Tel Aviv in winter

Yesterday I decided to take a long walk in Tel Aviv. I started walking from the Savidor (Central) train station on Arlozerov street all the way to Hilton Beach. From the Tel Aviv Marina I walked north along the beach to the Hilton Hotel, then the Tel Aviv Port. The weather was a bit rainy windy and the waves were heating the rocks pretty hard with huge splashes. From there I walked towards Hayarkon river where we used to rent boats when I was (much) younger and walked along Yehosuha Gardens. I made a left near the Teaching pool and walked towards Ramat Aviv where I ended at Tel Aviv University. I saw some interesting exhibits at Beit Hatfutzot and took the train back to Rishon.

'Curb your dog' signs

Israelis love their dogs. You see them playing and walking their dogs everywhere. Big dogs, little dogs, fancy dogs, beautiful dogs. The smartest dog of all is Sandy (see picture - on Rotem's lap). Sometimes I walk Sandy outside and I noticed that the pavements are full of 'mines' and it appears that I'm the only one carrying a bag with me. The local municipalities enacted environmental laws assessing heavy fines on people who don't curb their dogs but I think there is a problem here in enforcing the laws. There are even non-profit organizations (i.e. - 'Saki - Kaki')who have doggy bags available to the public but I don't see them being used too much.

Kibbutz Neot Semadar

Neot Semadar is a small kibbutz located 60 km north of Eilat. It is an oasis in the middle of the desert, based on organic agriculture. The members of the kibbutz only eat what they grow, totally self-sufficient. It has orchards of date palms, a vinyard, a goat pen, a winery, a dairy, an arts center where members make pottery and jewelry, and a small store/coffee shop located at Shizafon junction.

During my volunteering stint at the kibbutz I met some of the most interesting and nicest people I've ever encountered in my life and heard amazing stories. This is a place where you can still feel the pioneer spirit, the way kibbutzim used to be. These people created an oasis with their bare hands starting with almost nothing, in one of the harshest environments on the planet (yesterday we had strong sand storms it was hard to even see the next building). It is a kind of quite life - I was surprised to see how many people left the big cities and came here to live, leaving their old life behind. They view it, I guess, both as a challenge and a mission.

Every morning we started our work day at 5:45 am and ended it at 4:00 pm, with intervals for meals. A work schedule is posted on the board at the dining hall the night before for everyone to see.

Here are some examples of work I did at the kibbutz:
* Planted peach trees around the "Snail" near the lake (I expect to eat the first fruits two years from now)
* Went up to the top of the'male' date palms with a telescopic fork lift and cut the flowers. These flowers then are dried and used to polinate the 'female' date palms (just like they used to do in biblical times).
* Milked the goats in the goat pen, fed a newborn goat, and herded the goats to pasture a mile outside the kibbutz.
* Picked lettuce and other vegetables in the vegtable garden and brought them to the cook in the kitchen for breakfast.
* Pulled weeds from the carrots plot
* worked the Saturday morning kitchen shift - prepared food, cleaned dishes, etc.
* Pruned the vinyards
* Pruned more vinyards
* Pruned a lot more vinyards.

Hecht Museum of Archeology at Haifa University

This is an amazing museum with many findings from northern Israel and the Golan Heights. Very educational and well-organized (and free!).

Dalyat-El-Carmel

Dalyat-El-Carmel is a Druze village on top of the Carmel mountain. The people are very friendly, it has a great Shuk (market), clean air, and gorgeous view of the mountain and surrounding areas. If you are into hiking in nature, this is a good place to visit as there are many trails all around.

I stayed at many "bed and breakfast" in the past but nothing like "Siam's villa". The owners, Siam and Hani, treated us like family. They welcomed us to their home with open arms - offered us coffee and home-made cake and we all sat near the fireplace and chatted forever. They have two sons who served with distinction in the IDF and a very smart and lovely daughter who looks and talks like any typical Israeli teenager.
My sister Rely who is a great cook exchanged recipes with Siam and the two of them found a lot in common.

"Siam's villa" is located on a quite street in Dalya, it is within a short driving distance from Haifa and it is an experience not to be missed. I'm attaching a copy of their brochure and you can reach them from the U.S. at 011-972-4-8393003.

In the morning we had bountiful typical Druze breakfast and headed to the market on the main street. From there we took a short walk on the mountain and headed to the Hecht Museum of Archeology located on the Haifa University Campus.

I'm attaching the following pictures:


1. A typical street at Dalyat-El-Carmel
2. Siam and Hani, our hosts
3. Making a Druze pita on the taboon in the marketplace
4. Inside a bakery in Dalya - Yum
5. The front page of "Siam's villa" brochure