Israel-o-rama Part 4

... and the story continues. First, the Ein Gedi nature reserve, where some young whippersnappers decided to take a little dip in the lovely spring waters. Then Jerusalem - Western Wall, and the market during the pre-Shabbat rush.

L

Israel-o-rama Part 3

Check out the guy with a cross to bear - literally! Mostly Jerusalem (those girls are like anarchist Girl Scouts, selling cakes and cookies on the street), and fresh, plump dates in Tel Aviv...

And Even in Asia...

... they are starting to recognize same-sex marriages. C'mon, America. Can we catch up a little being, you know, the land of the free and all?

L

Israel-o-rama Part Two

Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Cesaria...

Yummy-Yummy-Yummy in Israel

My friend and fellow blogger Jennifer Laceda, who was on the Israel trip with me, has put up a pretty fantastic post on some of the tasty things we sampled. National Geographic Traveler's fab Janelle Nanos - who has posted a whole heck of a lot on our trip - focused one entry on a specific delight, shakshuka (being prepared, above), which I sampled a few times in Tel Aviv. Foodies, check them out!

L

A Couple of My Israel Posts

Today a couple of my web stories about Israel went live. The first, on Johnnyjet.com, is about some of Israel's lesser known highlights. I highly recommend Johnny's free newsletter - it's packed with the latest news and links on travel deals, trends, destinations, and much more. The man IS travel. He does not stop!

The second is on Out Traveler's website, and about Tel Aviv's latest hip 'hood, Neve Tzedek.

More Israel writing to come...

L

Assaf Amdursky - Israeli Pop!

This is Assaf Amdursky, one of Israel's best current pop artists. Nice, right?

L

Priceless

This treasure is just waiting for someone to find it in Jaffa's flea market. HOT!

L
ps - Yes, comments riffing on the fall of the Ottawan empire are welcome.

Israel-o-rama

I'm just back from Israel, an amazing trip. I covered an enormous amount of territory - yes, it's a compact destination, but a lot to see and do - ranging from new school high-style sections of Jerusalem to old school ruins like Masada. I'll be linking to some stories for several outlets over the next week or so, as well as reflecting upon some highlights and bits of local flavor (fun fact: in Tel Aviv, if you order an "iced coffee," you get a granita - a sweet icy coffee-milk slushie, not a traditional iced coffee. You have to ask for that specifically...)

L

Jerusalem

Formerly known as the Wailing Wall, I finally visited Jerusalem's Western Wall. And much more. There's so much to Israel here, so much complexity, and so much diversity in landscape...

More to come.

L

Tel Aviv Flapper Fierce

I'm in Tel Aviv, Israel - which is an amazing city - and as if the sunshine, excellent falafel and Bahaus architecture weren't enough to make the day fantastic, I come across Ruth. Ruth, dressed in a Flapper-style ensemble that would command even Anna Wintour's awe and respect, j'adore!

I wish I had gotten her e-mail during our brief interaction, but I'm hoping she reads this! Ruth, you add magic to Tel Aviv. I hope to run into Ruth again while I'm here...

Also a highlight today: sampling Pomegranate wine in a hip Neve Tzedek neighborhood (it's Tel Aviv's Williamsburg/Soho of the moment) wine bar... And the falafel here makes New York's seem pretty damned sad (and we've got decent falafel).

L