Jack and I. Speeding through the Israeli countryside, windows wide, warm wind rushing through the car, streaming through my hair. Stereo cranked, Paul Simon pouring out into the sunny fields, feeding the lushness that surrounds us.

Looking around, I'm pretty sure most people don't realize what Israel is really like, and I tell Jack this. Before I met him, before I came here, I thought Israel was really just a big desert. I couldn't have been more confused.

We pass fields upon fields of lush green fruit trees - miles of orange trees, overripe fruit hanging fatly from their branches. Lemons, clementines, huge avocado trees. The ground is cluttered with a rainbow of swollen fruit.

Where there are no fruit trees, flowering trees line the roads. They are positively dripping with fuschia, crimson, tangerine blooms that seem to glow in the early morning light.

We are heading for Kviche ha Hoff, the Beach Road, which will take us straight to Tel Aviv. We are flying, enjoying Paul Simon, and since everyone knows that it is impossible to listen to him without singing along, I do...

A man walks down the street

It's a street in a strange world

Maybe it's the Third World

Maybe it's his first time around

He doesn't speak the language

He holds no currency

He is a foreign man

He is surrounded by the sound

The sound

Cattle in the marketplace

Scatterlings and orphanages

He looks around, around

He sees angels in the architecture

Spinning in infinity

He says Amen! and Hallelujah!

My eyes prickle for a second, in wonder and pleasure at being where I am. I bounce around in my seat, through The Obvious Child, Late in the Evening, Bernadette, Kodachrome, Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes.
Jack drums his fingers on the steering wheel in time to the beat, and I sing to him and the fruit and the flowers and the trees with all my heart.

How could life be better? The sky is clear, the sun is warm, traffic is smooth, and I think it's the start of another good day.

Yerushalaim

We spent a beautiful, hot day in Jerusalem this week, strolling through the ancient streets, exploring the shouk (a kind of market like you have never seen in the West) and a huge pedestrian area where hundreds of artists set up stalls and sell their wares.

Although we didn't visit the Old City this time, if you are interested in seeing our visit there from last September, you can click here (we visited the Western Wall complex, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and part of the shouk inside the walls, among other wonderful sights).


Israelis have a great sense of humour..
These made me think of Simon. Maybe sometime I will bring him one. They are lutes, and some are handmade (and of course, have a price-tag to match).
The fragrance of morning?
Not sure what we are talking about but he looks a little cranky in this photo. Isn't the flower pretty though?

Kippas...
... and more kippas.
Soldiers are everywhere in Israel, a country where everyone must do a stint in the military when they turn 18. Women have to do two years, and men do three. Although it sounds foreign and terrifying to me, to people here, it is just life.
On our way to Jerusalem's Midrohov.
Near the entrance to the shouk, a stall of mouth-watering pastries of every description imaginable, many of them still warm. Jack bought four burekas, a pastry with white cheese inside amd toasted sesame seeds outside. They were hot and delicous and cost him about 6 shekels, or $1.50 Canadian.

Ok, here is the thing about produce in Israel: it is unbelievably, mind-blowingly, outrageously cheap. This watermelon costs 3.5 Shekels per kilogram which is $1.00 Canadian. The huge basket of cherry tomatoes, which in Canada would cost close to $10, if not more, costs about $1.50 Cdn here in Israel.
Plums and peaches: $2 and about $1.75 per basket.
In Canada it is normal to pay $1 for one avocado. Here, it is normal to pay $1.40 for one kilogram of avocadoes. If you don't have a tree at home in your yard. I feel like I have died and gone to Heaven.

I think if I lived in this country, I would eat a ton of fruit and vegetables, especially since produce like this is available fresh and locally, pretty much year-round.

This is some beautiful Israeli cheese. The cheese here is fantastic.







This was our last stop in Jerusalem. It was a room I wanted to see, called the Coenaculum. It is the room where the Last Supper is supposed to have taken place. It is just an empty room, but it has a definite air of solemnity and history to it. It was quite beautiful.

Ok, time for a BIG update from Israel...

Up until this point, things have been pretty relaxed here in Israel. I have slept well, ate tons of AMAZING food and hung out a lot with Jack and his family.

I have spent time helping Jack make decisions for the house he is building (which is beautiful). We have gone for long drives through the lush Israeli countryside and I have lounged outside in the evening sun, reading until the mosquitoes have driven me indoors.


Incidentally, incase any of you are wondering about my "Air Soviet" flight, it was fine. The only weird thing was that we took a bus to and from the plane, which was parked really far away. Don't want to speculate why.
Landing in Israel... yay solid ground!
Jack's house. Still a lot to be done, but so far I think it is beautiful.


One day Jack and I and his parents went for a drive, had some delicious pizza for lunch and then they took me up to these beautiful gardens, Yad Hanadiv. The gardens are high in Israel's hilly wine country, near where they live.
When we got to the gardens they were about to close, but we managed a quick walk around. Jack has promised to take me back, but I don't know if we will have enough time on this visit.




Next we visited a town nearby called Zichron Ya'akov, which is also part of the wine region. The Midrohov is a pedestrian-only street, full of cafes, shops and art stores, leafy trees and gorgeous flowers.
Jack's mom and dad. They are so sweet.

I loved the Midrohov so much that we went back the next day!


This is my purse, which I am also quite enamoured with.

Grapes..

If you look closely you can see my two different colour eyes.
Brunch in a coffee shop. Aside from the eggs and Israeli salad on the plate, there is bread and about 10 different kinds of delicious dips and spreads. Some of them are cheese based, but soft cheese, and they often have herbs in them, like dill. There was also an avocado spread, a tuna one, a sesame one (trinah) and others. So. Damn. Good.
Flowers in their family's beautiful yard. I love this yard; it is full of fruit trees dripping with fruit and gorgeous flowers.

Lemons..

Macadamia tree. No nuts yet, but there will be. Last time I was here I took a bunch home for a treat.

This is the herb garden for the tea. The tea is the best tea I have ever tasted.

We had a huge and very delicious barbecue here at the house to celebrate Israel's Independance Day on Tuesday.


We ate chicken skewers, amazing beef kababs and steak, cooked over wood charcoals (so good). We also ate pita brushed with olive oil and paprika and olive oil and zatar (a green herb) and then toasted on the barbecue.

We had a few different salads made from fresh, sweet Israeli vegetables, potatoes, rice with almonds and raisins, homemade Baba Ghanoush (made from eggplant), trinah (a spicy sauce made from sesame), hummous and chimmichuri. Homemade lemonade, chocolate cake and herbal tea from the garden rounded out the afternoon.

Needless to say, I am having a great time here. I am going to hate to leave to go to the ship! Anyway my visit is half over so far, but the second half will be busy! This week we are travelling to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and it's old port of Yafo, and the North of the country. I can't wait!