There is so much that I want you to know about Israel. There is so much that I want you to see. Every single time a a friend comes to visit, every single time, I need to drag them to my favorite places like Shuk Ha Carmel (the local market) where I spend my Friday mornings picking produce and saying hi to random people. There is something about that place makes me want to smile and talk to everyone. Something about a small area with so much produce packed into a few streets, a big mess of smells, tastes and people of all walks of life. All this makes me so happy.
I take my friends bike riding to the breathtaking Namal (the port), where no matter what camera you have and what angle you take it from , you will get get at least a few good photos.
Sarona Market has become my newest inspiration, an indoor culinary market with almost a 100 shops, stalls and eateries. Everything you can imagine in one place. Every halva, every chocolate, every exotic fruit. I just love it.
This is Israel for me. It is not the Israel that you see on the news. It’s just not. Yes, there is a lot of sadness in this country. A lot of bad things. A lot of tragedies. BUT……………
This attitude people have of pushing through, living the moment, just being outside ALL THE TIME, that. Well that is something that I have not found anywhere else.
The other day for example, my kids were home all day for the Jewish Holiday vacation. They played hide and seek again and again. They bickered over everything from how many pieces of cereal they got to who knows how to do cartwheels better. They role-played Elsa and Anna too many times to count. They tried on all their clothes again and again, they were supermen and superwomen with capes made of oversized sweatshirts, they pranced around in mommy and daddy’s shoes and pretended to bake cakes.
The boredom of being at home was overwhelming. My little girl looked at me with her almond-shaped brown eyes and said ” Mommy, let’s go to the beach” .
I had so much to do. I wanted to cook some lunch. I wanted to fold the endless piles of laundry. But. I just couldn’t. How could you say no to that? How could you say no to sitting at the beach and watching the waves? How could you say no to salty kids kisses and little pudgy hands wrapped around your neck using you as a float? How can you say no to squeals of joy while we ride our bikes to the beautiful beach?
Fifteen minutes later, there was this. This is not rare for us. We live like this.
And this………….
That is why I love Vibe Israel. I first heard of Vibe when I worked at Kitchenbug. Vibe hosts high profile bloggers from all over the word and shows them Israel. They take them to the best food places, they leave them with lasting experiences and most of all connect them with Israelis from all walks of life. There is no politics involved. It’s all about connecting and showing Israel from the eyes of the people of Israel.
Just a few months ago, they flew in Seattle blogger Layla of Laylita’s recipes. I have known Laylita since I started blogging many many years ago!. We met when I hosted a Seattle Food Blogger event and we have stayed in touch every since. They brought her here and showed her around. I got the bonus of spending time with a friend and catching up! Read her take on Israel here
Just last week I got to meet two bloggers whom I have been following for years. I met Jamie Lynn from I am not the Babysitter a.k.a the absolutely amazing mom who breastfed her toddler on the cover of Time magazine. She has an interesting story and has been supporting breastfeeding moms in the most sincere way possible. We worked together in the past and I even wrote an article for her website on breastfeeding twins .
On this same trip of ” Mommy Bloggers” I met Jill from Baby Rabies, Jill and I have been following each other on Twitter since way back when… you know when Twitter was just starting out. We worked together too over the years. Jill is hilarious and she will make you feel good about your toughest mommy moments. She keeps things real in a way that nobody else does. It’s not rare to see her take a photo of her house when it is a mess. She says all the things that you just wish you had the guts to say. Most of all she makes moms feel normal about the natural every day challenges we face.
Jill documents a day in the life of an Israeli mom. Read it here. Here is a photo of us with Heli Gursoy, the amazing mom behind one of Israel’s most popular websites 2bmommy.
For more about Vibe, read more about vibe here. Are you following them on Facebook?
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