I went to the coolest kids party ever today!

My host sister had her 10th birthday last week and to celebrate, she had an amazing race themed party today.  It was possibly the coolest birthday party I have ever been to!  This is how it went:

The kids got into groups of 5 or 6 which each group having the relevant coloured hand band.  My host Mum had organised six different stations.  The stations were:

1. balloon station: each group had 12 balloons that they needed to pop.  Inside each balloon was a piece of paper; 11 balloons had a sad face and one balloon had the riddle in it.
2. puzzle station: the kids had to complete a puzzle which had the riddle on it.
3. flour station: each group had a tray of flour which had 6 wrapped lollies in it.  They had to fish the lollies out of the flour without using their hands and then run them about 20m and drop them in a bowl.  Once they had all six candies, they got given the riddle.
4. bird station: the kids were given a puzzle with pictures of birds on it and they had to match the bird to its name.  Once they completed the puzzle, they got the riddle.
5. spoon station: the teams had to stand in a line and each kid was given a spoon.  They had to pass a small ball down the line with the spoons without using their hands.  Once they had got the ball to the end of the line, they could open the ball which had the riddle in it.
6. gross food station:  The kids were each given a gross food and each member of the team had to eat it.  The options were chocolate with ketchup, marshmallows with mustard, crackers with eggplant dip and mayo (not gross in my opinion), olives and sugar, apple and tomato paste and soy sauce and sprinkles.  Once each member had at least tasted the gross food, they were given the riddle.

The riddle which once solved, told them where their coloured flag was located.  The team then ran to get the flag and handed it to us and we gave them the next station.

The party was awesome! My favourite stations were the flour and the gross food.  With the flour station I literally saw kids face dive into the flour to get the candy! There was a cloud of flour surrounding the table.  We also saw some pretty dramatic things with the gross food station.  Some kids actually threw up hahahaha.  The photos I got from today are hilarious:

The stations

MM x

There's a little Italy in Tel Aviv!!

You heard me right - there is a Little Italy in Tel Aviv which is more exciting than you think because it possibly meant we could find some blasphemous pizza with meat and cheese! 

The area is called Sarona and apparently it has been around forever.  Way way way back in the day it was a German Templar colony and a lot of the old buildings have been preserved and painstakingly and beautifully restored.  My research tells me that a fair few of the buildings used to be located in a different area but were moved to make way for a highway.  Pretty cool stuff.

The area is remarkably beautiful.  Although it is located very close to the CBD of Tel Aviv, and right next to a bustling highway, the restoration team made sure to keep a lot of the open space and greenery and preserve the height of the area at a comfortable max of three storeys.  This means that area is very airy and spacious, something that is rare in Tel Aviv.

There are a lot of cute cafes, restaurants and boutiques and the municipality of Tel Aviv has gone to the effort of placing map stations with maps that contain various walking routes throughout the small area for example, fashion or food.

The area though does have a few rules to follow.  I guess it is to make sure the area stays as beautiful as it is but this is by far the most rules I've seen anywhere in Israel.

We started off at Anita which according to one of my housemates, is the best frozen yogurt in Tel Aviv.  Now, I am very much one for the hype, so after hearing this review, I obvs had to taste it for myself (and seeing as I hadn't had breakfast, then and there seemed to be the perfect time.  Anita has the same set up as most fro-yo places in Tel Aviv; pick your flavour and your topping and then the server will try to stuff as many of those toppings as they can in the cup. But Anita has one key difference - before they put your fro-yo in the cup, they ask if you want something at the bottom #GENIUS.  I got this almond chocolate nutella sauce they had at the bottom and OMG IT WAS AMAZING.  It's sort of a little prize when you are in the final scoops of the boring froyo at the bottom.

Hello breakfast

The best part of the whole area though was a place called Little Italy that does picnics 24 hours a day. As in they provide the basket, rug and cutlery and you then fill your basket with goodies you purchase at the store.  You then borrow the basket and take yourself on a picnic in a nearby park.  Absolutely brilliant idea!  

Due to the chilly weather, we opted to have our picnic in the enclosed area next to the cafe (they had tables with fake grass on the seats so we still felt like we were picnicing) and we ordered the most incredible Italian food including *drum roll please* the King of unKosher - PEPPERONI PIZZA!!!! ahhhhhhhh.  I'm not entirely sure that it was pork but oh my, it was incredible.  We also shared a creamed spinach pasta and a mozzarella cheese salad.  Defs 10/10.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and ended at the Azrieli Mall where I spent some hard earned dollars on clothes from H&M and Forever 21 <3 <3.

The Azrieli Mall

Until next time pepperoni pizza! 

MM x

Haifa for the weekend

Last weekend I went up to Haifa to visit my family (yes, I have family in Israel)!  They are my cousins (I think), well Mira is my Mum's first cousin and she has a daughter, Karin and she has two adorable baby girls: Maya and Romi.  We spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out whether we were all first cousins or second cousins or fifth cousins but we just settled on cousins because either way, we are all related and it doesn't really matter.

I caught the train from Tel Aviv to Haifa and it was beautiful! The train line runs right along the beach so I had incredible views of basically untouched beaches.  I arrived around 4pm and we went straight to Karin's house to meet the family and get ready for the night's festivities.  It was Karin's birthday last week so we were going out to her favourite bar, the Duke, to celebrate with a few friends.  

Unfortunately, I have zero photos of the night but it started with a divine meal at the Duke of beef carpaccio, steak and fish and chips washed down with a few beers including my new fav beer in Israel, Kasteel Rouge.  It's a beer mixed with cherry flavouring and I love it! 

I met a few of Karin's friends and her family and it truly was an excellent night.  One of her friends had lived in Manila for the last 6 years and spent a lot of time travelling through South East Asia which has got to be one of my favourite places ever! She gave me a few suggestions of places to visit and eat when I'm next there. It was so nice to get out, have a few drinks and meet some new people.

The next day we visited Akko, which is about a 25 minute drive from Haifa.  Akko has a lot of history, as in Archeologists recently discovered a whole city underneath modern Akko in which the crusaders lived in Medieval times.  The archeologists claim to not have even found most of what is under modern Akko.  Pretty sick stuff.  

Today though, Akko is mixed city with Jews, Muslims and Christians living there.  The Old City I think is mostly Arabs but there are Churches, Synagogues and Mosques that you can visit.

We walked around the markets and through the old underground medieval city (including a pretty cool tunnel called the Templar's Tunnel) and ended our day at a beautiful restaurant by the Akko port aaaaaaand had seafood for lunch! Like real seafood with prawns and mussels and calamari.  I was so happy I could have cried! (Although again, I got so excited I forgot to get a snap of the meal) haha fail.  I did snap a photo of the menu though which is pretty funny.

Creamed calms... mmmmm

Hello blasphemous seafood!

Bloody beautiful mate

Two little cuties playing with wind toy thingys

MM x

My views on Israeli snacks

Buzzfeed recently, as in the last two days recently, did one of their amazing food review videos on Israeli snacks aaaaaaaaaaaaand it is potentially my new favourite video / an adequate representation of my weekly shop haha.  

Now what kind of ex-pat would I be if I didn't personally review all (but one) of the featured snacks for you.  In the order that they are shown:

Milky: aka God's gift to the snack world.  Apparently Israeli kids grow up on this stuff and I can totally understand why.  The bottom is chocolate pudding that isn't too sweet and it's topped with sweetened whipped cream.  Ridiculously simple but soooooo gewd.  I discovered a new version of it yesterday where the lid comes filled with tiny raindrop meringues that you mix in.  I died and went to snack heaven. Not.even.joking.

Milk chocolate with pop rocks: I could lie to you and tell you that I didn't consume a bar of this a week in my first two months here, but I'm not going to.  I did and I don't regret a single square of it.  This chocolate is perfection.  It's popping candy, the world's funnest candy, married to chocolate, the world's best food ever. It's basically a chocolate party in your mouth and I wish that Cadbury / Hersheys would make a version.

Bamba: BAAAAAAAMMMBAAAAA.  This is probably my fav Israeli snack.  When I first had it, it wasn't really my jam but once you down two packets of the stuff, you are basically addicted for life (so much so that a few months ago I investigated whether I could even source it in Australia for my return).  The best way to describe it is a cheetoh made of peanut butter.  It's salty but a little sweet but basically perfect.  I even got my Mum hooked when she vistied me.  Oh wait, I should tell you that they sell a variety with a tiny bit of chocolate in the middle of each bamba #genius.

Falafel Bisli:  I got hooked on these the last time I was in Israel but I wouldn't say they are my favourite as they are a little too crunchy for my liking; I'm more a puffed chip consumer but the flavouring is incredible.  Legit, it taste like falafel. I guess I would just rather eat real falafel.  It doesn't mean you shouldn't try them if you visit me.

Mocha Krembo: Now this shiz is really my jam.  They only produce Krembo in the winter because it's basically an uncooked meringue but holy bagoly, it is soooo fricken good.  It's a casual biscuit topped with meringue goey fluff covered in chocolate.  It's also dairy free which is a bonus.  There are multiple ways to eat a Krembo apparently with your chosen way telling a lot about you as a person.  I usually start at the top and work my way down ending on the cookie but if I am in a particularly exciting mood I put the whole thing in the microwave where it sought of puffs up into a warmer larger Krembo. #yummmmmmm.

So, basically, where the bloody hell are you?  Get your butts to Israeli so you can eat these amazing snacks with me!

MM x

Real Mexican food exists in Israel!

Mexican food isn't really a thing in Israel yet and it absolutely breaks my heart. However *drum roll please* today I finally located a legit Mexican cafe in Tel Aviv which is right off the shuk; Los Burning Tacos.  Genuine Mexican tacos; I think I nearly cried tears of joy.

The place is small including three or so outside tables and a bar inside with about nine seats.  The fit out is minimal and right behind the bar is the kitchen.  I watched as the chef compiled my lunch right in front of my eyes #freshhhhh.

I pulled up a seat at the bar with prime viewing position of the menu which is chalked on a blackboard.  It has all my Mexican favourites including charred corn, ceviche, nachos with salsa, burritos and my absolute fav, tacos!  The tacos and burritos come with either chicken, beef, fish and veggies.  I however, was lucky in that they currently have a special of pork tacos #hellsyes.  I thought it was funny how the special wasn't written on the board but I guess you shouldn't be publicly offering blasphemous food for sale.

The pork tacos were incredible.  Homemade soft taco shell with pulled pork, a mango (I think) sauce, salad of tomato, onion and chilli, guacamole and real lime (that or limey looking lemon but who cares).

 

I got talking to the waiter / maybe owner and asked him about whether Mexican food was popular in Israel.  He replied that it is slowly becoming mainstream but by no means popular yet.  He said Los Burning Tacos did last summer as a pop up in a bar and was so successful that they decided to open up shop. Out of the two that I have been to though, Los Burning Tacos was defs the tastiest and the most legit and I would highly recommend!

MM x

Jerusalem ITF Shabbat

It's the middle of January which marks the mid way point of my time here in Israel.  This is a fairly big deal so our program took us to Jerusalem for the weekend to hang out and reflect on what's happened, what's happening and what's going to happen going forward.

We began our adventure with a trip to the Israel Museum and I am ashamed to say that this was my first visit.  The Museum is incredible.  It has exhibitions on Jewish and Israeli history, culture and art including entire replicas of synagogues from all over the world and a mini replica of the city of Jerusalem from the time of the Second Temple (basically a billion years ago).

Hello Second Temple

Following our Museum visit, we hit up the shuk and the Jerusalem shuk on a Friday afternoon is a whole other experience.  Everything shuts down at about 3pm on a Friday afternoon because of Shabbat and doesn't open until sundown Saturday or Sunday morning so people sort of go mad.  Everyone is running around like headless chickens trying to buy challah, fruit and veggies, meat and other pre-prepared dishes that they can eat on Shabbat (because you aren't meant to light a fire on Shabbat).  Plus, all of the Birthright groups descend on the shuk on a Friday afternoon to witness the madness which just adds to the madness making it even more mad.  But, I love it! It's so lively and loud.

 

We got fish and chips for lunch (duhhh) ((and I did order a salad which the guy misheard as fish and chips so I at least attempted to be healthy)) and after this beelined for the best bakery in Israel - I'm ready to call it - Marzipan.  Marzipan makes the most incredible rugelach which are little twist pastries filled with hazelnut chocolate and to make them even more delicious, they coat them in a magical syrup of extreme deliciousness and sell them fresh from the oven and warm.  The bakery is located just outside the shuk bordering a fairly main road and has been known to cause traffic jams as people line up.  In fact, we had to line up for 15 minutes (which was worth it) just to get a tray but it was so worth it.

On Saturday morning I joined a small group of my program on a walk to the Western Wall.  Although I have been to the Western Wall a number of times, going on a Saturday morning is something really special.  Men congregate at the wall to pray and sing covered in prayer shawls and tefillin.  There were some woman at the wall but the women's side was much quieter and subdued.

We saw a lot of these signs on our way to the Western Wall

Women's side

We spent the rest of the day taking part in activities that were centered around relaxing and reflecting.  My favourite activity was the art and craft activity based on the works of the Israeli artist Hanoch Piven.  Piven creates caricature portraits out of unconventional materials which look super cool.  We were asked to do the same of ourselves and try to show where we have been and where we are going.  

Below is mine.  As you can see, my bangs play a prominent part (ha), my eyes are Australian flags because my time in Israel has really made me realise how much I love being Australian, my nose and earrings are love hearts because I love it here and hope I continue to love it here for my final 5 months and my mouth is an upside down pastry because that's all I eat and I also loooooove the food of Israel.

I also gave myself an ABC necklace because at the moment, I am considering become an ESL teacher and getting qualified on my return to Brisbane but, like all necklaces, you take them off and change them so I really have no idea what I am doing next.

MM x