quite a few locals too.  This was my favorite city in Crete.  After we went to Rethymnon another port city with Turkish influence.  It looked similar to the other ports.  I enjoyed it but not as much as Chania.  It might have been because we were on the bus for a while and almost walked our feet off.  After a few hours of exploring the city we went back to Heraklio and then to Hersonissous.  We made it 10min before the dinner closed at our hotel.  They were really nice as they made us a couple plates. They brought us rice, lamb chops, meat balls, creatian pies.  It was sooo good and tasty, better then the normal dinner buffets.
      On our final day we rented a quad and drove around.  It was sooo much fun!  We drove to Malia this beautiful clear beach with sand.  We loved it, as most of the beaches were rocky.  After we went to Star beach!!!  It is this wonderful free resort beach.  It had this gorgeous pool, a live dj and many lawn chairs.  There was a water park over to the side for really cheap. Then there was a bunjee jumping place. At the beach side there were several water sports including parasailing.  Star beach, besides the cool name was so much fun. It was too bad we found this beach to late and had to take our flight back to Tel Aviv that night.  It was definetely a worthwhile experience.  So much fun!!  I recommend Crete!  Also now I’ve visited Greece.. too bad it’s not the Acropolis but I had so much fun that it doens’t matter

Travels with friends

     Traveling is great as you can see the world. You can experience different cultures and ways of life.  It has been such a privilege to be able to travel to Israel this past year and spend time with family.  While traveling you often start to miss things about your home.  For instance your friends.  It was wonderful that Nancy was able to visit for 2 weeks in July!  We had so much fun traveling around the north & south and hanging out.  Many grand adventures.
     Mid August we had a long time family friend come visit with his new wife.  I can’t believe how much he’s grown in 10 years. We managed to see the Caesarea & the port during this time. Such beautiful places.
     I went to my second Israeli wedding.  A family friend who I haven’t seen in 5 years was finally getting married.  It was a beautiful wedding on the hills of Jerusalem. Such a beautiful day.  We even ate at the wedding table. lol  It felt very strange but it wasn’t so bad.  I saw people there from 5 years ago, but I realize I didn’t remember barely anyone… well besides the groom
    Sam & Travis finally came to Israel on their exodus trip with pilgrim tours.  They had such a wonderful time and I ended up meeting up with them the first night they arrived in Israel. We spent the evening together and we had a  wonderful meal in Jerusalem and a mini tour. A couple days later I managed to go with them on their tour to
see Bethlehem. 
   I’ve wanted to go for so long, yet it’s officially in the west bank so you can really only go with a Palestinian taxi or a tour bus.  This was great as it was a biblical tour and I could spend more time with Sam & Travis. I didn’t particularly love Bethlehem with the church of Nativity. It had a heavy incense smell which made me choke.  Then there was just this feeling of nothingness in a way.  I’m glad I was able to go to the birthplace of Yeshua after all. Yet I don’t feel that this is either the place or the presence of God isn’t there. There is instead a heavy feeling of oppression in Bethlehem.  Apparently the city used to be 90% Christian and now it’s more like 40% and dropping as they are being driven out by the Arabs. We did however get a wonderful treat while in Bethlehem. We were welcomed into the first baptist church by the pastor. He gave us his testimony and shared with us what God  was doing there. I was really happy as you could feel such a difference there. They were sharing the good news no matter the cost. The pastor was shot 3 times in the arm and the church has been bombed several times yet it is still standing. Apparently this church is also build just over the hill of Boaz and Ruth. God is doing amazing things there, and that was definitely my highlight of Bethlehem.
      This past thursdaywas Sam & Travis last day in Israel. They had the full day off so I was able to show them around Tel Aviv. We went to Jaffa, where Jonah & Peter were commissioned. Then we went to hear from some local believers and their ministry here. Then we had our main highlight swimming and relaxing at the beach. They just loved it! We even had a great meal later at the port. It was wonderful to be able to see both of them for more then just one day. Plus this means they are my 2nd & 3rd visitors to Israel!  I love it! It’s just wonderful to be half way across the world and catching up with friends.

Funny wedding videos

   A friend of mine sent me this link to a hilarious wedding entrance dance.  It is so hilarious that I couldn’t not share.  I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8DCt3Lmi28

The wedding dancers were so popular that they hosted them at the today show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLvXpxJ0-m4

Gardening update

     I’ve really been enjoying the little gardening that I’ve done so far.  Every second day or so I go out and water the plants and see what changes have come.  My Zinnia’s have grown, but then I left for a week and since they didn’t get water they are now dead.  ooops 
    Then there’s my artichokes, which were doing well and then I separated them and they almost all died.  Now I can see there are 3 left looking really healthy.  My tomatoes have taken off a lot.  I’ve already eaten at least 2 dozen cherry tomatoes.  They were soooo good and tasted organic lol  It’s funny though the ones I care less for seem to do better.  Well it’s also due to the pot being deeper. 
     Eitherway here’s some updated photos of my proud garden

Zinnia

Zinnia

Geranium

artichokes

peppers

tomatoe

tomatoes

Around Israel

   Touring Israel is a full time job.  There’s so much to see and so little time.  lol well I’ve actually had plenty of time, which is why I know the hot spots now. 

    After touring Northern Israel we had some downtime for shabbat and went to the Carmel market, enjoyed some fun shabbat shopping (lol), Nehalot Binyamin, Neve Tsedik and we were off to the Tel Aviv beach.  I always love going to the beach.  In the evening we went to the Clara this beautiful beach club which is wonderful.  It’s funny how here in Israel you can just walk to the front if you are an English speaking girl and expect to be let in.  I will miss that & the part that people who go out are actually my age.. 21-35.

    The next day was really hectic seeing the Qumran caves, hiking Ein Gedi, stopping in Masada, and then floating in the dead sea.  It was well worth it though.  Lots of fun.

    We took off to Eilat for 3 days to relax on the beach and swim in the Red Sea.  We had a nice hotel with a great pool, and were the only real foreigners there.  We swam & sun bathed every day and saw the open markets at night.  We managed to swim at coral beach one of the days, my favorite place to relax and see  big, beautiful fish.  The corals have so much life in them and we were surrounded by fishes snorkeling away.  It was a great time, my favorite vacation spot in Israel!  

   We went to the old city of Jerusalem another day and met up with a friend of mine.  We had a good time seeing the main sites, and shopping in the shook.  We has chocolate milkshakes and a chocolate waffle later which was great but too much chocolate.

   The Soreq caves are close to Jerusalem.  It is an underground beauty which shows the stalactites & stalagmites formed about 5 million years ago from the water seeping in the ground.  It’s a large beautiful site to see,  I recommend it.  Of course we later ended up at the beach, what else would you rather do in Tel Aviv!!

    So conclude my adventures with Nancy in Israel.  Lot’s of sites, adventures and many good times beheld.

Touring Northern Israel

   As many of you know Nancy, my friend from Vancouver  came to stay with me for 2 weeks.  For 2 weeks: June 28- July 12 we saw so much .  And yes I know this is a bit delayed.
    My mom, nephew, Nancy & I took a trip to Northern Israel for 3 days.  We started off in Caesarea, an ancient port city build by Herod which is one of my favorite places to visit.  It’s has a beautiful view and a wonderful aqueduct where u can swim close by. 
We then traveled to see Megiddo or better known as Armageddon.  This place has had many decisive battles in the past and has been constantly destroyed.  Revelations tells us this is where the Messiah will defeat Satan in the final battle.  Har Megiddo overlooks the Jazreel valley where one day this event will occur.
After driving through Nazareth we managed to make it to Yehudiya a camp site just past the Kineret.  This campsite is so different from others you’d see in Canada.  There was no grass and barely any trees by the site.  We ended up camping on small rocks and we told there was a small yellow snake around, and jackals possibly at night.  We were a bit scared but after a long day we ate & slept at this campsite along with 3 other people.  At least it was a new experience.

     The next day we visited Capernaum where most of the apostles lived close by. It’s also where Yeshua taught in the synagogue.  We carried on to the Mount of Beatitudes and went further north to Tel Dan.  Tel Dan is in the Golan Heights, close to Lebanon.  It is a fabulous nature reserve with a mixture of landscape & ruins. It’s the ancient city of the tribe of Dan which later turned to pagan worship.
We then went to Nimrod’s fortress, an old castle build on a hill.  This was my first visit and it was indeed quite beautiful and well kept. I especially enjoyed the secret passage & windy passages you could explore. 
For night we stay in a Moshav which was a nice experience to be in such a small community.  We had access to a pool too, which really made it more enjoyable.  Nancy & I even ventured into Tiberias late at night and saw the market.

   We went to Yardenit or the Jordan river, where Yeshua was baptised.  It was nice this time and not as commercialized as the last time I visited.   Finally we saw Beit She’an another significant city as it controlled access from the interior to the coast.  This is a large archaeological site mentioned in Joshua.
We then drove down almost through the West bank, as a short cut, but were kindly stopped and told we weren’t able to proceed unless by a Palestinian taxi.  So we continued back down to Tel Aviv, relaxed a bit and headed out to Migdalor for a Canada vs USA party.  It wasn’t quite what we expected but it was fun.

Italia

Italia is wonderful.  I just loved it!   Yes I’ve been back for a bit now and enjoyed my time in Italy.  After Firenze I traveled with some friends to Lucca which is a nice walled city near Pisa.  That was a fun roadtrip.  They ended up dropping me off to my Zia’s for the 5 days. 

At my Zia’s in Arcole, she was really nice and welcoming.  I really enjoyed my relaxing time there and was surprised how much more we could communicate then last time.  I really must keep up my Italian!  It was a nice change to see the beauty of the Italian countryside.  It was too bad my phone didn’t really get any cell reception where I was staying.  I met up with my mom’s friends from Italy while there who are really nice. 

I met up with the daughter of my mom’s friend and went to Venezia together.  It was great speaking Italian/English and practicing on eachother.  I alway love Venezia, and it was nice going with a local to show me how it’s really done.  We had some nice pasteries, and pizza and enjoyed the time.  I bought some nice glass things and scarfs just like I always like to do.

Then I went to Verona for a daytrip by myself and had a great time as well.  I met this opera singer who would have got me free tickets if I was staying the night which I couldn’t.  It was surprising I could hold a 15min conversation with a stranger in Italian too.  Italians are so friendly!!  I was the 4 main churches in Verona & of course both Romeo & Gulietta’s house.  Many Amarana Granitas & Gelati’s were had.  

It was a wonderful time in Italy too bad it was soo short.

Clinton & I in Lucca

Christian & I in Lucca

Lucca

Zia & I

Arcole

Sara & I in Venezia

Venezia

Verona

Verona

Firenze

Ciao a tutti,

Come stai?  Io sto bene.  Io ho studiato Italiano per due settimana.  Mi piace molto!

Firenze is great!!!  Everyone should come to visit if they have a chance.  I went to the scuola Leonardo da Vinci in the heart of the city by the Duomo.  I have a nice flat I share with 3 other people only 10min away.  I have already compeleted 10 classes 4 hours long in Italian!!  Wow it’s great to be here to learn.  At least now I know some verbs and will hopefully be able to communicate with my Zia for 5 days.

In Firenze I went to see the famous Duomo and walked up to the top.  It has an awesome view!  I also managed to see the Uffizi gallery, Academia (where the famous David is), and the Bargello museum.  I also went to the chiese SanOranMichele, chiesa Santa Croche, the Medici chapels and the San Lorenzo markets.  IThere’s so much to see and do!  They have great gelati + granitas here too!!!  I even managed to see my oldest sis & her husband for a short time. There’s so much to see and do, it’s too bad I’m leaving tomorrow

More updates to follow.

Ciao, Gloria

Duomo

David

Firenze

Viareggio

picnic

Duomo

Siena’s duomo

Siena

Pitti Fashion show

Italy here I come

My long awaited trip to Italy has come.  I just booked my flight today from Israel to Florence and returning from Verona for 2.5 weeks  June 7-25. 

I booked a 2 week course in the scuola leonardo da vinci in Florence.  It will be 4hrs of intensive Italian 9-1pm and then I’ll have my afternoons off to tour.  For these courses as well as a single dorm 10min walk to the city center it’s only 580Euro!!  Amazing deal isn’t it!!  The school looks fantastic and I’m loving their websites. check it out  http://www.scuolaleonardo.com/

I will have a stopover in Rome which I extended for 9hours so I can go in without suitcases and see what I missed 2 years ago.  My sis & husband are also going to be there and so it will be nice to meet up with them.  Rome’s going to be great.  They are also coming to Florence later on when I have some classes so it will be a nice to meet up with them and know people there.  If anyone knows good things to do in Florence or has any tips let me know  

Ciao, Gloria