Tel-Aviv Highlights and My Day in the Old City

Highlights from the last few days in Tel-Aviv:

- Shabbat dinner and services at Sarah's apartment. It felt like being back at camp and I felt so at home in the company of these 20 other young Reform Jews despite being thousands of miles from home.
 - Speaking Hebrew! I love it! I have to think a lot before I speak but I'm pretty confident that it'll get easier over time.
- My late night run on the tayelet (boardwalk) on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. I love my alone time, I love running/working out, and it was just such a liberating experience. Really amazing.
- Lunch in Abu-Goush (an Arab village just outside Jerusalem) to celebrate Sarah's one year anniversary of making aliya (also referred to as her aliya-versary :) ).
- Walking up and down the namal (port).  I saw lots of touristy shopping areas, found a yoga studio (yaaay!), and just got to spend more down time with Sarah.

This afternoon I made my way into Jerusalem and met up with another friend of mine from home who's here on vacation with his dad for 2 weeks. We spent the afternoon walking through the Old City, eating falafel, visiting the Kotel (Western Wall), and now we're hanging out at his beautiful apartment in the Old City near the Jaffa Gate. Tomorrow morning I'll wake up early, grab my morning coffee, and head off to meet my group - I'm so excited!  A few pictures from my afternoon are below:

The Western Wall and Dome of the Rock

Mt. Olive/Har Ha-Zeitim

The Men's Side of the Western Wall

Just a cool picture :)

Pretty sunset and silhouette of the walls of the Old City

Bed time for me, I think a big day lies ahead tomorrow :)  However, before I end this blog, I want to share something special that I came across today. Exotic travels and unique international experiences mean nothing to me relative to this  http://netanyamintz.blogspot.com/2010/10/abby-mintz-part-1.html