Tanning in Tel Aviv

The last few days in Rome, saying goodbye to friends one by one was very bittersweet. We enjoyed our last authentic and very filling italian meals and made the most of our last days and nights together at the end of our abroad experience. Rome you shall be missed o so much!

I can really say that I would not have been able to go straight back to the Minnesota from Rome, and I am so happy that I had planned my trip to Tel Aviv at the very end to visit Nicole...her turn to show me around.

I was all packed and after my final meal (brushetta and rigatoni amatriciana) and a visit to see the Trevi Fountain lit up at night and one last coin toss and gelato, I would say it was the perfect way to say goodbye to Rome. My plane was scheduled to leave at 9 AM, so I headed to the train station to get to the airport very early. The flight was easy and I landed in Tel Aviv around 2 pm. The plane to Israel was so strange, I really didn't know how to feel, abroad was over, but not quite..very odd transitional feeling, but nevertheless SO EXCITED to get to Nicole.

I arrived to her dorms via taxi in Ramat Aviv, which is a suburb of Tel Aviv, where she was standing at the gate ready to greet me. It was not quite as movie-reunion-esque as the first reunion between the two of us, but it was still rather grandiose. Did I mention it was boiling outside and I was wearing pants??
Description of where Nicole lives: Nicole, unlike me, during her abroad time, actually went to Tel Aviv University, which is a real campus with numerous students from all over Israel and elsewhere. It is a gorgeous campus, I am telling you so pretty and impressive. She was put up in housing in dorms, where not just abroad students live, but all of the above. There are several towers that house students, thank god she happened to live on the second floor. Her dorm room was big enough, with an area for a "kitchen", I say this in parentheses because her kitchen included and fridge-freezer, sink, table, and hot plate...so not much cooking going on in there. She had one roommate and two suite mates, so two bedrooms and one bathroom with shower. Pretty quaint space, but I felt very very lucky for the apartment I lived in all semester in Rome. This is when I began to miss Rome. Nicole had been very nice and prepared for my stay by purchasing an air mattress, which she blew up with a hair dryer. Nice. I got situated and plopped down my bags. I had warned her before coming, that I would be fully wearing only her wardrobe during my visit, since 1, I had no summer clothes, and 2 I was just sick of my wardrobe. Thanks Nicole!

The first few days Nicole showed me all around Tel Aviv. We went to the beach, walked down Ben Yahuda street, Dizengoff street, shopped, and ate. The life in Tel Aviv runs at a much slower pace than Rome. This trip was much more of a vacation than any other trip I took abroad. I was able to just enjoy myself and enjoy being with Nicole and her friends. We laid on the beach, which is gorgeous. Tel Aviv beaches have the smoothest whitest sand and the water is warm! The beach was packed everyday with tons of Israelis and beach bathers. I got a pretty decent tan for the amount of time I was there, but in comparison to Nicole I was still pale. Nicole took me to some really good places to eat. I had no pasta! But instead ate as many vegetables as I could. Israeli breakfast is a staple, with eggs, israeli salad, tuna and an assortment of bread, and real coffee. We had really good salads and shakshuka, and hummus. The works. It was incredible, all of my favorite foods! I know you must think I am crazy for choosing these types of foods over pasta, but I guess I was just on pasta overload at the moment, and someone honestly would have had to pay me to eat another bowl of carbs. However, I am craving pasta, now that I am home. mmm. The streets of Tel Aviv are lined with the cutest little cafes and restaurants all with outdoor seating. Each is so different, and welcoming, with lounging areas and breezy atmospheres. Tel Aviv also has great shopping! So many places with cute sun dresses, sandals and accessories. We also had our fair share of yogurt, which Nicole and her friends let me know is a must have when in Tel Aviv. Basically it is like frozen yogurt, but tastes like tangy yogurt. You can choose from several toppings from fruit to chocolate to granola to put on your yogurt. It is very refreshing. Nicole and I had such a good time just going to eat, walking around the city and going to the beach and relaxing. Her lifestyle abroad was in fact quite the opposite of mine in Rome. Everything is much more laid back and free, while in Rome I always felt busy and consumed by the culture of the city. I loved the feel in Tel Aviv and hearing everyone speak hebrew, and seeing hebrew everywhere. Another big difference between Nicole and my experience abroad was our living locations in each of our cities. I lived right in Rome and had it very easy and convenient being able to hop on the tram (for "free") to head into Trastevere and get anywhere really by walking. Nicole lived in a suburb of Tel Aviv, so she really got the hang of commuting everywhere, either by cab or sherut (a shared cab, much like a van). She still lived in a great location, but just not as simple and effortless to make an on the whim decision to head into Tel Aviv.

One day, Nicole, Todd, Steve and I took a day trip to Jerusalem. Nicole planned it all out and how to get there. It takes about a 45 minutes to get to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, and we took a cab with a very nice cab driver. We went straight to Wall and the boys and Nicole and I went our separate ways, splitting among the mahitza divider. Nicole and I put our notes in the wall and stood in front l for a good amount of time just to take it all in. It really is amazing seeing all the people at the Wall, the women, children and men (on the other side) all praying. We walked around the old city and then headed to Ben Yehuda street. I remembered everything very well from Birthright, which I can say is impressive for me with my memory. We had really delicious bagels with lox spread for lunch. We then went to the Shuk, which is a huge market in Jerusalem with everything, including rugalah. O my goodness, the best. So warm, gooey, fresh and salivating. Good thing I only had one. The day in Jerusalem was short, but we were able to see alot for the amount of time we were there. There is not much to do in Jerusalem, but being there is in itself enough. The feeling in this city is much different than in Tel Aviv. There really is an unsaid presence of Jewish culture and religion. I would have enjoyed being at the Wall during shabbat, but there just wasn't time. We called the same cab driver that drove us to Jerusalem to take us back, which was kind of funny, but really convenient.

We took another day trip to Haifa, just Nicole, Jess (Nicole's roommate), and I. We hopped on a train, which I was fairly familiar with, but excited to see what Israeli train rails were like. Let's just say it is a joke. Anyone can go on, you barely have to buy a ticket, and random men will just let you through the gate. O, and did I mention the trains are filled with Israeli soldiers? This is where I decided the Israeli train system beats the European train system. Plus it really is much less stressful then the scary run ins you can have with logistics and tickets on Euro trains. But all of Israel is laid back about most everything. Back to the Israeli soldiers. One in particular boarded the train. I could not help staring, and it happened that he ended up sitting down with the three of us. Best part of the day. He was beautiful. Nicole attempted to take a picture, I began to giggle like a little girl, it was bad. He said a few words to us, but no I did not get his name, so I am sad to say there will be no wedding in the future. Done with daydreaming...on to Haifa.
Haifa is a very small city at the very north of Israel. We went straight to the beach and had lunch. The beach there is very odd. There is sand and grass, I did not understand. We sat at a quiet little restaurant near the water and had a relaxing lunch/breakfast, with a very nice waiter. We then went to see the B'hai Gardens which Haifa is known for. They are huge gardens with many levels, it is beyond perfect. So beautiful. After touring through the gardens, we were directed to go to the the cable car, where there was a church, and the cable car would take us back down to the beach. We went into the church, which was small, but still a sight to see and pretty, with stained glass windows and gold detailing. But we learned that the prophet Elijah is supposedly buried there...pretty cool. We then took the "cable car" down. This was similar to a gondola or tram, but instead with three orange ball shaped cars that took the three of us downward to the beach. It was hysterical. See picture for a more vivid image. The day was great, and exactly what we wanted to do. The train ride was not as eventful as the way there, I slept. I was happy to actually tour around Haifa, because on birthright they just have you hop off the bus overlook the B'hai Gardens and get back on the bus. Needless to say, you do not get a very good feel of the city, so on this trip I did.

My time in Tel Aviv was great and exactly what I wanted, to spend time with Nicole and see her life there. In 8 days I really got to see what a day in the life of an Israeli is like. Tel Aviv is so relaxing and just has a carefree essence to it. The beach, cute loungy restaurants, shopping, and hot hot hot weather, what is bad about that? Plus the hebrew adds a lot to it and I enjoyed being able to at least try putting my language skills to use. Nicole showed me a wonderful time and I can definitely see the temptation of wanting to stay longer in Tel Aviv for the summer, as many students who study there feel toward the end. I will most probably be going back at some point in my life.

I left bidding shalom to Nicole, who had less than two weeks left. It was sad, and me leaving made her realize how soon her abroad time was about to be over as well. We had a really nice last dinner and yogurt, and took one last sherut ride back to her dorm before leaving. My flight was at 5:15 am and I was prepared for a full 24 hours of traveling ahead of me.

Tel Aviv, thanks for the great tan to go back to the states with and Nicole, you are actually an Israeli. Perfect way to end my time abroad!

Days are winding down...

So since the last time I wrote...all of a sudden I have 5 days left! 5! I can count that on one hand. Not ok.

Sunday morning I leave very early to depart for Israel, which I cannot wait for! I am more than excited to see Nicole and be back in the holy land. Nicole has been telling me of all the exciting things we will be doing. I get to meet her friends, see what she has been doing for so long and get to have a taste of the completely different experience she has been having. Plus, two friends will be in Israel at the same time, Todd from here in Rome and Steve, my friend from school. It will be zman mitzooyan! (an excellent time)..I guess I will try to speak hebrew while I am there, which will be great. Put that college level hebrew to use, as I have not been speaking very much italian here.

So what have I been doing in Rome these past few days?

The weather here has been so gorgeous and hot and sunny I cannot tell you! The sun has finally come out. But honestly, it may be a little too hot for me, I am not used to it yet. That may be a problem in Israel...

On Friday it was really nice out and I had heard really good things about this park near school, that had turtles! So, Jori, Todd and I went to go check it out. Before hand, Jori and I were ordered to try these sandwiches at this "cheese shop". It was more of a simpler sandwich (I got turkey, pesto, cheese) the bread was amazing, and not so greasy, I thought it was maybe the best sandwich yet. I've raved over others, but I think since this one was less oily and the bread was so hearty, I enjoyed it more.
So the park...Todd had been there once before, so he led us there. Let me tell you it was not an easy walk, but it was very pretty, it took us probably a half an hour. We walked up and up, stairs and a windy hill to an area that overlooks a great portion of the city. It was beautiful. We kept walking and walking, and passed some Academy of Rome that had four pictures of kids in togas with wreathes on their heads...it made me wonder if that was their school uniform? Maybe. Very possbily. But it looked like a very prestigious private school, that very cool young Italian students and international students may go to, in this amazing location. I would consider going there. We continued to walk and came upon this humongous park, that went on forever. There were fountains, grass, trees, it was perfect. Todd said that someone had told him it was bigger than Central Park, which was hard to believe, but later when we explored, I would believe it. We picked a spot and laid there for at least an hour, just basking in the sun. There were a lot of people in the park as well, running and just sitting. Later on we wandered into another area where there was a small little river/creek that led into a small lake. There were swans and birds...and turtles! And this really weird chicken-turkey-pigeon-duck creature, that scared me. It was so pretty and I could not believe I had not been to this park yet! It really upset me that this discovery came about so late in my time here, but at least I made it there once. It was a very calm and worthwhile day spent in this amazing park right near school...who knew?
Later on Jori and I went on a date to our last dinner at Alla Fratte. We shared the rigatoni carbonara and the salmon penne (our fav). It was a cute way to eat our last meal there. Great find.


Saturday (pause) Saturday, Saturday...had been planned for awhile. Mifflin? Have you ever heard of it? Well, Mifflin is a big deal in Madison. It is a huge block party on Mifflin Street where all of the students go for the day to party. It is a day not to miss, however, us study abroaders missed out this year. Which is why, our little Roman crew decided to celebrate here in Rome, why not? We determined the day "Tour de Roma", sipping beverages at special spots all over Rome. We started at the Bergese Gardens, headed to the Trevi Fountain to toss coins, stopped at Miscellenea for lunch and "sexy wine", continued to Tiber Island where we were greeted by our friend Oliver decked out in a Toga, and then time for a dinner feast at "Tony's". It was a long fun filled celebratory day and such a great Saturday to remember. We did Mifflin proud back in the States. Jori and I arrived home at 8 pm, got in bed to lay down for a bit...and didn't wake up till 9:30 am the next day. Woops. Yes, that is true and I have no idea how that happened. I have never ever slept that much before. Tour de Roma was a success.

After all of the festivities on Saturday, it was time to crack down and hit the books for finals week. On Sunday Todd, Lucas, Jori and I had our last meal at Le Fate, the 10 euro student deal place, with the chef from the cooking classes. It was quite sad, but a good meal to end on there.

Today, Rachael and I went on a little adventure to find the mysterious "key hole". We had heard about this "key hole" from a few people, that said you look through it and there is a perfect view of the city. So for a break from studying we headed to the Circus Maximus to find it! We didn't really know the exact directions, so we went up this hill to find this cute and beautiful area. There were a few churches and buildings, but it was very lush and there were rose bushes and orange trees and a few sitting areas, like small parks. We found the key hole, by following a group of people. It is literally this building, and there is a small hole...but you look through and it is magical. You just see this green covered pergola leading straight to a tiny little saint peter's basillica. It is perfectly shaped and incredible that it is so carefully placed to look right onto st peter's. We went back a second time to look. And then we wandered the area and found a little cove of orange trees with benches in a green and gravel area, with a spot that looked over the city. It really was such a gorgeous area and very enchanting. I thought of the secret garden to paint a picture for you. I am so glad we went!

The days are really flying by and one of my suitcases is packed and ready to go, which is scary. I am going to miss Rome a lot and the little things I do everyday, and being in this amazing city. Two exams down, and two to go! And then off to Israel.