Report of grocery store for Pesach

I did my Pesach shopping today. There was the usual assortment of cookies and macaroons, and matzot, of course.  I had a lot of trouble finding the matzah meal, because we get it in little barrels in the States.  I wasn't looking for bags of matzah meal.  And they sell baking powder (and baking soda) in little packets (like yeast packets), so it took time to find that, too.  But in the end, I found everything I need.

As for the store, of course there's still bread and hametz, because there are still 15 days before Passover.  But the nuts/bulk candy deli was empty and closed down.  And luckily there were both signs for what was kosher for Passover, and sales on a number of those items.  Yeah.  And they don't have mixes for Passover cakes, like we can get from Manischevitz.  Only a couple matzah ball soup kits.  Now I have to get the requisite many eggs.  If you haven't seen this video, watch it!  You'll love the usefulness of this methodology, especially if you do baking for Passover.

Back on dog-walking duty

My friend is back in the hospital, so I'm back on dog-walking duty, but the buses don't run on Shabbat, so I had to walk up there and back several times.  I was able to take the bus back home tonight (yeah!).  Trying to be of service....

Camels (גמלים)

I got up and about early on Friday (יום ששי) to go running.  Much to my surprise and delight, there were camels grazing in the river bottom today.  Those are the first camels I've seen except for the BGU logo (I'll post that when I can find a digital version).

And we're finally on daylight savings time.  Now, I get to recalculate the times in the States all over again.  Shabbat shalom (שבת שלום).

P.S. I just heard about this abomination:  really, Ritz crackers???

Last package arrived

I was able to track a package that my husband sent, so I knew it was in Beer Sheva.  I printed off  the tracking email and successfully battled the post office staff.  Hopefully, that's that end of packages through the mail.  Everything that was sent has been received.

The tagline says "in all places, for all people"

Visit to Ariel University

I went from Tel Aviv to Ariel, pretty elegantly with the Moovit app.  The bus to Ariel was a local, and I took a few photos on Highway 5.  The bus fare surprised me because it was so low (NIS 11).  My receipt was marked "50%", so I thought I got the senior discount by mistake, but all the fares past the green line are 50%.  Hmm.  Once we got past Petach Tikvah, the traffic thinned, but there was more than I expected.  There is no security check going east, only westbound.  It is very quick and efficient.

The fence

Olive trees along Highway 5

Rivka planned to meet me at the last stop (that's a stop I can definitely find), which is on the edge of the Ariel University campus.  I got to meet Chancellor Yigal Cohen Orgad (a former MK and one of the founders of Ariel University).

Ariel is on top of a mountain, and campus and town housing cascades down the side.  Civil engineering department head Yuri Ribakov took me up to large balcony off the President's reception area that has a wonderful view of the campus.

View to east (most of the houses are not campus)

View of the lower campus

New library under construction

View to west

I didn't get any photos of the upper campus, where engineering is.  The elevation of the city is 600 m.  My colleague, Dr. Rivka Gilat took me to dinner in Tel Aviv, after she taught class and I met with a few professors and saw the CE labs.  I caught a late train back to Beer Sheva, luckily got a cab in Beer Sheva, and went to bed.

Tel Aviv 03/25/14

I took my good camera so that I could share the experience with you.  So get ready.  Tuesday, I planned to go to Tel Aviv, check out Nachalot Binyamin craft market, and go to the opera ("Tales of Hoffman").  The Moovit app was great:  I caught a local Tel Aviv bus from the HaShalom rail station, and the app told me when to ring for the next stop.  The walk was moderate to the hotel, which was lovely.  The Diagalev Hotel is one of the original Bauhaus buildings in Tel Aviv, and it is a "live art" hotel, which means it rotates art work through the hotel, and hosts art events.

View of Diagalev Hotel from the street.  I think my room had the balcony on the top of the white section.

This was some of the art in my room - I guessed that it was not a coat rack.

I walked over to the Nacholat Binyamin craft fair, but walked into the Carmel Market by mistake.  It's only a little bigger than the shuk in Beer Sheva, but it has a greater variety of goods, and nicer dry goods than the one in Beer Sheva.  Lots of tourists.  I found a cheese vendor, we don't have in Beer Sheva, so I got some semi-firm cheeses to enjoy at home.  Got a requisite falafel sandwich for lunch.

Entrance to Carmel Market from the non-parking lot side.

I wandered into the Nachalot Binyamin fair by mistake, but was glad to have found it.  Lots of silver smiths, wood carvers, puzzle makers, jewelers.  I found (big surprise) some earrings worth purchasing, even a glass pair.

Later, I walked over the opera, and got a ticket for a backstage tour, which was great fun.

Observations 03/23/14

I went running today and the lavender was still marvelous.  A shepherd had a flock of goats and sheep in the Beer Sheva River bottom.  My cell phone didn't do it justice, but I did stop and take a photo for you.

I run on the lower walkway by the small trees.  It's unlikely that I'll get to run in any 5Ks.  They just don't do that much here.  They just had marathons in Tel Aviv, and another in Jerusalem recently, but that's not my race.  Imagine the hills in Jerusalem.  Really not my race.