Let me tell you whats overwhelming. Having 40 new friends that you really REALLY want to see scattered across the states (and the Netherlands!) (and Israel!). After my trip I was lucky enough to have made some particularly phenomenal friends, dubbed Beautiful Bubbles by our tour leader. Now-I'm not planning any trips over seas or across the country any time soon, but Philly seemed manageable. Two (extremely nauseous) hours later Bolt Bus delivered me into the city of brotherly love. Or, as I like to think of it, Bubbly Love. I met up with Lisa and Brian to tour the Magic Gardens of Isaiah Zagar. In a word- overwhelming- in the best way. Just like having 40 friends. 
Isaiah is obviously full of krazy. But who doesn't love a krazy every now and then? Especially when they make really amazing art I can walk through? Every inch of the indoor and outdoor space was drenched with mosaic madness.
Embedded into the wall were all sorts of tea pots, bottles, and other liquid containers.
And here we found a Buddha just lounging, enjoying the view.
What was so cool about the space was how you could walk through it and really interact. I could feel the 3AM nights, where I imagined Isaiah tired as a mofo but working relentlessly regardless. The drive to make conquering the need for sleep.
Brian, Lisa, and I dreamed up the perfect wedding, designating different sections of the maze as a specialty cocktails area, a vegan pigs in a blanket station (well the vegan part may have been me) and a spectacular dance floor, no decorating required. There were unlimited nooks and crannies for the best man and a bridesmaid to get their make out on. Plus all the kids would just entertain themselves by playing hide and seek in the maze. Perfect!
What was really extra special was being able to spend all this time with these two wonderful people.
Because whats better than a reunion in a magical place?
Isaiah has either been commissioned, or took it upon himself, to mosaic much of the surrounding area. So there are people who live in houses adorned with his work, and store fronts covered with the stuff. Its like an exploration in alternative graffiti. It makes the neighborhood a really beautiful place to spend time in. I'm sure all the residents are saying-
Last Saturday I invited many of my peeps for my very first Shabbat. For those of y'all who don't know, the Jewish sabbath is from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. And there are all sorts of ways people choose to observe the sabbath, from not carrying keys, using money, or actively turning on lights to hanging out and getting piss drunk. And some people choose not to observe at all.
Tara (pictured below; left) was the pancake master and made all sorts of amazing shaped pancakes. This was her crowning glory though, a dino shaped pancake. It was requested, I had no idea how to carry out such a demand, but Tara was allz like "I know everything pancake," and knocked it out of the park. The Jurassic park. She also made a star of David pancake,and just a normal star pancake. Because she knows everything pancake.
Hey peeps! Thanks for coming and making it the best brunch ever! And thanks Birthright for picking up the tab! I can't wait to have another one- so amazing!
Spotted- on Bleeker near Seventh Ave. A lady who knows what's up. Who loves monochromatic color choices, especially when it comes to ensemble decisions. Diggin her boldness, her ballsyness, and I hope I am brave enough to be this unapologetically crazy when I'm older.
"Hey, everyone, gather round. Let me tell you about this land. It was once Syrian territory which the Syrians heavily mined. Once Israel won this land, they also decided to add their mines to the bunch. This has resulted in the area being one of the most heavily mined areas in the whole world. OKAY! Let's go hiking!"
That is more or less what our tour guide shared with us right before this amazing hike through Nahal Jilaboun in Northern Israel. Israel is full of "not in use, well not right now anyways" military stuff, like old bunkers and shacks, like the one above. 
The landscape was remarkable, but also remarkably much like the North East. In fact, us Nor-Easter's commented that we could be hiking through the Catskills and wouldn't be surprised.
This one area two of my fav's, Randy and Erica, are posing in, so reminded me of the little bamboo swampy areas in Fire Island, if you've ever been there. I half expected to see a deer wander by. It was nice and cool down in the valleys, covered by trees and a small river running through. Unlike the rocks-
where there was no relief from the intense sun. However it was from these spots that we could see the landscape unfurl beneath us and really appreciate the hike.
The diversity of the plants was the only hint that, honey, we ain't in New York anymore. I can guarantee that there are no cactus growing upstate.
Something we learned, and then were reminded about all though our trip- since it was an off season for us to be there it was on season for Israeli schools. Apparently we were exploring the land during "Israel Take Your School Kids on a Trip Week," and kept running into very enthusiastic kiddies also exploring their homeland. These ones in particular stopped me to ask if I was from America, and New York in general (how did they know, I was dressing French!?) and totally needed to take a photo with me. I happily agreed in return for a photo with them.
Here is a place that you can "leave your DNA" according to our lovely tour guide.
And so concludes our Northern Israel hike. Just wait to you see the desert!
What is better than wearing dresses every day? Probably not much (rock climbing, laying in the grass, dancing, picnicking, making out, bike riding... almost all of those things can be done in a dress) and now the weather is becoming more and more appropriate to be wearing a dress, and only a dress (and shoes!) and that makes me feel fancy. Fancy free! Spring time allergies make me feel like I have the flu, but that's another story.
In a typical fucked up kind of way, New York decided to forgo spring in lieu of hardcore summer weather straight off the bat. Hello heat wave! Which for those of us who suffer allergies, it was less than awesome, but still stunningly beautiful. I can't hate. I bet the cherry blossoms looks amazing in the Botanical Gardens.
I'm happy for the rain last night, kill those pollen drifts!
