ISRAEL IS REAL

               This is the true story…of 20 something strangers…picked to live in Netanya, work together, and have their lives blogged…to find out what happens when people stop Americaning and start getting real – Israel.       

[jrossier8]

Last night, as I watch my last #sunset in #israel, I had mixed emotions. I'm sad that my journey here has come to an end, but feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to experience living in this beautiful country that I gladly call home. Moving here was the best decision I have ever made, and Israel, you haven't seen the last of me. #telaviv #israelisreal #itfnetanya

[jrossier8]

Humusing on my #lastday in #israel. Gonna miss #humus like crazy! Thanks @niv_bachar (at רוני פול)

[jrossier8]

Last nights #sunset #telaviv #israelisreal #azrieli (at 2C-49 Floor)

[jrossier8]

Life's a Beach ☀️🌊 #telaviv #israelisreal #jammypack #countrymusic (at חוף גורדון,תל אביב)

[jrossier8]

One of the things I will miss the most...my last #netanya #sunset #israelisreal ☀️🌊 (at חוף נתניה)

[jrossier8]

It's kind of like Hawaii...#aloha from #israel #plumeria #sunset 🌺☀️🌊 (at Natanya Beach)

[jrossier8]

לילה לבן #whitenight #telaviv #israelisreal @marniaportal

[jrossier8]

The #parentalunits at the #westernwall #jerusalem #israelisreal

[jrossier8]

#deadsea with the #parentalunits #israelisreal (at The Dead Sea- Ein Bokek)

[jrossier8]

#redsea #eilat #snorkel #israelisreal 🐠🐬☀️ (at Coral Beach Nature Reserve in Eilat)

[jrossier8]

#deadsea floating #israelisreal (at Dead Sea)

[jrossier8]

#sunset in #telaviv #speedosarentsexyorarethey ? #bowchickawowwow 📷@myriah (at Tel-Aviv, Israel)

[jrossier8]

Yom Hazikaron & Yom Haatzmaut

I would say that I am pretty damn American (and proud of it).  I love me some country music, baseball, and Coors Light (you know, just all the stereotypical American stuff).  4th of July is one of my favorite holidays and I love that red, white, and blue.  Being American is a part of my identity.  I feel like the second I arrived in Israel I kept being asked by this program about my Jewish identity, and to be honest I have not had much of an answer seeing as I haven’t really had much of a Jewish identity.  Sure, I have always felt Jewish - my mom is Jewish and her side of the family is Jewish.  That part of my family connects me to my Jewishness, but that’s about the extent.  When I got here, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that most people surrounding me were Jewish since I’m usually the only Jewish person amongst my friends.

Ok, so why am I blabbering on about my Jewish identity you ask?  I had the pleasure of celebrating Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) – two holidays I knew nothing of.  They are back to back, which was an interesting concept to me.  You go from a really somber day remembering the fallen soldiers and victims of terrorist attacks to a really happy, party day celebrating Israel’s independence.  These two holidays were very powerful and affected me greatly, and helped connect me to having more of a Jewish identity.  They really showed me how much I love this country and these people who are here protecting it, and how much this place makes me feel like I am home.  It’s a sense of belonging that I never realized that I was missing until recently.      

I spent both holidays in Jerusalem.  For Yom Hazikaron, we spent the evening at a Masa event honoring people who made Aliyah and lost their lives either as soldiers or due to acts of terrorism.  The ceremony started with a country-wide siren where everyone in Israel (for lack of a better analogy) literally stops dead in their tracks.  During the ceremony, we heard from friends and family members of the people who lost their lives.  It was very touching hearing these people’s stories and how they loved this country so much and died protecting it even though they were not born Israeli.  We spent the following morning at Mount Herzl.  I feel like as human beings we have all lost someone special throughout life, but in Israel, since everyone has to serve in the army, I think a lot of those losses come from protecting this country.  And thanks to all these people protecting this country, we get to celebrate Israel’s Independence Day.   Sarah, Myriah, and I stayed in Jerusalem to celebrate Yom Haatzmaut with one of Myriah’s friends at a house party later that night.  Nothing too exciting and we ended up missing the fireworks, but we enjoyed some drinks and roasting marshmallows over the bonfire in the backyard.  We were hoping people would be out and about the next day to continue the celebrations, but the weather in Jerusalem was windy and rainy.  We walked around the old city a bit and hung out at the hostel nursing our hangovers.            

[jrossier8]

☀️ #samesundifferentset #itfnetanya #israelisreal

[jrossier8]

White Waterfall #golan #hike #nature #israelisreal #itfnetanya

[jrossier8]

Romantic picnic dinner @beccabrot 🍷🍴 (at Picnic Sarona)

[jrossier8]

Passover Break

We got a little over 2 weeks off for Passover break, and since we are so close to Europe, I want to take advantage of as much traveling as possible. Sarah and I decided to go to Croatia and Slovenia for our time off.

CROATIA

March 27th

1 train ride, 2 layovers, and 3 flights later, we finally made it to Dubrovnik. As we flew in, I was awestruck. This place is so beautiful with all the green and the deep blue and teal waters of the Adriatic Sea. The hotel offered a car service, so we were picked up by our friendly driver, Mario. He gave us some history of Dubrovnik and showed us what’s what on our way in. Since we had a long travel day, we took it pretty easy and walked to the port and had an early dinner.

March 28th

DUBROVNIK

Dubrovnik, WOW! What an amazingly cool place with all the red roofs of the old city right on the sea. We started our morning by taking the cable car up the mountain to get a higher view of the old city, the Adriatic, and the rest of Dubrovnik. We then wandered into the old city where no cars can access. We realized the best way to see everything in the old city was to walk the walls where you can get views of the sea and into the city itself.  Later, we went to Hotel More for dinner and a drink at the Cave Bar – yeah, it’s a bar in a cave!  Google said it was only a 30 minute walk, but man it was out there – I swear it was uphill both ways.  It was worth it especially because we arrived just in time for a beautiful sunset.  Unfortunately the bar closed at 6PM, so we weren’t able to get a drink, but we did get to see inside.  

March 29th

SPLIT

We left Dubrovnik in the morning and took a 4 1/2 hour bus to Split. Split, well Split ain't nothing to write home about, and in my opinion, nowhere near as beautiful as Dubrovnik. We tried to find our way to Marjan (a hilly nature reserve with walking trails), but the city map wasn't very clear how to get there and google lead us astray. So, we never actually made it, but we did have a nice walk, and still saw some beautiful views of the sea. Then we walked around Diocletian's Palace, which is not actually a palace but Roman ruins where you can find shops, restaurants, etc.

March 30th & 31st

HVAR

We took a 2 hour ferry to the island of Hvar from Split, which dropped us in the town of Stari Grad. We then took a 20 minute bus ride to the town of Hvar, and the owner of Shaka Hostel where we booked a room picked us up. Unfortunately it is off-season for Hvar, so it was kind of like a ghost town. There are some amazing caves off other islands close to Hvar, which we weren't able to go to since no tours were running. We walked around the old town for a little bit then bought a bottle of bubbles and enjoyed it from the balcony of our room. You can't really beat the view of the sea from our room. Later we went out to have a glass of wine at the Top Bar. It is at the top of a really nice hotel on the water and overlooks the old town.

The next day the owner of the hostel took us by car for a drive around the island for our own little private tour (we were his only guests, and I think he felt bad that there wasn't much going on - he was the nicest guy ever). He has a long family history in Hvar, so it was interesting to hear. He also makes his own wine and gave us some to take with us to try. He dropped us at the bus station, and we headed back to Split ending our day with an incredible dinner and cheesecake that changed my life.

April 1st

KRKA NATIONAL PARK

We had this whole plan to leave Split, head to Krka National Park for the day, and then drive to Rovinj to stay. Seeing as it was April Fools Day, joke was on us. Let's just say we had a chaotic morning with the rental car company (word of advice: never book through rentalcars.com).  Also, can someone please teach me how to drive stick when I get home? Anyway, there was a huge misunderstanding that lead to no car and another night in Split. Thank goodness our friends at Split Luxury Rooms had an available room for the night. We didn't want to waste the whole day doing nothing in Split, so we went to a travel agency to see if they had any tours to the park. Even better, they had daily AUTOMATIC cars for rent. We said, lama lo, and off we went to Krka, which is about an hour drive (and I still remember how to drive after 6 months of not doing so). It was a bit rainy, and by a bit I mean downpouring, by the time we arrived. I guess all the mishaps will make this day that much more memorable for us. We parked the car and took the boat into the first part of the park, and the rain let up. There are 3 main waterfalls in the park. You have to drive to each one separately through little Podunk towns and they are not close to each other. We started at Skradinski Buk (my favorite). There was a footbridge that lead around this part of the park. Heather - the Croatian fairies definitely live here - it reminded me of the backside of Convict Lake. It was so beautiful with all the trees and turquoise water everywhere.  We then drove to the Roski Slap waterfall and after tried to find Manojlovac Slap waterfall (no such luck).

April 2nd

We picked up our rental car and off we went to Rovinj, which was a 5 hour drive north. Road Trip! With crappy radio the whole way haha. Today ended up being more of a travel day, but we did watch the sunset while drinking the wine Amir (owner of Shaka Hostel) gave us at the kibbutzish type place we are staying right on the sea.

April 3rd

PULA & ROVINJ

There are just some cities that have a certain amount of charm.  In my opinion, Rovinj is one of them, Pula is not.  We spent the morning in Pula, saw a Roman Amphitheater, and that was really the only thing interesting in Pula.  So, we drove back to Rovinj for the rest of the afternoon.  We walked around the cobbled streets of the old town (cars can’t access this part of town), and found a spot on the water to just sit and relax for a bit.  Then we took a stroll through the tree lined walking paths right on the sea of the Punta Corrente Forest Park.  We decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner in the old town.  The restaurant we went to was right on the sea, so we had an amazing view for sunset.  But, since we were sitting outside, I got shit on by a bird.  I couldn’t help but laugh, and hope some good luck is on the way.        

April 4th

PLITVICE NATIONAL PARK

This was by far one of my favorite places we went to.  We made an Australian friend, Rory, on our walk through the park.  Plitvice had 16 lakes that are all connected by waterfalls, so everywhere you turn there is water cascading from somewhere.  We walked the beginning of the trail, and then took a boat to where you can continue walking on wooden footbridges that wind around the lakes.  We decided to go right, and part of the trail was flooded, so we made our own route around where the path was washed out.  We hiked up the hill and found a spot that didn’t look too steep to hike down.  Yeah, we were very, very wrong.  It was much steeper going down than it looked from the top, and we ended up sliding down on our butts a good portion of the way.  But we made it to where we wanted to be and ended up being a fun adventure!

April 5th

ZAGREB

I have never been the biggest fan of cities (unless it’s New York, Paris, or Tel Aviv haha), so Zagrab wasn’t my favorite spot.  The main street and city center were really nice and cute, but so much was closed because it was Easter.  There are also a lot of churches, which I don’t really care to see.  We walked around a little bit and went to the top of a building that gave us 360-degree views of the city.

SLOVENIA

April 6th

LJUBLJANA

We took a train from Zagreb to Ljubljana early in the morning.  I liked Ljubljana better than Zagreb, but still not on the top of my list of favorite places we visited.  We walked up to Ljubljana Castle, and then we walked around the old town.

April 7th

LAKE BLED & VINTGAR GORGE

Lake Bled was gorgeous especially with the snow-capped mountains still peeking out in the background.  It was a bit windy and cold, but we still walked around about half of the lake.  We went up to Bled Castle, which overlooks the lake on top of a hill.  We then drove to Vintgar Gorge (part of the Triglav National Park).  It was technically closed, but we ducked under and walked along the wooden walkways that cross over the river as far as it would take us.  Seriously the color of the water in both Croatia and Slovenia is unreal!    

April 8th & 9th

TRIGLAV NATIONAL PARK

We drove through the Triglav National Park on the 8th, starting in Kranjska Gora where a ski resort is located.  There wasn’t too much snow left, but all the surrounding mountains still had a little on their peaks.  It reminded me of home and made me a little homesick.  We made our way down into the Soca Valley and walked part of the Soca Trail along the Soca River.  Our last stop was Bovec where we signed up for ziplining for the following day.  The guy who ran the place told us about 2 waterfalls close by, Slap Virje and Slap Boka.  Slovenia didn’t get much snow this year, so there also isn’t too much water run off.  Slap Virje was pretty but very small and Slap Boka was completely dried up.  Still some nice little hikes to get to both.

We returned to Bovec on the 9th for our ziplining adventure.  The guides were awesome, and it was a great way to see parts of the Triglav National Park from above.  We had a ton of fun especially because we thought we only got 3, but actually got to go on 5.  After, we went to the Tolmin Gorge, which took us about an hour to walk around.  Spring had definitely sprung on this side of the park.  Wildflowers and green everywhere!  And the water here too, so blue and beautiful!  I loved everything about this place!  

April 10th

POSTOJNA CAVE, SKOCJAN CAVE, & PIRAN

We started our day at the Postojna Cave.  This cave was huge!!  You first take a train ride into the cave – I felt like I was at Disneyland, and then you do the rest on foot with a guided walking tour.  They took us through the Hall of Tubes, the White Hall, and the Red Room.  We ended the tour in a concert hall.  I had never seen anything like this before, and I thought it was pretty cool!  We also ended up in the group with the 36 millionth visitor, so after our tour we were treated to some wine and food.  It ended up being a huge event.  After, we drove further to the Skocjan Cave.  I think I liked this place better than the first, but we weren’t allowed to take photos.  I liked how we walked through the underground canyon over the Reka River that ran through the cave.  We ended our day in Piran, a little costal town.  We hadn’t been near the water since Croatia, so it was a nice change of scenery.  We walked around a bit and then ate some seafood since it’s hard to come by in Israel.

ITALY

April 11th

VENICE

What a great way to end our vacation.  It definitely wasn’t on our list when we left Israel, but we also didn’t realize how close of a drive from Ljubljana it was.  The last time I was there it was a Saturday, off season, and a complete mad house.  This time, it was a Saturday, off season, and an even bigger mad house.  Either way it is such a magical, beautiful place.  We took the water bus to St. Mark’s Square and wandered around the alleys and over bridges, as you should in Venice.  We obviously did the pasta and gelato thing and bought some Venetian masks and glass – typical tourists.  By the end, I was ready to head out – I prefer pushy Israelis to pushy Italians any day.

All in all, we had a great Passover Break!  I would highly recommend Croatia and Slovenia to anyone – preferably during their high season though, so places aren’t missed.  The people were friendly, the food was great, the places were beautiful, and the drivers were nuts!