Journey Undefined

We decided to step out of our growing habit of making an easy, comfort food, casserole-esque dish and try something new. Falafel. Yum. Brenden and I both love falafel, it is filled with flavors that you don't typically get in American cuisine, it turns out it is not too difficult to make, and it is fairly healthy (besides the whole deep frying part, but we baked ours). Good falafel is hard to find here (I went to Israel and had falafel pretty much everyday and now there is no turning back, falafel is just not the same). Luckily, there is one great place in Silver Spring that has amazing falafel - it is almost, ALMOST like eating it in Israel. They have the best matzoh ball soup too. Oh man do I love a good matzoh ball! But back to falafel, since my parents introduced us to Max's falafel we have not been able to find that greatness anywhere else (besides Israel of course but that can get a bit expensive to go back and forth for just one meal). Unfortunately, Max's is pretty inconvenient for us to go to on a whim (although much easier then Israel) whenever the falafel craving strikes. So, Israel is our and Max's is out...except for special occasions. What else was there for us to do? How about come up with our own creation of amazing falafel balls built specifically to our tastes and have a feast right in our own home. And that is just what we did.

I tried a falafel recipe one of the first night we got the food processor; however, they were a bit of a disappointment. But after all I don't know what I was expecting, perfection does not come after just one try. So we pondered the short comings of the first attempt, made a plan, and tried it again. We found a different recipe this time and adapted the two as well as applied our own instincts to make a pretty good round two of falafels. Of course there is still a bit of tweaking to do to get that perfect falafel taste, but this round is definitely worthy of sharing with the world. Why keep this a secret? We want every to experience a little bite joy in their mouth. I think our success came from adding the spices slowly this time. We would add some spice, blend, taste, adjust, and repeat. Patience is key.

Do not get frustrated if your flavors aren't coming out correctly at first it is always fixable - that is if you don't overdo it on the first round. Just remember less is more...it is probably not too fixable if you add a lot of everything to early. It is easy to add but almost impossible to take away. Mistake number one I made with the first round of falafels...whoops I guess I let my guard down at the wrong time. Anywho, this time we did much better with the spice pallette. We still ended up adding too much onion so I would use a little less of that next...unless you REALLY like onion. I would also add more flour or something to hold it together better. The since we added some lime juice, the mixture was a bit hard to handle, but nothing horrible. Frying definitely did not work though, they just dissolved into nothingness when we tried. Good thing we had planned on baking most of them anyways (easier, and as I said much healthier).

I then got on the bus. Our wonderful transportation for the trip; the infamous bus. Don't we all look so happy?

I was finally able to fall asleep on the bus. Everyone slept on our bus trips but I never could. I think the lack of sleep finally caught up with me.

We reached the big waterfall and took a few pictures. I got one with my awesome roomies, Ali and Alyssa, for the majority of the trip.

Did you know almonds grow on trees? Well they do, and I have a photo of the sign and tree to prove it. 

After the Golan Heights, we continued to the Jordan River. Today was a very water filled day if you couldn't tell.

We had the opportunity to go rafting on the river. Very fun. Jess and I wanted to kayak but they did not offer that to our group. So, we had a lovely rafting group of five: Me, Jess, Jordana, Leo, and Nick.

Here we are rafting along. You can see I am working so hard...maybe not having the option to kayak worked in my favor. We were only given two paddles for some reason and because Nick and Leo had also wanted to kayak, Jess and I graciously gave them the paddling opportunity.

After having time to change and lounge around the river, we made our way to one last dinner at a hotel. I filled up on my last plate of schnitzel, brisket, hummus, and all types of veggies. We had a closing group activity where we each shared our favorite experience on the trip. And, we posed for one last group shot with another beautiful landscape.

After gathering our stuff and saying a very rushed goodbye, we headed into the airport where we waited on line...for a very long time. Our bags had to get scanned, and let me just say the scanning machine was ridiculous. They must really not want people to bring home souvenirs because as the bags come out of the machine it basically gets catapulted out and thuds onto a downward moving ramp for us to collect (or piece back together) at the end.

I found that Israel's Ben Gurion airport was just as exciting as the other landmarks we explored, when I passed a synchronized swimming poster. Woot!

Nick and I spent our free time in the airport exploring the duty free store with free drink samples. I also bought a little souvenir camel, and Nick bought a neck pillow for the ride. He was very excited, and all ready for 12 hours in the air. Can't you tell?

After landing we went through customs and I finally got my passport stamp, although not in my passport because some countries won't let you enter if they see you have been to Israel. Crazy, I did not know that. I then said a few more quick goodbyes, and met my cousin at the airport. I stayed at her house (where I slept ALOT) until the next day when I drove home.

My trip was definitely one of a lifetime. It was better then I ever could have anticipated, and although I have tried, words cannot express how amazing it was. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my journey. My posts about Israel are complete, but feel free to ask me anything you want about my trip. There are so many experiences I could expand on, and I would love to relive the trip some more.

Today started with a hike. Due to a series of unfortunate events, the hike lasted only about five minutes before we stopped, waited, and were told we had to turn around and go back to the bus. The fourty of us have been together nonstop (except when sleeping, which doesn't last long) for nine days. Emotions are beginning to run high. Although we only made it a few meters we still were able to see a splendid view before turning around. Supposedly at the top we were to see where the borders of Israel, Syria, and Jordan meet. Pretty cool, oh well.

Tzfat is also known for its artistry. 

We were able to walk through the town and market for souvenirs. Many of the products in this market were paintings, artsy religious symbols, photography, and handmade jewelry. I got a ring for myself with the blue opal stone in the middle. I got earrings for my mom, again with the blue. And, I got a pomegranate, a symbolic shape that was painted with the town of Tzfat and a Star of David. The pomegranate I got can be used as a small vase.

After Tzfat we went to our final hotel, in the Golan Heights. We had a musician, Ro'l Levy and his son play guitar and sing some songs. It was again another time to bond and unite on our last night.

Corey was even invited to get his guitar and play a few songs alongside. It was a fun way to celebrate and be able to enjoy our last night in Israel.

Today was the day we got to ride camels! After a crazy night in the Bedouin tents, we woke up, got  dressed, ate breakfast, and got ready to go on a camel ride through the desert.

It was two people per camel, so Alyssa and I quickly decided to be partners. We got a white camel to ride. We (I) decided to name him Uni because he was white like a unicorn.

And we began our ride. Uni kept trying to get ahead of the line, but all the camels are tied together, in a line, in two groups, so there was no place to go.

Our camel ride was pretty early in the morning, 7 or 8am I believe so there were some pretty cool shadows on the desert sand.

The ride lasted about 20 minutes. I was okay that it was a short ride because about 5-10 minutes in my legs were already tired of the spread out position they were in - camels are pretty wide. And, Uni looks pretty happy to have us off his back, too. The scariest part was when the Uni sat down and only his front legs were bent so we were at a 45 degree angle down.

After the camel ride we prepared for yet another hike. This time we were taking about a 2-2.5 hour hike of the Negev (the desert). That's me waiting with one of our awesome group leaders, Jess, and our amazing medic, Leo (looking like Indiana Jones).

And, so we set off on our hike which would lead us to our next destination.

Cool group photo op. Im the tallest one in the back. I climbed up the rock a bit more, but it was scary getting down because the rock was really more like sand and it was a steep incline with a pretty big drop if I didn't stop myself before the width of the path ended. Guess I should have thought out the climb more. Some of the guys helped me down though. :)

The Salad Trail was next and lots of fun. The Salad Trail is basically a farm in the middle of the desert, that groups can tour. But you don't just listen and look, you get to eat too. And, eating always makes things ten times better. We saw some pretty sunflowers. I love sunflowers, they are my favorite.

We then explored the carrot field. They grow four different colors of carrots: white, purple, orange, and yellow. I tried the white and purple. I didn't really like either, although the purple was a little better, but it had a strange after taste. 

Next was the herb field. They had so many different herbs. And two members participated in a game trying to guess what herb they were smelling without looking. Again, I didn't much like the taste of the herbs. They probably would have been delicious on some pizza or something though, just not plain. I tried basil, oregano, and some edible flowers. There was a sourish flower that was my favorite. Weird, but not too bad.

Then we headed over to the cucumber and tomato section. Definitely my favorite section we visited. Although, if we had gone to the strawberry or peach section my opinion may have changed.

And they had zebra tomatoes! I love zebras, so obviously I love zebra tomatoes.

All the tomatoes and cucumber tasted delicious. Probably some of the best I have ever had. Honestly. And, the yellow tomatoes we my favorite by far.

We then went through a passion fruit maze. Sadly, it was not passion fruit season. I did not realize that so I was quite disappointed when I was told the one I picked was not even close to ripe. It was still green, apparently they are supposed to be purple. Hey, I have never had or seen passion fruit before, how was I to know. But we were able to race through the maze - guys against girls. Of course the girls won...according to me. No winner was ever actually declared.

We then left the different fields and were able to make our own pita. They gave us dough and we could shape it and put it on the cooker. Have you ever been to Bertucci's where you can play with and shape the dough and then they bake it for you to eat? It was like that. And it was sooo good!

I got creative and made mine heart shaped. There was oil with herbs from the farm to put on our pita too. Delish!

Then came the sad part; we had to say goodbye to our Israeli friends. They were only to join for five days, and it was the fifth day. I loved having them on the trip. It made the experience that much better. Getting to explore with locals, bond, and ask them anything. It was much better then having only an outsiders view of the places we visited. Below is Lera, who was leaving to go back to train in an area of the military.

Ofir and Tal. Ofir works with clubs and music, and Tal is in the military.

And, Rubi, he is studying to be a lawyer. I got to know him the most. We talked everyday and had a lot of fun. Hopefully I see him when he comes to visit America.

The goodbyes were quick, crowded and a bit chaotic, and I did not get a picture with our sixth Israeli friend, Igor. He is also in the military. 

We then went back to a Kibbutz to get ready for our night out in Tel Aviv. Boy did it feel good to shower. We had not had a chance to shower since before spending the night on the ground in the tents. Clean again, we definitely take that luxury and feeling for granted.

There was some cool art/graffiti around the city, and awesome trees. Below is the trunk of one. It is crazy, hollow kind of and weaved maybe. I wonder if they do something special to get the trees like that or it is just the type of tree and that is how it grows.

There were also danger of death signs everywhere we went. I decided to take the night to make it a photo op with the sign.

It was fun walking around. And I had a nice relaxed night playing cards (Big 2, told you, my new fav.) and drinking outside of one of the bars with Nick. I also tried some Israeli gelato. I got two flavors, ferrero rocher, and I think the other was cookie dough or something more original. No matter what it was it was good.