Best greeting ever!

I just had to share this picture, this is when Grandma Jo and I first saw each other on Skype from Israel....the picture speaks for itself. I miss you all.

Everybody has an opinion

And everybody has to share it. Although always well intentioned, every single person we meet seems to have an unstoppable desire to share their thoughts about our plans and what we should expect in Israel, and it always seems to be presented as it if were fact. I have heard the entire spectrum of opinions about living in Eilat, joining the army, learning Hebrew, getting a work Visa, making Aliyah, not being Jewish in Israel…etc, etc, etc. As much as I appreciate all the people we have stayed with over the past few weeks, and have enjoyed (for the most part) meeting all the people whom we did not stay with…I am so ready to be in our own home, with our own opinions, and our own experiences. Three more nights on Kibbutz and then we move in to our apartment…and I will not hide my excitement.

As long as we’re sharing opinions……there are two things that bother me most about Israel (not counting the unasked for opinions)…the garbage, and the lack of care for animals. It seems that almost everywhere I have been there is trash, sometimes just scattered on the side walks or throughout a field, and other times piled into heaps on the side of the road or in an empty lot. Some areas are worse that others (of course most big cities have this problem anywhere you go) and some are certainly close to being good, but for the most part I find that the garbage is at least present almost everywhere we go. I’m not sure of the reasons behind this or the attitude that Israeli’s themselves take toward it.

The other issue…the animals, primarily cats and dogs. I think I may have mentioned that the cats in Tel Aviv (and most other cities I have visited) are considered vermin, they roam the garbage bins, leave their urinary aromas seeping into the side walks, and live their lives in constant fear and merely aim for survival. The dogs, although less numerous, are thin and mangy and often cross the roads at inopportune times, almost giving me a heart attack each time (I have yet to see one get hit and hope not to, but from my experiences so far I fear that may be close to impossible). Very few of the pets I have seen have been neutered or spayed, which infuriates me every time I see this…it’s already a problem and this is just making things worse. The feral cats and dogs are often not very friendly, which leads people to dislike them and continue to think of them as vermin. However, in my opinion it’s just the conditions they are forced to live in that make them that way. I wonder why they don't try to could catch cats and dogs to spay and neuter them...what else can be done? It’s a very different mentality here than I am used to at home where dogs and cats are part of the family (however, I have seen that as well…so it’s all a bit confusing).

If you are interested in the cat issue I just found this information about cats in Israel-I guess it answers some questions.

(http://www.chai-online.org/en/companion/overpopulation_feral.htm)

Does trapping, neutering, and releasing cats reduce their population?

All responsible humane organizations agree that cats do not belong on the street, and the goal of any trap/neuter/vaccinate/release (TNR) program must be to eventually eliminate cats from the streets through attrition. In situations where there are natural boundaries and few new cats will enter an area, altering and releasing 70% or more of the cats in an area has been shown to reduce the population. Altering only a small percent of the cats in an area will have no effect on the overpopulation, as those unaltered will breed to meet the amount of available food.

The only study of altered and released feral cats in Israel, performed by a student at Tel Aviv University's Center for Human-Animal Studies, examined three Tel Aviv feeding sites where cats were altered and released. The study found that in an "open system" where there are no borders to prevent cats from roaming, such as prevails in Israel, spaying, neutering, and feeding not only did not lower the population of cats in the three areas studied, it actually increased it. Food put out for the altered cats attracted new cats into the area. The study also found that claims that altered cats form a barrier, keeping out new cats, were false. More aggressive, unneutered cats chased away less aggressive, neutered ones, who were then without a territory or food source.

This study concluded that trap/neuter/release will not reduce the overpopulation under conditions prevalent in Israel, where the number of cats is enormous, where there are no boundaries keeping cats from drifting from one area to another, and where, according to this study, the ability to alter 70% at any one time is not possible. Despite the study's findings, its author nevertheless recommended altering and releasing cats where there are feeding stations and where there are people willing to undertake a labor-intensive process of constant, vigilant monitoring of the cats, including immediate trapping and altering of all new cats as they enter each area.

In locations where feeders take responsibility for altering cats new to the area, there still remains the problem of aggressive males. Even neutered, some male cats are extremely aggressive and will attack and drive off other cats in an area. Some kibbutzim in Israel have chosen to euthanize the most aggressive males, in order to make life manageable for the other cats.

All humane organizations agree that tame cats (those who can be handled and who can relate to humans) should never be put on the streets. Inhumane methods of controlling cat overpopulation, such as traps that injure or poisons that cause suffering, including alpha chlorolose and strychnine, should never be used.

Zichron Yachov & Rosh Ha'Ayin

On Monday we went on a tour with new immigrants to some places north of Tel Aviv along the coast. We explored a nature area/garden that was very beautiful. It also had a crypt but it was closed so we did not get to see it. After about an hour, we got back on the bus (always a half hour after we were expected to be leaving) and went to a winery called Tishbi. We had a short tour of the winery (it’s small)…everyone’s favorite place was the cooler where all the barrels of wine were stored, not because it was the most interesting, but because it was a break from the heat! We sampled a few wines and bought two bottles of our favorite for our hosts in Jerusalem.

After everyone was sufficiently tipsy we headed to the town of Zichron Yachov. It is a small town with a nice mix of old and new things. For some reason it actually kind of reminded me of an Israeli version of Los Gatos (although quite a bit less ‘made up’). There were nice little shops to look into and lots of small restaurants. We took a small historical tour with our guide and learned that the land was originally inhabited by one hundred Romanian Jews. It also had running water nearly 25 years before Jerusalem! The synagogue was opened in 1886 and had been actively used three times a day for every day since then. We did have an interesting experience though was we were about to leave. Some of the men on the tour were inside the Synagogue praying and I guess it turned out that door was supposed to have been locked and we were not meant to have been inside when we were, because an irate man saw the men inside the synagogue and instead of asking them nicely to leave….he locked them in!!! It was horrible and our tour guide inside lost his temper momentarily and kicked open the door!! Luckily it just broke the lock, not the actual door, but there was a lot of yelling following the incident and we left rather in a hurry. It was bad on both their sides, but that man had some nerve to interrupt their prayers to lock them in and yell at them.

We were exhausted after our adventures so Anat heated up some pasta, which we ate in the Sukkah, and we went to bed. It was good for me to get a glimpse of a bit of the Northern part of Israel, but there is still a lot more for me to see. Although we will be living in the most southern part of the country, I will still make it up there sometime.

Rosh Ha'Ayin

For one night we stayed with Eran (Ben’s cousin of some sort) and his family in Rosh Ha’ayin, a bit northeast of Tel Aviv. It was a blast! Eran made a smorgusboard of food for us and we feasted for what felt like hours! They also have two dogs that I had a good time giving attention to...I’ve decided that if I tell them to dogs will send Maybe my love (whatever, it makes me feel better, otherwise I think I’m cheating on her!) After dinner Eran’s 10 year old daughter (Shay, pronounced Shy) and I started playing wii….and we kept playing and kept playing. We bowled, shot arrows, played ping-pong, cycled up and down hills, wakeboarded, canoed, and shot baskets. By midnight I was sweating, sore and smiling. She doesn’t speak very much English so our playing consisted of grunts and laughs and first and progressively graduated to yells of ‘AGAIN’ from her, and “od pa’am” (one more time) from me as we both practiced our few words of the other’s language. Ben joined the games as well and we went to bed exhausted and happy from a very fun evening. I’m still sore!

Old City Jerusalem

When I was in Israel last December I had mixed feelings about Jerusalem. We were there during Shabbat, which also happened to be Christmas. We explored the Old City a lot, but it was always at night and it was always relatively empty of people, especially tourists. This time, it was especially full of people and tourists. We went in the daytime (hot) and during the week of Sukkot, which means that everyone was on vacation. It was a very different experience as we tried to maneuver our way through the very narrow ‘streets’ that all seem like a maze and every turn looks similar. We were drawn towards the less crowded areas where we saw a lot more locals and could really look at our surroundings better. Anat, who was a soldier on Ben’s Birthright Trip, was with us and showed us a few good places to eat, an especially good hummus place….yumm. We stayed at her house with her parents and siblings for two nights. This time Jerusalem didn’t feel quite as uncomfortable for me as it did last time when I felt it was filled with the tensions of the middle east, however I still feel it is somewhere I would like to visit only a few days at a time. I don’t think this is a commonly shared sentiment, but we are all different.

Sukkot

Last Wednesday was the first day of the Sukkot holiday (september is really just one holiday after the next). Sukkot is an 8 day long holiday related to the harvest. People build a small 'house' called a sukkah, which is usually covered in leaves or flowers. It is meant to be like the small dwellings Jews would make as they traveled or stayed in during harvest to keep in the shade. During the week people will eat their meals in the sukkah. Some people, if they are very religious or traditional will live in their Sukkah during the week. The picture here is of Ben and Mandy building the Sukkah in LeHavim. We haven't yet seen the final Sukkah though because we left before it was done. Some of the other Sukkot (plural for Sukkah) that we have seen are made all out of wood and others even out of plastic piping and tarp (however, the roofs are always made of palm fronds)

.

Next headed North to Holon (pretty much Tel Aviv) on the first day of Sukkot, which was not an easy day to travel. The train was packed with people going home for the holiday, especially a lot of soldiers. The entryway where you get on the train was PACKED with people, so we just squeezed into the mass of bags, uniforms, sweat, and guns....interesting ride.

We spent the next few days with some friends of the Morgan's (Ruthie and Yair) in Holon. They took us to Caesarea, which is North of Tel Aviv on the sea. It was a beautiful place and Ben had a great time taking pictures. It was very, very humid there. We walked around the beach area and explored Roman ruins. There was a large amphitheater and a bathing house. It always amazes me to think that I am standing in the same place where many people walked so many years ago..it's even crazier to look at the tiny tiles on the floor that were all placed individually by hand, the attention to those kinds of details is very impressive.

As you can see, we got caught by a wave!

We also spent some time with Ben's friends in Tel Aviv. We actually did quite a bit while we were staying in Holon, in addition to sleeping a lot. The only reason I was able to stay up until 4:00 am was because all I did during the day was sleep!! (It was a good strategy!).

Next stop Jerusalem.....

Kibbutz & Yom Kippur

(Oh my, look how spoiled we are, lounging in a hammock)

I was introduced to a new fruit this week…marula. It’s a small fruit that grows on trees, it has a tough peel and a very large pit. To eat it you cut a slit in the side and squeeze the juice into your mouth. I found that you can get quite a bit of juice out if you mush it around in your hands like you are milking a cow! Elaine, who works for the school Ben went to (AIES), was juicing them and gave us a taste test of the juice. It was very refreshing. Interesting fact: one large marula about the size of a plum has as much vitamin C in it as three large oranges!

Wednesday evening on the kibbutz we ate good food in the dining hall because of the Bar Mizvah party that was being held that night. Everyone gets very excited over eating fish here because it is eaten for special occasions, but I tend to avoid it for some reason. However, they did have an assortment of cheeses that were different and very yummy. After dinner we went to the party, which was held at the pool and consisted of some speeches by the boy and his family (all in Hebrew of course) and some performances by the other kids his age. Some of them sang and played guitar, some showed their martial arts moves, others did some dances they had made up, and two girl even sang him a song they had changed the words to so that it was about him (I wonder what it said though). It was very cute and a nice party on a particularly nice evening.

Thursday we woke up early and headed down to Eilat again to get some more business taken care of. We signed up for Ulpan, which will begin sometime mid-October, got some information about Ben’s driver’s license, and went to the hospital for the surgeon to check up on Ben’s leg. The doctor was very pleased with how it looked and the progress he had made. The large lump that is on Ben’s shin is actually a good thing as it is bone that has grown over the break! It’s rather odd to feel! Anyway, good news there.

After we returned to the Kibbutz we paid a visit to the camels. There are three of them, one female mother, one female ‘baby’ (she was born

about a week after I left in January), and the male who is far smaller than the female. We had a good time feeding them as you can see from the pictures. The dumpster I am diving into is usually full of left over stale bread, but it was rather empty (hence the diving). It was a funny afternoon.

Thursday evening the kibbutz has pub night, which I never made it to while I was visiting and I had planned on attending this week….but, true to my tendencies, I didn’t! Beforeahand I did join Ben and a few of the kibbutzniks (people who live there, these friends had grown up there) for some tea outside their house, it was rather fun. Then I enjoyed a nice evening in the apartment reading my book.

We came to Beer Sheva yesterday just in time for Yom Kippur to begin. On this holiday everything shuts down and people do not drive on the streets. The religious community also fasts from about 5:30 on Friday evening until the same time on Saturday. Even the radios and TV’s have nothing on, it is a very quiet holiday. However, when evening falls on Friday night many kids go out to play and bike around in the empty streets so pretty much all you can hear is children playing (and dogs barking, but that really never stops it seems).

This morning at about 8:00 Ben and I awoke to a downpour! It could easily compete with the rain you find in Eugene sometimes, however it only lasted 10 minutes and then it was gone. We had hung our clothes out to dry last night and just laughed at the fact that they were out there getting soaked again...however, when we got up a few hours later (yes we slept in, there is not much to do on Yom Kippur) they were completely dry! The rest of the day has consisted of watching movies and reading books, period. I read another book I enjoyed called The Touch, by Colleen McCullough.

Tomorrow we plan to go into the city to some more government offices and get some paper work done for my work visa as well. For now, some dinner and perhaps another book….

(Look...what a cutie!!)

Israel: Updates and Details

Two weeks or two months? Which one is it? I guess we have only been here for two weeks, but it is difficult to believe as we have already done so many different things and changed our plans so many different times! Most of our time so far has been figuring out our plans so get ready to join us in our confusion!

Tel Aviv: We stayed with Ben's cousin, Liad, at his flat in Tel Aviv, a rather large flat actually. We explored Tel Aviv a bit, mostly by foot and a bit by bus as well. I'm not a fan of the buses, although a lot of it has to do with not knowing the language and always feeling like everyone sounds angry and is yelling. This may actually be the case because people in Tel Aviv seem rather stressed out, like most other big cities. We went to the beach one day but the sea was full of garbage. I think part of it was because we went in a little inlet or bay thing, which may have slower moving water and collect more garbage, instead of seaweed touching and grabbing our legs, it was plastic bags! However, we were told it is not always like that, which is good, and will of course go again another time.

One thing I have noticed here is that I am always sticky. After going to the beach the feeling can be described by 5 words beginning with S: Sweaty, Salty, Sticky, Smelly, and Sunscreeny (ok maybe that's not a word, but we can pretend).

We also visited Yafo, which is part of Tel Aviv and is just a bit South. We looked at an apartment there, but decided not to take it as we didn't yet know where Ben would be for army (we still don't know).Next we stayed with Julie Yosefan, she is the mother of Ben's friend Yotam, Julie has helped me look for jobs over the past few months. The whole family is very nice and it was a great place to stay.

Beer Sheva: After the first 5 days in Tel Aviv we headed down to Beer Sheva, where Thea and Mandy live (good family friends of the Morgan's). There wasn't a lot for us to do here in terms of getting stuff done so we did our best to relax and enjoy our time. We did help Inbar and Hemi out at their new apartment (Inbar is Thea/Mandy's daughter). We sanded the walls one day and painted them a few days later...wow that is hard work and Inbar is very pregnant so I'm glad we were there to do it instead! We also visited Brian Moshofsky (someone I went to high school with) who is living in Beer Sheva with his girlfriend Ilan.

For Rosh Hashana Thea and Mandy's families came over and we had a huge dinner. It was an interesting meal with SO many different dishes, two of which I could not bring myself to try (fish head and beef tongue!) Fish head is supposed to be good luck to eat. It was really a good time and I enjoyed meeting everyone. There were three kids there (18, 14, and 8) and it was fun to hang out with them. The 8 year old, Aviv, is doing really well on English and knows way too many words that 8 year olds should not know!! He was funny.

I hit the jackpot the other day when Inbar told us that there were boxes full of books that had been left in the apartment before they moved in....they were all in English! I spent two hours sifting through 6 large boxes of books. Most of them were old and related to war, government conspiracy, or murder so it was certainly a treasure hunt. In the end though I still found a whole bag full of books that I am interesting in reading. I read White Fang and The Call of The Wild first and enjoyed them both (although they are brutal in terms of human/dog violence...Susan don't read them you wouldn't be able to handle it!).

Kibbutz Ketura: After 6 days in Beer Sheva we headed even farther South and we are now on the Kibbutz that Ben has lived on for the past year. This is awesome...we are staying in a nice guest house for free. They are so nice here. Ronit (Ben's Kibbutz host family mom) has been helping us every day with paperwork and things we need to get taken care of on the Kibbutz. We have gone into Eilat every day until today to get stuff done. We met with many of the government agencies and without getting into too many boring details we seem to have the information we need to get things going and everything seems fairly possible, much easier than it all seemed from the US. We have been enjoying our time in Eilat and on Kibbutz even though we are keeping ourselves very busy with stuff to get done. The other night I went with Ronit to her folk dancing class, which was awesome. Folk dancing here is like line dancing but in a circle. This class was very advanced though and they already knew all the dances so they just danced, no instruction necessary. I followed along for some of it, but it was difficult (very fast, many steps, and lots of turns). I really enjoyed it though and want to join a beginners class at some point. I really enjoy line dancing (in college, and when I lived in CA I took a class or two) and this was very similar!

Tonight there is a Bar Mitzvah on the Kibbutz, which means there is a party at the pool and good food at the dining hall. Omer (Ronit's son) has his Bar Mitzvah next month and we are excited to go.

We have decided that for the first few months (3 or 4) we will be living in Eilat. It is the southern most city of the country right between Egypt and Jordan on the Red Sea. We didn't consider this as an option until we got down here and now there are a few reasons to make this move. We discovered that dealing with the government agencies in Eilat is rather simple compared to the horror stories we have heard about in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. We decided to make it simple and just stay here for a few months while Ben figures out the army and I figure out my work visa. We found an apartment in Eilat that is super cheap...it's a small (tiny) studio with a HUGE porch and all utilities and internet included. We will also be starting an Ulpan (Hebrew classes), which will be three hours on Mon and Wed. Both the apartment and the Ulpan don't start until October, so we have time to get some other things figured out in Beer Sheva and Tel Aviv. We are excited about our decision to begin in Eilat.

Hopefully soon things may settle down a bit and I will be able to write about how much Hebrew I am learning, but for now I'm super happy just to have made a decision about the first few months and feel much more confident about getting the visa and having things work out.

See below for a map of Israel if you are not familiar with where we have been. Tel-Aviv Yafo is on the west coast a little above the center. Beer Sheva (here spelled Beersheba) is in the center below the West Bank, Eilat (here spelled Elat) is at the very bottom tip, and Kibbutz Ketura (not on the map) is a about 20 miles North of Eilat.

France Days 6, 7, and 8

Day 6

We got up early and headed back up to Paris on the plane. We decided that instead of taking the metro back from the bus station we would try walking a bit. That turned out to be a great idea as on the walk we turned a corner and faced L'Arc de Triomph directly in front of us. It was surrounded by an INSANELY huge round-about that appeared to be practically 6 lanes wide, however since there were no actual lane lines it was difficult to tell where the cars were going and impossible to understand how they were not constantly running into one another. They just kept zigging and zagging around one another and then shooting off onto one of the many roads that met at the arc.

After walking half way we took the metro the rest of the way to save Ben's leg for future walks and met up with Laurie again (Ben's cousin). Laurie took us to Notre Dame and was a wonderful tour guide. We walked along the Seine (which I now know is pronounced 'sen') and eventually made our way back to the apartment for a short rest before heading back out for a nice dinner with Laurie and her family.

Day 7

Bike tour of Paris! Ben and I decided to take a tour of Paris by bike thinking we could get around better and for a longer time than if he were on foot and could see more than if we went by bus..we were so very right. The bike ride was amazing. We toured all around Paris beginning at the Eiffel Tower and stopping every few minutes for history lessons and amazing background stories you may not get from a textbook.

It rained a little but it didn't matter, we had a blast, learned a lot, and finished four hours later with some sore rears (adding to the horseback riding soreness) and a yearning for some more. After finding out that we could get 50% off the night tour because we had already done the day tour, it was inevitable that we would do the night tour the next evening.

Some of the places we visited on our tour include: The Louvre, The Eiffel Tower, Napoleon's Tomb, Arc de Triomph (no we did not bike the round-about), Les Invalides,

and much more that I can't even remember the

names of! (I was never really good at history). These two pictures are of a church built only for the royal family to use, but it is no longer a church and is now where Napolean's tomb is. The garden in front of it was also really beautiful.

Behind this building is Les Invalides (see below), which was originally built as a hospital and place for veterans to live but is now a museum dedicated to everything military related, the bushes in the front of the building are even shaped like bullets! (Grandpa, I think you might find this place quite interesting, have you been?)

After the tour we met up with Laurie and went to the Musee Rodin, where we saw a lot of statues (including The Thinker).We were exhausted by the end of that and headed back to the

apartment and joined Laurie and her family for a dinner out. We ate at a nice Chinese restaurant with Laurie, her parents, Aldrich (her brother) and Lia (her grandmother). Memorable Moment: at the end of the meal the waiter came by and asked if any of us would like a shot of sake; only Ben and Lia partook. In the bottom of each of the tiny shot glasses was a glass bubble that seemed a little odd but nothing really noteworthy. However, the waiter poured the two shots and Lia peered into hers before drinking it. Ben took is without a look. Then we found out that that little glass bubble in the bottom of the glass has a picture in it that you can only see when there is liquid in the glass. Ben had not looked at his and I was curious so I cheated a poured a little water into the glass. Looking in it took me a minute to focus but eventually I could just make out a tiny imagine of a woman...ok, I thought, that's nice...oh wait though, that's a boob, oh and another boob, oh and..some more. Wow! I looked up at Lia (a grandmother remember) and laughed and she handed me hers. Ben and I each peered into the glasses, this one even more scandelous with a man AND a woman (I'll leave it up to the imagination for this one, let me just say it was not a picture you want to be looking at while sitting at a dinner table with a family you have merely just met!). It was a good laugh and something I had never seen before, what fun!

Day 8

Our last full day in France...and we filled it! In the morning Ben and I explored Montemartre and Sacre Coeur. It was a beautiful view from the top of the hill and the building was amazing! We didn't stay long because we had a packed day, but we certainly enjoyed the views.

We met up with Laurie and Alrich for some lunch after our time at Sacre Coeur and then visited Lia's husband Charbonne (no idea how to spell that!) in the hospital (he had fallen recently and was in the hospital for a few days to get checked out). He is a very sweet man and it seemed to make him very glad that we had stopped by, it was well worth it.

After our morning/afternoon adventures Ben and I went back to the apartment and got ready for our evening bike tour! We bundled up because it was chilly and went off into the busy streets of Paris. This tour was much quicker, with fewer stops, and much scarier biking! A few times I even had to stop a car from continuing by sticking out my hand and shaking it at the driver. It was certainly something I would not like to do on a regular basis, but I enjoyed it all the same. (Ben and I were the only ones who wore helmets, including the kids!).

Highlights of the tour:

1. The Eiffel Tower at night. It sparkles at night for about 10 minutes every hour, it actually made me gasp when I saw it start, it was crazy, the pictures could not capture it.

2. Biking through the central area of the Louve around a circular fountain with my head in the air, surrounded on all sides by the towering walls of the Louvre with detailed sculptures light up from beneath. All the silence of the streets vanished and all I could hear was the quiet peddling of our fellow bikers and a small giggle in my throat from the awe of it. We took no pictures of this as I think it would have ruined it. It was the most amazing moment of my trip, I could have stayed there for hours just biking in circles.

3. We stopped for some amazing ice cream behind Notre Dame.

4. The tour ended on a big boat where we were given wine and I stood at the end of the boat with my face in the wind as we road for an hour up and down the Seine, all the lights of the city transforming it completely from its daytime appearance.

After the tour Ben and I went to the park at the base of the Eiffel Tower and just sat in the grass looking up at it until we were too tired to stay any longer. What a way to spend our final night in France.

France Days 4 and 5

Day 4

Ben and I spent the morning in Arles. We took the rental car and drove the 20 something km to the town and decided to find the office of tourism to get ourselves some maps. We accidentally passed it and made the first turn we could so that we could turn around....big mistake. Immediately we found ourselves headed into a maze of narrow roads flanked with pedestrians (locals and tourists alike, paying no attention to the few cars that dared to venture into this area). The maze appeared to be endless and with each turn we made we seemed to get ourselves deeper and deeper into it. In the end we (at least 15 minutes of high stress) we broke through to the Rhone river and found a parking spot, still deep in the labyrinth but with no intentions of attempting to escape without finding a map first. Despite another interesting beginning to our day we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Arles, wandering the old streets and admiring the many colorful doors and windows and imagining what it would be like to live somewhere like that. We found a nice place to eat panini (the staple of our diet in France) and cool off a bit before attempting the maze again (took us only 2 min with the map!).

After a nice morning in Arles we went back to the farm to meet up with Guillaume and headed off to another beach near Marseille. This beach was a rocky one and was absolutely beautiful. We stopped to swim and bask in the sun behind a jetty where the water was pretty calm (a popular place). We stayed until the sun went behind the arches of the bridge towering above the water and then headed back to Arles to meet up with Guillaume's family for an authentic French meal at a nice restaurant. Ben even tried fois gras and liked it (I tried it too but I'm not as inclined to endorse it as he is). It was a great day with some true relaxation and adventure.

Day 5

Three words: exhausting, beautiful, and impressive. Today we rented kayaks and paddled our way around trees, rocks, and a massive Roman aqueduct. I was baffled by the fact that these aqueducts were used to transport water from city to city, it was difficult to imagine 30 miles of above ground water running through the relatively small section of the structure rising above us. By the end of our trek we had sore arms (nothing yet compared to our rear ends though), burnt legs, and hungry stomachs. We went for another panini (of course) and raced (again of course) back to Arles to return the rental car before the deadline. At this point we got to tour the olive and apple orchards that Guillaume and Andre own. They have a total of 100 hectares (or 400 acres) of apple, olive, and wheat fields. We got to pick an apple right off the tree to eat right then...mmmm. Guillaume's grandparents live right next door so we popped in to meet them and do a little olive oil tasting (an interesting process consisting of smelling twice, sucking through the teeth, swishing around, either spitting or swallowing, and then breathing deeply in through the mouth and out the nose). We ate another late meal and headed off to our last night in Provence. A wonderful place made for relaxation and exploration, just as we had hoped.

Pictures will soon be added to the France posts.

France day 3

Day 3:

Guillaume's father Andre gave him a few days off work so that he could spend some time with Ben and I while we were staying with them. However, he was ever so nice to his father and ended up working at least a few hours every day that we were there. Considering we couldn't seem to drag ourselves out of bed before 9:00 anyway he was able to get in almost 4 hours before we were even up! Ben and I decided we wanted to do something different while we were in Provence, something different and relaxing. We ended up doing both although never really at the same time. In the morning of our first full day we decided to go horseback riding. We went down to a town called Saintes Maries de la Mer (beach town) for lunch and then took a 2 hour ride on horseback.

We were feeling pretty good about our decision and felt it was a good way to be outdoors, see some sites, and get around without Ben having to walk too much because of his leg. There were probably about 15 of us, oh and all the horses decided it was very important to pee and poo before leaving so we left a big puddle behind us as we took off down the side of the road. Only about 1 minute into the ride a horse in front of us decided to jump into the road and turn around only a few inches from a speeding bus! Ben and I turned to one another with wide eyes and mouthed, what did we get ourselves into?!

Despite the scary beginning the rest of the ride was rather uneventful....however, half way through the ride we started trotting a bit and it proved to be a painful experience for Ben. By the end of the ride my rear end felt like one solid bruise and Ben wouldn't even let me take a picture of him on his horse..his very words were, "no way, let's go get a drink and forget this ever happened." No more horseback riding until that leg is 100% healed! So that's just what we did...or at least tried to do, we went to the beach and relaxed in the waves and sand but alas we could not forget this horses for days as each time we sat we were reminded of the hard saddle beneath our derrier. Back on the farm we had another late (fantastically good) meal and off to bed right after. Poor Ben suffered from strange dreams after eating so late and made noises in the night and woke up in a panic....silly boy.