After three successful nights of celebrating the event known as Purim, I am wiped. For our final night we got dressed up again and went to the Florentin area. After visiting a house party we headed out on to the street to mingle with the thousands of people enjoying the once 'cancelled' Florentin street party. Tons of people + music and dancing in the street = awesome.
After exploring a few streets in the area we joined the dozens of people who were wandering around trying to figure out how to get to this after party that someone we know had organized. We eventually found the spot and the search was definitely worth it! We danced for hours and I was shocked when I realized that it was suddenly 5 in the morning.
Its a good thing today is going to be a lazy day because it is currently miserable out. Not like Canada cold miserable, but crazy blowing wind and rain miserable. Its quite the storam acutally. So much for getting groceries today... Happy Purim!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Purim and lots of rain
Last night we put on makeshift costumes, covered ourselves in glitter and make-up and headed out a party at a place called The Block Club. There was a Daft Punk tribute party and (after braving the rain - a lot of rain) we had a ourselves a pretty good time. My new obsession - picture/video - will show how much fun we had and how goofy we looked.
This morning Tam and I had a delicious Arabic brunch with a few members of her family. We then were treated to a tour of old Jaffa. This area, which is just south of where we live in Tel Aviv, is full of history and awesome architecture. The area we visited centers around a monsatery on the sea and has cobble stone walkways and lots of narrow alleys to explore. Jaffa is only about a 20 minute walk down the boardwalk from our place so we'll definitely be heading back there.
This morning Tam and I had a delicious Arabic brunch with a few members of her family. We then were treated to a tour of old Jaffa. This area, which is just south of where we live in Tel Aviv, is full of history and awesome architecture. The area we visited centers around a monsatery on the sea and has cobble stone walkways and lots of narrow alleys to explore. Jaffa is only about a 20 minute walk down the boardwalk from our place so we'll definitely be heading back there.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tid Bits
I got a few more pictures from Tam of Egypt so I made another quick movie of the ones I liked the best - theres some new ones from Cairo, Sinai, and our falucca and scuba adventures. Instead of uploading it to youtube like last time I tried just using blogger to do it, but I feel like theres a quality difference. Notice anything?
We've now been in Tel Aviv for over a week and I am really liking it here. I've said it before, and Ill say it again, we live in a great area. Last night the TAU exchange students met up at our apt for a little get-together before we headed out to a bar in the neighborhood. Its so nice to be able to walk everywhere (even though last night we got a does of the Israeli rain that Tam's Granny warned us about!). I have no idea what the name of the bar we went to is, but we had a great time and danced up a storm. We discovered we're not such big fans of Israeli dance music, but fortunately they played some good 90's beats.
This morning we slept late and then wandered around trying to find a place to go for brunch (for those who dont know, Israel's Fridays are like Canadian Saturdays). After a lot of line-ups and busy cafes we finally decided on Max Brenner's - excellent decision. Apparently they have this place in NYC as well, but the Tel Aviv location is the first one and wow good food. So I think this guy stared out as a chocolate maker and expanded into a restaurant. The food
was delicious and we got waaaay too much. Its not often that I dont clear my plate, but I was definitely not able to here. Heres a picture of the vegetable omelette with all the crazy sides they give you. Theres some cheese-type dip, tuna salad, vegetable salad, yogurt and granola, bread and of course some chocolate spread. Its all served with orange juice and your choice of a variety of coffees of hot chocolates. Delish - and I am still full nearly 6 hours later.
This weekend is purim - which is essentially the Jewish version of Halloween - except with a lot more meaning . I am not clear on the story (I think its a story of the Jews being saved from being exterminated by this evil guy Haman), but I get to dress up, eat hamantashen and make loud noises with these fun gragger noise maker things when someone says this bad guys' (Haman) name. Sounds like a sweet holiday to me. I must comment though that the girls here dress exactly like the ones at home on Halloween - aka skanky. Hey look - theres a slutty cop, a slutty bumblebee and a slutty nurse. sigh. My costume has yet to be determined, but I think its going to involve wings and some glitter. Saweet. Pics to come.
For the purim festivities, we were supposed to be going to big street party in the south part of the city tomorrow night, but its apparently been cancelled because of the weather. Instead, we might head to the port area to check out some of the goings on there. I am sure it will be a good time either way.
We've now been in Tel Aviv for over a week and I am really liking it here. I've said it before, and Ill say it again, we live in a great area. Last night the TAU exchange students met up at our apt for a little get-together before we headed out to a bar in the neighborhood. Its so nice to be able to walk everywhere (even though last night we got a does of the Israeli rain that Tam's Granny warned us about!). I have no idea what the name of the bar we went to is, but we had a great time and danced up a storm. We discovered we're not such big fans of Israeli dance music, but fortunately they played some good 90's beats.
This morning we slept late and then wandered around trying to find a place to go for brunch (for those who dont know, Israel's Fridays are like Canadian Saturdays). After a lot of line-ups and busy cafes we finally decided on Max Brenner's - excellent decision. Apparently they have this place in NYC as well, but the Tel Aviv location is the first one and wow good food. So I think this guy stared out as a chocolate maker and expanded into a restaurant. The food
was delicious and we got waaaay too much. Its not often that I dont clear my plate, but I was definitely not able to here. Heres a picture of the vegetable omelette with all the crazy sides they give you. Theres some cheese-type dip, tuna salad, vegetable salad, yogurt and granola, bread and of course some chocolate spread. Its all served with orange juice and your choice of a variety of coffees of hot chocolates. Delish - and I am still full nearly 6 hours later.This weekend is purim - which is essentially the Jewish version of Halloween - except with a lot more meaning . I am not clear on the story (I think its a story of the Jews being saved from being exterminated by this evil guy Haman), but I get to dress up, eat hamantashen and make loud noises with these fun gragger noise maker things when someone says this bad guys' (Haman) name. Sounds like a sweet holiday to me. I must comment though that the girls here dress exactly like the ones at home on Halloween - aka skanky. Hey look - theres a slutty cop, a slutty bumblebee and a slutty nurse. sigh. My costume has yet to be determined, but I think its going to involve wings and some glitter. Saweet. Pics to come.
For the purim festivities, we were supposed to be going to big street party in the south part of the city tomorrow night, but its apparently been cancelled because of the weather. Instead, we might head to the port area to check out some of the goings on there. I am sure it will be a good time either way.
Monday, February 22, 2010
First few days in Tel Aviv
Friday was great becuase we were able to sleep in then head to Carmel Market to get some fresh fruits and vegetables (and the requisite baraka...Im going to get so fat) and check out the arts and crafts market that they have every Tuesday and Friday one street over. Im sure we'll be heading to both of these places many many times. After lunch we made our way to the beach for the first time. Its crazy that we've been here for a few days and live literally two blocks from the beach but had yet to make it down there.
The rest of our weekend was spent with Tams family. I am super fortunate to be here with Tam who has so many kind and generous relatives in and around the city. Friday night we taxi'd up to Herzliya for friday night dinner at her cousin's house. Dinner was great and we stayed over night so we could join them on a picnic to the Carmel mountains the next day. We lucked out yet again with the weather and had an absolutely great day. The mountains are beautiful - with mountain range on one side and a view of the sea on the other. Israel definitely has some pretty impressive and varied landscape for such a small country.
Yesterday we had our first classes. Not too much to comment on them just yet as these were the intro classes, but I htink they will be interesting enough. I will say that they are almost all 1.5 hours in length - which I have determined to be the optimal amount of time for a law class to be (take note Ottawa U) - so no complaints there. Going to two more classes today. I guess I will mention that we have about a 40 minute bus ride to get to class. Not terrible, and likely worth it since living near campus would not be as interesting or convenient for most things as where we live now (although quieter for sure...).
Current temperature: 18°C (brrrrr)
ps. the spell check on this thing doesnt work...and I am too lazy to re-read my posts :)
Friday, February 19, 2010
Egypt Pictures
I decided to take a crack at using this muvee software I have on my laptop to make a video of our pictures from Egypt...hopefully it works! Let me know if its doesnt.
Egypt Roundup
I had a really good time in Egypt but wanted to list some of the pros and cons of the country - at least from my perspective.
Likes:
Food - We got fat in Egypt. There are so many good breads and pastries and fried delicious falafel. On our last day in Dahab we gorged ourselves on amazing crepe-like pancakes smeared in nutella and covered in fruit. Amazing. One of our best meals was likely at the Nubian restaurant in Aswan. The flavors of the food were great - no doubt thanks to those famous Nubian spices. Tam would likely say her favorite thing to eat in Egypt was a loaf of fresh bread she bought from a random bakery in Cairo - shes still raving about it. My favorite is definitely the new teas we've discovered. The two big ones are Nubian hibicus tea (which is delicious hot or cold) and mint tea. Tam also bought a Bedouin tea thats supposed to be good for your stomach.
Weather - Aside from a couple cold days in Cairo, we were super spoiled with the weather. Very dry, hot and sunny.
History - We were pretty templed out by the end of our travels, but theres no denying that the sites and stories from Egypt's past are worth the trip. I think I liked the temples in Luxor the best (Karnak especially) and also the pyramids outside Cairo. We would also recommend guides. The places we went to where we didnt have someone explaining all the incredibly detailed artwork on the walls and things about the structure itself (like who built it, for who and when), we found that we got a lot less out of it.
Mt. Sinai - Despite the donkey taxi drivers that work in St. Katherines, I definitely recommend the hike up Mt. Sinai to see the sunrise. There were tons of people, you can stop at one of the many coffee shacks they've built on the mountain along the way if you get chilly, and the energy and anticipation that is felt at the top of the mountain is pretty cool. If youre going to go, hike up the camel trail and then come down the other side of the mountain using the steps.
Dahab - I really liked Dahab and the red sea. The colour of the water is like what youd expect to see off of a caribean island - the light blue aquamarine colour flanked by dark blue. Really pretty. I also liked the atmosphere in the city. Its so different from the rest of the country,at times, you almost forgot you were in Egypt. We also had some reallly nice food here and met some nice people.
Dislikes:
Poverty - At least 90% of Egypt is poor. Ive never been somewhere with this much poverty, and its very disconcerting. The country is filthy and because of it people dont seem to care if they throw garbage on the ground. The cleanest place we saw was the main street in Luxor - but this is probably also one of the most touristy places in Egypt. We were at one bus station and we saw a guy standing 2 feet from a garbage can and he still dropped a big wad of trash right onto the ground. Frustrating. Our guide explained it by saying that its hard to get people to change their old ways.
Money Issues - Everything to do with money is super annoying in Egypt. First, tipping. I dont mean at restaurants and whatnot (although people need to be carefull because often the service charge is included on the bill), but rather for guides and drivers etc. We are happy to tip when its earned, but in Egypt its expected and they remind you about that allll the time. Even the jerkoff of a taxi driver who drove us from St. Katherines to Dahab cheerfullyreminded us to tip him. No dice pal.
Second, in our first couple of days in Cairo our guide always said that in Egypt you get what you pay for. What he neglected to mention was that you have to pay for everything. Need to pee? One pound (and dont forget to tip the person who is ripping off two squares of toilet paper for you...if there is toilet paper that is). Taking a bus ride? Buy your ticket (OK) but dont forget to bring change because if you want to bring your bags with you that will cost extra when you go to board.
Finally, bank machines. Argh. If youre planning to go to Egypt either bring travellers checks, exchange enough cash before you leave or map out every HSBC bank in the cities in Egypt where youre planning to travel because they are the only ones that will work with your Canadian debit card.
Hassling - We figured that while traveling in Egypt we'd run into some issues as women - and this was definitely true. I didnt ever feel unsafe, but after being followed and photographed and videotaped and feeling like I needed to wear even baggier clothes and even groped in one instance, I got pretty bothered.
Littlest Hobo Hell - Anyone who knows me knows that I love animals and generally need to say hi to every one I see. Some people also know that stray dogs and sad looking animals upset me. This is a big problem in Egypt because there are stray dogs and cats, sad looking camels and donkeys, and goats with deformities and broken limbs all over the place. I realize that the people are not very well off, but it doesnt stop it from bothering me.
Im sure theres more...but these were the highs and lows I can think of right now. More to come on Tel Aviv soon...
Current location: Tel Aviv
Temperature: 24°C
Likes:
Food - We got fat in Egypt. There are so many good breads and pastries and fried delicious falafel. On our last day in Dahab we gorged ourselves on amazing crepe-like pancakes smeared in nutella and covered in fruit. Amazing. One of our best meals was likely at the Nubian restaurant in Aswan. The flavors of the food were great - no doubt thanks to those famous Nubian spices. Tam would likely say her favorite thing to eat in Egypt was a loaf of fresh bread she bought from a random bakery in Cairo - shes still raving about it. My favorite is definitely the new teas we've discovered. The two big ones are Nubian hibicus tea (which is delicious hot or cold) and mint tea. Tam also bought a Bedouin tea thats supposed to be good for your stomach.
Weather - Aside from a couple cold days in Cairo, we were super spoiled with the weather. Very dry, hot and sunny.
History - We were pretty templed out by the end of our travels, but theres no denying that the sites and stories from Egypt's past are worth the trip. I think I liked the temples in Luxor the best (Karnak especially) and also the pyramids outside Cairo. We would also recommend guides. The places we went to where we didnt have someone explaining all the incredibly detailed artwork on the walls and things about the structure itself (like who built it, for who and when), we found that we got a lot less out of it.
Mt. Sinai - Despite the donkey taxi drivers that work in St. Katherines, I definitely recommend the hike up Mt. Sinai to see the sunrise. There were tons of people, you can stop at one of the many coffee shacks they've built on the mountain along the way if you get chilly, and the energy and anticipation that is felt at the top of the mountain is pretty cool. If youre going to go, hike up the camel trail and then come down the other side of the mountain using the steps.
Dahab - I really liked Dahab and the red sea. The colour of the water is like what youd expect to see off of a caribean island - the light blue aquamarine colour flanked by dark blue. Really pretty. I also liked the atmosphere in the city. Its so different from the rest of the country,at times, you almost forgot you were in Egypt. We also had some reallly nice food here and met some nice people.
Dislikes:
Poverty - At least 90% of Egypt is poor. Ive never been somewhere with this much poverty, and its very disconcerting. The country is filthy and because of it people dont seem to care if they throw garbage on the ground. The cleanest place we saw was the main street in Luxor - but this is probably also one of the most touristy places in Egypt. We were at one bus station and we saw a guy standing 2 feet from a garbage can and he still dropped a big wad of trash right onto the ground. Frustrating. Our guide explained it by saying that its hard to get people to change their old ways.
Money Issues - Everything to do with money is super annoying in Egypt. First, tipping. I dont mean at restaurants and whatnot (although people need to be carefull because often the service charge is included on the bill), but rather for guides and drivers etc. We are happy to tip when its earned, but in Egypt its expected and they remind you about that allll the time. Even the jerkoff of a taxi driver who drove us from St. Katherines to Dahab cheerfullyreminded us to tip him. No dice pal.
Second, in our first couple of days in Cairo our guide always said that in Egypt you get what you pay for. What he neglected to mention was that you have to pay for everything. Need to pee? One pound (and dont forget to tip the person who is ripping off two squares of toilet paper for you...if there is toilet paper that is). Taking a bus ride? Buy your ticket (OK) but dont forget to bring change because if you want to bring your bags with you that will cost extra when you go to board.
Finally, bank machines. Argh. If youre planning to go to Egypt either bring travellers checks, exchange enough cash before you leave or map out every HSBC bank in the cities in Egypt where youre planning to travel because they are the only ones that will work with your Canadian debit card.
Hassling - We figured that while traveling in Egypt we'd run into some issues as women - and this was definitely true. I didnt ever feel unsafe, but after being followed and photographed and videotaped and feeling like I needed to wear even baggier clothes and even groped in one instance, I got pretty bothered.
Littlest Hobo Hell - Anyone who knows me knows that I love animals and generally need to say hi to every one I see. Some people also know that stray dogs and sad looking animals upset me. This is a big problem in Egypt because there are stray dogs and cats, sad looking camels and donkeys, and goats with deformities and broken limbs all over the place. I realize that the people are not very well off, but it doesnt stop it from bothering me.
Im sure theres more...but these were the highs and lows I can think of right now. More to come on Tel Aviv soon...
Current location: Tel Aviv
Temperature: 24°C
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Diving and Sunshine
Sadly, our trip to Egypt is over. Its been a tiring trip (especiall considering how short it was) but I think a good one overall. Tam and I have been discussing our likes and dislikes about Egypt and maybe Ill try posting those tomorrow.
We're currently in an internet cafe at the bus station in Eilat waiting to head back up to Tel Aviv. The last couple of days in Dahab were great though. The weather was absolutely pefect and it was totally relaxing. We both went diving - which I can only describe as amazing. I definitely belong in the water. We barely had to go 10 meters from the shore in Dahab's main bay and we found ourselves swimming along a beautiful coral reef covered crazy in colours and beautiful fish. We did two dives - one to learn the basic skills and one where we actually got to go deeper and see what it was really like to scuba dive. Unfortunatley, because of my head cold, I was only able to make it down to around 9 meters ( I think Tam made it to 12) but I was still able to see everything I wanted. I will definitely be going diving again.
Our next day and both evenings in Dahab were spent eating and lounging - either by the pool at our really nice hotel or on cushions smoking sheehsa right beside the ocean. Sound nice? It was. We're defiintely heading back to Tel Aviv with more colour in our cheeks (and some mosquito bites!).
So now we head back to Tel Aviv where we meet our new roommate and have orientation tomorrow morning. We're excited to get back and meet new people and explore the city (hopefully we'll feel better about the noisy apt after a couple of days of getting used to it). We'll definitely be happy not to have to take anymore long bus trips.
Next post from Tel Aviv... (where apparently its equally hot an sunny...yesssssss).
We're currently in an internet cafe at the bus station in Eilat waiting to head back up to Tel Aviv. The last couple of days in Dahab were great though. The weather was absolutely pefect and it was totally relaxing. We both went diving - which I can only describe as amazing. I definitely belong in the water. We barely had to go 10 meters from the shore in Dahab's main bay and we found ourselves swimming along a beautiful coral reef covered crazy in colours and beautiful fish. We did two dives - one to learn the basic skills and one where we actually got to go deeper and see what it was really like to scuba dive. Unfortunatley, because of my head cold, I was only able to make it down to around 9 meters ( I think Tam made it to 12) but I was still able to see everything I wanted. I will definitely be going diving again.
Our next day and both evenings in Dahab were spent eating and lounging - either by the pool at our really nice hotel or on cushions smoking sheehsa right beside the ocean. Sound nice? It was. We're defiintely heading back to Tel Aviv with more colour in our cheeks (and some mosquito bites!).
So now we head back to Tel Aviv where we meet our new roommate and have orientation tomorrow morning. We're excited to get back and meet new people and explore the city (hopefully we'll feel better about the noisy apt after a couple of days of getting used to it). We'll definitely be happy not to have to take anymore long bus trips.
Next post from Tel Aviv... (where apparently its equally hot an sunny...yesssssss).
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