Mom's Visit!

Wow! It's been so long since I have updated this blog...well, a long time for me, anyway. So much has happened. I'll try to make it short.

At the end of March, my good friends Laura & Jason went on a free Birthright trip and changed their tickets so they could stay a little longer and visit. I have known them my entire life (our parents were friends), so it was so exciting to have them here and to be able to show them around "my" city. Laura's boyfriend, Joe, also flew over after their organized trip and while Jason had to go back to Austin, Laura and Joe spent the next 3 weeks traveling in Greece, Italy and Amsterdam. They came back engaged!!!

During those 3 weeks, Mom was here visiting. There was some overlap in the beginning- talk about a full house! I planned for us to go all over the country. I wanted her to see everything! My friend Meir, who was spending the Passover holiday in Rome with his family, was so generous & lent me his car for the entire time. We weren't tied down by bus schedules & routes. It was amazing. Check out our itinerary and the pictures. Let me know if you have questions!

Day 1: Mom arrived! Dinner at a cafe on Shenkin (my street!) & live music at a neighborhood bar w/ Mike & Marty (friends from the program)
Day 2: Mom met my interim hairdressers. Explored Yaffo (Arab city south of TA, they share a municipality), walked back through TA's oldest neighborhood, Neve Tzedek
Day 3: Shopped for hours at the artist's market near my apt. Laura, Joe & Jason returned from traveling in the south. Mom had her first Israeli falafel & then we all went to celebrate Laura's birthday early at Max Brenner (chocolate restaurant!)
Day 4: Toured TA's beaches, celebrated TA's 100th birthday in Rabin Square with thousands of other people.
Day 5: Visited Independence Hall & drove 6 hours through the desert to Eilat in the south. Stopped at Mizpe Ramon, the largest non-impact crater.
Day 6: Eilat! Met up with Marty (who was already there) & went snorkeling. Mom didn't feel too great later that day, so Marty & I went out to dinner & then his friend's bar that night.
Day 7: We decided to stay an extra night in Eilat & spent the day walking around & exploring the city.
Day 8: Drove back to TA, made a little Passover seder, just me & Mom from whatever we had in the fridge & our memorized version of the Hagadah!
Day 9: Organized tour of Massada and the Dead Sea at the Ein Gedi Spa. We loved the Dead Sea so much, we were late & almost got left behind!
Day 10: We explored the shuk (open air market) near my apt & had Shabbat dinner at the Tami's (one of the English teachers at my school)
Day 11: Beach Day!
Day 12: Jerusalem-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Museum, the shuk, and part of the new city. Drove home. It's only an hour away!
Day 13: Jerusalem- walked the ramparts of the old city walls, visited the Western Wall & walked through the Jewish Quarter of the old city
Day 14: Organized tour of the North Coast of Israel- Caesaria, Haifa, Acco & Rosh Hanikra. I had been on this tour before, but with a new tour guide, it wasn't boring! Had the most amazing non-kosher seafood dinner at a restaurant on the beach in TA.
Day 15: Drove to Tiberias, a city on the Kinneret (freshwater lake) in the north. Explored town, trying to find a public, free "beach". It was harder than you would think for such touristy place.
Day 16: Drove further north to the Golan Heights & attempted to hike. It was cold & we didn't get very far before it started to rain. So instead, we drove to nearby Tzfat & braved the cold & rain there. Turns out it was the place Mom has literally dreamt about for years. It was an incredible day walking through the old cobblestone streets of the old city. We found many of the old, ornate synagogues & the candle factory, both of which the city is known for. We even found a local cheese shop, with cheeses made from goat & sheep milk!
Day 17: The day was nicer, so we drove back to hike around Gilabon Stream. Saw the 32 ft Devorah Waterfall, ruins of the biblical town of Devorah & the 98 ft Gilabon Waterfall. Pretty incredible. Back in TA, went to dinner with some of my girl friends from the program.
Day 18: Beach Day...but it was a bit cold, so we did a beach walk. Ended at the port & visited my old apt & roomies. Drove to Jerusalem to have dinner w/ Meir & return the car.
Day 19: I had to go to class at the university. As far as I know, Mom did some laundry & then spent the rest of the day on the beach. That's where I met her. :)
Day 20: I had to teach, so Mom came with me, saw my set-up, met some of my kids and the other teachers. After, we spent some more time at the shuk & beach. That night, I took her to the airport & had to say good bye. :( Only about 5 more months, though, before I'm back in Austin for good!