Snapshots of our NY

A trip to our hometown was just what the doctor ordered after this never ending Tel Aviv summer. It was a much needed glimpse into the beginnings of winter and gave us a chance to catch up with some of our old favorite spots. We spent a rainy morning at the Morgan Library and did a proper museum catch-up at the Moma, Cooper Hewitt, PS1, the NY Public Library, etc... At some point we got museumed-out, and the shopping began. We visited the newly renovated Lincoln Center and spent an afternoon of wanderings around Chelsea which would be incomplete without a dip into the Chelsea Market and a stroll on the Highline. In short, it was divine. We will return...

And we're back.

So... it's been a while. We took a little blogging hiatus and we apologize, but we had to, we needed the break. But, we have returned, fresh off the plane from New York and we promise to catch you up on what we've been up to.

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)

Shenkar Graduate Exhibition 2010

We went to the opening of the Shenkar College Graduate Exhibition 2010 (here's the exhibition info in English) with D and were surprisingly impressed with this year's line up of graduate design works. More to come soon...

Snapshot of Tel Aviv

Northern Ibn Gvirol

Open sesame...

Spotted, a window into the projects, near the new bus station in Tel Aviv.

A sneak peak...

This year we had the privilege of attending the first year studio presentations at the Bezalel Department of Architecture (Tom, as a teacher and Rena as a guest critic). Here's a sneak peak at some of the projects. More to come soon...

Peres Center for Peace

Today was a gorgeous day and we took a walk through Tel Aviv south to Yaffo to check out the fairly new Peres Center for  Peace designed by Fuksas Architects. Apparently they have been opened since December (we stand corrected). We must re-visit some time during the week to check out the interior. Finally, a piece of architecture worth visiting!

Pre-Yom Ha'zikaron

The Tel Aviv municipality all set up for the big national morning day.

A Family Vacation at Villa Melchett

Come March, we went to the Kinneret, on what has become an annual family vacation at Villa Melchett. Once belonged to Lord Melchett's family, the turn of the century villa and the surrounding grounds are situated right on the beach. Anyone can rent the place. L did and got us spending 3 wonderful days of lounging around and relaxation. We were a bit displeased with the management, but the luxurious rooms, professional kitchen, fish pond, 2000 square meters of grass, hammocks, oriental tent and the open view to the Sea of Galilee kept us very content.

The Moroccan lounge in our bedroom.

The villa from the front garden

Going on a walk

A content family member.

Cairo!

The last two days we spent roaming the streets of Cairo, a beautiful, over populated fascinating city. We'll definitely be back. 

Zamalek neighborhood, as seen from a bridge over the Nile.

Inside the Sultan Hassan Mosque

A fellow explorer at the Khan Al-Khalili market.

Medieval gates at Khan Al-Khalili

Details of... Hieroglyphics

We went down to Egypt.

During the Passover holiday we joined A+L for a 9 day organized tour of Egypt. We don't do group tours, but as it was paid for, we thought it ridiculous to resist. It was a tumultuous journey. We joined forty 65+ Israeli travelers and wreaked havoc on the land of the Pharaohs. Egypt is an incredible country with much to see and do. We recommend going solo as it is safe and a major part of the fun is meeting the locals, an impossible feat when you're in a group tour.

The first day was all about the PYRAMIDS. Amazing.

Pyramids and tour buses.

The Sphinx.