Todah Israel!

Todah Israel! 12/5

I woke up early and figured I should take advantage of the few hours of sunshine before I headed to the airport. The air was crisp and the city still wet from the rain last night. I took a walk through the Old City again and felt like I had the place to myself.

An art installation in an alleyway...the tree of life.

I got down to the shore and found all of the fishermen with their poles lined up along the wall waiting for a tug on the reels from the fish below.

Morning sea life.

The flag of Israel between two fishing poles.

Joggers and bikers passed by. I watched the Ocean. Decent waves were rolling in which, I could tell, meant another storm was coming even though the sun was shining.

Morning view of Tel Aviv.

A view of Tel Aviv through the faith sculpture.

The morning rays lit up the Old City of Jaffa.

Feeling content from my morning beach scene I went out on the hunt for the wishing bridge in Jaffa. It’s a bridge in the middle of the Old City of Jaffa that has astrological signs on it. According to local legend, if you walk out onto the bridge and touch your astrological sign while making a wish and looking at the sea your wish will come true. Sign me up!

Beautiful tile work.

My goat in tile.

I got there and found barriers up on either ends with a sign saying the bridge was about to collapse. Taking a look at this bridge, it really didn’t look like it was in disrepair. I had been on many other bridges that were more rickety than this one.

Doesn't look like it's going to collapse to me.

How could I resist an opportunity to make my wish come true? That’s right, in the words of Beavis and Butt-head, I was “breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law”. Although, I doubt the local authorities really would have cared, in my usual style I said “go big or go home”. I jumped the fence (way too easy, if they want to keep people out they need to try a little harder), I went out onto the bridge, found my Capricorn goat, looked at the sea, and made my wish! I think it definitely should come true given the extra effort I put into, right? ;)

My sign, the capricorn goat. Deterred by very few things in life! ;)

Proof that I made my wish!

Without a structural collapse and police incident I made it safely off the bridge and resumed my walk back to the hostel. I checked out and went for breakfast at a local restaurant, Puaa, intensely recommended by my host at the hostel. The owner squeezed me in at the bar and served me one last meal of shakshuka and cappuccino which I thoroughly enjoyed while listening to the sights and sounds of a little girls birthday party happening upstairs. I watched the little kids climb up the stairs using all of their might and staring at me with their twinkling eyes. They were upstairs leaning how to make cookies. I’ll admit that I really wanted to join them. Being five, cooking, playing, what’s not to love?!  Alas, it was time to go. I walked out into the rain, got in the car, and headed to the airport simultaneously happy and sad.

Happiness at the ocean.

I got there over three hours early and I am glad that I did. They take their airport security seriously here. I made it through the initial bag screening to be told I need to have an additional security check. I waited 45 minutes until I was called over by a very quiet screener who kept apologizing to me and promised he would help me repack my luggage as he opened the pandora’s box that was my suitcase. Calling his supervisor over about the fig jelly I was bringing home they had a nice 10 minute discussion on whether to open it and check if it was explosive or send it in a box by itself. Another girl came over and opened it. Yes, my free fig jelly was not explosive. Neither of them seemed to care about the large bottle of wine in my suitcase. Using his magic bomb detector wand over and over again through every crevice of my suitcase he inadvertently managed to hook it onto my pink and black lace underwear which went flying out along with a few other unmentionables. Oh vey! That thing is definitely not going to find a bomb in my luggage but it seems to have no problem finding my underwear and jam. Thoroughly embarrassed, he said, “Okay, you are cleared. Ehhhh, you want me to help you pack or you want to do it yourself?”  Seeing his cheeks were red I decided to spare him the embarrassment of repacking my underwear and put my suitcase back together again. He escorted me over to the ticket area. Checked in I went through another security area where again every inch of my carryon was inspected. All in all it took me over two hours to finally get to my gate. I had just enough time to get a beer, some food, and do a quick run through of the airport shops before boarding my plane.

Ummm, what's with selling lingerie at the airport?
Seems more appropriate for Las Vegas. Just sayin!

Ignore my finger pointing to Turkey, it slipped while
I was waiting for the lady to take the picture.

Finally on board and surrounded by Russians heading to Moscow I tuned out their language and stared out the window as we took off. I watched this beautiful country get smaller below the clouds. Inspired by some of Alon’s beautiful pictures out of plane windows I decided to pull out my camera to capture my last view of this amazing country. Just as I did, this is what I saw, a final gift.....

Do you see the rainbow around the shadow
of my plane in the center of the cloud?

At Hopi I learned that they don’t say good bye, something I really loved because I hate good byes. They just feel so final. The Hopi say something like until next time or until I see you again. So my dear Israel, thank you, todah for your gifts and I will see you again soon!

Todah Israel!

Middle East LA

Middle East LA 12/4

I didn’t leave much time for Tel Aviv, especially when taking into account that it was Friday. Even though this city is more secular, things still shut down for Shabbat. I was a little worried that I would regret my decision of only really having a day, but in the end I’m glad. I’ve been fortunate to live in some very beautiful major cities and Tel Aviv and Jaffa reminded me of a fusion of some of those places. This is my nice way of saying it didn’t really leave in impact because it felt like LA or SoHo in NYC. It’s a city on the coast, it’s just on a coast in the Middle East that makes it different.

Local art work displayed on the walls of the artist quarter.

Most of my time was spent in Jaffa and this felt exactly like my walks through SoHo or Santa Monica. It was definitely what I call the “beautiful people scene” where people are dressed in their Boho chic clothes and over sized sunglasses trying very hard to look like they don’t care about appearances but repeatedly checking out their reflection in the window. Glad to see this crowd can be found around the world.

Shoppers strolling in Jaffa.

The neighborhood itself had a great compilation of boutique shops interspersed with little cafes, interior design studios, and flea markets. The flea market was the most entertaining with old shoes and jewelry mixed with some really great home design finds. I fell in love with some coffee and tea canisters that would look great in my kitchen but were not going to fit into my luggage...sigh. You could definitely spend an entire day here sorting through the junk, bartering with the professionals, and completely furnish your apartment in style.

Loved this flea market!

Since it was getting late I decided to meander to the shore via the old town and walk the boardwalk in Tel Aviv. Every time I am near a body of water I need to at least put my feet in it, so as soon as I could I rolled up my jeans and headed for a walk on the beach.

A walk along the beach.

 I love towns that actually embrace the water. I never felt like New York embraced the beach the same way that Southern California does. Anyway, here people were swimming, paddle boarding, fishing, sailing, and kayaking even though it was cold out. Beach cruisers were flying past me on the board walk and other people were playing on the beach, running their afternoon jog or doing yoga. I love the activity that comes with beach life!

Kayaks passing the flag.

A happy Nicole on the beach.

With tired feet and a setting sun I decided it was time for some rest and sustenance. I opted out of more sight seeing. There comes a point in every trip where you are saturated and I was definitely there. This small country is so full of sights to see it’s easy to get to this point. Stopping at the first boardwalk restaurant that caught my eye I enjoyed some local fish, a glass of Israeli wine, and some great people watching. Today was full of Russian tourists and this restaurant was no exception. Maybe I was noticing them more as my next couple of days would land me captive in Moscow.
 

Look really close and you can see the surfers
trying to catch the waves during the setting sun.

 Enjoying the leisurely pace of my day and my meal I reflected on my trip and how thankful I was that my plans to visit my niece in Australia were aborted. I’m sure I would have had an amazing time ringing in the New Year and celebrating my birthday with her (or at least it looked like it from her facebook photos), but my experiences here were simply amazing and I was so appreciative for my time here. My thoughts were interrupted with my post meal cappuccino. When I looked down the waitress had done a beautiful heart in the foam....Oh, Isreal you are a flirt! Laughing to myself that this trip was truly full of love, laughs, and adventures that will forever fill my heart.

Love!

I walked back to my hostel in Jaffa taking in the nighttime views of the shore, Tel Aviv, and the Old City.

Old City Lights.

I was exhausted by the time I got back to the Old Jaffa Hostel. Packing to make sure I was ready for my 40+ hours of travel I could hear the sudden down pour of rain and a huge thunderclap. My heart swelled! Those of you who know me, know how much I love the rain. Maybe it’s from growing up in the California where rain doesn’t happen that often, but it makes me happy and I always want to go out and play in the puddles like I am five. At the same time I could hear the clubs starting to play their music. A mix of Israeli music, Billy Idol, Madonna, and of course, my personal favorite, Shakira. Opening my windows wide so the music could drift in I snuggled down into my bed and drifted off to sleep with the sound of rain, people laughing and dancing, and Shakira...a happy way to enter dreamland.

Jlem Part 2

The perfect scooter for me!

Jlem Part 2 1/3

I thoroughly enjoyed having my own room and shower again. I can do the hostel thing, but having to constantly share bathroom space gets old real fast. Anyway, I had a goal to get to the Dome of the Rock early to finally see this place. I took a quick shower and went down for breakfast...an amazing spread of food to satisfy tourists from any country. I wish I could have them do that in my apartment every morning. My hotel was about a 20 minute walk to the Old City so I went out into the morning sunshine and crisp air and made my way over to the Jaffa Gate, from there cut through the city to the Wall, and then finally to the entrance of the Temple Mount.

By the time I got there the line was MASSIVE!

You've got to be freakin' kidding me?!

It went all of the way to the outside gate. It was also moving at a snails pace. I sat there contemplating as I sat in line. I have a full day in Jerusalem to enjoy the sites or I can sit in line and probably not make it in by the time they close the doors for prayers. Yeah, I left....at this point I had officially given up on seeing the mosque and the Dome on the Rock.

Thank you to Johnathan for this pic. I'll have to live vicariously.

 As I’ve said before, you always need to leave something else to come back for so apparently it was decided that I’ll have to come back to Israel to see this. ;)

Bar Mitzvah Thursday seems to be my day to be here.

My artsy rendition of me and the Dome of the Rock. So close, yet so far!

Two little girls playing on the lions...too cute to resist a pic.

Not caffeinated enough I picked up some coffee and decided to regroup at the hotel and came up with a new game plan: Israel Museum. Another beautiful 30 minute walk in the other direction I was in the Israel Museum. I had been recommended by several people to go see this museum, but when I have limited time in a place I don’t like to spend time indoors in museums. I travel to experience the people, the culture, the feel of the city and it’s hard to get that inside a museum filled with tourists. That said, I was so impressed with this place. The outdoor installations are wonderful and an amazing way to spend time in the sun and fill your soul with some good art appreciation.

I'm sexy and I know it!

A view of me next to a mini version of my new favorite city.

One of my favorites, of course, was the Ahava installation. I was immediately back on the Dead Sea tour, hearing Alon ask us if we knew what the word meant as we passed a building imprinted with Ahava....”it’s a word that describes beauty, joy, life....somebody here knows it.”  Guesses were tossed out, all incorrect. Ahava is love in Hebrew. It is also the name of a very popular Dead Sea cosmetics company (news to me).

I loved the view through the Olive Trees...

This installation was done by the same person who does the Love signs that are in NYC, Scottsdale, and Philadelphia. They are my favorite and I have a picture of one of them on my bedroom wall. I love how you come around a corner in one of these cities and suddenly there is a brightly colored piece of art all about love making passerbys smile and snap pictures. The same artist, Robert Indiana, did a similar style installation with the Hebrew verson of love. Interestingly they said that in its square formation it reads love (Ahava) right to left but from top to bottom the letters also represent Father and God. Set on a hilltop with a great panoramic view, this was really wonderful to take in. I was glad that I had come back to Jerusalem again and was thankful I wasn’t touring the Temple Mount now (or standing in line).

Ahava and Nicole, a match made in heaven :)

The rest of the museum had a great collection! I was thrown back into my Art History days looking at all of the pieces. I spent the entire day and probably could have stayed longer. They had great food and the place itself was just so relaxing. Well worth the trip!

Reminded me of the bean in Chicago.

It was dark, getting cold and I had a trek through the park so I decided it was time to go. I felt full of good food, nature, and appreciation and was now headed to meet up with my friend before leaving for Tel Aviv. I reflected on my revisit to this city while I walked and thought about how much I loved this place. On my drive back here yesterday I wondered if I would love it as much the second time. Kinda’ like when you go on a second date with someone that you are really excited about. You’re nervous it won’t feel the same and don’t want to ruin that first memory and be let down. My second date with Jerusalem just added more to my growing love affair for this place. It was the first time that I ever seriously thought about what would happen if I didn’t come home. In Kauai you often meet people who tell you they came to the island and never left. I always thought these people were a little crazy and wondered how they did that. Now I understood the feeling. I found my heart in Jerusalem and didn’t even realize I was looking for it.

I love that I find hearts everywhere in this town.

Another heart...Mt. Zion love.
Pic from Johnathan Human from unify.org.

A day of rest

A day of rest 1/2

Today wasn’t much of a day. I woke up early from all of the noise in the hostel. Most of the night was with interrupted sleep because of hearing people talk in their sleep in German and constant tossing and turning. I finally gave up around 7:30AM. I did a quick tour of Akko again taking in the stillness of the city at this hour and then decided it was time to head out. I got on the road to Haifa and made my way into the Carmel Center. By this time I was starving for breakfast and found a recommended cafe thanks to the Lonely Planet.

A quiet Haifa in the morning (except for my hostel).

I love the sea in the morning.

I had good intentions of walking around the city, but it was cold and I was tired. Instead I enjoyed the comfort of the Greg Cafe, the free wifi, and took advantage of their hospitality. While camping out there for the day I watched a mom and son color and play at a table next to me. I thought about how much I miss coloring, painting....being five. Later, I met a man from Denmark who spends part of his time here visiting his partner. He was quite interested to get my perspective on life in Israel and the current events in the US. He also started recruiting me to come live and practice medicine here. He wanted my information to pass along to his family members here who apparently were all doctors in Tel Aviv and would be eager to show me around for the day. I obliged and gave him my digits. Who knows? The pay isn’t as good as the US but the quality of life might make up for that.

After some time I walked to the Baha’i gardens. They were quite beautiful but the access was limited so I really only got to see them from above but that was enough for me. I decided to enact my plan Jlem part 2 and hopped in the car to make the journey.

Overly manicured nature.

But the views were stunning!

A couple hours later I checked into my hotel, dropped my bags, and made a beeline for Ben Yehuda to get some dinner and people watch. So happy!

And this is why I love this place!

Not a huge day, but I needed to chillax for just a bit.

More adventures for the New Year!

More adventures for the New Year! 1/1
After my relatively quiet NYE I enjoyed sleeping in and getting a homemade Israeli breakfast with Christina. She was reading the local newspaper catching us up on all of the latest local and international news we seemed to have missed during our travels. We got a mini education from our host on the election process here in Israel that is due to be in force in just a few weeks.

A local fisherman.

Gorgeous coast!

Christina was headed to Tel Aviv today so I offered her a ride on the caveat that she had to indulge in a few stops before getting down there. She gladly accepted. Taking our leave of the Safed Inn we got on the road heading for Rosh Hanikra, a place Alon, all of my new friends in Rosh Pina, and our host in Tzfat highly recommended. It’s literally on the border of Lebanon at the northern most point of the West Coast of Israel. You take the steepest tram in the world a very short distance down the white cliffs to see these natural sea caves and grottos. For the price of admission you also get a nice 9 minute informational film and if you sit up front it’s somewhat interactive....they spray water on you when they show the water splashing. It’s almost like Disneyland.

The buoys marking the international border.

Christina is afraid of heights and gets a little twitchy in dark small spaces but she promised she would be okay so down we went to explore this beautiful place. When we walked in and saw the first window into the grotto of jewel blue we both gaped. It was so beautiful! Stepping deeper into the caves you could hear the resident bats way up above you. We explored the rest of the caves and took time to absorb the sea air and sun. We took lots of pictures of the cliffs, the water, and the buoys marking the international border.

Steepest cable car ride in the world.

We made our way back to the car, next up Akhzivland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhzivland) a micronation within Israel. It was only a ten minute drive down the road and Christina was ready for another adventure. We drove up into this micronation with seemingly no border control until we started exploring the grounds and looking at the beach. Suddenly we were being yelled at and told there was a fee to see everything. For 15 shekels we got to see the grounds, take pictures, get a tour of the 150 year old creepy looking guest house, and get our passports stamped. I was game. She opened the guesthouse for us to view....frankly if felt like the stage for a horror flick, but the views couldn’t be beat. We got to me Eli, the founder of the nation, his wife, his dogs, and his cat. He tried for a good twenty minutes to convince us to stay in the guesthouse and go on a tour with him to another small town. No thanks! I took my passport stamp and we made our leave laughing about how ridiculous it was.

The house of horrors.

Oh what a view!

Christina is oh so happy to be in Ahkzivland.

From there we cruised down the highway to Akko, the Arab port town. We didn’t get there until late in the afternoon and were starving. Quickly finding my hostel and a parking space we went for some local food to help the tummies. Afterwards, I sent Christina off to the train station to catch a train to Tel Aviv. She didn’t want to go...she wasn’t ready to fly home. Frankly, I was sad I wouldn’t have a travel buddy anymore. I was already feeling a little lonely about the prospect of the rest of my trip alone. But alas, I told her she had a blind date she was expected to go on, so she had something valuable to return to. :)

Akko rubble on the coast.

Makes for gorgeous sunsets.

I took advantage of the remaining sunlight and toured the city absorbing the sights of the port and the setting sun. Magnificent! I forgot how much I love being next to the water. I stopped into Uri Buri, a highly recommended restaurant from everyone I talked to and enjoyed a great fish meal, lovely chocolate dessert, and fabulous wine all next to the water. Feeling like I had appropriately seen Akko, I decided that two nights was too much and tomorrow I would leave straight for Haifa and possibly sneak in an extra day of Jerusalem to see the sights I missed. What can I say? I’m still homesick for the place and want one last fix before I leave Israel for good.

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