One Last Night/Day-Tel Aviv and Haifa w/Leya and Eyal

So, after a nice relaxing day, I hopped a train to Tel Aviv via Binyamina with Leya. We talked about everyone at home, and discussed what kind of souvenirs I planned on getting in Tel Aviv. We met Eyal and went to a market in the pier. This market was populated by merchants from Sderot and other southern areas that are being hit hard by violence in Gaza. We bought a few gifts and navigated the chaos that rivaled that of Yafo or Ben-Yehuda. Hadar and I had plans for the night, but they fell through, so I went back with the Snirs and went to bed.

At 9am I left with Eyal to Haifa. We chatted and drove around the high tech areas of Haifa.
We saw the Baha'i Gardens, and lounged around the cheesy downtown until the English tour began. On the way back, I recognized Max (from Mayanot) and Andrew. We took the tour together and bullshitted about Mayanot and their future plans, including Max's world travels. Eyal invited them to come to lunch and the Drew's Village with us, so we stopped at a delicious hummus place (probably the most authentic food I've eaten the entire trip) and shopped around the Drew's Village for more souvenirs. We stopped at an Arab bakery for some shaibeat, which was unbelievable, and I've already begun my search for some in the States.

We dropped the guys off at their hostel and returned to Karkur. Leya was there to teach me to make challah (not to mention pack it in a shoebox so I could bring it home.) After watching the news, playing with the dog and eating some schnitzel, it was off to the airport.

We said a long goodbye at the gate, and I hooked up with another Taglit group so I wouldn't get lost. We exchanged currency and got some water before boarding the 12 hour flight home. I slept a good 8 of the 10 hours, and made it home around Wednesday at 5:30AM. I texted Carly as soon as I was home, and she was over by about 8. I spent the day at home trying to practice and to work out, but I'm so damn jet-lagged that none of it's really working.