Trip to Ariel???

The first order of business was to get Pat to the airport for her flight home. Mission accomplished. Then I returned home, did some laundry and washed my hair. It was already hot at 0900.

I planned to meet my friend, Prof. Rivka Gilat for supper. I went up to the bus station and caught a #486 express bus to Ariel (NIS 9.5).  My RavKav card didn't work. But Rivka called - she's not at the university, she's home in Petach Tikvah! There is a stop in Petach Tikvah, but I asked the bus driver (in Hebrew) and he said not on this route.  Well darn.  It was stopping to pick people up, but I had no idea where we were.  And it was hot and I didn't have water.  So I decided to go all the way and wait for a better return. Ariel is a safe community.  I did get to gaze upon the biblical heartland.  I got off in Ariel at a known location near the university.  Still hot without water.  I saw a #86 bus with Petach Tikvah as the destination, but I wasn't at the right bus stop, but it was right around the corner (I had never taken the bus back before). The fare was NIS 7.5.  I asked Rivka where to get off (at the mall) and asked her to bring a bottle of water.  My GPS wasn't keeping up with the bus, so it got dicey at the end, but I guessed we were at the mall, and Rivka was right there.

The job update is that Ariel University still doesn't have its hydraulic track set up. So, no news is good news.  They may start teaching some undergraduate classes in English to prepare the students for engineering practice.  Hmm.

We went to a marvelous kosher Italian restaurant, Alfredo.  Rivka always orders a ton of food and sends me home with a huge doggy bag. Tonight was no exception.  We got three appetizers (paper-thin beets, eggplant with quinoa, risotto balls), a salad with haloomi cheese and sweet potatoes, cheese ravioli with a perfect olive oil sauce, a focaccia with amazing spreads (one tomato and one olive), an apple crumble and a piece of NY cheesecake with a wonderful bitter orange sauce, and two cappuccinos.  That's the foodie report.  Positively great leftovers.

P.S. I was in the right city on the right day, but I wasn't at this: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265472