Israel – the extended remix
I just returned from my second trip to the Israel, and I liked it even more than the first time. I think I could live there.
Overall, Tel Aviv and all of Israel that I’ve seen is uber hip and trendy. People are thin, good looking and dress well. The mix of Jewish, Arab, and immigrants yields a lot of olive skin and dark thick hair. Bald is pretty popular as well. As it turns out, I love Israeli style – it’s the grown up raver style that I can never find in the US. Wide legged pants with low waists, multi functional utilitarian shirts that can be worn 4 ways, and lots of somewhat confusing but interesting details on shirts that show your belly. Even older women in Israel dress like this- that’s what they have. I love shopping in Israel. It’s a little slice of Europe with middle eastern flare (and prices that are much more palatable). The restaurants are all really nice and stylish too. Every restaurant in Tel Aviv and Herzliya seem to fall within the top 5% of cool places in New York or SF. Since the weather is temperate, they have huge windows and high ceilings with exposed pipes and ambient lighting. People of all ages fill the tables every night and day chatting over leisurely meals and espressos. Hip music with beats play in the backround mingling with laughter and smoke. That’s the only downside – smoke. Living in San Francisco for the past 10 years, I forgot what smoky rooms were like. Dinner is a long event in Israel and us Americans sit a little bewildered at the end of our mint tea wondering why the check never shows up. You have to ask for it as they don’t want to rush you.
Weekends in Isreal start on Thursday evening and the Sabbath starts Friday sundown which means all the stores shut down Friday evening through Saturday. That means you have to run all your errands Friday morning which seems aggressive, especially when Friday nights are dedicated to eating with family.
On Thursday night (aka America Friday), we hit Kuman, a dancing bar in Herzliya. The European-ess of Israel showed loud and clear in the cheesy bar. Just when you thought the music could get no cheesier, an electro version of “I Need a Hero” from Footloose came on. The music changed from Reggae to Techno to local favorites in an unpredictable and pattern-less order. No matter what song came on the crowd danced and cheered like it was their favorite. They never skipped a beat. Large groups of women danced together and all the men danced too. The bar was split equally between men and women. I can’t remember the last time I saw a roughly equal crowd of men and women out at a bar, let alone respectfully co-habituating without hitting on each other. The it was Thursday night, and everyone was clearly out to have a good time, there was no meat market aspect. People tend to marry young (by SF standards) and don’t wear wedding rings but ‘hitting’ on people is a much tamer sport. The buff barmen kept the drinks flowing and occasionally released paper towels from the ceiling. Yes, paper towels. Like Ibiza where bubbles or confetti fall from the ceiling, paper towels fall from the ceiling at Kuman. Everyone loved it and the barman cheerfully worked the clean up into their dancing and pouring drinks routine.
We had a great time. People wanted to talk to us (because we speak English) and Israeli conversation get pretty personal by American standards quite quickly. I get frustrated with the surface conversation here so I enjoy actually getting to know people (even if I’ll never see them again). They ask how old you are, if you’re Jewish, what you do for work, and on and on. At first it took me off guard then I understood; people were genuinely interested. What a concept.
Besides cool bars, there are thriving rave-like parties all over Tel Aviv on Friday night. I haven’t had the chance to go yet since I like to go sight seeing on Friday but next time I’ll make a point to go.
My sightseeing this trip was fabulous. I went with my co-worker Ruti 
and her darling daughter Karyn 
and husband Arud. They took me to the Dead Sea, the Dessert, and Masada. The Dead Sea is gorgeous – the salty shores and bright blue waters look like an icy sea – with Jordan visible on the other side. 
We dipped our hands in the water and Karyn through salty rocks into the sea. I made the mistake of tasting the water (to see just how salty it was). I can still taste the bitterness.
The dessert was stunning with wadi’s or canyons all over. Ruti and I went for a hike through a Wadi with climbing ropes and metal ladders built in. 
The last crevasse revealed the vast horizon of the dessert and dead sea. Karyn and Arud appeared below cooking thick strong coffee on a portable stove. 
We drank coffee and cookies just before the rains came and jumped back in the car.
Masada was amazing (though wet). Masada is a huge rocky natural fort that protected the Jews through out the years. The intro film taught me there was a massive suicide when 100’s of people were stuck in the fort with inevitable loss to the approaching romans. Rather than fall to Romans, the soldiers drew names to kill the women and children and all the soldiers, bar 10. One name was drawn from the 10 to kill the 9 others and lastly kill himself. Another spectacular tragedy in Jewish history. 
The rain brought floods and waterfalls to the dessert with brown rainwater and drudge water rushing to the Dead Sea – the lowest point in the world. Everyone stopped to see the phenomena, which Ruti and her family had never witnessed. Apparently I bring rain because this it the second time it flooded in Israel while I was there. I brought a bit of snow to London too. 
Back in Herzliya, the little silicon valley outside of Tel Aviv, I worked far too many hours and missed the opportunity to enjoy my beachfront balcony which was filled with rain water and wind nearly the whole trip.
Next time there will be sun, I hope!
