Tel-Aviv

I wasn't really expecting to take too many days for pure vacation, but I'm so glad that I joined in the group going to Tel Aviv! We'd had a busy week with lots of long classes. Tel-Aviv is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea which means.....it was the first time going to the beach in who-knows-how-many years! I spent the majority of the day with my friends Brooke, Brealynn, Emily, Emma, and CJ exploring Old Jaffa. We wandered around (after a quick trip to buy me new shoes. Mine broke....best shoe thing to ever happen to me) to see Old Jaffa's art galleries and stop at a couple of museums. The museums were all pretty small, but I enjoyed them. My personal favorites were the Yemenite Jewelry makers and the advertising/propaganda museum. We finished off the day relaxing at the beach. It was spectacular! The water is perfect and divine and perfect. We left to get dinner (shwarma!), and thanks to Obama I got a seat at a table. We spent the last hour on a wall around the sides of the beach. Basically, I was at the beach...watching the most beautiful sunset of my life...overlooking the Mediterranean Sea...that was crashing on the rocks underneath me...with Jaffa and Tel Aviv around us. It was heaven! I am fully intending on bringing my family back here someday.

And our bus driver on the way back was the coolest. He ended up turning techno music on quietly in the front. But being a group of happy Mormons, we naturally started goofy dancing in the back. I sat right behind the bus driver so I got to watch him laugh at us and turn up the music just a touch. He kept laughing and turning the music up until it was cranked and all the lights were turned off except a blue light in the ceiling. What does this mean? Dance party for a full 40 minutes!

It was a great break. :)