Yael and I had our last breakfast in Tel Aviv. Two differences... one was the addition of shakkuka, a delicious egg dish and the other was that we met with Dov Gil-Har, president of Israeli Films. I had been emailing Dov this past year to obtain films for the 2nd Annual BAJC Israeli Film & Food Festival (IF&F). We hit it off immediately. Ideas for the 3rd annual IF&F were forged, as well as some other ideas. We gave Dov two stuffed VT moose for his two daughters, aged 6 & 3. It should be fun for him to explain what a moose is.
Sad note... Dov told us that more Israeli's have been killed in auto accidents than in all the wars. Having seen this aggressive driving first hand, I can believe it.
After we said goodbye to Aunt Erika, we took a train to Haifa. We had arranged to leave our luggage at Har Hacarmel while we walked around Haifa. We climbed to the top of Mt. Carmel where there were breathtaking views of Haifa Harbor. I got to see the University of Haifa where Jessica had studied for a year in the distance. Then, we attended a Haifa Rotary Club meeting. Not only did I get to exchange club banners but got to hear from the Mayor of Haifa and the minister of the navy. While their talks were in Hebrew, folks were kind enough to give us the gist. In fact there were some people who knew Vermont. The food was fantastic, probably the best so far on the trip.
We took a train to Ben Gurion Airport to meet up with our group (19 including us). A bus brought us to Hod Hamidbar, a resort hotel in Ein Bokek near the Dead Sea. Since we were running late, we immediately were ushered into the dining hall. A typical Israeli buffet awaited us, including gelato. Exhausted, we fell into bed.
Plans for tomorrow include a climb to the top of Masada and a Torah text study.
1 comment:
i'm so glad that you went to haifa! did you see where i went to school? isnt it a beautiful city now?
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