Saturday, August 21, 2010

JHG in Tel Aviv!

Jonathan was here!  I would have written while he was here, but there wasn't much time for that.  I think he hit up all of the highlights and, inspired by Julia Child's My Life in France, we had a gastronomical tour in conjuction with a historical and modern tour.  What this really means is that we saw the best historical sites, ate the best food Tel Aviv has to offer, and of course made sure Jonathan left with a good understanding of Tel Aviv nightlife.  We didn't go overboard - but it was packed.

The highlights:  Jonathan arrived on Thursday, Paul made his famous shakshukah and we took him to the hip "Jaffa Night Market" which is a street festival with cafes, beer stands, clowns, live music and botique designer stands.  Friday we sent him exploring the streets of Tel Aviv (in 100' weather) and met up for lunch in the Sheuk HaCaramel (the Carmel Market). Friday's are the best days as the market is packed with shoppers preparing for Shabot dinners and with tourists who just flew in for the weekend.  Happy hour at a chic wine bar in the artsy district was followed by dinner at home.

On Saturday we drove to Jerusalem where the city was in full Shabot mode.  The hotels were close, we couldn't enter the Dome of the Rock (the Muslim religious site in the Old City), and the city was in general very calm.  We wandered through the Muslim quarter and the Jewish quarter, the Christian and the Armenian and all noted the distinct feeling of each. The atmosphere changes dramatically with the change in stores, languages, the streets, the people, everything. The Western Wall was the highlight of the trip. (This is the only remaining wall of the Third Temple; a direct line to God according to jewish beliefs. Most people write prayers on little slips of paper and leave them in the cracks of the wall.)  Being Shabot (when no work is allowed) we couldn't take pictures inside and when Jonathan tried to write down his prayer a little old woman walked up and quicky said "NO WRITING ON SHABOT!" "Ah, sorry. That makes sense," was Jonathans reply. Haha! He had to go outside to write.

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