... because of the art - Salon d'automne

"Salon d'automne" ("Autumn Salon") is an exhibition of the works of young and innovative artists held in Paris every year for more than a century, since 1903. This year, for the first time, "Salon d'automne" will be held in Tel Aviv!
I couldn't be more excited, not only since I'm an enthusiastic francophile, but also because my talented friend, Lesya Bershov, presents 3 of her works in the exhibition! Visit "Salon"'s site to learn about this event, and come to visit "Salon d'automne" in Jaffa Port! And take a look at Our World Tuesday for more beautiful and touching things around the world...

... in summer evenings

I like summer sunsets over Hayarkon river so very much, that I made them a theme for a project for a photography class I once took. (Here's the photo gallery of the sunsets I shoot back then.) It doesn't matter how often I see them, they never cease to fill me with awe. It's also always cooler in the park by the river - just a perfect place for summer evening walk, or a run, or a bicycle ride.

I'm a bit busy these days and not giving this blog as much attention as I would want to, but if you want to see some glimpses of Tel Aviv, you are welcome to my "quick Tumblr blog", that I get to update pretty often!

Hope you are having a very happy summer! Take a look at Our World Tuesday for more summer pictures from all over the planet.

... because of sunsets over the Mediterranean

I'm in a bit of a hurry this weekend, but still I managed to go for a sunset watching bicycle ride last evening. And was I glad that I did! Tel Aviv port and the promenade are getting crowded these warm May weekend evenings (what a contrast from this winter evening!), but still not as crowded as it gets in the summer. The breeze is nice and calm, and the sunset is breathtaking. Posting this quick capture for Sky Watch Friday and Weekend Reflections. Have a great weekend everyone!

... because of the music - Aya Korem

Aya Korem at Tmoona Theater

Aya Korem is a wonderful Israeli singer and songwriter. Last month we saw her performance called "One woman that sings" in Tmuna Theater, a small venue in Tel Aviv's Montefiore neighborhood. Unlike most of her concerts, where Aya performs mostly songs that she had written, "One woman that sings" is a homage to "women in her life", singers and poets, Israeli and foreign, who influenced her life and art.

That was a beautiful, touching performance. Sometimes encounters with works of art can influence us more profoundly than "real events" of our lives, and Aya Korem had compiled and presented a beautiful collection of the songs and stories about her encounters with "women in her life". And I was able to relate even more since some of these women are "women in my life" as well.

Among the songs that Aya performed that evening were "Twist in my sobriety" by Tanita Tikaram, "A case of you" by Joni Mitchell and "A birthday prayer", with lyrics by Tirza Atar. Tirza Atar was Israeli writer and poet, who wrote a number of children books, published several poetry collections, translated to Hebrew some of the great theater classics (by Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill and more) - before she tragically died in 1977, only 36 years old. To me, "A birthday prayer" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written in Hebrew. Here is a classic performance of this song by Chava Alberstein:



Take a look at Aya Korem's own awesome blog (in Hebrew), and see Our World Tuesday for more beautiful and touching things around the world...

... when walking along the beach with a friend from far away

Hilton beach in Tel Aviv

Sveta and I are friends for a long time, since we first arrived to Israel in the 90's. Shortly after we came here, we went to different schools, and almost never lived in the same city: I moved to Tel Aviv, she remained in Jerusalem, and then, a few years back, moved to Toronto with her family. All these years we never met frequently, maybe once a year, and we didn't really talked that much in between. But each time we meet, we immediately reconnect and feel like we remain close friends, albeit the distance. At least I know that I do :)

This week she is visiting Israel with her husband and her baby daughter, and it was so exciting to see her again in Tel Aviv! Among my friends, Sveta is the one who shares the most my love to Tel Aviv beaches, and usually our walks along the beach are as long as the time permits.

Today we met in Tel Aviv port (a good meeting place, with decent amount of parking lots around!), in Tzomet Sfarim bookstore. This is one of my favorite bookstores in the whole city: it's really big, with nice art and English books sections, and there is a cafe on the second floor. You can read a book, drink coffee, and watch the sea and the port crowd... perfection.

We took the promenade southward, walked by Metzizim beach (here's my older post about it) and the segregated beach, the narrow Sheraton beach and Tel Aviv Marina and Gordon swimming pool, and then took our shoes off and walked on the sand by the water all the way till Banana beach, one of my favorites. Like on many Tel Aviv beaches, there is a cafe right on the sand of Banana beach, with small tables, plastic chairs, and green sunshade umbrellas. It serves a non-sophisticated, but really nice food, like salads, sandwiches and omelets, and the view is incomparable...

This was a perfect walk and a perfect day, only slightly tainted by the fact that I forgot to put on some sunblock (such a rookie mistake!), and got sunburned. This will serve as a reminder that the summer is here. The summer is here! I love summer in Tel Aviv...

The summer is here, and the skies are spotless in Tel Aviv. Take a look at Sky Watch Friday for skies and beautiful views all over the world.

P.S.: I've created a map of some of the places that I'm mentioning in the blog - AKA my favorite Tel Aviv spots, including today's walk milestones. Take a look and use it for your Tel Aviv explores!

P.P.S.: it has been a long pause in the posting... sometimes stuff gets in a way, and makes me forget how much fun this is :)

... because of the coffee (Milano sq.)

This morning was one of those mornings when everything goes wrong. I went out of the house without my mobile. I got back to get my mobile, went to the Tel-O-Fun bikes for rent station, only to discover that there are no bikes available. So finally, I decided to do the right thing and to go get a cup of coffee on Milano square.

Milano square is a tiny place near the intersection of Ibn Gvirol and Yehuda Hamacabi streets. One of the side of the square is packed with the cafe tables of several cafes and bars: the legendary cafe Zorik, the nice Juno vine bar, and then this new place, cafe Bacci, where I went for my morning coffee. Then I saw this board, and it made me smile and forget all my small annoyances of the morning:

"Drink coffee. Do stupid things faster, with more energy".

This might as well become my motto. :)

Take a look at Our World Tuesday for more things that would make you smile...

... from roofs of Montmartre

Quick post of Montmartre roofs as seen from the window of the apartment we're renting in Paris this weekend. Sure, you need to climb 10 flights of stairs to get here ;-) but the view is completely worth it!

(We've found this cool apartment via Airbnb - I've mentioned this great site a few months ago.)

Visit Sky Watch Friday to see skies from around the world...

... from abroad (my favorite blogs from and about Paris)

I'm so excited - I'm going to Paris on this Passover Seder weekend! I'm a really devout Francophile: I study French, I try to catch all the latest French movies, I read French magazines... and of course, my RSS reader includes a heap of blogs from and about Paris. Here are some of my favorite:

Lost in Cheeseland by Lindsey Tramuta. Lindsey's "a Paris transplant from Philadelphia who fell in love with a Frenchman and moved to Paris." Lindsey writes about her life in France, and for me her blog is a better guide to Paris than my Michelin or DK eyewitness guide to Paris. Seriously. And she is kind enough to answer random questions about Paris on her "Ask away!" page!

French Essence is a French lifestyle blog by Vicki Archer. Vicki lives in Provence, and writes about her village, her beautiful house, her frequent trips to Paris... I really liked her recent posts about traveling to Provence - not only about how to get there, but also about how and what to pack!

Little Brown Pen is a stunning photo blog by Nichole Robertson. If you are not familiar with Nichole's "Paris in color" series, visit her blog immediately to get awe-stricken and addicted!

I'm writing this in Ben Gurion airport - waiting for my flight that is slightly delayed... Let's hope not for too long - Paris awaits!!! Happy Passover everybody :)

... when having a walk on a rainy day (Ibn Gvirol street)

Nordau - Ibn Gvirol intersection

It was so hot today, that I could hardly recall how a few weeks ago it was raining so heavily on Friday morning, that I really couldn't think of venturing outside. Then I thought of one place a walk was not only possible, but also reasonable on a rainy day - under the arcades of Ibn Gvirol buildings.

This is how it was raining! I really liked this small graffiti sign. I think it loves Tel Aviv too :)

Ibn Gvirol is a long, long street, constructed from typical (to Ibn Gvirol) 4-floor buildings: the 3 upper floors are residential, and the ground floor holds shops and businesses. Under the buildings, in front of the shops, there's a kind of arcade that shelters from the rain in the winter, and from the sun in the summer.

"Efrata" designer boutique at 175 Ibn Gvirol st. - great for window shopping, and for the regular shopping as well

And so, this is a really great walk for a rainy day: you can go from a shop to a shop, window shopping, buying an occasional cup of coffee and continue walking, watching the rain pouring outside...

For your Tel Aviv address book:

Efrata

175 Ibn Gvirol st., Tel Aviv

http://www.efrata.co.il/

Visit Scenic Sunday for views from all over the world. And also - CDP's theme day today is cobblestone. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants. Ah, and happy April Fools' day everyone!

... because of the sport (Tel Aviv marathon)

Running along Hayarkon street, by the ocean

Naturally, I got to watch (participate? I wish!) the Tel Aviv marathon quite by mistake. This morning I had an early appointment - at 8:00 AM. Since this night the clock went forward 1h to adjust to the daylight saving time, this  was actually 7:00 AM. And since this morning many streets were closed for traffic due to the marathon - I decided to ride a bike. Only when I got to the Tel-O-Fun (bicycles for rent) station, I saw that everyone had  the same genius idea of riding a bike this morning, and surely enough, no rental bicycles were available in 4 km radius... So I sent a text apologizing for missing the appointment, and decided to go for a walk instead.

And as I walked - on Ibn Gvirol street, and then, following the marathon route, on Frishman and Dizengoff streets - I realized that this morning, if you don't get to running the marathon, the least you could do - is take a look. Because this is such a beautiful, inspiring event. All of the sudden, the city was all dressed in bright, colorful sport gear, and everyone was running, or sliding on rolling blades, or riding a bicycle - and all of the other activities had been put aside, to make place for the marathon.

Take a look at the official Tel Aviv marathon site to learn more about the various activities that took place today.

Skies are bright today in Tel Aviv... take a look at skies all over the world at Sky Watch Friday!