Went out on the weekend and came back with a movie review and some good words on a local chain of restaurants. The movie is local too, so if you don’t live in Israel or not visiting, this post may be irrelevant to you.
The movie was Land of Genesis – a unique one-of-a-kind production of a full-length nature film shot here in Israel. Here’s the trailer -
Now, I had actually written a long and detailed review but the WordPress demons swallowed it all up without a trace. In a nutshell: the footage is very impressive, but the narration is horrible. Remember those ancient Disney nature movies where the animals have first names, and you get long heavily-edited scenes with an emotional storyline? That’s what Land of Genesis is like and that’s not a good thing in my book.
As for the meal – if you’re in the Tel Aviv area, and looking for a nice place to eat without spending a whole lot of money, try one of the branches of Bar Gurion.
We’ve sampled two of them so far and were happy with what we got. Good food, generous quantities, good service, and you end up paying about half of what you’d pay in any other Tel Aviv restaurant. After the movie, we shared a large plate of pasta, a small salad, one 7Up and two ice coffee’s with soy milk. The final bill came to 44 shekels. Finally, we have a nice place for a meal with a sane price tag.
Working on next summer’s big road trip (only nine months to go!!), I have become addicted to trip reports. I read trip reports on blogs and forums, in both English and Hebrew, about places we’re about to visit. They’re not just informative, but they also give a unique personal angle on things.
Every visit and every trip is unique – it’s a combination of the exact timing, weather, local affairs and events, and of course, of the people experiencing it.I feel that combining these trip reports in my mind really helps me get a good sense of the place.
In fact, the book I’m reading these days is one long trip report. The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain. The experiences of the author traveling through Europe and in the Holy Land, some 150 years ago. Great book!
Mentioning Mark Twain’s trip report is probably not a good idea when I’m about to share one of my own… Don’t set your expectations too high, and hopefully you’ll enjoy my tale of our 24 hours in the Holiest City of the Holy Land.
Jerusalem, Here We Come
The reason for our trip to Jerusalem was the ligthshow, or should I say light spectacle, at the Tower of David. This show is so popular, you have to book tickets several weeks in advance. Since this is a night time show, we decided to spend the night in Jerusalem, sleeping over at my sister-in-law’s parents’ house.
If you’re in Israel today, you know we’re in the middle of a particularly obnoxious heat wave. At times like this, we generally try to stay indoors with the air conditioning humming in the background. With fixed dates for our tickets, off we went, taking comfort in the knowledge that at least Jerusalem is not as humid as the coastal plain.
We left home after a leisurely breakfast and drove up to Jerusalem via Road 6. Driving through Sha’ar HaGuy, we showed the kids the old armored vehicles of the war of ’48 and talked about the time of the siege back then. The conversation soon took a typical turn into fantasy land, as the kids very seriously discussed how they would handle a similar situation in case of an attack on Jerusalem by aliens – specifically the Protoss or Zerg races of Starcraft 2.
The lightshow was scheduled for 8 in the evening, so we had lots of time and decided to visit a museum. Following online recommendations, we went to the Bible Lands Museum, right across the street from the famous Israel Museum.
The Bible Lands Museum
Arriving around noon, the parking lots in the area were full. We got into line and voila – got stuck in parking lot limbo. 200 meters in which you can’t go back and have no choice but to stand in line behind a couple of dozens of other cars. Only when a car leaves the parking lot on the other side, the guard lets in a single car in its stead. The slowest 200 meters in the world – it took us over 50 minutes to finally get into the parking lot. I actually called the manager of the museum about this but she told me there is nothing they can do, as the parking lot is managed by the Israel Museum. I made a mental note of writing to them – and may still do that.
Inside the museum things got much better. First, it was not as crowded as I had feared it might be (judging by our parking lot woes). Looks like everyone went over to the Israel Museum and I’m glad they did.
The museum itself, while aesthetically pleasing, is basically made of a couple of dozens of galleries of fairly traditional displays. Yes, the items on display are very unique and impressive, yet this could easily have been a very boring visit for the kids.
Fortunately, the museum offers a special booklet for kids. Along the lines of a “Young Ranger” booklet, this one challenges the kids to explore various displays with a character called Shamshi. You can see the first couple of pages here – the booklet is available in Hebrew and English.
We loved Shamshi, and the kids went through the booklet cover to cover. This has been an extremely educational experience for the entire family. All in all, including a break in the cafeteria, we spent two and a half hours in the museum.
Speaking of the cafeteria, it’s fairly small, and has a limited selection of a few salads and pastries. You have to be quick at lunch time, as by the time our kids decided on the pastries they wanted, the place went out of stock on those. The coffee was good though and the prices surprisingly sane. One large coffee, one salad, a sandwich, a potato filled pastry and juice, all cost us around 60 shekels ($15).
Leaving the museum at half past three, we decided to try and get to the Tower of David museum, where the lightshow was to be held. We figured we can grab our pre-booked tickets and tour the museum. We made it all the way to the Old City, but weren’t sure where to park and how to reach the place. Carried ahead in the heavy traffic, we just gave up and decided to go visit our relatives instead. This was the best decision, on a hot day. We got there, met everyone and socialized for a bit. We were shown to our room and while the kids watched TV, we took a nap.
The Tower of David Light Show
The nap was sweet and we had a hard time getting up. We had planned on grabbing a bite in a coffee shop before the show, but ended up taking some crackers and cookies for the way instead.
We parked in the adjacent Mamilla Shopping Center. This relatively new addition to the city, is an open mall right next to the Old City, specializing in fancy shops and some nice cafes and restaurants. It’s a lovely place, with artwork spread along the main walking path which we really enjoyed.
We arrived at the Tower of David, which turned out to be inside the Old City, about 100 meters or yards after entering Jaffa Gate. We got our tickets and patiently waited along with about 100 more visitors for the gates of the show area to open.
The show was spectacular. You start by walking inside along the walls of the citadel, with various spectacles projected on walls along your path. We’ve stopped several times just to look at those, finally arriving at the main show area, where we had to find available seats. There is plenty of seating for everyone, but if you come with a group, as we have, and you want seats in a particular place, you don’t want to be the last one in. In retrospect, the show is so huge in scale, you will see it just fine from any point.
With everyone finally seated, the show began. It’s hard to describe it in words, but I’ll try. Imagine a huge movie, projected on gigantic citadel walls, almost all around you. Nothing is behind you, so you can remain seated, but you definitely move your head around, as images are projected on your sides too. It’s absolutely huge, and the quality of projection is so amazing, you almost don’t see the walls. The movie is designed to perfectly match the outline of the walls on which its projected, so nothing “breaks” or comes in the way.
The content is very artistic and the visuals are stunning. The story is the story of Jerusalem, from the times of King David to this day, but very little is narrated or “told”. They give you a brochure before the show starts, suggesting that you read the historical timeline in advance, to figure out what you’re seeing. It doesn’t really matter that much, as the focus here is on aesthetics and the soundtrack. You’re really looking at a work of art, not a history lesson. Here’s the official movie of the spectacle, but really, if you have the chance, go and see it, as it can’t be captured in a movie.
Walking to our car after the show, we walked through the Mamilla center again. Lots of people there at night, live music and street shows – very nice!
The Tower of David in the morning
The next morning, we came back to the Tower of David. The tickets we got for the light show also included a visit to the museum which we could take at anytime, so the next morning was as good a time as any.
The museum opens only at 10, which is a shame. On hot days like these, we would have preferred to be there much earlier. Instead, we stopped over at the Mamilla Mall again, for ice coffee and a salad at the Rimon restaurant there. We entered thinking this was a cafe, but realized from the menu and prices that they were a proper restaurant. Still, we ordered an Israeli salad, which was not on the menu, along with fresh bread and some spreads (including eggplan jam!), two ice coffees (with soy milk), and a plate of fries for the kids and ended up with a bill of 90 shekels ($22.5). Not cheap, but could have been worse.
The Tower of David museum also had a booklet for the kids, but this one was not as good as the one we had at the Bible Lands museum and the kids soon lost track of the assignments. So, we just went from one display to another and enjoyed those as best we could. We did manage to teach them quite a bit of history, and the displays were good enough to draw their attention in most cases.
In the Crusaders gallery, we came across a nun. The kids were shy at first, but after she secretly told me she wasn’t a real nun, but an actress working in the museum, I encouraged them to interact some more and Dan had a good time talking to her. I don’t think he learned too much about Christianity, but she learned a lot about Dan’s world…
Overall, this was a very good museum, with good displays in a beautiful setting. It took us about an hour to go through it all.
Dan really wanted to go to the “Time Elevator”. It’s one of those multi-dimensional shows, where you sit in a moving chair, see a movie with a variety of special effects. We made the mistake of walking over there in the heat. It wasn’t a long walk, but it was uphill, and in a hot day and could have been avoided by calling in advance and being told they were all booked up for the next few hours.
We went to the Mamilla center again, where our car was parked. The kids had ice cream, and we grabbed a great sandwich, an ice coffee and a glasspresso – ice cream in a glass of espresso. All by Aroma. I don’t remember exactly how much it all cost, but I think it was in the 50 shekels region.
Finally headed back home – via road 6 again, in time for a shower and a short nap after a hot morning.
Whew… trip reports are long, aren’t they?
I hope you enjoyed this one. I had fun writing it.
Lazy days of summer. It’s been so hot outside, I did all I could to stay at home with the kids, except for the unavoidable beach and pool outings. Anything else needs to have a very cold micro-climate (aka air conditioning).
There are some very good malls in Israel and they all have fantastic air conditioning! The problem with most of them is that they are way overcrowded during summertime. Well, I found a great alternative last week – the Arena mall right by the Herzeliya marina, not far from Tel Aviv.
I have to thank EPK Israel for that particular trip. Their social media guy, Moises, contacted me via Twitter and invited me to come and see their new autumn collection. Now, those who know me can appreciate the irony of me being invited to a fashion show (sneakers and jeans Mom all over). Still, this being kids fashion, the opportunity to check out a different mall, and Moises’ generous offer to give us “free samples”, all made me pack up the kids and head out.
I’m really glad we did. The Arena mall was surprisingly nice and definitely not crowded! I did go over to say hi to the EPK people – a lovely store, with a definite European atmosphere (is that what they call Euro chic?). The prices were surprisingly sane, so much so that I ended up actually shopping there too – couldn’t really say no to Ron after he got into this outfit (pants our own – don’t be blaming EPK for those) -
Had to leave the store soon after that, as my boys were making themselves too much at home:
I still can’t believe it, but I actually managed to get away with shopping for shoes for them too (if you consider Crocs to be shoes that is). A bit oversized, but hey, he’s growing -
Sorry about the picture quality btw. Ironically, around the time I was working on this page on Hub Pages, we managed to lose our digital camera, and obviously the iPhone is not a very good alternative.
We’re halfway through the two hottest months of the year here. If in doubt, one just sticks one’s nose outside the air-conditioned room into the boiling soup outside.
Where I live, along the coastal plain, we have the winning combo of humidity and heat. High temperatures here today are supposed to reach 31 Celsius (that’s 88 Fahrenheit). It may not seem that hot, but throw in high humidity levels and it’s no fun being outside. Temperatures are actually higher in the mountainous areas of Jerusalem, the Galilee and the Golan Heights, expected to reach 102-3 in some places. Then again, it’s drier up there, so more tolerable.
Not much else to say, other than to be grateful that these are just heat waves and that the weather is expected to cool down a little bit on Tuesday. Actually, compared to many places in the world, I think Israel has great weather. It’s never too cold in winter time and honestly, the heat is tolerable during summertime too, especially with air conditioning everywhere.
Hopefully, next July-August, we’ll be checking out glaciers in the northern Rocky mountain region
I think I finally nailed down our plan for next year’s big trip to the Western US and Canada. Whew, is all I can say. I just hope the actual journey isn’t as tiring as the planning!
So, this is what I have so far – a big loop taking in the coast and the Rocky mountains (more or less). Here’s the map – detailed plan right after that.
Click for the full version
1-3. San Francisco
4. Traveling to Yosemite, visiting the Jamestown and Columbia gold rush area.
5-7. Yosemite NP.
8. Traveling from Yosemite to Santa Cruz and visiting the beach boardwalk.
9. Monterey Aquarium.
10. Point Lobos nature reserve.
11. Highway 1 up to Big Sur.
12. Highway 1 up to San Luis Obispo.
13. Highway 1 to Los Angeles.
14. LA – Universal Studios.
15-17. LA
18-19. Anaheim (you know where…)
20. Driving from Anaheim to Kingman (Route 66).
21. Route 66 to the Grand Canyon NP.
22. Gran Canyon NP and drive to Page, Arizona.
23. Page and drive to Zion NP.
24. Zion NP.
25. Bryce Canyon NP and drive through scenic byway 12 to Escalante.
26. Continued drive on byway 12 to Moab.
27-29. Moab (Canyonlands NP, Arches NP and rafting on the Colorado).
30. Drive through Mesa Verde NP to Durango, Colorado.
31. Driving scenic road 550 (Million Dollar Highway) to Ouray.
32. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison and driving to Colorado Springs.
33. Colorado Springs.
34-35. Denver, Colorado.
36-38. Rocky MT NP.
39. Driving through Cheyenne, Wyoming to Custer, S. Dakota.
40. Custer State Park, S. Dakota.
41-42. Rapid City, S. Dakota (visiting the Badlands NP and a few other places).
43. Devil’s Tower and drive to Thermopolis, Wyoming.
44. Thermopolis (hot springs state park).
45. Driving to Grand Teton NP.
46-47. Grand Teton, NP.
48. Drive from Teton to Yellowstone NP and visiting the southern part of Yellowstone.
49-51. Yellowstone NP.
52. Driving to Bozeman, Montana.
53. Lewis and Clark Caverns and driving to Great Falls, Montana.
54. Great Falls, Montana.
55. Driving to Glacier NP.
56-57. Glacier NP.
58. Crossing over to Canada, via Waterton Park to Calgary.
59. Calgary.
60-62. Banff NP.
63. Driving up to Jasper NP (Icefields road).
64-65. Jasper NP.
66. Driving from Jasper to Yoho NP.
67. Yoho Park.
68. Driving from Yoho NP to Kamloops.
69. Driving from Kamloops to Vancouver, BC, Canada.
70-78. Vancouver and then Victoria. Possibly a couple of days in the Pacific Rim NP.
79. Back to the US from Victoria to Port Angeles, Washington.
80-81. Olympic NP.
82-86. Seattle, Washington.
87. Driving to Portland via MT St Helens.
88-90. Portland, Oregon.
91. Driving from Portland to the Oregon coast and then from Astoria to Canon Beach.
92. Driving to Newport (Oregon beaches).
93. Driving to Bandon (Oregon Beaches).
94. Oregon and North California beaches to the Redwoods region.
95. Redwood NP.
96. Highway 1 in northern California to Mendocino.
97. Mendocino to San Francisco.
98-100. San Francisco.
And then… flying back home!
Yes, I know there’s plenty more to see that’s not too far from our route. I know we’re missing out on places like Salt Lake City, and on the Cascades region including Crater Lake, Lassen NP and Lake Tahoe.
Lots of other places that can be incorporated – but alas, there’s only so many days to the trip, so some things will have to be left for our next trip!
Still, I’d love to get more feedback, so bring it on – I’m all ears!
We’re sitting together at a restaurant and my eldest son comes up with this question:
“How do polar bears give birth?”
Well, polar bears, right? So I start explaining about caves in the snow and hibernation, and about the tiny cubs being born in the secure dark cave at winter time and nursing until spring time.
He listens carefully, then asks more specifically, “yes, but where do the cubs come out from in the body of the polar bear momma?”
Ahhhh. Why polar bears and not all female mammals in general? He didn’t have a good answer. Yes, he realized the question is relevant to all mammals, but it came up to him while he was thinking about polar bears.
Gotta love talking to kids!
By the way, both him and his younger brother have long ago been told how babies come into the world. They know it’s something only grownups do, after they decide to spend their lives together.
So, the other day, we’re walking in a local park, where couples arrive right before the wedding to have their pictures taken by a professional photographer (usually at sunset, but the garden itself is pretty enough background at any hour of the day).
The kids are excited to see the pretty bride in her white dress and all. A couple of minutes later, the couple has moved on to the next part of the garden. Ron wonders where they went to, and Dan, the younger one, promptly replies out loud:
“They are getting married, so they probably went to find a private spot in the garden where they can mate.”
An Israeli posting something negative, but true, about Israel. It could be criticism of the government’s policies in the West Bank, about soldiers mistreating Palestinians at checkpoints, or about some cab driver making a racist comment against Arabs. Things that happens in Israel, unfortunately on a daily basis, and deserve to be condemned.
Then come the responses from anti-Israelis, building up on this and making the exchange into another “Zionism is evil” chant.
“A racist cab driver? why, didn’t you know? All Israelis are evil racists.”
“Soldiers mistreated a Palestinian? Well, what did you expect? They are monsters in uniform, these Zionist soldiers.”
I am so sick and tired of this.
Of course Israel has issues. Big ones. Yes, there is hatred and racism. Way too much of it – not that I know of a quantity that is “within limits”, but obviously these people feel other countries are within those limits.
Here’s the deal -
1. Societies are made of people and many people are bigoted and prejudiced.
2. Societies at war tend to become more extreme.
It’s not like Arabs or Palestinians are all Ghandi’s either. Oh wait, I forgot, I am not allowed to use this argument – it’s evading the core issue, that Israelis are all evil. I think I’m also not allowed to mention that there is a lot of racism in France or the US, right? Ok, my apologies, I won’t. I know, perspective is bad as it distracts us from what should be the conclusion here, that Israel is evil. Sorry!
Sigh.
Criticism of Israeli government and society is a good thing. Turning these online debates into a feast of demonizing Israel and Israelis is a horrible thing.
It’s horrible when done in the other direction as well. You criticize some aspect of Palestinian policies or actions, and Jewish right-wingers are quick to nod, and join in with “well, what did you expect? they’re Arabs, don’t you know it’s a violent blood-thirsty culture?”
Same thing, folks.
Now, here why this is so upsetting to me.
You keep stressing on the negatives, painting a black and white picture (doesn’t even matter which side is the black and which the white), and you contribute towards more hatred and eventually more bloodshed.
Like it or not, there ARE two people living here on this tiny piece of the earth. Like it or not, both people will go on living here for the foreseeable future. Encourage, or even allow, the hatred and you contribute towards more war and bloodshed.
And the blood shed is going to be mine and my children’s. Yours too, if you live here.
To clarify -
A critical view of both Arabs and Israelis, by all means, is more than welcome. The many dark corners need to be lit so we can fight racism and hatred. Constructive criticism is even better, if you can maybe suggest how to make things better, but it’s ok if you can’t – reporting bad things IS crucial.
Just please please stop with the hate orgies. Please enough with the “ALL” and the tarnishing of entire peoples and societies with one tarred brush. Not only is it not helping anyone – it’s hurting us.
The school year ended yesterday here in Israel. Today I took the boys to “Kaytana” which I think can be translated as “day camp”?
I think this is a good opportunity to finally post about the school my kids go to – the democratic school. I have been meaning to do this for a while, since whenever I mention the name of the school, it generates many questions. By the way, the school has an official pretty name, but as with every democratic school, people just call it “the democratic”.
So, it might be easier to format this post as an FAQ.
What is a democratic school?
The school is a community based on the principles of democracy. There is a parliament where school rules are decided – and children, parents and teachers are all equal members with equal voting rights. There are also many committees, made of kids and teachers, including one where disputes between kids are settled. There is a huge emphasis on mutual respect, tolerance and communication.
Democracy is also about freedom of choice. School kids choose their own lesson plans. They are required to include Hebrew and maths, but can otherwise choose any other subjects they want. Several hours of free time are also worked into their weekly plan.
The choice doesn’t end there. The kids are allowed to choose not to go to their classes. They’re encouraged to join the class, and the teachers work extra hard to make the lessons attractive, but if the kid decides to stay outside, that’s fine too. As you might guess, many kids prefer to stay outside and play, especially the younger ones. You may be surprised to know, that many do attend their classes.
Are there more democratic schools in Israel or elsewhere in the world?
I know about various experimental schools that were/are in England and the US, but as far as I know, this particular version of school is unique to Israel. The first democratic school opened in the town of Hadera, just over 20 years ago, with more schools opening or converting into democratic education every year. I know of a couple of dozens now, all over the country. There are three of them, within twenty minutes of where we live.
What subjects are taught in a democratic school?
Basically, the subjects are the same as in other schools. Maths and Hebrew are mandatory, but the rest are all optional. By the way, that also means Torah/Bible studies are optional which is very unusual in Israel. Specialty classes can be and are added by request and taught by the school teachers or by parents. Last year for example, third and fourth graders could attend a class of veterinary studies.
There are also many workshops and special projects, by teachers and parents. For example, IsraeliDad gives physics workshops to the first and second graders every couple of months.
What about homework and tests?
As a Mom, I am grateful to say there is no homework! Whew! I keep hearing from parents of kids in regular schools what a nightmare it is to help with homework everyday. It’s such a waste of a good afternoon too. In our school, kids that want homework do get them, otherwise, the afternoons are for playtime or after school activities.
No tests either, of course. Nothing is graded as such, but rather the teachers give each kid constant feedback on his or her work. Not numbers, just words and suggestions.
What does a day in the school look like?
School day in Israel normally starts at 8 o’clock sharp. In the democratic, the morning officially begins with a meeting of the teacher and the kids at 8:20 or 8:30 (each teacher has his/her own schedule). That means kids arrive anytime between 7:30 and 8:20, so even if you arrive after 8, you’re not late. Of course, even if you are late, it’s not a big deal. And of course, some kids decide to just stay outside and not join the morning meeting .
Next, there are lessons, and kids either go to their respective lessons or they don’t. If they don’t, they can play in the yard, supervised by the yard teacher, or they can go into their “Ba’it”. Literally meaning “home”, this is like a play center, supervised by a teacher, where they can play, draw, read a book or anything else they want to do.
Aren’t you worried about your son being in the schoolyard instead of the classroom?
This is something I used to hear a lot from the kids’ grandparents. One thing to keep is mind is that many kids opt not to attend classes. There is nothing lonely or unusual about playing outside. The kids are supervised by the schoolyard teacher and violence is very rare in democratic schools. Being outside isn’t devoid of learning either, as long as developing social skills is considered part of learning (it is, for me).
When do the kids learn how to read and write?
I would say about half of the kids can actually read and write by the end of the first year. Then again, who says kids HAVE to read and write at exactly the same age? Experience in democratic schools shows that once a kid decides he/she wants to learn how to read and write, they will, and fairly quickly at that. Kids are not that dumb – they realize what’s good for them and they see the need for reading and writing. Less pressure, and more trust in the kids, is the key here.
Is this part of the public education system in Israel or is this a private school?
Democratic schools are part of the official public education system. However, our school and the other democratic schools that I know of, gain additional budget from tuition fees paid by the parents.
The school is anything but rich. The extra payment goes towards paying for the extra teachers needed to maintain the system. Fees are not very steep – 600 NIS ($150) per month. A portion of the fees goes towards scholarships: funding families that can’t afford the fees.
So, there you have it.
There’s a lot more I could say, but I think I’ll keep this post fairly basic and hopefully refer to it in the future when I share stories from school life.
Let me know if you have more questions or comments. I love discussing schools and education – fascinating topic, always!
First, a quick shout-out for two new hubs I created after writing my last post here about Israeli food. The first one is about the Story of Israeli Couscous and the second one is about what Hummus really should be, aka My Israeli Hummus Recipe. If you have a minute, please visit my hubs and vote for them. If you like them, by all means, spread the word!
And now for our trip plans.
Some of you may remember we have a big family trip in the works. The general idea is to travel to the US West Coast for approximately three months, leaving Israel in the second or third week of May and coming back in time for school, probably in the third week of August.
So, here’s our itinerary – or what we have of it at this point -
Day 1-6: San Francisco and the Bay Area
Day 7-10: Yosemite National Park
Day 11-14: Santa Cruz and Moterey
Day 15: Road no. 1 along the coast
Day 16-20: Los Angeles
Day 21-22: Anaheim (you know why…)
Day 23: Driving to Flagstaff
Day 24: Tusayan (Grand Canyon National Park)
Day 25: Page, Arizona
Day 26-27: Zion National Park
Day 29: Bryce Canyon
Day 30-31: Traveling through Monument Valley
Day 32: Durango, Colorado
Day 33: Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Day 34-36: Denver, Colorado and the area
Day 37: Rocky Mountain National Park
Day 38: Driving to Teton National Park
Day 39-40: Teton National Park
Day 41-44: Yellowstone National Park
Day 45: Bozeman, Montana
Day 46: Great Falls, Montana
Day 47-50: Glacier National Park
Day 51: Driving to Calgary, Canada
Day 51-54: Jasper National Park, Canada
Day 55-58: Banff and Yoho National Parks
Day 59: Driving towards Vancouver
Day 60-63: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Day 64-65: Victoria, Canada
Day 66-68: Pacific Rim National Park, Canada
Day 69: Victoria, Canada
Day 70-72: Olympic National Park
Day 73-78: Seattle & the Area
Day 79-81: Portland, Oregon
Day 82: Oregon Coast
Day 83: Crater Lake National Park
Day 84: Lava Beds State Park
Day 85: Lake Shasta
Day 86: Lassen National Park
Day 87-90: San Francisco
This is it! Any ideas and tips, leave them here for me through the comment form, please! I’ve been doing tons of research, so I think I have the basics covered. There is actually a daily plan as well, for what to do in the big cities etc.
What we’d really like to do is meet people too along the road, so if you’re located along our route – let me know and maybe we can come over and say hi!
In a sense, even though the Jewish nation is thousands of years old, the Israeli nation is just about a century old (or, depending how you count, only sixty-two years old). Part of the Israeli journey towards a coherent cultural identity is culinary. The very question of “what is Israeli food?” is often the focus of public debates, especially around our Independence Day.
Felafel, Hummus and a fresh Salad
In fact, Israeli cuisine is effected by so many culinary traditions, it’s almost mind boggling. Jewish people immigrated to Israel from literally every continent, bringing with them their unique flavors and spices, foods and recipes. Middle Eastern Jews, as well as local Palestinians, provided the connection to the local climate and ingredients. Not to play it up on the puns, but in this case, we are talking more about a culinary salad bowl, more than a melting pot.
Historically, Israel developed under a socialistic mindset. The leadership of the pre-state Jewish settlement was kin on building a solid healthy base for the new State. National health care services have been in place long before the declaration of the State of Israel. Healthy nutrition was high on the agenda with strict recommendations for lots of fruit and vegetables. With the authority figures being of Ashkenazi, or Eastern European, cow-originated dairy products as well as eggs, were considered healthy too. As for meat, there just wasn’t plenty of it around.
So, with that background in mind, here are a few more things you may want to know about real Israeli food -
Meat, chicken and fish are consumed, but in lesser quantities than in most Western countries. Obviously, pork is not part of your typical Israeli menu – although it is popular with new immigrants from the former USSR.
Salads are huge part of the Israeli diet. The classical Israeli salad has tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, some shredded lettuce, and sometimes onion and carrot shreds too. It is served with breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The Israeli breakfast, worthy of a post in its own right, usually has a large salad (see above), at least one type of soft low-fat cheese, eggs and some bread and butter.
Some foods are uniquely Israeli and go back to the poverty-stricken years of 1950′s. Chocolate spread that contains no chocolate, Ben Gurion rice that has no rice (a variety of it is now known as “Israeli couscous), and “chopped liver” with no liver.
While there is a very strong Middle Eastern tendency, generally, food is slightly less spicy compared to that served in neighboring countries.
Israelis have adopted foods from across the globe, often giving them a unique local interpretation. For example, schnitzel is made of chicken, rather than veal, and typically consumed inside a pocket of pita bread.
I plan on developing this tasty theme in future posts and perhaps in Hub Pages too, so stay tuned for more and do ask me anything you want to know about the delicacies (and roughies!) of Israeli cuisine
In my mid-thirties, work from home mom, blogging about life in Israel for a mainstream Zionist (no more dirty words, promise!) family. Hoping and doing what little we can to prevent war and promote peace in the region.
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