Sorry for the delay...things have been busy busy which is a good thing but also quite a tiring thing! Here is the last installment of my Israel photos.
Smack in the middle of the hot, dry desert was Masada - a huge fortress and ruins of ancient palaces built atop a plateaued rock. This was surreal! The desert landscape was gorgeous, but it was so absolutely broiling in the sun. How anyone built anything there 2000 years ago, let alone on the top of a 1km high rock, beats me! And how they maintained a water supply and food storage is even more incredible. The photos don't do it justice...the scope of this rock and the scenery was breathtaking!
Masada overlooks the Dead Sea, so we stopped to take a dip. This is the lowest point on the Earth's surface. It is also the saltiest sea! Does it look like we are sitting in shallow water? We weren't we were floating! You can't sink the in the Dead Sea, as the salt content boosts you right up to the top. It's considered extremely healthy {just don't stay in longer than 10 minutes or else you will get pickled}. The mud at the bottom of the sea has tons of minerals...made our skin look awesome!
Onto Jerusalem...another amazing place! I wished we had more time there as there was so much to see. We took a tour below the Old City, in an excavation site...there are more cities beneath the Old City that they are uncovering as we speak! The Wailing Wall was particularly emotional, and I thought of all of the wishes and prayers that must have been made on the wall.
This is a small, mystical town in the mountains called Safed. Comprised of many art galleries, it is a very spiritual place, and you can feel the peacefulness. Madonna visited Safed the same day we were there...unfortunately we missed her though!
We went to a food market in Tel Aviv and I just wanted to share this photo...I loved the colours of all the spices in their baskets!
Some views of Haifa, the city where we stayed. It's gorgeous, and built on top of a mountain. Here are some views of the Baha'i Gardens from the top of the mountain, and one from the bottom.
And of course I took a photo of an Israeli license plate for my collection.
Well there was our trip in a nutshell!
Shalom! And apologies for my non-blogging the past few weeks. My sister got married in Israel and so my hubby and entire family made the journey to the Middle East. And was it ever beautiful! Truly a profound experience, I enjoyed every minute - the weather {hot and sunny...every day}, the food, the people, the beach, the amazing sights and landscape. I gained a better understanding of history, religion. What an amazing experience!
I will feature a few photos from the trip in each blog post...there are over 1300 pictures to sort through so bear with me! I will start chronologically.
When P. and I arrived in Tel Aviv, it was nighttime and we were whisked off to a delicious pre-wedding bbq. But because it was late, we weren't able to see much of the landscape on our drive from Tel Aviv to Haifa, where we were staying. In the morning though, we awoke to this spectacular view from our apartment...we were right on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea!
The water was...and I'm not exaggerating here...90 degrees. Still refreshing though, as outside it must have been 100 degrees or more. I soon realized that I could settle quite easily into the life of a beach bum.
This was the view from the front of our apartment building...
We then explored a market in an Arabic village, Daliat El Carmel, with cute little trinkets, textiles, and knick knacks.
On the way back to our hotel, we stopped to take in this view of Haifa, and that is Lebanon in the distance! Kinda freaky...didn't know it was within seeing distance!
We stopped at a great little cafe on our way back to our apartment where I was introduced to a little piece of heaven...the limonana. P. and I are now a tad obsessed with what we are convinced is the best drink ever! It is a lemonade slush with ground fresh mint leaves. Heaven I tell you! I sampled one at every restaurant we went to. Delish.
Stay tuned...tomorrow I'll feature my sister's wedding!
It's been two years of marriage to my lovely P. - an amazing partner, my best friend. Sweet, supportive, such a positive force in my life. And those blue eyes! Too much wonderfulness to gush about on here...but to sum it all up, I am one lucky gal! Happy anniversary babe.
Love love loving this little table runner featured in Country Living made out of linen napkins all sewn together. So cute how they are all mismatched and a little off-kilter! And such an easy sewing project too.
It reminds me of this project from Selvedge {via Decor8} - curtains made of tea towels sewn together with mis-matched patterns, which is all the more charming. IKEA's Elly tea towels would actually work great for this project!
How to make your packages pretty? With these beautiful labels and tape from Tapeswell! I'm loving these cool scrolly labels, and the vintage lace decorative packing tape.
Say hello to my dream table - Restoration Hardware's Trestle Salvaged Wood Dining Table to be exact - made of roughened planks of pine reclaimed from a distillery in the UK. And not only is the wood imperfectly distressed, but the table seats 12. Oh the dinner parties that would take place on this large, grand table! Now a paper airplane carrying a cheque for $3495 just has to fly through my window and I'll be all set.
{seen in Style at Home magazine, August 2009}
I'm excited to present a website that I recently finished for Art on the Move - an initiative by Lakeshore Arts and Arts Etobicoke in Toronto. This 3-year project has professional artists working with community members to create 'moving art' - vehicles such as buses and trucks wrapped in art, instead of advertising.
It was so wonderful to be a part of this artistic initiative! The client wanted a very clean, easy-to-navigate website that matched the look of their logo. I've always loved the robin's egg blue and red combo, and was excited to use it here. Click here to take a peek at the website, and to see what Art on the Move is all about!
I have mentioned this recipe before, but I made it again on the weekend and it's worth mentioning again. I just can't get enough of it. It is easily one of my favourite chocolate cakes - flourless or not! See the easy recipe here and enjoy {and thanks to Celeste for introducing me to it!}.
Well there was our trip in a nutshell!
