JGisREAL

I've found the hotel breakfasts on this trip are huge buffets... and not all that appealing to me.  I think if they solved the coffee problem -- they all have a nepresso or similar machine that seems to be set for "mild latte" no matter what you ask for -- I might not be wanting to leave the hotel.  But to get a strong cup of espresso with a small amount of milk and foam, the machines aren't doing it for me.  People I know with home machines make fine, strong coffee, so I don't know what the reason is.  Anyway, I headed out this morning, ostensibly for coffee but also to find Chez Dallal, a very pretty cafe recommended to me by my niece.  It was further away (always!) than I thought it would be, so I had a very long walk through a part of the city I hadn't explored before.  I was rewarded by great coffee and a raspberry crumb pastry.  Yum. I had a new appreciation for Bauhaus from yesterday's tour, and I was glad to look at the houses and apartments I ...

 I took a two hour self-guided tour to look at the Bauhaus architecture that was among the reasons Tel Aviv was named "The White City" and a UNESCO world heritage site.   Bauhaus, or International Style, architecture is based on a set of principles:  emphasize volume over mass, prioritize balance over symmetry and no extraneous details.  The original Bauhaus school was founded in Germany, and German Jews who left out of fear of antisemitism in Germany, came to Tel Aviv and put the principles to work here. And this is where I think of Groucho Marx saying "Who are you going to believe?  Me or your own eyes?"  If I wasn't on the tour, with a headset and audio guide, I would have had NO appreciation for the buildings the tour highlighted.   apparently this building has been nicknamed "the thermometer" There are classifications of the Bauhaus buildings in Tel Aviv which designate them (roughly) as preserve at all costs, allow modification as long as it'...

 I thought I'd just check out the beach closest to my hotel this morning... which led to walking along the waterfront for quite some time.  There's a long promenade that runs along Tel Aviv's 13 beach sections, each of which has a different vibe.  There's sporty beaches with a lot of volleyball nets, surf/paddleboard beaches, an Orthodox beach with alternating days for men and women and high walls to maintain privacy, a gay pride beach, a dog beach and some beaches that look like one long party. It was early, so most of the people watching was along the promenade, where there were runners, bikers, walkers, people working out, coffee drinkers and a few early morning beachgoers.  I had in mind that I wanted to go to the Nachalat Binyamin Art Fair, which is only up on Tuesdays and Fridays, so today had to be the day.  It was a fair ways off the beach, so I headed into the city.  It's a much less chaotic scene than the Carmel market nearby.  Still, the peo...

 I love mosaics and was thrilled this morning to go to Tzipori, known for mosaics from the 3-6th centuries CE, including one floor that features the "mosaic Mona Lisa."  The mosaics range from geometric patterns to animals, to zodiac symbols to figures in Greek mythology.  They are amazingly vivid and more complete than you'd expect after all this time.  Tzipori National Park includes a Crusader castle, synagogue, theater, streets, shops and a stunning view from the mountain top. Although original plans for the day were to visit Nazareth and Megiddo, we decided to head into Tel Aviv so I could get my bearings, check into the hotel and be sure to get to the 6pm curtain time for the opera.  Our first stop was Sabich Tchernikhovski to get eggplant sandwiches on pita -- amazing! From there we walked around Tel Aviv -- walking through the Carmel market, noting Bauhaus architecture, looking at restored older buildings and new skyscrapers.   I'm glad I have a coup...

t I didn't have many ideas about Kabbalah before going to Tzfat -- I did recall learning that its secrets were so shocking that it was dangerous to study it before age 40 and of course I remember Madonna wearing a red string tied around her wrist.  Tzfat is the birthplace of Kabbalah, and its synagogues and study centers attract people who are searching for meaning.  I couldn't resist the "lost and found" sign by a streetside mikvah (cleansing bath) where people could purify home goods and maybe you find meaning but lose a fork in the process.   We went to two beautiful synagogues and walked up and down the streets of this hilltop town while I learned about the concepts of numerology, mysticism and the unifying themes that bring people who study Kabbalah to greater spiritual understanding.  Art galleries are everywhere, with works that specialize in spiritual or mystical concepts.  It's a lovely experience, even for a skeptic like me, to experience the town. I d...

This morning started early with the realization that, in spite of being served dinner in a restaurant after sundown on Friday night, shabbat was being strictly observed on Saturday morning.   Well, only partly true -- the hotel had no one at the front desk for check out and the breakfast room was closed -- if only I'd known that they were just serving breakfast at a room around the side, not visible from the street.  Oh well, I walked to a gas station where I got a bottle of water and went to meet my new guide Bena.  Bena had driven to Jerusalem from his home in Caesarea to pick me up... and it was to Caesarea we returned for our first stop for the day.  Our itinerary was focused on national parks (open on Shabbat) and Arab destinations (again, open on Shabbat). the site of Herod's pool at Caesarea Caesarea has the ruins of a Roman port city, built by King Herod between 20 BCE and 9 CE and includes a theater, palace, bath house, church and a very long aqueduct that b...