Meeting the family - entry 3

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So many great people and not enough words to describe the warmth and hospitality of everyone. Before going, I felt like I had met everyone already because of all the stories shared over the years. First and foremost, Rivka and Moshe. Rivka is Drora's older sister and also an amazing cook. After our 3 hour run with Matti, we showed up at Rivka's and enjoyed an impromptu lunch of fish curry, matzah ball soup and other goodies.

We also met with Drora's brother, Itzik and his wife Eti. Jews moved to Israel from all over the world and Itay's family reflects that. Moshe is Egyptian, Eti is Moroccan, Eli was married to an Indian, cousin Gili's wife is of Yemenite descent. Israel is a melting pot of people from all these countries who would've otherwise never met!

On the Shalev side, we visited with Matti's siblings. Hava, the oldest is 70 and a Triathelete! She gave me tips on running and we also met her daughter who had done a Triathlon the day we met her. Triathlon consists of swimming, cycling and running in immediate succession. It's usually a .93 miles of swimming, 24.8 miles of biking, and 6.2 miles of running all one after another!! Matti's brother, Eli, is an avid biker as you can see from his photo and other sister Tsila is also very active. They definitely inspired me to be more athletic.

Our Jerusalem farewell concluded with a dinner at Motti & Atara's home. They have been friends with Itay's parents for over 30 years. Motti is a professor and Atara is a teacher. They are really easy going and we got to meet their daughter and her family. Motti has agreed to be tour guide in Israel as long as we promise to visit together and with a growing family of our own. We'll do our best, Motti!

We had an unexpectedly great time with Drora's cousin, Nahom and his wife Hana, in Haifa. We didn't tell them until the last minute we were in town and as soon as they heard Nahom met us and showed us the best sites in Haifa, including the beautiful Bahai temple on the hilltop in Haifa. He reminded me so much of my family when he insisted I eat more despite having a big dinner and that no was not an option if I wanted to be in the family. I relented and had a cheesecake, his herbal tea with louisa and lemongrass, and cookies baked by Hana. By the end of our meeting we hugged and kissed to mark my entrance into the family. So sweet!

Another Nahom showed us a great time in Eilat and also organized a trip to Petra. Drora's brother, Nahom and his wife Sara, hosted us in Eilat towards the end of our trip. They have a beautiful and comfortable home in Eilat with their kids and grandkids close by. We really enjoyed spending time with their family and all the super cute grandkids. More on Eilat and our "fishy pedicure" later.

Lookout for a separate entry to introduce you to Itay's cousins from the Shalev side who took us to an unbelievable journey in the desert for a few days.

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Photos

Gershoni clan
You have no idea how hard it was to get them all in one space and standing still for a few seconds

Itay & Mimi
Matti's aunt

Drora and sisters
Rivka and Nizhiya