Trying to catch up. Please have patience with me.

So. Caroline and Chelsea arrived in the evening on Thursday, November 12. They took the sherut from Ben Gurion to Mayanot, where we reunited, washed up, and made a plan. Wanting to kick things off the right way, we decided to go out that night. They were graciously allowed to stay by Rivka Marga’s that night, so we went there to drop off their things and then went to meet the girls and boys downtown. We girls were deciding where to go, so we chose this bar up the street. Just as we are about to order, one of the boys lets us know we can’t go there: N and Z are banned from there because of a fight a few years back. Right.
So Laeneia, Hayley, Hillary, Irina, Chelsea, Caroline and I (we are like the Pink Ladies) leave the place where we were sitting and go meet the T Birds outside the Square and decide what to do next. We end up at Herzl, a bar on the main bar street, but up a level so it escapes the stigmas associated with the main strip (a place for 18 and 19 year old yeshiva kids trying to flirt with one another and smoke cigarettes). As a group of 14, we pretty much took over the place. It started off a quieter night, the boys were out to cheer up Z who had just ended a relationship, we girls were out to welcome the tired Caroline and Chelsea, so in theory it was going to be a quieter, chill night having a few drinks and relaxing. I stepped out onto the balcony for a little while to get some air and talking to A, and suddenly we come back in and the entire room is a dance party. Rumor has it that Chelsea and Caroline started. So much for jetlag. And so much for a quiet night ;)

Friday after a trip to the shuk, where Chelsea and Caroline discovered the joys of dried fruit, halva, and schwarma/falafel stands, we left for a weekend in Tel Aviv, where we would room by our old couch surfing friends again for the night. After coffee and cake, Caroline and Nevo had a recording session, performing ‘Let it Be’. With the ridiculous amount of equipment they had, Dor managed to make a high quality, synced video of the performance (which can be found on Facebook). The next day, the girls and I had brunch with Nevo, Hayley, and Anna and Omer. After we dropped off our things at Omer’s, the New York girls headed south toward Yaffo, stopping at a particular ice cream shop in Neve Tzedek on the way. Walking through Tel Aviv and Yaffo along the beach, watching the sun set over the Mediterranean, is like nothing else.
Along the way, we found a playground unlike any we had seen before. This naturally required a short pause to play.
Saturday evening, we were going to stay by Nevo again, except that late that afternoon, his grandmother passed away. Of course we felt very sad for him and his family. We also realized our predicament. Having nearly decided that we would sleep on the beach for the night, Anna and Omer came to the rescue, arranging for us to stay at the former apartment of Omer’s new roommate. Israelis are pretty cool.
That night we went out with Etan, who lived in the apartment we were staying at, to Apartment, a decent club in TA. The next morning, although he had to leave early for work (also a pilot in the IDF) he left us his keys and allowed us to use the apartment for the rest of the day. Again, Israelis are pretty cool.
After a lazy morning, Chelsea, Caroline, Hayley and I headed off to eat at our favorite sandwich place in Tel Aviv—the best sandwiches ever perhaps, with a full condiment/salady bar, tons of sandwich options, and friendly sandwich makers. Satisfied from our lunch, we mosied across the street to the greatest juice bar, where we each got a fresh squeezed something (I had pomegranate and green apple). We then went back to the apartment, where caroline decided to take a nap, and Chelsea and I walked Hayley to the bus station, where we would meet up with Laeneia, and go to get my passport photos taken for my Egyptian Visa that would hopefully be procured in Eilat the next day.
The rest of this day comprised of a trip to Kikar Rabin to see his memorial, poking in vintage shops, and going back to wake Caroline to go to a final picnic on the beach. Around 10 pm, the four of us gather up, picked up all our things, and left for the Central Bus Station, from where Laeneia would return to Jerusalem, and the adventures would just begin for Chelsea, Caroline, and myself.