We All Went Down to the "Ramat Gan" Zoo (And They All Asked For You)

I got to go to my absolute FAVORITE place in the entire world today--THE ZOO! I woke up to take what was supposed to be an hour long bus ride to the Tel Aviv suburb--plot twist, it was two. And there was a creepy guy and a situation that made me uncomfortable... Basically, I was ready to just run away.

nopenopenopenope

But it was ALL WORTH it the second I stepped off the bus. I was at the zoo!!!

At this particular zoo, they drive you through a safari park to get to the actual zoo. Let me say that again--the safari is not the main attraction. The safari is just the driveway!!

Zebras!

A scimitar, or an oryx

Submerged hippos!

I was in absolute heaven. I walked around and saw all my favorite animals. Here are a few cute pics you can scroll through quickly if you're bored!

Not even part of the zoo--three baby chicks! cheep cheep!

My loves. Asian elephants

I love them!

Little baby!!!

He even looked up for the picture. I love this camel

Chompin at the bamboo

Another looker!!

Rudolph???

Little guy hanging off the fence. I imagine him saying, "help me, I'm poor."

There was an infant resting with its momma. So adorable!!! I couldn't believe how cute it was. It loved its mommy

The zoo was just like the rest of Israel--super open with suggestive rules. I was actually hanging out near the meerkat (meercat? I don't know) cage thinking about how open the enclosure was. Then--the zookeeper came over to feed the animals. Look how she got in.

What.

WHAT.

She literally lifted up the net and crawled in!! UnREAL. If I had the slightest bit less self control, I would have been inside of these enclosures like 

Love!

On the way out of the zoo, we passed through the lion enclosure and also went by some rhinos.

RAWR

What a guy

So close to the car!

I had the same safari driver into and out of the zoo, so of course I had to take a pic with him. He was very excited.

SUCH A STAR

I got home, then went to the synagogue with my family for the first time. It was a really cool experience. Very joyful, lots of singing and clapping. People were kind of irreverent--guys were sleeping, gals were chatting. It added a lot to the community feel of the service. Fun fact: married women are required to wear head coverings of some sort in the temple--unless they shave their heads and wear a wig. All men, on the other hand, cover their heads with yamakas (also called kippa). 

We returned after the half hour service for a beautiful outdoor dinner.

Stunning. And there's Orit!

Basically, if you were wondering if I'm living in paradise... I am (: 

Tomorrow, we are celebrating my host parents' 25th anniversary--yay!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Love,

Aubs