Israel, O Israel ... How did we love thee, let us count the ways -
1.Western sunsets over the balmy Mediterranean
2.Slim fit jeans and bods to match!
3.Tahini, tahini, tahini - green, red, mixed with hummus - any way possible!
4.Heat - dry desert and humid coastal
5.Tel Aviv buzz, nonstop action
6.Shekels - bills, not coins
7.Roman ruins at Caesarea
8.Hebrew and Arabic signage, a graphic-philes dream!
9.Seeing the sea and the desert in the same hour
10.Matkot - Israeli paddle ball on the beach
11.Accadia Beach, Ari, chetzi Tuborgs, and languishing in beach bars all day on the sand
12.David Citadel Hotel! - anytime!
13.Ben Yehuda Street - after Shabbat
14.Shenkin Street and great smoothies
15.Martha’s on Ibn Givriol Street at ZOA
16. Beach cliffs at Herzliya and Natanya
17.The Bakery - yummy, buttery tarts
18.The markets - Jaffa, Carmel - insanity in a word!
Tons o fun was had by all! Sitting on the plane now, waiting for takeoff from the perennially buzzing Ben Gurion Airport, after a full day - just bumped into our friend Eytan, who we dined with last night - on his way to Bucharest with all the rest!
Firstly, seriously contemplating a year long stint in Tel Aviv - so hip and cool, lots of fun, great design, frenetic pace, fantastic food. We chased the modern design options of Marrakech in February, which we thought were plentiful ... but after the past ten days in Israel I feel as if I’ve been in ground zero for cool factor. Tel Aviv port - oy - Ibn Givriol Street, Neve Tzedek, Dizengoff - how can there by so many fantastic, avant garde restaurants and shops in such density??? It’s South Beach pre-Balzac, Four Seasons, but post Sushi Samba ... amazing!
I think I could even get Jane to join me, the kids too - note to self - become fluent in Hebrew asap, shed another 10 pounds (everyone is impossibly thin, tanned, gorgeous, and nonchalant ... low slung jeans, flips, etc.) ... travel in time machine to recapture lost remnants of youth ... hmm, maybe it won’t work after all!
It was a busy few days ... let’s let it unfold chronologically, but in reverse order. Today - Sarah and Arnie left for Toronto early in the morning, and we packed up the carry-ons quickly and headed north towards Haifa. A brief stop at Aroma for lattés and we were on our way, pulling into Yemin Orde midmorning, for a tour of the village that is the rough template for the ASYV project in Rwanda. Meeting Chaim Peri, David, Ruth, Susan - a privilege and a highlight! Learning [more] about the amazing philosophy that has been embraced by the government, the Dali Lama, and countless philanthropists was fascinating. The approach that the team takes in building up the confidence of the kids who come here as a result of unfortunate and often tragic circumstances is inspiring - the entire village, which overlooks the sea and the area around Carmel, is laden with messages which help to invigorate, educate, and provide the kids with a sense of family and security.
We drove back along the coast (think Southern California) and stopped for a bit of reminiscing in Netanya, where I spent a lot of time when I was [much] younger ... although much more commercialized than when I was there, the bluffs that meet the beaches and crystal waters are still as gorgeous as ever! We popped into an internet café to print out our boarding passes for the flight home (while the kids stripped in the car and threw on their bathing suits!), and we were off towards Herzliya ... everyone was in the mood for one last ‘glida’ (gelato) so we stopped in town. The kids played basketball in the Nike store while Jane and I shopped in Habitat (much cooler than it’s European namesake) - then it was our turn to get naked in the car (aren’t we getting too old for this!?!) and ran to the beach. More beer, tahini, salads, lemonade with nana (mint), etc. - swimming in the Med, the beach was much less crowded than yesterday’s madness. We hung out with Ilana and Louis and gang (Munich contingency) and continued to hold court with Aviva, Jane’s cousin from Ra’anana. We got in the last licks of summer, watching the sunset, feet in the sand, and at 7:30 decided to pack it in. We elected to forego the Lewitans offer of showering in their nearby hotel room, and instead followed our previously unknown (and well hidden) hippy roots to shower on the beach ... a first for us, since I generally wear flip flops in most showers that do not meet the loofah test! The kids have come to the conclusion that we have flipped our lids - the documented beach showering, the dinners at 11pm, hanging out all day at the beach bar - so much for rigidity! There’s something about Israel at the end of the summer that causes one to relinquish all sanity and just go for it.
For example, are you aware that we pulled the same ridiculous stunt two days ago? After a visit to Tel Aviv University’s Cimbalista Synagogue (Mario Botta), we went into central Tel Aviv - Itzhak Rabin Square (the nearby tower block graces the cover the the City Guide to Tel Aviv) ... lunch at the previously unknown (to us) Martha’s - fantastic! Waitress: struggling actress who was living in Forest Hills, Queens for past three years; Food: delicious, delicate, elegant without being overblown or pretentious (please don’t write ‘truffle oil’ on the menu anymore - if it’s in there we’ll know it and you don’t need to justify your prices with such messages - ugghhhh!). Wine, then halvah and pecan parfait (do I need to say anything else), a quick stop at The Bakery for a tart, then onto Neve Tzedek - the roots of Tel Aviv’s European urban pioneers. Well, almost - it was 90 and sunny, so why not - once again - change in the car, swimsuits and towels forever in the back seat, and head to Banana Beach for a late afternoon dip (no, not the dip of the pita in tahini, rather a swim in the Med). Refreshing and lovely, we were well fortified for our stroll in the village like Neve Tzedek, then onward ho to Old Jaffa - mostly Arab and sumptuous by the water with splendid views of the Tel Aviv shoreline ... dinner at the unfortunately named Pu’ah was fantastic! Quaint, charming, Café Gitane-esque in it’s eclectic nature ... well fed, we moved to the next feast at Jane’s relatives in the east of the city - the entire clan was there, waiting for us patiently and graciously. The Iraqi-Israeli ruckus ensued, with the kids retiring to watch Friends in the cousin’s room (currently in the army). Is Friends on 24 hours a day in every country??? We had a fantastic, late, fun evening - everyone was so lively and fun, a real treat!!! Happy birthday Zev!
In between these days, Andi had been sick, so we mostly hung out and took it easy. Jane stayed with him, some sort of virus (ultimately leaping to her to cause her a restless night later on) ... I ventured out with my father and the older kids, along with Ilana & Louis and the girls, driving up the coast late afternoon for a visit to Caesarea, the ancient Roman ruins, and the beach with accompanying aqueduct. It was amazing, the light was fantastic, and it was quiet, being the end of the day. Really wonderful, the kids collected nautilus shells, we took a swim and yes, had more hummus, labne, and tahini by the beach there too, finally returning to find Andi much better but Jane not doing so great. My parents, zonked, went straight to bed, and we made a feeble attempt at a quick dinner near the beach, which went off once Jane really took a turn for the worse. Luckily for her (if it can be phrased that way) she was better the next morning. We zipped down to the crazy Carmel market - loud music, fruits, vegetables, underwear, sunglasses - just nuts - then out for fresh juice smoothies to the still funkified Shenkin Street before retiring back to Herzliya beach. We spent the entire afternoon lounging, drinking, eating, swimming, playing paddle ball, and chatting! Ilana, Louis, Ruggero (Milano), his assistant (former assistant to Roberto Benigni during the shooting of Life is Beautiful - Jared got a great lesson, having just seen this movie in Italian class), her Spanish friend, Ari (our Urugayan-Israeli waiter/friend) ... so great, another Tower of Babel. We ended the day at Whitehall, finally deciding that we needed to actually feed my parents a real meal - a great Shabbat dinner in town.
How could I forget - Saturday found us driving to Be'ersheva at 7 am for a visit to the Negev - desert - looking for love at the Ramon Crater deep in the south ... ibex milling about, heat, color ... then onto the ruins at Ovdat. An entire archeological site to ourselves, high above the desert floor, then onto the gorge at Ein Ovdat for a crushing hike (Sarah and Arnie in the a/c of the car). Finally, Ben Gurion's tomb and back to Herliya for a swim. We went to our friend Suzy's new apartment in Tel Aviv - magnificent and modern - for wine, cheese, and olives, before hooking up with Gili, Eytan, and the boys for a farewell dinner at the port - so delicious and so much fun ... a great 'last' evening in the metropolis! Kisses goodbye, a quick tour of Comme Il Faut, then home to bed!
So, posting this entry from the living room at home - back after a relatively easy 12 hour jaunt home on the midnight flight, and a full breakfast at the local diner at 6 am ... about to watch a DVD together (nobody wants to go to the beach on this gorgeous day - how sad!!!) ... stay tuned for more, we’re on terra firma for now though.
Happy Labor Day, hoping it’s truly labor free and fun filled!
H
PS - to see pics of our voyage visit our site and look for the Israel album!
1.Western sunsets over the balmy Mediterranean
2.Slim fit jeans and bods to match!
3.Tahini, tahini, tahini - green, red, mixed with hummus - any way possible!
4.Heat - dry desert and humid coastal
5.Tel Aviv buzz, nonstop action
6.Shekels - bills, not coins
7.Roman ruins at Caesarea
8.Hebrew and Arabic signage, a graphic-philes dream!
9.Seeing the sea and the desert in the same hour
10.Matkot - Israeli paddle ball on the beach
11.Accadia Beach, Ari, chetzi Tuborgs, and languishing in beach bars all day on the sand
12.David Citadel Hotel! - anytime!
13.Ben Yehuda Street - after Shabbat
14.Shenkin Street and great smoothies
15.Martha’s on Ibn Givriol Street at ZOA
16. Beach cliffs at Herzliya and Natanya
17.The Bakery - yummy, buttery tarts
18.The markets - Jaffa, Carmel - insanity in a word!
Tons o fun was had by all! Sitting on the plane now, waiting for takeoff from the perennially buzzing Ben Gurion Airport, after a full day - just bumped into our friend Eytan, who we dined with last night - on his way to Bucharest with all the rest!
Firstly, seriously contemplating a year long stint in Tel Aviv - so hip and cool, lots of fun, great design, frenetic pace, fantastic food. We chased the modern design options of Marrakech in February, which we thought were plentiful ... but after the past ten days in Israel I feel as if I’ve been in ground zero for cool factor. Tel Aviv port - oy - Ibn Givriol Street, Neve Tzedek, Dizengoff - how can there by so many fantastic, avant garde restaurants and shops in such density??? It’s South Beach pre-Balzac, Four Seasons, but post Sushi Samba ... amazing!
I think I could even get Jane to join me, the kids too - note to self - become fluent in Hebrew asap, shed another 10 pounds (everyone is impossibly thin, tanned, gorgeous, and nonchalant ... low slung jeans, flips, etc.) ... travel in time machine to recapture lost remnants of youth ... hmm, maybe it won’t work after all!
It was a busy few days ... let’s let it unfold chronologically, but in reverse order. Today - Sarah and Arnie left for Toronto early in the morning, and we packed up the carry-ons quickly and headed north towards Haifa. A brief stop at Aroma for lattés and we were on our way, pulling into Yemin Orde midmorning, for a tour of the village that is the rough template for the ASYV project in Rwanda. Meeting Chaim Peri, David, Ruth, Susan - a privilege and a highlight! Learning [more] about the amazing philosophy that has been embraced by the government, the Dali Lama, and countless philanthropists was fascinating. The approach that the team takes in building up the confidence of the kids who come here as a result of unfortunate and often tragic circumstances is inspiring - the entire village, which overlooks the sea and the area around Carmel, is laden with messages which help to invigorate, educate, and provide the kids with a sense of family and security.
We drove back along the coast (think Southern California) and stopped for a bit of reminiscing in Netanya, where I spent a lot of time when I was [much] younger ... although much more commercialized than when I was there, the bluffs that meet the beaches and crystal waters are still as gorgeous as ever! We popped into an internet café to print out our boarding passes for the flight home (while the kids stripped in the car and threw on their bathing suits!), and we were off towards Herzliya ... everyone was in the mood for one last ‘glida’ (gelato) so we stopped in town. The kids played basketball in the Nike store while Jane and I shopped in Habitat (much cooler than it’s European namesake) - then it was our turn to get naked in the car (aren’t we getting too old for this!?!) and ran to the beach. More beer, tahini, salads, lemonade with nana (mint), etc. - swimming in the Med, the beach was much less crowded than yesterday’s madness. We hung out with Ilana and Louis and gang (Munich contingency) and continued to hold court with Aviva, Jane’s cousin from Ra’anana. We got in the last licks of summer, watching the sunset, feet in the sand, and at 7:30 decided to pack it in. We elected to forego the Lewitans offer of showering in their nearby hotel room, and instead followed our previously unknown (and well hidden) hippy roots to shower on the beach ... a first for us, since I generally wear flip flops in most showers that do not meet the loofah test! The kids have come to the conclusion that we have flipped our lids - the documented beach showering, the dinners at 11pm, hanging out all day at the beach bar - so much for rigidity! There’s something about Israel at the end of the summer that causes one to relinquish all sanity and just go for it.
For example, are you aware that we pulled the same ridiculous stunt two days ago? After a visit to Tel Aviv University’s Cimbalista Synagogue (Mario Botta), we went into central Tel Aviv - Itzhak Rabin Square (the nearby tower block graces the cover the the City Guide to Tel Aviv) ... lunch at the previously unknown (to us) Martha’s - fantastic! Waitress: struggling actress who was living in Forest Hills, Queens for past three years; Food: delicious, delicate, elegant without being overblown or pretentious (please don’t write ‘truffle oil’ on the menu anymore - if it’s in there we’ll know it and you don’t need to justify your prices with such messages - ugghhhh!). Wine, then halvah and pecan parfait (do I need to say anything else), a quick stop at The Bakery for a tart, then onto Neve Tzedek - the roots of Tel Aviv’s European urban pioneers. Well, almost - it was 90 and sunny, so why not - once again - change in the car, swimsuits and towels forever in the back seat, and head to Banana Beach for a late afternoon dip (no, not the dip of the pita in tahini, rather a swim in the Med). Refreshing and lovely, we were well fortified for our stroll in the village like Neve Tzedek, then onward ho to Old Jaffa - mostly Arab and sumptuous by the water with splendid views of the Tel Aviv shoreline ... dinner at the unfortunately named Pu’ah was fantastic! Quaint, charming, Café Gitane-esque in it’s eclectic nature ... well fed, we moved to the next feast at Jane’s relatives in the east of the city - the entire clan was there, waiting for us patiently and graciously. The Iraqi-Israeli ruckus ensued, with the kids retiring to watch Friends in the cousin’s room (currently in the army). Is Friends on 24 hours a day in every country??? We had a fantastic, late, fun evening - everyone was so lively and fun, a real treat!!! Happy birthday Zev!
In between these days, Andi had been sick, so we mostly hung out and took it easy. Jane stayed with him, some sort of virus (ultimately leaping to her to cause her a restless night later on) ... I ventured out with my father and the older kids, along with Ilana & Louis and the girls, driving up the coast late afternoon for a visit to Caesarea, the ancient Roman ruins, and the beach with accompanying aqueduct. It was amazing, the light was fantastic, and it was quiet, being the end of the day. Really wonderful, the kids collected nautilus shells, we took a swim and yes, had more hummus, labne, and tahini by the beach there too, finally returning to find Andi much better but Jane not doing so great. My parents, zonked, went straight to bed, and we made a feeble attempt at a quick dinner near the beach, which went off once Jane really took a turn for the worse. Luckily for her (if it can be phrased that way) she was better the next morning. We zipped down to the crazy Carmel market - loud music, fruits, vegetables, underwear, sunglasses - just nuts - then out for fresh juice smoothies to the still funkified Shenkin Street before retiring back to Herzliya beach. We spent the entire afternoon lounging, drinking, eating, swimming, playing paddle ball, and chatting! Ilana, Louis, Ruggero (Milano), his assistant (former assistant to Roberto Benigni during the shooting of Life is Beautiful - Jared got a great lesson, having just seen this movie in Italian class), her Spanish friend, Ari (our Urugayan-Israeli waiter/friend) ... so great, another Tower of Babel. We ended the day at Whitehall, finally deciding that we needed to actually feed my parents a real meal - a great Shabbat dinner in town.
How could I forget - Saturday found us driving to Be'ersheva at 7 am for a visit to the Negev - desert - looking for love at the Ramon Crater deep in the south ... ibex milling about, heat, color ... then onto the ruins at Ovdat. An entire archeological site to ourselves, high above the desert floor, then onto the gorge at Ein Ovdat for a crushing hike (Sarah and Arnie in the a/c of the car). Finally, Ben Gurion's tomb and back to Herliya for a swim. We went to our friend Suzy's new apartment in Tel Aviv - magnificent and modern - for wine, cheese, and olives, before hooking up with Gili, Eytan, and the boys for a farewell dinner at the port - so delicious and so much fun ... a great 'last' evening in the metropolis! Kisses goodbye, a quick tour of Comme Il Faut, then home to bed!
So, posting this entry from the living room at home - back after a relatively easy 12 hour jaunt home on the midnight flight, and a full breakfast at the local diner at 6 am ... about to watch a DVD together (nobody wants to go to the beach on this gorgeous day - how sad!!!) ... stay tuned for more, we’re on terra firma for now though.
Happy Labor Day, hoping it’s truly labor free and fun filled!
H
PS - to see pics of our voyage visit our site and look for the Israel album!
No comments:
Post a Comment