Keeping It Israel

Today we went up to Haifa to take care of a few errands. On the drive up we experienced not one, but two rain showers…in June!

Once there we marveled at how steep and hilly the terrain is, which is remarkable given that the picture below is the view on the five minute walk to the local food co-op near where we are staying in Jerusalem.

We visited the school that Millie will be attending for about four months this fall and it was a really good experience. The staff and teachers were all so warm and welcoming. The facility itself seemed like a fun space and Millie spent over an hour in one of the classrooms as a trial run.

From there we drove over to the Technion where Bev had coffee and a great initial conversation with the Architecture and Town Planning department head.

The campus felt full of energy and after getting lunch in the student union, the girls spontaneously received flower necklaces from a caped student as part of a Pride Celebration happening on the plaza along the main promenade.

After popsicles, we headed back to the car, passing the bus stop that Bev will likely use to get back-and-forth to campus.

On the way out, we took care of one more errand and headed back to Jerusalem (big thank you to Adena’s uncle for driving). A full and productive day!

The drive from Champaign to O’Hare was uneventful, but it would have been nice to know about the mileage charge and extra fees for one-way car rentals when we made the reservation or picked up the vehicle (thanks National!). Moving all our bags to the Alitalia desk was surprisingly easy and the nine hour flight to Rome went well. The kids didn’t sleep much and neither did we. The Rome airport was as stylish as one would expect and everyone slept on the three hour ride over to Tel Aviv. It sounds like Ben Gurion airport has changed quite a bit since Adena last saw it and after an awkward exchange with the customs official, we were on our way.

Uncle Paul and Cousin Noam were kind enough to pick us up and pointed out notable landmarks on the drive back to Jerusalem.

Today we changed some currency and walked around Emek Refaim for a bit.

Oh, and there was a gelato shop…

There is a playground and a supermarket nearby and our Netflix account works here. Life is good. החיים טובים

An interesting question keeps coming up as we get ready to depart. How do you pack for six months? For us, the answer is… at the last minute, which means we will likely forget several things. Yay! But we are almost ready to head east and start our Wilson family adventure.