Greetings from the Puzzle Israel tour bus!

It is Tuesday already, and we left Haifa this morning, made a stop in Tel Aviv and are on our way south to the Negev desert!  We are a couple of "blog" days behind…but that is no fault of our wonderful student travelers.  We have been so busy that we literally have not had a moment to fill you in on details.  But thanks to portable wifi and a laptop, we are going to try to catch you all up on our adventures. 

Leo Saitz is our guest blogger today.  Below is a conversation he had with Rabbi Lisa Eiduson.

Rabbi E:  So, Leo, where did we start the day today and what did you learn?

Leo:  We traveled to the ancient city of Caesarea that goes back to the Roman times.  It was interesting to learn how old it is and see how many different ruling powers conquered it over the past 2,000 years.  We sat in a huge Roman theatre that is still used for concerts and theatre today. 

Rabbi E:  Did you like it?

Leo:  Yes, it is beautiful and is right on the Mediterranean Sea.  Due to the rain the day before, the waves were pretty big and we got splashed from the water a bit as we were walking. We saw the huge palace and port that was built by Herod…it included a swimming pool that was built right into the Mediterranean Sea!

Rabbi E:  What did you think of lunch?

Leo:  We had lunch way up on a hill in a Bedouin Village.  You could see the Mediterranean Sea at the bottom all the way from the restaurant. It was beautiful. It was interesting to me how the Bedouins served the meal – a little bit at a time, starting with a ton of salads and then followed by grilled meats.

Rabbi E:  Where did we travel from there as we continued our adventures in the north of Israel?

Leo:  We went to the artist village of Ein Hod and did a little art project outside.  We saw the studios belonging to the artists:  painters, sculptors, glass blowers, etc. The art project that we worked on was one that we were asked to be creative and then build on other people’s creativity.  It was cool what we did.  We then went to the studio of a musician in Ein Hod who is a drummer.  We also spent time in a studio belonging to 4 generations of artists!!!  They do ceramics, painting and mosaic and they have exhibitions all over Israel. 

Rabbi E:  How do you feel about being in Israel so far, Leo?

Leo:   It is very comfortable here and I feel like I have everything I need. It is more familiar than I thought it would be.  I’m actually looking forward to spending some time with our American group doing some traveling together.  All is well!!  We are having a great time!!  Hi to everyone back home!