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| Doing nothing - ipad karaoke |
We're really embracing the Tel Aviv lifestyle - stay out until midnight on Friday and then sleep in and do nothing on Saturday! Even Sylvia slept past 9:00 this morning.
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| Doing nothing - ipad 3 little pigs |
We got up slowly and did nothing for a while until Harley and Gabrielle came over to drop their stuff off and hang out a bit. Once they left to to do some touring, we did nothing for a while longer and made some plans for lunch. We took a brief break from doing nothing to go grocery shopping (the AM:PM down the block is open on Saturdays), and then did nothing some more until about 1 pm (a day that gets started at 1 pm - that is really a day of rest!).
At that point we met up with a friend, Sharon (formerly from Toledo, now lives in Tel Aviv) and her son. We were planning to go to Spaghettim, but evidently it has closed. We looked a bit for another place to eat, but everywhere was either closed for Shabbat, really crowded (because it was one of the few places open on Shabbat), or only had outside seating (and it is very hot). So, we ended up ordering a pizza to be delivered (which was cool - first pizza delivery for us in Israel!) and having lunch at home. We had a nice time catching up with one another.
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| Doing nothing - Hotel Chic lobby |
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Campaign stop at Hatachana!
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Later in the afternoon, we went to meet my Dad and Jussara at their hotel and took cabs to HaTachana - the newly renovated former train station for the Jaffa-Jerusalem train line. The station, near the shore just north of Jaffa, has been converted into a pretty happening entertainment, shopping, eating district (What were you expecting in Tel Aviv? History and archeology? Of course it's eating and shopping). We had visited the station at the Jerusalem end of the line when we were there - it has also been converted to a shopping area. We made it a little bit educational for the kids by doing the time travel train ride. It's a simulator "ride" on an actual train car from the former Jaffa-Jerusalem line, which has been retrofitted with 3D movie screens etc. They tell the story of the railroad; how Montifiore wanted to built a rail line, but the Turks wouldn't give him the permit. Later (1880's) Joseph Navon got the permit, but couldn't secure the
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| Sucked in by a bookstore in any language |
funding. Finally, a French company bought the permit, raised the funds, and built the rail line. They built it narrower than a standard line (for reasons that were not made clear but the holographic narrator of the movie), so the train had to travel very slowly. They said you could get off the train, pick a bouquet of flowers, and get back on the train. It took between 4 and 6 hours to get from Jaffa to Jerusalem (today it takes about 45 minutes, and it will take half an hour once the high speed train is completed). My favorite story was about the fact that the clocks at the stations were all set to Paris time. One person had the job of meeting a boat at the Jaffa port every few weeks and checking the time on a ship coming from Paris. Then, he would ride the length of the rail line and set all of the clocks to the correct (French) time. This rail line was also what prompted Ben Yehuda to coin a word in Hebrew for train (Rakevet).
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| Waiting for our train (movie) |
After the ride, we went for dinner at a very nice Italian place and then for ice cream at Vaniglia (our favorite!). By this point Hatachana was really lively -- crowded with people, a trapeze circus act performing, live music, other street performers. The kids especially loved a guy who posed like a statue, perfectly still, until you put a coin in his jar, and then he would sing a song with his guitar. There were also fun stores, like a game and puzzle store that Jonah loved and several clothing stores that Ella loved.
We walked back along the shore (where many Arab families were BBQing, since it is still Ramadan and they only eat after sunset). We also walked past the Dolphinarium - a former (?) nightclub in Tel Aviv which was the site of a 2001 suicide bombing. The memorial out front says , "never stop dancing." Finally, we walked up Allenby, a really hip neighborhood with tons of bars, restaurants, renovated apartments. So cool. The same walk during the day is brutal, but in the evening when it cools off, it is really pleasant and fun to walk along and people watch and check out the sights and the neighborhoods. Tel Aviv has definitely found its way into our hearts. What a fun, cool place to be!
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| Superman at the Tachana |
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| IT issue? Is there a 10 year old boy around? |
We came home and hung out with Harley and Gabrielle. They had found a series of youtube videos from Ulpan Or with simple (and very funny) Hebrew lessons. We watched them together and learned some Hebrew (although I'm glad to say we already knew most of what they taught!).
At that point we met up with a friend, Sharon (formerly from Toledo, now lives in Tel Aviv) and her son. We were planning to go to Spaghettim, but evidently it has closed. We looked a bit for another place to eat, but everywhere was either closed for Shabbat, really crowded (because it was one of the few places open on Shabbat), or only had outside seating (and it is very hot). So, we ended up ordering a pizza to be delivered (which was cool - first pizza delivery for us in Israel!) and having lunch at home. We had a nice time catching up with one another.
After the ride, we went for dinner at a very nice Italian place and then for ice cream at Vaniglia (our favorite!). By this point Hatachana was really lively -- crowded with people, a trapeze circus act performing, live music, other street performers. The kids especially loved a guy who posed like a statue, perfectly still, until you put a coin in his jar, and then he would sing a song with his guitar. There were also fun stores, like a game and puzzle store that Jonah loved and several clothing stores that Ella loved. 
We walked back along the shore (where many Arab families were BBQing, since it is still Ramadan and they only eat after sunset). We also walked past the Dolphinarium - a former (?) nightclub in Tel Aviv which was the site of a 2001 suicide bombing. The memorial out front says , "never stop dancing." Finally, we walked up Allenby, a really hip neighborhood with tons of bars, restaurants, renovated apartments. So cool. The same walk during the day is brutal, but in the evening when it cools off, it is really pleasant and fun to walk along and people watch and check out the sights and the neighborhoods. Tel Aviv has definitely found its way into our hearts. What a fun, cool place to be!
While you were relaxing, we were touring wineries in North Carolina. We had a lovely lunch in a beautiful vineyard, and did lots of tastings. Luckily, Mark did the driving.
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