recent adventures

The week and a half since I left the farm has been alternately peaceful and crazy, in all the right ways. I've spent a lot of time catching up on sleep, eating cereal, and wandering around Haifa (where my Grandpa's friend Susan has been lovely enough to let me stay with her), and I've also spent a lot of time on long-distance buses and touring new places in a frenzied but fun whirlwind. A quick recap:

After departing Goats with the Wind, I took the next few days to decompress and leisurely sightsee in Haifa. This meant reacquainting myself with modern technology and indoor toilets, exploring Merkaz HaCarmel, doing laundry, watching red-carpet recaps the day after the Grammy awards, and taking altogether too many photos of the spectacular view from nearby Yefe Nof street.

 Last Tuesday, Tali came up from Tel Aviv for the afternoon. Reuniting with one of my closest friends since 6th grade at a train station in Israel was a surreal moment. We spent the afternoon hanging out on Massada street, a tiny hipster enclave in the middle of Haifa, eating garlic pita, vegan shawarma, buying used books, walking a lot, catching up on each other's lives, and having coffee and ice cream. 

Later in the week, I took an afternoon trip to Caesarea. Ancient ruins situated on the shores of the glittering Mediterranean made for a fascinating and gorgeous day. 

The next morning, I finally made it to Haifa's crown jewel, the Baha'i Gardens. The gardens are impeccably maintained by Baha'i volunteers, and the view of the city is spectacular. 

Last weekend, I went to Tel Aviv and crashed with Tali. While it was my third time in the city, it was my first time truly having time to explore! We packed as much into my two days there as possible, from watching the sun rise over the city to eating humus from Abu Hassan in Yafo to hitting the beach to having a Shabbat dinner party with her friends to wandering Carmel market, and much more. Needless to say, it was a blast. 

Just two days later, on Monday, I headed off on a semi-spontaneous solo expedition to the south of Israel. The 6-hour bus ride from Haifa to Eilat felt like nothing compared to the good old days of overnight semi-cama bus trips in Argentina! After checking into my hostel, I walked across town to the seaside and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the boardwalk, shops, city museum, and beach. The landscape of Eilat is naturally beautiful, but I found the city itself to be a strange, tacky place. Fun for a day or two, for sure, but it definitely felt like a watered-down, cheesier Miami. 

In any case, Eilat was merely a jumping-off point for me to get to my real destination: Petra! My adventures in Jordan were incredible... but that'll be another post. 

Until next time,

xo

m