Tel Aviv, Kibbutzs and Bomba

I was in Tel Aviv for one more night after my parents left.  Time to actually see the place at night!
Met up w/Tzvi (Jeremy Darling) went for sushi and met some cool ppl.
Spent most of the next day on the beach, what else are you supposed to do when it's gorgeous out?! And after went to a bar, where for 12 sheckels got to see 12 bands play from noon to midnight, heard some good stuff too! The crowd was so similar to Brooklyn, it was kinda funny how two totally different places can be so much alike.  Young ppl just seem to have the same kinda vibes all over the world.

For dinner that night went to the Kibbutz where Tzvi is staying w/his host family and got to experience a traditional Israeli meal/family!

They were super sweet people and it was nice to be in a family environment!  That night we went out and I got to try Bomba=Pretty much a peanut butter Cheeto!   Perfect drunk food. 

TEL AVIV

This place is the shit. totally digging it, similar to ny in the city-sense, but much chiller, and ten minute walk from the beach.  Sweet!  Cafes all down the streets, and around 8 or 9pm tons of ppl out enjoying the fresh air and cappuccinos. The only problem is that I don't speak or read Hebrew, which is what EVERYTHING is written in.

Street signs in Hebrew, Arabic, and English

Israel

We drove from Aqaba, Jordan to the border of Israel, walked over through customs and grabbed a new cab in a new country.

Entering Israel!

Israel is sweet!  So much different than Egypt and Jordan.  We stayed one night in Eilat, right on the Red Sea and the next day took a bus to Tel Aviv, where we are now.  Israel is expensive!!!  And I thought NYC was bad?!  But at least most of it is worth your money.   The food is good, especially considering what we had been eating... it's quite a bit more than just meat and rice!

Eilot

Today we went to Jerusalem, visited the Old City and checked out all that religious stuff... was cool.  Jerusalem is a lot bigger than I had expected, it's a full blown city!  I guess I just had the biblical image in my mind, which it not what it is today.  Huge holy site, saw the Dome of the Rock, The Wailing Wall, some of the old city gates... and that was enough.   Back in Tel Aviv and trying to find out where I will be staying once my parents head back... hopefully some couchsurfers will pull through! 

A peek at Dome of the Rock

Btw, the food is really good here, we ate at a little cafe last night, amazing.  We had a mac and cheese w/mushrooms and onions and this other incredible dish of goat cheese rolled up in eggplant slices with a pesto drizzle and delicious basil marinara.  mmmmm. 
Also, I'm not sure where it originated, but the bagel is all over the place! -Whether it was the Jewish in Israel or Brooklyn...and they have bakeries galore!! I want to try every pastry by the end of the week.

 

 

Jerusalem

The Wailing Wall/Western Wall in Jerusalem

Aqaba, Jordan

We have taken to resting a bit after dealing w/the stress and hustle and bustle of travel.  Staying in Aqaba, which is pretty cool, actually we are kinda isolated.  There are three hotels about ten minutes out of town, one of which we are staying.  Has a pool and is right across the road from the beach, so it's ok by me. 
On the way here, we took a taxi from Wadi Musa.  Had to stop for a goat herder, and to take some pics of the landscape of Jordan. 

Bedouin goat herder

Views from the Kings Hwy.

Petra!

    Took a 6am bus into Wadi Musa, the town really close to Petra-an ancient, really cool city.

The Treasury!!! Look familiar?!

The ancient people who carved these burial tombs were incredible.

The Sik: the cavern/path to the ancient city of Petra

      Petra has been turned into a MAJOR tourist spot now, but it's history is amazing.  It had it's hay day back when the caravans used to come through this way, through The Sik to the city center at the end.  The Bedouin people now sell things haphazardly at the end, like street vendors.  They are the tribe that still live in the area, they are beautiful people, dark skin and hair with blue or green eyes, pretty awesome.  We even saw one guy who looked very similar to Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carribean.  The way these people naturally look is intense, they have really dark lashes and it looks like they are wearing eye liner, but they aren't. 
Here's Johnny, as an Arab:

This really happened. Need to get rid of the date.

Jordan

Flew into Jordan a couple days ago, SO much different than Egypt.  More civilized and similar to what we are used to.  Spent the night in Amman, then 6am bus ride to Wadi Musa, "Petra."
Petra was amazing.
Totally Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Arc, actually.


Oh, and one thing Brooklyn and Jordan have in common:

The End of Egypt

We headed back to Cairo, and actually had first class seats, NOT what we had going down to Aswan, which was super gross.  Slept the majority of the train ride back, until some creep-o pretended to be getting into his bag on the ground and put his fucking hand on my leg!!  I woke up and slapped his hand away!  I was totally shocked, there are nasty old men ALL over the world!  A little while later my mom asked how I had slept, I said, "Great, until this PERVERT put his hand on my leg!"  He totally looked over, very uncomfortably and I said, "Yeah, you disgusting pervert!"  He got up and left.  It pissed me off so much that some man would do something like that! 

Our final day in Egypt we just chilled at the hotel,-A very old/dusty British Colonial looking place-

took it easy then went for lunch..which was the most difficult thing to find. Restaurants are hidden in Cairo.  We came across a fast food burger place and decided, it was good enough.  The menu was a little confusing and we were starving.  My mom saw a pic of a burger and ordered that, my dad and I said we'll have the same.  Ten minutes later, three of the most massive burgers I've ever seen came out! They were delicious, but huge!