Tel Aviv Continues

Day 11: A light day. Following breakfast we ventured back to the Carmel Market (Shuk) for some more fun shopping. Actually, fun for everyone except Monica who like sthe goods but dislikes the crowds and the haggling. We bought more fruits and vegetables and a huge bagful of bread --we only wanted five pita, but when the woman selling the pita didn't have change we ended up with a bit more than we "bargained" for ;~). Following the shuk we did a few hours of school work and a quick lunch, then jumped in the car and headed for Modi'in, where our friends Michal and Ilan live. The plan was to drop Rebeka off for a sleepover with their daughter Ziv. On the way we visited several forests planted by the Jewish National Fund. What foresight, to have created national forests in a country that was formerly just sand and rock. We stopped at some playgrounds and a few historic sites (e.g., burials!) and made our way leisurely to our friends. We went out to dinner with them, Avi played a little Wii, and then minus Rebeka we headed back to Tel Aviv. All in all, a nice but light day.

Day 12: Winery, Petting Zoo, Cow Poop, and Spice Shop. Following a more leisurely morning without Beka, we heading off to Kibbutz Tzora in the Bet Shemesh area. On recommendation from our tour guide, we decided to try out the winery and farm. We started with the petting zoo, which had been created decades ago to teach the kids from the Kibbutz to appreciate animals and how to work with animals. Now the zoo is an attraction for outsiders. It was small and simple, but still fun for Avi and Esti. They both got to hold rabbits and guinna pigs, touch goats, and see other animals. After the zoo, we went to the dairy where the kids got to see the cows milked by machines and Scott and Monica got to hold their breathe because of the cow poop smell. After the cows, we visited the winery and tried a fantastic Cabernet Savignon rose (we know, sounds weird). Anyway, the wine was good enough for us to buy a bottle. After the winery we looked for some lunch and stumbled across a great spice shop. It smelled great! However, instead we ate at a local restaurant and then went to Modi'in to hit a grocery store and play at the park for a few hours. That evening we picked up Rebeka and heading home for some sleep.

Day 13: A Visit to Eli and Back to Bet Shemesh. We awoke to another beautiful morning. A quick breakfast and some schoolwork for the kids, and we were out of the apartment by 9:30. This morning we headed to the shelter run by Eli, the Israel Agency for the Protection of Children. Eli is a non-profit that provides extensive services to Jewish and Arab children alike in Israel. We were introduced to Eli through Bill Slaton and Kent Newton of Sacramento. We met with the Director, Dr. Hanita Zimrin, who shared with us some of the issues that Eli deals with. She runs an amazing operation, managing a $2.2 million budget where 65% of it comes from donations.

Following the tour and a quick lunch we got in the car and headed back to the Bet Shemesh area. Today's destination was the Sorek Cave, an amazing cave full of stalactites and stalagmites discovered in the 1960's. The cave has a walking tour and lots of beautiful illumination showing off the formations. As you will see from the pictures, the view was incredible. Though, the 100% humidity did funny things to everyone's hair. Following the caves we drove by the NASA Challenger Memorial and then went back to the Tavlim Spice Shop. Today we actually shopped, buying some coffee flavored Halvah, some fruit extracts to add to tea, and some spice for rice. Another drive back to Tel Aviv, and a quick dinner using the spices we bought ended this day.

We promise to post pictures of these three days soon.