Sigh

Budapest is pretty.

I miss Stephanie. A lot.

That is all.

Oh Europe

So it turns out that "biking in the Dutch countryside" really meant riding around, high out of my mind, on a bike that hurts my ass, in a torrential downpour/lightning storm. That didnt go so well, but damn was it hilarious.

The rest of Amsterdam went pretty much as the first days did. We went to the Torture Museum and just ate a lot of food. In the words of Adam - "Jordan, there's just too much sin here." It was a really good time and I loved every moment of it, but I was ready to leave. There was just so much marijuana in my body that I was incapable of coherent thought. That had to end.

Now I find myself in Budapest. I keep having these moments where I realize that Im seriously in Hungary. Yes, Hungary. Why? WHY? I dont know, but Im here. The hostel is sweet, everyones super friendly and it has a badass garden with hammocks and shit. Today Adam and I went to the Buda Castle and went in the castle labyrinths, which were terrifying. We also made reservations to go on a "personal labyrinth" tomorrow night... its supposed to be pitch black with only a string to guide you in these caves. Should be awesome.

So yes, Budapest. What? I dont know. I like it here so far though.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam totally rules. I have been having so much fun, but Im pretty sure some sort of drugs-withdrawal will occur when I leave. Ah, such are the consequences of such large scale hedonism.

I've seen the hoes, the Cannibis College, the Sex Museum, an art market, and the inside of many-a-coffeeshop. I've slept a lot, eaten obscene amounts of food, and actually gotten free weed twice. This is an amazing place, but the pace is about to kill me. I have a terrible headache right now, and theres simply nothing to be done... except smoke more weed, which I (shock!) do not want to do.

Tomorrow we are renting bikes and seeing the Dutch countryside, then going to somewhere called the homomonument. Should be pretty awesome.

blah blah blah

I have 65 hours left in Israel, meaning that in approximately 70 hours I will be in AMSTERDAM, getting super blazed. Im excited.

As for the rest of Eilat - it was sweet. Scuba diving with dolphins was pimpass, and the nighttime jeep safari was pretty sweet too. I saw wild camels, gazelles, a porcupine andalmost died twice. Then the next morning my eye puffed up for some reason and I looked retarded. Oh well.

Ok, just a quick update.

Holy mother of god

I cant even believe how long its been since I updated. Theres no way for me to encapsulate all that has occured in this time period, so Ill bust out the bullet format:

- I visited Jerusalem with Adam, Rona, and Steph. Highlights include the Western Wall, varied and questionable encounters with our hostel-keepers in the Muslim quarter, the Holocaust memorial museum, and the little boy that said "Give me money" when he found out we were from CA.

- We stopped by the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve on the way home, which is an oasis in the middle of the damn Negev desert. After some HOT hiking, I swam in oasis waterfalls. So beautiful.

- Lots of time on the beach in Tel Aviv.

- Tel Aviv Pride parade, where I saw more gay people than ever before.

- Adam and I went to Haifa and Ziccov Yakon, where I sat there while Adam talked in Hebrew to people who didnt speak much English. Saw some pretty shit, like the Bahai Temple and Gardens.

- We also went to Rosh Hanikra, the most beautiful place Ive ever seen. Its this natural grotto on the Israel-Lebanon border. You take cable cars down a cliffside to get to it, and just walk around in this amazing caves filled with water. After we finished in the park, Adam and I forged our own path down the mountainside (bad idea) and went swimming against the odds. Against the odds meaning, in this case, naked in a place where swimming was prohibited. We saw what I suspect were capyberas on the mountain and soldiers saw me naked. It was absolutely the clearest most beautiful water of my life .

- Now I'm in Eilat with Rona and Adam. Today we went snorkeling at the Coral Beach Nature Reserve. A fish touched my leg and I saw an eel and some sort of awesome fish with weird fins that camoflages to the color of the sea floor. Tomorrow we go scuba diving with dolphins, rent kayaks, and go on a nighttime jeep tour of the Negev desert.

In a week I leave Israel for Amsterdam. Woot! In the meantime I have mono, which pretty much just makes me tired and irritable. I miss Stephanie like CRAZY and I can't wait to get back to her. Also, I have decided to have my birthday in Southern CA, meaning Robyn, Sara, Kelley, and Steph will be there. Excellent.

So there. Satisfied, Robyn??