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a fun filled day yesterday left me no time to post before leaving.

my final day in israel was another awesome day. we went to the mediterranean in the morning to hang out on the beach. the water was perfect. it took me about as long to fathom that a large body of water can stay so warm (having lived by a great lake and two oceans) as to get used to the burning in my eyes from the salt water.

then we were off for some israeli hummus. i grew a lot of anticipation for it, and though it was very good, i was a touch disappointed. i guess i'm just fond of less authentic hummus better.
hummus is an interesting case with me though. i don't actually like any of the ingredients in it. i don't like garbanzo beans, or tahini, or even olive oil that much. but i do like hummus. so it's probably fitting that this wasn't my favorite.

we had some much needed naps, i packed, we got some more hummus and felafel, got some free turkish coffee and baklava because for some reason they couldn't give us the check for 20 minutes, hung out with tzuki and katy's friends a bit more, and sped off to the airport.

so here i am in the 'evening' of my first 25-hours-of-sunlight day, enjoying one more day of vacation. the flights were nothing exciting. but the view over north canada was amazing, as well as the view of san francisco - we came south directly over it. kinda wish i had a camera for it...

more photos still to come!

learning to repress the i'm-too-full pain

back from tzur's brother's bbq. the food was exquisite. my stomach has definitely grown this trip. which is perfect because i have to load it with hummus tomorrow.

for a great number of reasons, i'm no longer going to jerusalem tomorrow. i'm too tired to go into the explanation, but the reasoning is sound. instead, it's the beach, hummus, espresso, felafel and more.

here are a couple from the wedding:

at long last, picture time

here are a few photos from saturday - afternoon in Jaffa and later hanging out in Tel Aviv

mazal tov!!

wedding day! awesome, awesome, awesome. a marvelous, beautiful wedding - everyone had a great time (not counting the bride, groom, or parents, who obviously went through the cornucopia of emotions, but all in all, had a great time as well).
israeli weddings have this wonderful beginning part - the first hour and a half or so - which is this very loungy, laid-back atmosphere. couches, chairs, tables, appetizers, and of course the bar are set up while people arrive, meet the bride/groom/parents, and mingle about talking to everyone.

my jet lag is fading, as our daily schedule gets later and later, and, in usual comedic form, as my departure date grows nearer.

a major line up for tomorrow. on the docket: hummus, the beach, and a bbq at the home of the renowned chef omri nehushtan (tzur's brother).

and a side note about the english speaking over here. just about everyone is a phenomenal english speaker. we were impressed by the germans, and their conversational english ability. but the israelis are twice as good.

oh, and pictures. well, we've made progress. a set of pictures has moved from a camera onto this very computer. however, i know not which directory they're living in. so that's as close as they get to this blog for the time being. tomorrow...

ayom, israel ist das schoen!!

ayom was a helping of the most english i've had so far... made for a nice afternoon/evening. a lazy morning (they all are as i try to get accustomed to the time change still) was followed by a nice afternoon in Jaffa. and, katy - earning the silver star today because her friend - marina - natuerlich, gold star - brought her digital camera as she showed me around jaffa. that's right, camera access. so let me assuage your fears - before long, this blog will have some colors.
und morgen, morgen ist Wedding Day!!!! wish yoav could be here. but tomorrow nonetheless promises to be a marvelous day. the keystone of the trip, really. so morgen werde ich ja haben pictures of the wedding, und mehr!

laila tov

tally's at about 5 new hebrew words

so far been a lot of relaxing, hangin out with the nehushtan clan, comfy couches, and good food. got some new shekels today and saw a bona fide kibutz. word came through that the yoavster won't be joining us here :( yoav was also our last chance at a camera, as we're cameraless at present (tzuki/katy's is broken, and i'm still counting reasons to get one - this trip now counts +3 for that score).
ah, and IDT means european football matches are at a reasonable time in the day. and not being in the us means those matches are televised. thus, we saw an awesome sevilla - barcelona game tonight. 3-0 sevilla!

Made it.

That's a lot of being on a plane. But all for the best! i'm here. made it just fine.
the tel aviv airport has some great fountains. and the customs agents there couldn't care less. made for a pleasantly swift exit.

Been playing some Race so far (card game very similar to the classic Milles Bournes (sp?)). Nimrod and i wiped the floor with tzuki and katy. true champs that we are...

Israel looks a fair amount like SoCal, mainly in the flora. And it's true that everyone's a terrible driver.

BBQ!!

precursor

And I'm off tomorrow... we'll see if this blog amounts to anything...