The Next Adventure

My last few days in Israel were perfect. Each day had a mix of relaxing at home and enjoying the last parts of the city. We had hummus for lunch everyday and said bye to some friends.

On Monday night, we packed up some cheese and wine and went to Gan Ha’atzmaut, a park that overlooks the sea. We ate our cheese, sipped some Dalton Alma wine and talked while the sun set over the mediterranean. It was such a nice way to say goodbye to the city and country I love.

I felt the same intense feeling that I had last time I left Israel, which is that I need to go back as soon as possible. I was surprised to feel that way since I had spent so much time getting to know Tel Aviv and Israeli culture. But I just know this means I will have to get back to Israel as soon as possible!

And now, I’m on to my next adventure! I’ll be moving to Washington DC for my job in just under a week. I only have a few days at home that will be very busy but I’m looking forward to it.

Cheers!

Michelle

My Guide to Tel Aviv

I have listed some of my favorite spots in Tel Aviv below. While making this list, I realize how many great places there are to visit in Tel Aviv! Therefore, I would consider this list never-ending and incomplete…

Shopping

Jewelry: Shlomit Ofir (several locations including Shenkin and Dizengoff), Nachalat Binyamin and Dizengoff street markets

Clothes: Status (on King George), and any shop along Shenkin and Dizengoff

Wine: Apertif on Dizengoff

Eating

Brunch: Cafe Sonya, Cafe Hilinka, Cafe NOLA

Lunch: Moon Lite on Pinsker (Sushi), HaPizza, Market Soups (on King George) 

Hummus: Mashawasha, Hummus Shuk Ha’Carmel, Abu Dabi

Dinner: Shila (pricey seafood), Vitrina (hamburgers and sausages, get the 50/50 fries), Kalamata in Yafo (beautiful view and atmosphere), Tapas Ahad Ha’am, Rupee 24 (Indian), Ernesto (laid back Italian)

Juice: Tamara (Dizengoff & Ben Gurion)

Dessert: Tamara (FroYo on Ben Yehuda), Siciliana Gelateria 

Bars: Dancing Camel in Florentine, Hamaoz, Biggie Z’s

Best all around: Shine, Le Brasserie

Activities

Eretz Israel Museum

Bike Ride along the Tayelet/Beach walk

Morning walk along Rothschild Boulevard 

See a movie at Cinemateque 

Bring a Picnic to Gan Ha’atzmaut (next to the Hilton)

Roam the streets of Yafo

Shopping at Shuk Ha’Carmel

Another trip up North!

Daniel and I decided to take another trip up north before I leave Israel. And we really had the best time. I have to say, being in the north and driving down those hilly, curvy roads with vast majestic views – I really fell in love with Israel all over again!

We rented a car, booked a tzimmer (cabin) and planned out our itinerary which mostly focused on the food we wanted to eat!

We took the train to Nahariya where we rented a car. Our first stop was Buza – a yummy gelato place where I had my first mint chocolate chip ice cream in months. Then we stopped in Hurfesh for sambusak – we went to the same place we visited on our Sea to Sea hike because it’s THAT good. It was nice to drive there this time instead of walking all that way. We took our lunch to this cool tower and ate it while taking in the view.

Next we went wine tasting at Dalton Winery – the same winery I visited with my family and one of my favorites! We tried 7 red wines and left feeling good. We grabbed two bottles to bring home!

Next we made a pit stop at Kibbutz Sasa to see Daniel’s kibbutz family and some friends. We had a great time catching up with them, and it is always nice to spend time on their beautiful kibbutz.

After that, we headed to our tzimmer in Amirim. We had an adorable cabin and a beautiful view. We even had our own private, indoor jacuzzi! Fun!

We got changed and ready for dinner. We ate at this yummy tapas bar in Aluma Bakfar. Daniel even let me order chocolate souffle for dessert – so I was a happy camper.

On Tuesday, we woke up early and headed out to En Dishon to visit the natural springs we wanted to go to a few months ago. Basically, there is a ladder down into this cave in the ground where your feet land in freezing and fresh mountain water. Then you have to sit down and scoot through a small tunnel and then you get to a large clearing filled with cold water. Visiting these natural springs is a really fun and popular thing to do in this Israel heat. Next we made some Turkish coffee while we dried off.

Next we stopped for lunch at Zahlawi which is a delicious Lebanese restaurant attached to a gas station. It’s kind of a random location, but the food is great. We loved the fatoush salad and the meat hummus!

We returned the car in Nahariya and hopped back on the train. We made a pit stop in Haifa for dinner with Daniel’s friend, Itai, at Jaco, a famous seafood restaurant. We had shrimp and mussels in delicious sauce and a table full of Israeli salads. After dinner we walked to the German colony to check out the Bahai gardens and stopped in a cafe for some delicious cold coffee.

We had an incredible trip and I’m so thankful to Daniel for setting everything up and making sure we had the best time.

I’m really going to miss this place.

In Season

One of the things I love about Israel is that we eat only fruits and vegetables that are in season.

When we first got here, we ate avocados, then strawberries. Next we had grapefruit and citrus. Now we are gorging ourselves on grapes, watermelon, and mango! Stone fruits are also ripe and delicious right now.

Since the weather has been so hot, our daily diet has consisted mostly of fresh fruit from Shuk HaCarmel. Tonight we’re using delicious fresh figs on one of our pizzas with prosciutto, balsamic, gorgonzola and arugula!

Of course, we eat Israeli salad year-round. Cucumbers, tomatoes and onion can always be found at the Shuk (market).