The Adventures of a Jewpanese Girl!: November 2009

What happens when you combine 4 friends

with access to wheels in the Holy Land for 7 days?

First, let's meet the friends:

Name: Roisin

Code Name: Lil' Sug'

Occupation: Wandering Troubadour

Life's Mission: To spread the love of music through her fingertips.

Name: Jason

Code Name: CEO

Occupation: CEO

Life's Mission: To pretend as if he's a CEO, yet secretly wants to be a personal trainer.

Name: Brett

Code Name: Papa Bear

Occupation: Ex-Army Paramedic

Life's Mission: To get to South America in one piece.

Name: Carmel

Code Name: Big Sug'

Occupation: The list is too long

Life's Mission: To eat and make the most delicious food this world has to offer.

So, what happened?

Day 1

Lil' Sug' brought out the didge...

Didge instruction took place...

A didge pro at work...

Pupil surpasses master in the art of the didge...

Big Sug' soon realized that a didge is not edible...

Capturing the magic...

Later that evening...

Drinks at Charlie's...

Charlie's a drunk without a liver...SMILE!

Boys trying to be funny with a girl's camera...

Another example of boys being boys...

Day 2

This pretty much sums up Day 2 for Jason...

The highlight was driving through
Daliyat El-Carmel to Osifiya to have
chicken and rice cooked in a tabun (stone oven)...

Day 3

Big Sug' using her divine healing powers...

Big Sug' knows how to take care of Lil' Sug'!

Day 4

The Jerusalem shuk...

Rugelach - apple, blueberry & chocolate pastries...

Jaffa Gate to Jerusalem...

The Western Wall...

Write a note and find a space in the cracks for it...

Paying respect...

Playing with respect...

Later that evening...

We found a playground for grownups in Tel Aviv...

A lot of fun was had...

A few yards away from this progressive playground
is a not-so-progressive beach...

Day 5

Picking up the boys in Haifa...

Best friends marching onwards...

The grottoes of Rosh HaNikra...

Another view of the water caves...

The cliff is made up of soft sea sediment
and dark flint stones...

Looking cool...

The famous shot of the elephant's leg...

A safe place to fish...

A stunning view...

Another stunning view...

Mastering the timer feature on the camera...

Later that evening...

Fun on the beach near Achziv...

True love...

More love...

A romantic sunset...

Day 6

CEO, Papa Bear and Big Sug' jumped out of a plane...

To view photos, click on the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=336509&id=737950520&l=2f175d39f9

To view the video, click on the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=327946020520

Day 7

Big Sug' got the swine flu...

Got a shot in her ass...lost her marbles...

...and is still out of commission!

So what happened, in the end?

Serious loads of fun!

I live in the Mount Carmel region just south of Haifa. My town is called Zichron Ya'akov (Jacob's Memorial), and was founded by Baron Rothschild in 1882.

I just found out that I have family connections to a major figure, Sarah Aaronsohn. Sarah was a member of Nili, a group of Jewish spies based in Zichron Ya'akov that helped fight with the British against the Ottomans in WWI. Sarah was born here in Zichron Ya'akov (1890) and eventually died here (1917), but before that, she traveled around the Ottoman Empire. En route from Turkey to Haifa, Sarah witnessed the Armenian massacre first-hand. While there is much MUCH more to the story, we'll just skip to the end. Unfortunately, members of Nili suffered cruel fates. Sarah's brother and many others were hung by the Ottomans. She herself was eventually captured and tortured by them. In the end, she shot herself to save herself from further torment and to protect Nili. Sarah was a fighter and truly was a pioneer in the making of a Jewish homeland here in Israel. To find out more about Sarah, her espionage group and the history of Zichron Ya'akov, simply go to Wikipedia!
______________________

Nowadays, Zichron Ya'akov is known for its stunning landscape, cobble street roads, restaurants, cafes and wineries!