Crowne Plaza Tel Aviv City Center

... die Ladenstrasse King George hoch und nahmen den Bus an den Strand (Gordonbeach), wo wir dann uns** Nachtbi** tranken, bevor wir wied** Willys Rucksack abholten. Die Rückreise war gar nicht so einfach, da die Busse unauffindbar waren. Eine junge Frau rief sogar ihre Mutt** an, um sie zu fragen. Wir fanden dann einen Bus, d** wenigstens in Richtung Azrieli fuhr. Erst spät am Abend waren wir in Haifa zurück und gönnten uns einen Campari Orange J<br>Mittwoch: Shvitzaria haktana, Dalyat ...

... 1511; &#1489;&#1489;&#1512;&#1510;&#1500;&#14 93;&#1504;&#1492;: &#1489;&#1497;&#1500;&#1493;&#1497; &#1500;&#1497;&#1500;&#1497; &#1489;&#1512;&#1493;&#1489;&#1506; &#1492;&#1490;&#1493;&#1514;&#1497; </li><li>&#1489;&#1497;&#1500 ...

... about these laid-back seaside towns. <br><br>We had dr&#305;ven northward through Ha&#305;fa, Israel's 3rd largest c&#305;ty, beaut&#305;fully s&#305;tuated between Mt Carmel and the sea (more about th&#305;s c&#305;ty later &#305;n the blog), and v&#305;s&#305;ted Rosh Han&#305;kra, close to the Lebanese border and the s&#305;te of seas&#305;de caves and grottos, we visited via cable car. The Med&#305;terranean was very act&#305;ve, the waves were crash&#305 ...

... took a break back at our cool apartment just off the route.<br><br>About 5:00, we headed to the beach, where the parade was to end. At the plaza above the beach, we could see the whole, amazing scene: thousands of people, from the line of hotels, across the sand, and in the water, many of them near the main stage, which was hosting a variety of musicians. There were bars scattered among the crowd, one large Pride paraphernalia vendor ...

... serious harm done, but it brought back my angry feelings about the reprehensible attitude of some Israelis in some situations. It's the kind of thing that would be taken as serious rudeness back home, but is par for the course here. On the other hand, they can be as warm and hospitable as anyone, and more sincere than those of us Americans who say "let's do something sometime." <br><br>Thus ended the pretty full 2/3 of our trip devoted to seeing the country. Now it was time to join ...

... br> <br><br> <br><br> <br><br> <br><br> <br><br> The next day, about half of the group went to Neve Shalom, a community of 54 Arab and Israeli families that live in peace together (gasp!). It is the only community where Jews and Arabs are mixed by choice. It's a controlled community that only allows equal numbers of Arabs and Israelis live there at the same time. From what we were told, it is supposed to be a sort of example that ...

... the dirt into the air.  This morning, after I slept for 12 hours, my cousin, Shachaf, came over when she finished school.  We went to my favorite grocery store, Tiv Tam, had some good Asian food and bought a couple of snacks for my trip to Ghana. Then we took Shachaf home, and my grandparents drove me around Tel Aviv and Yaffo. If you guys get a chance, I think I have some ...

... and name them things like "Bar Code-asaur" and "Chess Board-asaur." Our inability to gain entrance into the jazz club gave me this revelation: In Israel, when the bouncer says "no", he won't budge from that position and the Israelis recognize that immediately. In Mexico, when the bouncer says "no", people try to con their way in by saying all kinds of **** from "it's my friend's birthday" to "my cousin is visiting for two days" to "I know your little brother ...

... pass without checking the details, so I guess this was just standard procedure. A group of 3 women I met there (one of them pregnant) was being checked and asked questions since more than 8 hours. When I left the airport, I managed to somehow loose my jacket, I'll have to try to get it back later. Not that it is cold here (not for me), but sometimes it rains a little bit, winter is also starting here now. To get to Alena's place, I took the train to Tel Aviv Center and ...

A few random notes: GAS: I know we complain about this constantly and think our gas prices are an outrage, however gas in Israel is $7.33 a gallon! Can you believe that? And it's in the Middle East!!! FOOD: Some of you have asked more about the food. Other than the camel story there isn't much of originality to tell you. They have everything, but it's mainly Middle Eastern stuff for the most part: hummus ...