It was our last night in Israel, living a #Travelife, and we were set to paint the town red by having dinner at Yaffo Tel Aviv, one of the best restaurants in Tel Aviv, Israel.

We’d driven from the Crammim Resort & Spa just in the hills outside Jerusalem, considered among Israel’s best R&R destinations, where we’d enjoyed three days of spa and relaxation.

I’ve been to almost every top restaurant in Israel, and Yaffo Tel Aviv is still one of my favorite restaurants for many reasons.

HOLIDAY IN ISRAEL

It was difficult to leave this beautiful country of Israel, of course, especially after such a wonderful holiday in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Unfortunately, reality awaited in the form of jobs and responsibilities, so we were set to fly out of Israel the following evening.

So for our last dinner, I put on my favorite black dress and we booked a table at Yaffo Tel Aviv, reportedly the best restaurant in Tel Aviv. It was everything we wanted and more. It had stylish surroundings, a star chef in the kitchen, and a sommelier who brought us some rare finds. It also had hip but efficient waitstaff.

THE KITCHEN COUNTER OF YAFFO TEL AVIV

Initially we were given a table in the center of the room of Yaffo Tel Aviv, which offered an excellent view of the comings and goings around us. But then suddenly we were inspired to sit instead on bar stools and eat right on the stainless steel counters that bordered the open kitchen so we could watch Haim Cohen – perhaps Israel’s best-known chef – and his team in action.

MEMORIES OF A WONDERFUL MEAL

What a happy meal this was. We ordered and shared everything that caught our fancy, and downed these all with a lovely bottle of local red from a boutique winery in Israel that apparently grew its grapes on the rooftops of houses.

Fortunately, this wine that we chose simply because of its interesting provenance was delicious as well. Then the long-awaited rains of Israel started dropping in regular tiny beats just as soon as we had returned to our hotel, growing increasingly intense and aggressive with each minute.

RAIN IN ISRAEL

In all my visits to Israel, living a #Travelife, I’d never seen the rains pour in this manner. Soon, a lively shower had turned into a storm with strong gusts of wind blowing across the sands and waters, worthy more of a Pacific typhoon than a long-awaited rainy evening in Tel Aviv.

The rains continued all night and all the way into the morning as well, although we slept unbothered by the howling outside. Most appropriately, it was the last day of a wonderful holiday in Israel – 14 days of complete sunshine – and so it seemed that even the heavens were sad we were leaving.

VIEWS OF THE BEACH IN TEL AVIV

Interestingly, we were in the most ideal location in Tel Aviv to experience the ferocity of the rains. On a whim and an inspiration weeks before our arrival, you see, we had chosen a charming and well-rated contemporary boutique hotel with the best beachfront location in Tel Aviv, imagining that we would take a last long walk along the Tel Aviv promenade before heading to the airport. And I’d wanted a full-on view at all costs so we’d booked a room with a terrace that directly overlooked Tel Aviv’s famous beach and promenade.

BREAKFAST IN TEL AVIV

For what we got, the hotel room was quite pricey. So you might say that I indeed got what I wanted. Small but impeccably furnished and spotlessly clean, we were tight with my mountain of luggage but happy. At least until the early morning, when the winds blew open the French windows that led to the terrace overlooking the beach.

The winds dragged the room’s long curtains outside in some kind of mad dance while bringing so much water in. The rains made half of our closet of a room wet.

HAPPY LAST MEMORIES OF ISRAEL

This should’ve been a disaster, especially as there was no housekeeper on call to clean up the mess in this 10-room hotel in Tel Aviv. In fact, the only dry space on the bed was about the size of a towel.

But instead we laughed about it. That’s all we’d been doing in Israel, really. Then we arranged the remaining dry pillows into some kind of seating area. Instead of going back to sleep, we talked until morning, exchanging ideas and inspirations on where our next Travelife might take us.

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This post is about our visit to the Machane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, one of the most famous food markets in Israel and a must-visit destination for foodies.

The Machane Yehuda is one of Jerusalem’s most authentic markets. It’s the best place to literally get a taste of Middle Eastern flavors and Middle Eastern life. It’s a very local market full of color, life, sounds, and, of course, tastes.

Many of the shops have been around for at least a hundred years, if not more. This is Jerusalem, after all, one of the oldest cities in the world.

I visited late in the afternoon, but the market was still alive with shopkeepers trying to sell off as much of their fresh foods as possible, and with locals buying ingredients for dinner — plus tourists like me snapping away at all the exotic and interesting foods on offer.

This market is literally eye candy for the adventurous foodie. And for Orthodox Jews, it’s seventh heaven as everything sold here is kosher. I even found some stalls selling the clothing worn by Orthodox Jews — including the white inner vests and the black caps.

Most people were very friendly, and I kept getting offered all kinds of food including nuts and fruits, and even cooked meals like little plates of rice topped with nuts and raisings.

“HAVE SOME…”

I was quite full from lunch and determined to keep to some kind of diet during my trip. But I couldn’t very well refuse all these offers coming at me as I walked through the market’s “street.”

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I never forgot this story and it’s quite timely to think about now as I’m packing my luggage to fly to Tel Aviv for another memorable #Travelife to Israel. I still have to fly to Tokyo this weekend and then it’s on to Hokkaido for some last hurrah skiing next week before getting on that plane for Tel Aviv; but yes, I’ll be in Israel sooner than I can say “Happy Hannukah.”

 

On that particular trip to Israel, I’d spent one morning in the Old Town section of Jerusalem, you see, when my guide decided to tell me this story. In fact, I can still remember exactly where we were — we were standing on a landing overlooking the Wailing Wall and the Al Aqsa Mosque. Living a never-ending Travelife, of course.

 

THE POPE, THE RABBI AND A TELEPHONE CALL TO HEAVEN FROM JERUSALEM 

 

Anyway, the story goes that the Rabbi of Jerusalem once visited the Pope in the Vatican in Rome. When he entered the Pope’s office, he saw a gold telephone on the Pope’s desk. So the Rabbi asked the Pope: “What is that?”

The Pope answered: “Oh that? That’s my telephone for calling God.” The Rabbi was very impressed. He said to himself then: “I definitely have to get myself one of those.“ 

 

THE POPE VISITS THE RABBI

 

Then a couple of months later, the Pope visited the Rabbi in his office in Jerusalem. By that time, the Rabbi of Jerusalem had already gotten himself a gold telephone for calling God, and this was proudly displayed on his table.

 

The Pope saw the gold telephone and said to him: “I see you’ve gotten yourself one of those gold telephones for calling God.” The Rabbi nodded happily. Then the Pope continued: “It’s really very useful to have a hotline to God. I just wish it was cheaper to call God.”

  

COMPARING COSTS OF A TELEPHONE CALL

 

The Rabbi asked the Pope: “Why? How much does it cost you to call God on your telephone at the Vatican?” The Pope answered: “It’s very expensive. It costs me about US$1,000 a minute to use my gold phone.” The Rabbi shook his head and remarked: “That’s unbelievable. How very unfortunate for you.”

The Pope was surprised. So he asked the Rabbi: “Why? How much does it cost you to call God from your telephone in Jerusalem?” The Rabbi answered: “Only about ten cents a minute.”

  

The Pope was shocked. He said: “Ten cents a minute to call God? But how can that be?” The Rabbi answered: “Well, for me in Jerusalem, talking to God is just a local call.” We all burst out laughing at this joke. Hope you enjoy it too, wherever in the world you happen to be, on just another wonderful day in our never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife.

The post The Pope, the Rabbi and a telephone call to Heaven from Jerusalem appeared first on TRAVELIFE Magazine.

On that particular trip to Israel, I’d spent one morning in the Old Town section of Jerusalem, you see, when my guide decided to tell me this story. In fact, I can still remember exactly where we were — we were standing on a landing overlooking the Wailing Wall and the Al Aqsa Mosque. Living a never-ending Travelife, of course.

The Pope, the Rabbi and a telephone call to Heaven from Jerusalem

Anyway, the story goes that the Rabbi of Jerusalem once visited the Pope in the Vatican in Rome. When he entered the Pope’s office, he saw a gold telephone on the Pope’s desk. So the Rabbi asked the Pope: “What is that?”

The Pope answered: “Oh that? That’s my telephone for calling God.” The Rabbi was very impressed. He said to himself then: “I definitely have to get myself one of those.“ 

THE POPE VISITS THE RABBI

Then a couple of months later, the Pope visited the Rabbi in his office in Jerusalem. By that time, the Rabbi of Jerusalem had already gotten himself a gold telephone for calling God, and this was proudly displayed on his table.

The Pope saw the gold telephone and said to him: “I see you’ve gotten yourself one of those gold telephones for calling God.” The Rabbi nodded happily. Then the Pope continued: “It’s really very useful to have a hotline to God. I just wish it was cheaper to call God.”

  

COMPARING COSTS OF A TELEPHONE CALL

The Rabbi asked the Pope: “Why? How much does it cost you to call God on your telephone at the Vatican?” The Pope answered: “It’s very expensive. It costs me about US$1,000 a minute to use my gold phone.”

The Rabbi shook his head and remarked: “That’s unbelievable. How very unfortunate for you.”

 The Pope was surprised. So he asked the Rabbi: “Why? How much does it cost you to call God from your telephone in Jerusalem?” The Rabbi answered: “Only about ten cents a minute.”

The Pope was shocked. He said: “Ten cents a minute to call God? But how can that be?” The Rabbi answered: “Well, for me in Jerusalem, talking to God is just a local call.“

We all burst out laughing at this joke. Hope you enjoy it too, wherever in the world you happen to be, on just another wonderful day in our never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife.

The post The Pope, the Rabbi and a telephone call to Heaven from Jerusalem appeared first on TRAVELIFE Magazine.

Sunset over the Dead Sea this morning

Even by our never-endingly eventful Travelife standards, it would be hard to beat this very interesting day in Israel that began with a warm swim in the salty water of the Dead Sea, and continued on to Tel Aviv for a look at an award-winning installation by an Indian artist at the Venice Biennale.  Then I went for a test drive of the world’s first electric car with a replaceable battery.

That’s me driving the car, with Elad, the instructore, next to me.

You would think that would be enough for a Travelife sort of day. But after driving the car around some Tel Aviv neighborhood (and you’ll read more about this in a later blog entry), we went on to the Jaffa Port to have dinner and watch a much talked about show at the Nalaga’at Center.

I’m going to recount tonight’s experience before anything else, as it was truly memorable for me. It was full of new experiences and it made me think about so many things in my own life — and that’s what travel should really do for a person.

Travel should give you opportunities to push your own boundaries, and also opportunities to reflect and contemplate. Tonight I had all these.

Adina Tal, founder

The evening began with a meeting with Adina Tal, founder of the Nalaga’at Center, and Talia Winokur, Resource Development Manager, over simple cocktails that were served by deaf persons at the Cafe Kapish next door.

This is how I learned about Adina’s heroic efforts to give lives back to the deaf-and-blind of Israel.

Adina is a theater professional. Several years ago, she had the opportunity to conduct a workshop for the deaf and blind. This was her first contact with people with these kinds of disabilities. And from then on, she never looked back. She helped train them to perform in a show that has received rave reviews and is traveling the world over. In January 2013, the group is headed for New York for a series of performances.

After the show, everyone is invited to taste the bread and to talk to the performers

These shows are literally a reason to live, for these people who are both deaf and blind.

Many of them started out as deaf — either they were born deaf or they became deaf early on — and then their illness caused them to eventually become blind.

Scroll down to read more…

I tried to imagine — and, I must admit, not without horror — the terrifying and terrible experience of being both deaf and blind, or of gradually becoming both deaf and blind.

In such a situation, your mind is alive and you have so much to express, but you have almost no facility for communication. Your world is slowly and literally closing in.

Talia

Talia admitted to me: “It is a terrible experience to be deaf and then to grow blind as well. Many of the people who come to our center admitted to thoughts of suicide.”

But happily, the Nalaga’at Center and the regular shows they put on by the Jaffa Port as part of the Deaf-Blind Theatre Ensemble are able to give back to these people some part of their lives.

I watched them onstage tonight performing the show “Not By Bread Alone,” helped by interpreters and assistants. You must remember that they are performing as regular actors but they cannot actually see or hear anything.

When I saw them onstage and I thought about their situations, I felt like crying.

Yes, it’s been a most emotional visit to Israel, and beyond the historical sights and religious backgrounds — or perhaps because of these? — Israel is truly an emotional country.

To heighten the experience to a depth I can’t even begin to describe, I decided to have dinner at the Black Out restaurant next door, which is affiliated with the Nalaga’at Center but run independently. It’s a restaurant for about 30 persons that operates in complete darkness, so you eat your meal as if you are blind.

There are several restaurants like this around the world, but this one is special because the waiters and waitresses are all legally blind. So whether they are in the kitchen or in the restaurant, they really can’t see anything.

In other hip cities like Paris or New York, there are also restaurants resembling Black Out — but the servers wear night-vision goggles or use some special technology to get their way around the dark. Here in Tel Aviv, the servers are truly in the dark whether they are in the restaurant or not.

Scroll down to read more about dinner in the dark…

I decided to do this, although as it was a last-minute decision and there were no other seats available, I had to go alone. As I actually have claustrophobia, this was a very big deal for me to spend over an hour in pitch darkness with complete strangers.

However, as I have decided to rise up to all sorts of challenges this year, I took the plunge.

First let me explain that it really is utter, utter darkness. You can’t bring cameras or phones, no one turns on any kind of illumination, and it is so dark that you can’t even see your finger in front of you. Pitch black.

You enter by holding the shoulders of your server. Immediately, your sense of hearing is heightened because you have lost your sight.

I became aware of dozens of voices all over the room, echoing like in a theater with good accoustics — but there was not one word I understood because no one was speaking English.

This, of course, increased my sense of isolation further.

My server, Maya, who is of course legally blind, led me to my table, where I sat in front of an Israeli couple. She had already told me who she was seating me with, so I knew it was couple in front of me, although I couldn’t see them.

Maya told me, as I sat down: “You can talk to them. They speak English.”

Scroll down to read more about the couple in the dark…

So we began talking in pitch darkness, which was truly surrealistic. I found out that they were both engineers who were living in the seaside town of Haifa, and that it had been the girl’s birthday yesterday — so this was a surprise for her. What a surprise it was, indeed.

They were midway through their meal when I came in, as I’d come from the cocktails. While waiting for my food, I asked them: “How is it to eat in utter darkness?”

The guy answered: “Very interesting. I’m eating with my fork and one hand.“

Maya, my legally blind server tonight

We talked about all sorts of things, and Maya joined us every so often. She was especially concerned about how I was feeling, as I told her I had claustrophobia but I was determined to do this.

Earlier on, I’d also asked her: “How do you manage to walk around?” She walked around completely normally, you see.

She answered: “What’s so difficult? This is just like walking in my own home.”

When my food came, I was surprised that I had not too much trouble eating it. But I did ask Maya: “Is it better to eat with your eyes open or your eyes closed?” It didn’t really matter, right, as you can’t see anything either way.

She replied: “I prefer to eat with my eyes open in the darkness, as I find that I get sleepy if I close my eyes.” On the contrary, I realized that I ate better with my eyes closed, as my sense of taste and hearing got stronger somewhat.

Tonights’s dinner companions in the dark: Birthday girl Adi Fuchs and her boyfriend Micha Milshtein

Talking to these three people but not seeing them was an interesting experience, indeed. It’s surprising how the mind can form images of people even before you can see them.

By talking to the couple in front of me, I had a sense of what kind of people they were — including how old they were and how they looked.

After dinner, we left the restaurant together so we could finally see ourselves. I was completely surprised to find out that they looked completely different from what I had imagined!

This is definitely a must-experience in Tel Aviv, especially the Black Out dinner and show combination.

Just another day in our never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife. Good night from Tel Aviv.

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