Reunion in Israel

One more post before I head off again- in a few hours I will be on a plane to Spain so getting this one in just in time! I have downloaded an app for my phone and will attempt to blog while on the go, but not too sure how well that will actually work. I promise to give it a try AT LEAST once though.

Anyways, after dying in the heat in Greece, it was time to do the same in Israel. So far I have been lucky enough to average visiting Israel approximately every 2 years, but most of these trips have been in winter, and what a difference it makes! The first time I actually went to Israel was in a summer, and I am pretty sure I came home from that trip never wanting to go back again. How things have changed, and I arrived for trip number 5.

Having been before, much of this time was spent catching up with friends and seeing Liron (my brother) again after six months, rather than sightseeing and shopping, and of course who can ignore relaxing on the beach! I spent a few nights in Jerusalem staying at an old friend who moved to Israel years ago, getting my J-town on, before heading to meet Liron in Tel Aviv for the rest of my trip. While I was there for 10 days, it seemed to go so fast and next time would definitely want to stay longer. Being my first time in Israel not with a tour group or on a program I thought I would have so much free time to do what I wanted to do, but the days seemed to rush by so quickly that I need to plan a return some time soon.

A pizza shop named in my honour? And not even in Italy!

Besides seeing my brother again, I got to catch up with some other friends I hadn't seen in a while. When I finished school I was a youth leader (called a madrich- for a boy, or madricha- for a girl) on some of the camps for the grade 9s-11s, and I met up with one of the Israeli leaders (a group of Israeli madrichim are sent each year to help out with the school camps) who I worked with a few years ago for a quick dinner. It was also fantastic to see one of my best friends from school, Nadav, who had the weekend off from the army while I was there and managed to come out to see me and we spent the afternoon and night catching up.

I seem to have plenty photos of my friends, but none of my brother...
Oops?

Best moment of the trip (other than seeing people- hi to those who read this!) was while I was at the Kotel, and saying one of the prayers, I bowed and managed to avoid being pooped on by a bird. Instead, the girl behind me who decided to launch herself over me to touch the Wall ended up getting hit. Hysterical highlight of the day! Perhaps I need to pray more often?

Rockin' Rabbis in the streets of Jerusalem

Off to Spain now, so will try write again soon!