Vegas Baby, Vegas

Getting Hadas on the road at 5:30AM is no easy task, but there we were, at the airport on time, and on our way to Sin City. At the Bally's Hotel and Casino, we met Ben, Josh and my cousin Gabi, for a weekend of gambling, drinking, fine dining and site seeing. From Carribean Stud Poker to Pai Gow, from the Penny Slots to the High Roller tables, from the Eiffel Tower to the Statue of Liberty and through the magnificent water show at the Bellagio, we lived, slept and breathed the former desert air. A few hundred dollars down, but many memories richer, we got on the plane to NYC at midnight bound to wake up with red eyes and big yawns...

The City of Angels and The Land of Mickey

Thursday morning we got up bright and early to catch a flight to LA, along with Elly, Avi and Uriel. In the airport we picked up a huge SUV (Dodge Durango) and headed to check out Beverly Hills. After walking around with the rich and famous on Rodeo Drive, we eased over to Hollywood Blvd., where we didn't see any stars, but we saw their footprints at the Mann's (Grauman's) Chinese Theater. Towards evening, we headed down to Culver City, where we got to meet little Ezra Potter and have dinner with Aaron and Shanna. A night ride East got us to Anaheim, home of Disneyland.

Friday morning we got up and trucked off to Disneyland, where we left the world of today and entered the worlds of tomorrow, adventure, fantasy, etc. We found Nemo, rode with Indiana Jones and Peter Pan, sledded through the Matterhorn and met Mickey! After many hours on our feet and in long lines, we went to get a big steak and find some shut eye, before getting up before sunrise for the morning's flight.

The Beauty at the Bay

We got on the plane from Portland to Oakland, California on Monday after the Ducks game. Elly and Avi picked us up from the airport, and after a little stop at the Berkeley marina and a few hours of playing with Uriel, we had outstanding pizza (maybe the best I've ever had) at Zachary's.
The next day we took on San Francisco with Avi, going along the piers from the Embarcadero, through Fisherman's Wharf to Ghirardelli Square, stopping in to see all the old gaming machines at Musee Mechanique. Then we tried to get to the Golden Gate Bridge, but seeing (or rather not seeing...) it was completely fogged over, we went to the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts instead. Then we took the classic Cable Car ride up Powell Street, and returned to Berkeley for dinner with Molly Rosenfeld and Sekey.
Wednesday we spent with Elly, driving around Frisco, starting at the Golden Gate Bridge, continuing along the Pacific, through Haight-Ashbury and The Castro, and straight into a crazy traffic jam. At night we had the pleasure to babysit Uriel. Who could ask for more?

Tailgating in Eugene

So, after returning from Seaside, we spent a few more days in Portland before taking a weekend trip down to Eugene, Oregon (about 2 hours South of Portland) for probably the biggest game of the year in college football. It was actually supposed to be just another game, so my friend Ben Olds was able to get us tickets well in advance, but as it turned out, the two teams, Oregon and Arizona State, came in ranked 4th and 5th in the country. But the real thrill of this adventure was to get Hadas to watch a complete football game and try to get her drunk on the way. And we were more than partially successful. So we tailgated (for all you Israelis, tailgating is the ceremony of eating and drinking in the parking lot before the game) with spiked apple cider, bloody marries, deviled eggs and a great atmosphere and then saw the Ducks (Oregon) whip the Sun Devils to go up to number 3 in the rankings. It was great!

Our stay in Portland

So for those of you wondering what we've been up to since the TEFAP...
We both quit our jobs, as of October 14th and flew to the US on October 17th.
Since then, we've been spending time with my grandparents and my friends in Portland. Our trip here has mainly consisted of eating, but we also took a trip to the gorgeous Multnomah Falls, spent an afternoon at the Portland Zoo, and spend a few days on the Oregon Coast, including a hike part of the way up to Tillamook Head.

The beginning of Adi and Hadas's Blog

Hey Everybody!
This blog will enable you to follow us as we travel around the world!
Read, Enjoy and Envy!

Adi and Hadas