Weekend #2

It was decided that we were to go away up North for the weekend, yet again (this is starting to become a pattern we can get used to). On Friday we spent some time in Akko. We wandered around the old city, saw the Khan El Umdan, entered the Templar Crusader Tunnel, visited the port and had an excellent seaside dinner at Uri Buri and bought his cookbook of course.

The clock tower above the Khan El Umdan.

Docked fishing boats at the port

Fishing

The top of St. John Church.

The next day we were joined by our dear friend N and traveled to Nazareth (we had such a great time the week before that we had to return). This time we came a little earlier on in the day so we could explore the market. There were all kinds of shops, many selling kitchen ware, but this perfume shop caught our eye.

Since a trip to Nazareth is never complete without indulging in some sweet oriental dessert we had to sample the divine knafeh at El Muchtar Sweets (we thought it was better than the knafeh at Mahroum Sweets that we tried last week). But to be fair, we don't think you can go wrong with knafeh anywhere in Nazareth, the capital of sweets.

We soaked in the landscapes...

... and drove around finally reaching Zichron Ya'akov. We decided to drop by the city cemetery and pay a visit N's grandfather, one of the founders of the city. Our weekend of northern indulgence culminated at dinner in El Babur and before we knew it we were on our way back to Tel Aviv.

El Muchtar Sweets
Toufik Ziad Road
tel 04 6556027
(there's another branch on Paulus the Sixth Street tel 04 646 1661/2)

Northern Churches

When up North, we made sure to see some churches and visited the Muhraq Monestary in Daliat el Carmel, with its great rooftop views, and the Church of Annunciation in Nazareth, a must for its spectacular interior.

A Weekend North

It was time to spend some time away from Tel Aviv and a weekend up north was just what we needed. We had a house all to ourselves in Zichron Ya'akov (thanks to our friends who had gone away and left it to us). We spent our time enjoying the late summer landscapes, wandering through Nazareth, visiting churches and candy stores (we bought some Syrian chocolate and black tehini), eating a lot of Galilee mezze (of course) and breaking for knafeh and other Ramadan treats as much as possible.

Summer in the North
Dinner in Ayn Hawd.

Mahroum Sweets, the best place in Nazareth to pick up some knafeh and other oriental treats.

Baklava!

Off the highway.

Fahoum Coffee Shop

Syrian Chocolate

Nahalal, the concentrically circled moshav by architect Richard Kauffman.

Weekend Getaway

We decided to take a little trip up North for the weekend. More to come soon...

Morning Coffee #5

Today's coffee @ Bakery (the cafe/bakery next to Brasserie).

Bakery
70 Ibn Gvirol
Tel Aviv
tel 03 6967111

It's definitely summer...

Morning Coffee #4

Today's morning coffee @ Hemda.

Hemda
חמדה עוגות
109 Ibn Gvirol
Tel Aviv
tel 074 7024664

Origami Birthday Box

On Friday we made marshmallows! The were so were so delicate and white that we had to make a box to put them in. Tom has been an origami addict since childhood and has accumulated quite the collection of origami paper. Whenever we're in Japan we restock (I believe a trip is in order as we used up most of our reds for this box). We chose some paper and started folding... and soon thereafter VOILA! Stuffed with marshmallows, it made a perfect birthday present for our dear friend N.

Morning Coffee #3

Today's morning coffee @ Kaymak.

Kaymak
49 Lewinsky st.
Lewinsky Market (Shuk Levinsky)
Tel Aviv

Caravan Inn

Often when we visit Jerusalem we make our way to Abu Gosh for some simple no-nonsense local food. By local food we mean, hummus, pita and all the yummy stuff on the menu that comes in between like kubbeh (a fried croquette made from a bulgur shell stuffed with minced beef or lamb), and siniya (a tehihi and ground meat casserole). Every Israeli has their favorite place to go for hummus etc. and ours (in Jerusalem) is Carvan Inn. Tom's father has been eating there since the 1960's and it has become family custom to meet there for dinner whenever some of us are in the neighborhood. They have delicious kebabs and stuffed vegetables and Turkish coffee and baklava are on the house.

Kubbeh

Grilled Pita with Zatar

Hummus and Kubbeh

Siniya

Meat Kebabs and Majadera (rice and lentils)

Caravan Inn
27 Derech Hashalom
Abu Gosh
Jerusalem
tel 02 5342744

Things we make at home

We made some Summer Pea Soup. Check out what we're cooking on The Royal Kitchen.

The New Israel Museum

Here are some more photos from the new Israel Museum now open to the public. We warmly recommend, especially for the very contemporary curating.

The newly constructed Entrance Pavilion.

The Entrance Pavilion and Museum Shop.

The new hall of passage.

Some works we managed to capture at the Still/Moving exhibition. We snapped away (although it was forbidden). Works by Olafur Eliasson and Junya Ishigami.

Anish Kapoor @ The Israel Museum

We took a Saturday trip to Jerusalem to see the newly renovated Israel Museum and the newly commissioned site specific, Anish Kapoor sculpture, Turning The World Upside Down, Jerusalem. Its  made of polished stainless steel, stands 5 meters high and reflects an inverted image of the museum and the surrounding hills. More on our museum visit soon...