Spain

 After the 4th of July, most of the month was filled with hot days, playing at the beach, finishing up my horrible online organic chemistry class..and then onto two and a half weeks in Europe!

The first stop (after a very long night of traveling with children) was Sevilla, Spain.  This was my first experience in Europe, and Sevilla did not disappoint, and it definitely set the standard for the remainder of the trip.  The city itself is beautiful, and the food and drink were amazing!

It's important to get in touch with the local culture by way of a local brew!

Sally and I having a pool/ice-cream date at the resort

One of the many quaint street of Sevilla

One of the best parts of the trip....ahhhh...a taste of home!!

Sippin' on Sangria with the sister

of course, the beautiful family that has made all of my amazing traveling possible!!

Sevilla was a great first taste of Europe, and I fell in love with the city....certainly a place I would love to return to...4 days was not enough!!

4th of July

As we know from the past month that has gone past since my last post, I am possibly the worst blogger ever...so I'm going to try to get caught up...

The 4th of July in Israel was great! I went with a group of people from Byron's work on a "bike crawl". This entailed biking to several peoples' houses and having food/beverage, while, of course, singing great American songs!

We started out with pancakes and mimosas, then continued onto Bloody Mary's, then an All American shot of mystery booze at a local "American" bar, and then onto a great BBQ of chicken wings and beer on the beach...

Attempting to assemble the crew at the initial meeting point (post mimosas)

The view at Stop 2

The crew after Bloody Mary's (or what we could manage to get together for a picture)

Clearly, a technical portion...we had to stop and regroup

And at last....Old Glory X 2 was waiting for us at the much anticipated beach BBQ

The entire group at the bbq spot on the beach

It was definitely a successful 4th of July, and I am certain that America could hear us celebrating from nearly 6,000 miles away!!

JUNE

So, the weekly update has already gone by the wayside...I am not surprised by this...I am an excellent procrastinator....I can't believe that I have already been here for over a month..the time is flying!!

My first month here was kind of a bummer, the kids were super sick for most of the month, and I have finally contracted some kind of sickness (probably SARS). But I am trying my best not to let it slow me down...

So, since my last post, I got to celebrate PRIDE in Tel Aviv, and it was nothing short of amazing! I have been told that there were 150,000+ people in attendance...and the party after the parade was great...but then again, anything that happens on/near the beach in wonderful!

On the waterfront promenade...Tel Aviv loves the gays!!

The U.S. Embassy celebrating love

And, of course to add to the excitement of pride month, the U.S. is finally recognizing same-sex marriages, as a country! This is super excited, and I can't wait to get my glitter on at some weddings when I get home!!

I have spent a whole lot of time with these cute faces, as Sally was still in school for most of June, but she is finally out!! YAY!! We celebrated the end of school with a trip to one of the local water-parks for the day!

Those blue eyes!!

I have also started driving here...and it is an experience! Basically, anything goes...so, I just imagine that I am in a video game....go fast, try your best to avoid unexpected obstacles, and honk the horn, whenever I feel like it's fun! But this experience right here is like a typical Israeli day...stopping in the middle of the one way street to unload the truck..no big deal

Don't worry, nobody needs to get anywhere...

I have also gone to the beach at least once a week, and I plan on at least doubling that now that summer is really here! Sally and I had a beach date....

Catching a few waves, and avoiding jelly fish!

Pretending to be responsible for a child....

We have also been practicing and learning a lot of new skills this summer!

Skateboarding....he is basically the next Tony Hawk

And the most important summer skill of all..Catching Grapes!!

Perfecting cartwheels in the sunshine at the park!

Standing up!! Even the baby loves this view!!

I simply cannot get enough of these kids, and feel so so lucky to get to spend everyday with them! SO MUCH LOVE!!

Sunday morning snuggles

Tel Aviv always has something going on, and last Thursday night they celebrated their White Night, which is the official kickoff to summer. The stores, restaurants, bars, everything is open super late, and there are live bands and entertainment on just about every corner. I enjoyed the evening in Jaffa, and took in some fantastic people watching, cover bands, and of course, a few adult beverages....

And I have yet to get over the beautiful view, and try to take a few minutes of it in each morning...

Espresso and this, every morning....LOVE

But my favorite time of the day is in the evening, just before the sun sets, and I am typically grilling and enjoying a glass of wine on the balcony...

Up next this month I will be planning a Europe trip...Spain is a definite stop, and now I have to decide where to after...Greece, Croatia, The Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Portugal??...any great suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!!

Shabbat and Jerusalem

I can't believe that I have already been in Israel for a week and a half! The time is flying by already!

On Friday nights, at sundown, or about 7:30, Shabbat begins..this is the Jewish Holy Day...and that means no work until sundown on Saturday...no driving, no cooking, no pushing the elevator buttons; if it seems work like, it's not allowed...I'm really good at this part! unfortunately, we are not Jewish, but we don't work much on the weekends..just fun!

However, we did have our own "Shabbat" dinner on Friday night at my sister's house with a few people from Byron's work...I would love to go to a traditional Shabbat dinner, but I think we did pretty well...delicious grilled meat from the butcher down the street, fresh veggies and salads, kosher desserts, and of course Challah bread--According to Jewish tradition, the three Sabbath meals (Friday night, Saturday lunch, and Saturday late afternoon) and two holiday meals (one at night and lunch the following day) each begin with two complete loaves of bread. This "double loaf" (in Hebrew: lechem mishneh) commemorates the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years after the Exodus from Egypt according to Jewish religious belief. The manna did not fall on Sabbath or holidays; instead, a double portion would fall the day before the holiday or sabbath. Each single loaf is sometimes woven with six strands. Together, both loaves have twelve which may represent each tribe of Israel. Other numbers of strands commonly used are three, five and seven. Occasionally twelve are used, referred to as a "Twelve Tribes" challah. (thank you, wikipedia)

Benji and I breaking Bread

A Shabbat Sunset

 On Sunday we had a lovely day at the beach in Herzliya, where the kids took surf lessons...

I basked in the sun...

Haley took a surf lesson and was a natural! She got up her first time!

While everyone went out to play on Monday, I had to stay home and study for this horribly Organic Chemistry test I am taking...I took the test on Tuesday at Sally's school, in the bomb shelter.

There were also 2 raid siren tests on Tuesday. When the sirens go off, you go to your safe room (if you are home) or to the nearest shelter in the city, or take shelter somewhere away from window, etc. In the event of a real event, you are supposed to stay inside for 10-15 min after the sirens to avoid getting hit by shrapnel from the rockets that were intercepted by the iron dome. It's kind of scary to think about, and an odd feeling to have to practice for incoming rockets/bombs...but I do my best not to think about it, and hope for the best!

After my test we went to the Carmel Market, in Tel Aviv, and it has EVERYTHING...

The Carmel Market

CANDY GALORE!!

Fresh Juice Stand.

A delicious fresh falafel pita

And of course my favorite...local beer!!

This Jew on skates made me giggle

 And just so you don't think all I do is fun things...this is a typical day at our house...the boys roughin' each other up...

 On Wednesday Haley and I took a bus to the Holy Land....Jerusalem!

Jerusalem in the background

I'm fairly certain this is Princess Jasmine's castle?
I actually have no idea the significance of this building, but it is super cool

A cemetery of over 200,000 Jews, on the Mount of Olives,
waiting for the Messiah to come

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was said to be
crucified and his body prepared for burial

The board where Jesus was laid and his body prepared for burial

The Holy Sepulchre was cool to see, but I am sure it has far more significance to people who are more religious than I..it was obviously a very moving, religious and emotional experience for many of the people I saw.

I saw this shirt at the Market in Israel...

 There...now we are caught up...I have spent the last few days babysitting for a family from Byron's company while the kids' parents are in Greece. Tomorrow is another beach day, and I am soooo looking forward to it!...'til next week...cheers!

Israel

I made it to Israel safe and sound!

I flew from Denver to Toronto (which is the fanciest airport I have ever been in)...

I nearly missed my flight to Tel Aviv...I was imbibing one last time on North American soil...

but I made it....

My sister's kids didn't know that I was coming...Benji was less impressed than Sally, and Simon was so excited he took a nap! Simon got huge, and looks nothing like he did the last time I saw him...I picked Sally up from school, and it was quite possibly the best thing I have ever experienced in my life...that was most certainly the most excited 7 year old I have ever seen!

The first day here was very uneventful...but I woke up early the next day and took in a beautiful run along the Mediterranean. I am staying in Jaffa, which is south of Tel Aviv a few miles, and there is a paved path along the sea all the way from Jaffa through Tel Aviv, and it is absolutely beautiful...however, it was 77*F, with about 88% humidity...STICKY!!

Last night I had my first authentic Israeli cuisine...and I gotta say, I think I could get used to this food!The reasutaruant we went to is right next to our condo, and they served what they call "salads" and it is bascially a bunch of different mixes of hummus, fresh veggies, and other deliciousness, served with pita bread...it was a smorgusboard, and then I was told we were supposed to order a "main course"...I was already stuffed, but we ordered some delicious grilled chicken and fish...all of it was delicious!! However, thus far, the Israeli beer has a bit of work to do to impress me, but I am willing to keep trying!

I am still not quite used to the time change, so I was up early this morning, but a view like this makes it totally worth being up at a ridiculous hour:

Thus far, I have found that I have a lot of learning to do about the culture and religions here--I feel completely ignorant. My sister's apartment is in an Arab Christian community, but there is a whole melting pot of cultures and religions here. Several times a day there is a loud speaker with some kind of Arab (or so I've been told) prayer...I have heard it as early as 4:00am, and then about 5 minutes after sundaown, and a few times in between. Also, the work week is Sunday-Thursday, as Friday is the Muslim holy day (I believe) and Saturday is the Jewish holy day.

Tonight my cousin Haley gets here, so I am sure that we will be doing a lot of exploring next week...I will try to update regularly...