Yesterday and today were fantastic days. I am going to lump them all together because it was pretty much just a relaxing weekend.
We have been seeing a lot, hearing a lot, experiencing a lot and I for one, was exhausted. Not physically really (I have literally been having the longest sleeps, it's awesome), but just mentally and emotionally and spiritually weary.
Yesterday morning we headed to Caesarea Maritima where we saw the ruins of the Herodian theatre, hippodrome (horse racing track), palace, aqueduct, etc. and the beautiful greeny-blue Mediterranean Sea. Thanks to Drammamine (sp?), I didn't get car sick on the 2 hour bus ride there (yeah, I got violently ill when we went to Masada...ugh)!! After we checked out Caesarea (and got slightly sunburnt), we headed to Jaffa, which is pretty much inside of Tel Aviv. Apparently, Tel Aviv is actually a pretty new city, built up alongside Jaffa. We got CREPES in Jaffa (mmm, Nutella!) and meandered down to the seaside. Oh. My. Goodness.
The Mediterranean is amazing and I am pretty sure I could live right there forever. It's the most amazing greeny-blue colour, with white sandy beaches. Beautiful! We staked out a decent spot and ran into the water. The greeny-blue and white sand kind of tricks you, and I kind of expected fresh water, but of course, it's salty. Anyways, we played in the waves for awhile and laid on the beach (got some more sunburn). The beach is actually kind of frustrating, because the sand is so fine that it sticks to you and you can't. get. it. off. At all. I was wiping my hands on my towel over and over, but to no avail. You just have to wait til it dries. Which surprisingly, is not that fast.
Anyways, we got back just in time for a quick shower and then dinner (schnitzel! mmm!!). After dinner we went down to the square to this little cafe, which was closed. But the guy who owned the shop next door called the owner and he came rushing over to open up the cafe for us. It was great to hang out for a bit. I love this group and it's great to just chill together. You'd think after spending all day together we would all want alone time at night (and sometimes you do - tonight they all went for a walk and I stayed behind to catch up on some journalling and blogging - but it's great to be able to hang out).
So that was yesterday. Probably the best part of the day was getting to wear shorts and a tank top all day (we have to dress super conservatively when we are in the city, etc.). That said, most of us got sunburnt. It's not too bad though and at least I got rid of my awesome sock tan :)
This morning we went to church at the Church of the Nativity and it ended up being a Catholic mass in the grotto where Jesus was supposedly born. It was all in Italian, so I didn't understand anything, but it was interesting to watch.
After church, I spent some time journalling, which was awesome. I had a great revelation, but I'm going to give that it's own post as it's not really anything to do with my trip or the events of yesterday and today :)
Anyways, most of us decided to take the bus to Ramallah today. It turned out to be a 2-hour trip to get there. Once we got there we found Stars and Bucks (the Palestinian version of Starbucks, but with hookah, a full food menu (delicious, PS), and club music. Anyways, I got some amazing mint lemonade (my new favourite thing!) and a chicken sandwich and we hung out there for a bit. Ramallah is basically a TON of people in a small space and really dirty roads. Our tour guide had told us that there was this cool place called the Ramallah Cultural Centre so we took a short taxi ride to get there.
Only to discover...it's a theatre. An empty theatre and there are no shows today. So we had a good laugh (and the guys there had a good laugh at our expense, I'm sure) and called taxis to come and take us back. By this time, we had to leave, so we took the 2-hour bus ride home and got back just in time for supper. So basically, we spent all day on a bus.
But that's ok, we had an adventure :) Now we are all caught up to the present...everyone went for a walk to check out the pre-Ramadam celebrations around the city (it's a month of fasting during daylight hours for the Muslim community, so there is music all over the place tonight) and I am taking the opportunity to monopolize the computer and catch y'all up on my adventures over the last week!
I miss you all dearly and I hope you are all getting some sun so you won't be too white in comparison to me when I come home :)
Love you!
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