Tel Aviv V: Jerusalem II

   Yesterday I had some trouble with my wifi and it was impossible to get anything done
   involving internet, mail or blogs. Today it's all working again (relief!) and because it's
   ascension, here some last picture of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, the
   perfect theme for today.
   There was a bit of a tourist thing going on but inbetween all the clicking camera's I
   managed to make some pictures of the religieus pursuits (check those monks chill out!).

Tel Aviv IV

 
   Some pretty decorations can be found in Tel Aviv (and Jerusalem)...

   1. street name sign at Jaffo, Tel Aviv
   2. little dish I bought at the bazaar in Jeruzalem (this is the one Prentje!)
   3. doors at Neve Tzedek
   4. decoration above door at Jaffo, Tel aviv (how cool is the Lego!?)
   5. ceiling of the Greek Othodox Church in Jerusalem (they say Jesus is buried here)

   ps. I really like this.

Tel Aviv III : Jerusalem

   One of my wishes when being in Israel was to go to Jerusalem. Not for religious
   reasons but because my late grandmother went there in the eighties and it would
   be a nice thing to follow her footsteps.

   I remember her telling about the western wall so the first thing I did when arrived
   was to head over there. The funny thing was that when I stood there, writing a
   note to put in the wall, I almost felt my grandmother standing next to me. I wrote
   the note to her (no idea if that's the correct wall-policy) with a little wish. When
   walking up to the wall and finding a spot, I suddenly became a bit emotional
   (luckily I was wearing big sunglasses) and couldn't stop sobbing until I had
   finished what I came for and walked back(wards).
  

   Apart from this little emotional adventure, Jerusalem was a very pretty, magical
   place and we wondered through the little alleys and bazaar. 

   The friction between ortodox jewish and muslim society was present though and
   I felt a bit awkward about it. But nevertheless it was a very beautiful city.

Tel Aviv II

 

   This should be a free friday post but I'm gonna cheat a bit today as I have so
   much to share about my trip to Tel Aviv...

   Tel Aviv's signature ingredient must be eggs. They are on the menu everywhere!
   The best known egg dish is shakshuka: eggs (almost raw) in a delish tomato sauce
   with bread for dipping. Another really good one I had was a lentil salade with
   poached egg (my fave way to eat an egg).

   Of course I ate more than egg dishes... I had the best hummus ever, great fresh 

   salades and to most tender meat at the bbq friend S (our hostes) organised for us.

   (and if now you thought I came home in a bigger pants size... I actually lost
   some pounds!).

Tel Aviv I

 
   I'm back form Tel Aviv and it was fab! If you thought this city is all about desert and
   concreet, think again... We came across the most beautiful flowers, green and cute
   houses, wondering through a little cosy neighborhood called Neve Tzedek.
   This was the first neighborhood build in the 'new Tel Aviv' back in 1887. Lots of cute
   (young) designer boutiques, bars, galeries and pretty buildings.

   I'll tell you more about my trip in the next days posts.

the queen's birthday

 
   Today we celebrate our queen's birthday but I've spend the whole day packing my
   backpack... I'm going to Tel Aviv for a week to visite a friend (with some other
   friends, hurray!).

   I did celebrate a bit last night though ('queen's night'), dancing in my orange dress
   (our royal family's color) and before going to the party, making braids in my
   friends' hair.

   See you next week!

Free friday

   Today, my fave yoga school in Utrecht has an 'Open Day' at their new location,
   free yoga and meditation classes all day long! For the full program and
   information, see here and here. For more information about the yoga school
   'Studio Vandaan', see here.

   I'll be joining the 16:15 class, hope to see you there!
   (illustration by Gemma Correll)

Dutch bike

 
   The veggie garden is almost ready (for growing). I worked hard to fight the
   weeds and planted all my seedlings and figured out the planting scedule/ design.
   The only thing left to do was to plant some marigolds (they keep away
   unwanted bugs and animals). When returning from the garden center this is
   what my bicycle looked like, a mini garden in itself!

MMKA II

 
   Apart from the Vlisco exhibition, the Museum for modern Art in Arnhem has a inspiring
   portrait/ painting show going on too. With work form my favorites Marlene Dumas and
   Klaas Gubbels (3rd and 4th picture from above) it couldn't have been better!

MMKA I

 
   There's a interesting exhibition going on at the Museum for Modern Art in Arnhem about
   Vlisco. Vlisco is a dutch fabric company, specialized in african prints and known for
   their high quality fabrics. The exhibition is a wonderful combination of Vlisco fabrics,
   the history of the pattern designs (and company) and modern (south africa-related) art.