Going North

Haifa is such a beautiful city.  Reminiscent of Silicon Valley, it is adorned by many high tech names - Intel- Google - Yahoo all have R and D and operations here.  It is also home to Israel's largest port, amazing views and the Baha'i Gardens. The Baha'i religion  emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humans and believes that the various voices of religion - Moses, Mohammed, Jesus, Buddha, etc. are all voices of the same God. They have made their central home here in Israel and specifically in Haifa. They have adorned their beautiful space with a hillside garden manicured to perfection. It is really quite amazing to see in person.

While north bound we decided on another adventure and ended up in Akko, an older sea port village. Akko has recently excavated a Turkish bath house and Templar tunnels. There is an older Turkish market and beautiful ocean views. 

Now if that wasn't enough adventure for the day we decided on a girls night out in Tel Aviv!  We met our cousins Israela and Gavhit at the newly renovated Tahanat - an old train station that has been remodeled into a local high end hangout with cafes, shops and our hangout for the night, the hipster Cameo lounge. With its Hamptons vibe, we had private table service in a very chilaxed atmosphere.  Perfect after a long day of travel! 

Herzliya

Sunday was fun day in Herzylia. After Valerie recorded and performed a Choco B'Sakeet commercial following our wirout, we headed toward herzylia and  enjoyed a hike the scenery at the ancient fortress city of Appolonia. After leaving the antiquities, we engaged in the more modern pursuits of the Arena Mall, it's shopping and restaurants along the marina!  Apollonia was a bit more rustic then some of the other port city counter parts.  But the views were stunning and water below the cliffs was enjoyable to watch. 

 

After marina side coffee at GREG, we decided we needed a bit of beach time so we headed to the beautiful local beaches and watched the sunset.  We took a time lapse video of the sunset and enjoyed the silly silhouettes of those who walked by, including ourselves - we had the sun salutation and the breezy scarf. They were a bit corny but really made us laugh.  

From there we headed to memes house for a quick dinner and to spend some quality time together. 

Shabbat Shalom

We spent all of Shabbat laughing! That was definitely the best part. To kick off the weekend we spent the day on the beach in Netanya, followed by some lovely coffee before all the shops closed down for the weekend.

We were joined by Meme, Pepe and Yoram at Mome's house for Shabbat Friday night dinner. Dinner was so delicious it actually created food coma!  So much so that we were all tired and exhausted while our 94-year-old grandpa was fluttering around! You know there's a problem when you hit that point when you need to sleep, and the old folks stay awake!

Saturday morning we drove to the northern part of the country to a town called Migdal HaEmek to some paternal cousins and more Mamanes!  Shalom is my oldest cousin on that side of the family. And his hospitality is above and beyond phenomenal. His kids joined us and his home was open to any and all of his siblings their children or  grandchildren. Family members came and went all through the day – never even knocking  on the door! It opened and shut, everyone was welcome and there was always room at the table -  people just joined in the laughter and left as needed. There was an endless pot of chamim and gifts to boot. We perused old albums and Maors book of idioms. At one time we laughed so hard, I think I wet my pants! Then there was the challenge of the group photo with the camera and it's timer.  Whatever the case, we captured great shots and great memories. And are so glad that we got to  know family a bit more! 

What beautiful people! 

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday

We decided that we needed some one-on-one quiet time with our grandmother.  So Wednesday turned into a lovely girls day out. We picked up our Meme and headed out to lunch at our favorite spot – Aroma Café! We shared a delightful meal, joked, laugh, and of course clowned  each other for the duration of our meal. We explored a few of the local shops and had a great culinary experience browsing  the aisles of SuperSal Deal! 

It was a mellow day and wonderfully heart warming!

Thursday 

We planned to meet with my dad's sister, our Tata Rachel for lunch on Thursday afternoon.  Knowing we had a few hours to spend on our own beforehand, we decided to head toward Netanya for a quick seaside respite and shopping experience. I was immediately stunned by the beauty of the beach, the hills and the vista views. WOW! 

The views were breathtaking and thanks to the Panaroma setting on our camera we were able to capture some beautiful shots. We could have stayed all day but had to get to our commitments, so we decided to come back the next day on Friday. 

It was beyond lovely to spend time with Tata Rachel. At 75 years old, she is beyond beautiful, outgoing, young spirited and open minded.  

We sat down to a lunch of chicken skewers at Sami B'Kikar in downtown Hadera (think The Humous Bar in Encino) and enjoyed catching up and learning about cousins and their children. We were joined for a few minutes by Tali, her youngest daughter and her cutie daughter Harel, and by our cousin Kobi (whom we call Pipo). He showed us pictures of his beautiful family. His son Rom, who is studing electrical engineering is the epitome of Taylor Lautner!    We also talked about the sadness that the whole family has had to endure with the passing of their daughter and sister and our first cousin, Elana or in French Elian. She was in her early 50s, kind hearted, generous of spirit, stylish and beyond beautiful. 

To pay our respects to those family members no longer with us, our grandparents Mazal and Nissim, and his brother Samuel, and out aunts Raymond and Juliet (and her husband Chaim), we headed to the cemetery in Or Akiva. Cemeteries  always lead my mind to think - reading the names and information on each tombstone makes me wonder about the people buried underneath them - who they were  and where they came from. After lighting candles for each of the deceased and paying our respects, we headed to Tata Rachel's house.  

From there she pulled out a Memory book made in dedication to her daughter. Written notes, Facebook messages and pictures from her life filled each page. Each time we mentioned her name, her father cried and then we cried. Our hearts were filled with sadness and our minds with disbelief at how someone so beautiful and young could be taken at such a young and vibrant age. She is the first of our first cousins to pass and while we didn't know each other so well, there was and will always be a bond of family and DNA there.  May her memory forever be a blessing.  

Tel Aviv

Sisters go to Tel Aviv! - the city that doesn't sleep.  It was just past midnight and the restaurants and bars all through the port district were still hopping!  But alas we were tired from our 12 hour visit that took us from the Shuk to the Nahalat Benyamin artisanal street fair, and around town to Dizengoff center. We were joined by Valerie's BFF, Liad and her beautiful baby Liam.  It was such a tearful and joyful reunion in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the craziness of the Shuk.

Liad tapped into her inner sabra and helped us wheel and deal - each vendor seemed to speak Hebrew with an accent of their own - Russian, Spanish, Thai, American or otherwise. Of course as is usual for me, I bumped into someone I know!  Our family joke with the kids is that we always bump into people we know  wherever we go - it's happened in Israel before, in Paris,  in Mexico and in the usual spots like Trader Joes and Starbucks. And this trip is no different. Of course I was goi g to bump into someone! First, Ella and Lior on the plane and today, Sivan, a friend from L.A. It is always such a trip to be on the other side of the world strolling around and then seeing someone you know - as if it were the Calabasas Commons or something! (Like Oh my god valley girl!)

 Was so cool to experience. From there we found some street food - Sandwich Druze - probably made the way it's been made for the last several millennia with recipes passed down through the generations.

It is a laffa - a giant crepe with the consistency of pita bread  - stuffed with Labne (kinda like Greek yogurt), Zatar (herby spicy deliciousness) and olive oil - rolled up and then devoured. We sat near by and watched these ladies working. They looked as if they traveled in a time machine - straight from a time long gone. As we sat and watched, we imagined their nomadic lifestyle and their ancient ways and then we were completely thrown off by their world when one of them pulled out an iPhone! OMG! WTF??

But that wasn't enough street food. We needed more - falafel? Shwarma? Fresh juice? Arepas from Venezuela? Huh?  The corn vendor? So we tapped into our inner roots and headed for the best falafel ever. Spicy and crispy and filled with cabbage salad, hummus and Israeli salad (which they just call salad here!).

And who could forget Aroma coffee, Starbucks' superior cousin. My beloved cafe Afuch (upside down coffee aka cappuccino).  Oh how I missed you. 

We trekked through town and ended up at Dizengoff Center. Iconic center of Tel Aviv. We did the touristy thing and took our picture because we just had too. 

Then if that wasn't enough, our beloved cousin Gavhit joined us!  And together we headed to dinner at the Port - Namal Tel Aviv and ate at Benny HaDayag - Benny the Fisherman. What an amazing seafood restaurant!  So much so that we want to go back! 

We had such a lovely time being together, laughing, joking and enjoying our evening.  We made it home at 1 am but could easily have been out all night!

Caesarea/Zichron Yaacov Day 3

Val and I completed our second vay cay Tabata workout this morning and despite the soreness we had an amazing day trekking through the Caesarea ruins.  Herods ancient harbor, the velodrome and amphitheater always conjure up childhood memories. If I were asked to create a  list of happy places, the port city of Caesarea would fll in the top 10. It is filled with rich history and juxtaposed against the modern world, done in a way that is warm and welcoming and invites you to want to stay forever. 

Restaurants galore adorn the shore on the outer edge of the ruins. Thank goodness for the deliciousness of port restaurants - especially Port Cafe.

Every tapas plate we ordered was extraordinary, especially the fried artichoke dish, and we can't wait to go back. 

The time in Caesarea was fascinating because together we were able to recall our year there -1986 was almost 30 years ago and at times seems like yesterday. We went on a search of our old home 3 Eshkolit Street in Cluster 4  and when we found the house it looked smaller and shabbier than we remembered but was nonetheless there. We recalled jumping the back fence and walking through the sand dunes to the aqueduct beach. So of course, we had to re-create those moments and retrace our footsteps.

The aqueduct is the same as we remembered and the beach as beautiful than ever. 

If that wasn't enough for our day, we decided to drive a few miles north and explore the artist colony of Zichron Yaacov. Browsing shops and art galleries through the afternoon required coffee as well! 

And then of course we went to see Meme and Pepe and then Meme brought out one of my favorite - the most delicious Marzipan cookie cakes ever! 

Funny stories for today: the ice cream guy and Sharon's weird fear of heights. 

Sister Adventure Day 2

It's 1 AM and I'm stuck in a virtual  slumber party with my two younger sisters. This is the end of day two of the sister adventure! Sharon is on Pinterest and Valerie is clowning me as i dictate this blog.  We are really tired and goofy and laughing our heads off. Our husbands still don't realize what craziness they married! 

The start of today was focused on taking care of business and recovering from jet lag. We got house keys, Sim cards, and exchanged currency.  Of course, it would not of been complete without our first culinary experience! Café café and the most delicious shakshuka. An accompaniment of Limon Nana and ice café rounded out a delicious culinary experience. 

Somehow I successfully navigated us through the neighborhoods and made it through the pardesim to our grandparent's home. Driving through the streets of their neighborhood always conjurs up childhood memories and the difference of the streets are immediately visible and the changes since  their rural beginnings vast. As a nice suburb to a small city, beit eliezer no longer has flocks of sheep or herds of cattle marching thorough its streets to graze at near by fields, or the roosters crowing at the crack of dawn or the horse and cart man selling seasonal "avatiach a la sakine."  These occurrences are relegated to years past. But one quick look at the red dirt, nearby orange trees and the black and white fence of the home we spent many memorable summers in, and you can close your eyes and I can see (and smell the sheep, cattle and ripe watermelons) what it looked like in 1977.  What a trek through memories, both new and old at meme's house... We spent the afternoon browsing through dozens of family photo albums and unearthed treasures and pictures of ourselves as young children. Some of these pictures, taken before the immortality of news feeds and Instagram, or even before duplicate prints, we don't ever recall seeing. Others are one of many memorable ones that adorn the walls of our parents' or even our own homes. 

We had an amazing time laughing and crying and sharing strories. A day we will never forget...