Tel Aviv
I’ve slowly been finding time to get through photos from our trip to Israel, last fall was a bit crazy, this winter hasn’t slowed down much. We traveled in early November, a perfect time to get away from the chilly weather in Maine, to the warm weather of Tel Aviv. While we did some work while there, we also had time to walk and explore. The evenings, in particular, were lovely, most of them we spent walking up along the beach, enjoying the sunset. Here are the photos from one such evening walk. We went from our hotel on the beach up to Old Jaffa. In Old Jaffa, we enjoyed a traditional middle eastern dinner, complete with all the fixing. Then we walked back to our hotel once again, late in the evening, enjoying the warm breeze and the warm lights of the city. Here are a few photos from that evening (notice the cat, they’re prominent in the city).
Tel Aviv is a lovely city, perfect for walking and soaking it all in. Many of our friends were nervous that we were going, but, having grown up in a country with lots of violence, I wasn’t too concerned. The city felt very safe, in fact much more so than some American cities I’ve visited. It’s like any other place, you just have to be careful where you go and when. Israel has never been on my must visit list, but it was well worth the long flight. No doubt we will be returning for work, maybe even this coming fall.
Do you have any trips planned for the future? Any places you’d love to go?
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Recommendations for France?
Later this spring, Mr Chiots and I may be headed to France for a week. He needs to go to Paris for work for a day or two, so we figured, why not make a short vacation out of it. I’m looking at lodging, meals, and sightseeing options for April. We don’t necessarily want to stay in Paris for the entire time, we’re hoping to visit Villandry and Monet’s garden as well. Other than that, the rest of the time is unplanned.
I figured I’d ask all of you for any recommendations on things to see and do in France, what’s overrated, what’s a must see, where should we eat & stay?
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Plants, the Universal Language
When we were in Israel back in November, we saw lots of beautiful plants and gardens. While walking around the market one evening, I spotted this lovely little plant store.
Planty really are a universal language, it seems humans feel the need to cultivate and grow beautiful and beneficial things in their space. I always enjoy finding/seeing garden shops when I travel, it’s interesting see the types of plants and garden gear that other cultures like/use.
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The Universal Language of Plants
When we were in Israel last November, I spent some time walking around the Kibbutz we were visiting. I noticed this little area where someone was propagating plants. It’s funny how gardeners are similar around the world, we all love plants and propagate them to share with others.
I was told by the lady that was taking me around, that the guy that grows these plants takes the pods from a leguminous tree to use as potting compost. I’m not positive on the name of the tree, but we had them in Colombia, it has quite a distinct smell (which I immediately remembered).
Do you notice gardens/gardeners when you travel?
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Jojoba Fields
If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know that Mr Chiots manages The Jojoba Company . In November, the main reason for our trip to Israel, was for him to meet with the growers/processors and for me to take some photos of the jojoba fields and processing. These are jojoba fields, jojoba is a large shrub, similar to a hazelnut in growth. I found the shrubs very beautiful in growth, the trunks are particularly spectacular. I found the foliage reminiscent of olive foliage, in color and shape. The shrubs grown in an agricultural setting, in neat rows on the rolling hills of southern Israel definitely played to my love of organized vegetable gardens.
Jojoba is technically not a nut, but a seed, which is why it’s non-allergenic for people with nut allergies. The liquid extracted from the seed is also not an oil, but a liquid wax ester, which is why it doesn’t go rancid, has a long shelf life, and is great for the skin (it’s the closest thing in nature to the sebum that your skin produces).
