Author Archives: Lucy

I’m Back!

So it feels about 100 years ago that I last posted and I have been meaning to write for some time now. The only problem is with a little baby, I have discovered that there isn’t much free time to be had these days!

The computer has been out many times and my fingers have been poised over the keys ready to delight you all with more of my wit (!), but my little one seems to know exactly when I’m about to start writing and decides that this would be the perfect time to bless me with her not-so-angelic shrieks!

But today she is playing with her aunties and so I am sitting in a cafe in the April sun and enjoying some valuable and might I add well deserved “me time”.

This is the best time of the year here, before the hell of summer starts and so I bid you all a lovely sunny day.

I will write more soon (promise!) – but this is one day that is too good to waste!

The revolution is upon us!

So, in the past couple of weeks a revolution has started throughout Israel. People everywhere are camping out in protest of the rising prices of just about everything!

It started when the price of cottage cheese went up (I kid you not!) and it has snowballed ever since! People are fed up of paying double what other countries are paying for the exact same product and now all around the country folk are camping out on the streets in protest to…

1) housing prices and the cost of rent in relation to what people are earning.
2) how much doctors are earning (it really is scandalously  low).
3) the price of baby formula, nappies, and general things babies need (as a mum to be this one really gets to me as a pram in Israel is double price for the same one you can buy in the UK!!)
4) petrol and car prices

The list goes on…

It’s not a violent protest, people are simply demanding that the government look after us better and when you consider than many folk are paying up to 40% taxes, it’s not really too much to ask for, is it?

Celebrities are visiting these “camp sites” to provide free entertainment to the masses and the TV vans are parked there 24/7 waiting for the next news programme to start so more protesters can be interviewed.

I drove past on Friday night and the atmosphere was electric! People have brought sofas to the street so they’re comfy as they hang out and protest. People were lounging around drinking beer (one protester even had an entire drum kit to play! ) and if you didn’t know any better it may seem like a summer camp to many tourists – but in the city centre on the main boulevards.

There is a real sense of community in the camps, that are popping up all over the country and as they are taking up so much media coverage, there is a hope that they will make a difference and the  prices will become more “sane”. The government has had to start talking about the situation seriously as it is all anyone is talking abut throughout the country.

Only time will tell, but in the meantime…

If you’re looking for a cheap holiday in the sun, why not come to Israel! You only need to buy a flight and then you can camp on one of the best streets in central Tel Aviv for free!

 

The best Android application in the whole universe!

… Yes, I am doing some more free advertising – this time it’s for my husband Avi and some of his genius friends.

They have created the best phone app in the world… for all those people who keep kosher!

Currently only available for android phones, the FREE app is called Milk or Meat and will help folks keep an eye on when they last ate milk/meat.

Simply set the application’s timer by telling it what kind of meal you just ate (meat or milk). Then close the application and when the time is up, you’ll receive a notification letting you know that you can now have any meal you’d like!

There will never be any breaking of the mortal sin of mixing food groups too soon ever again!

One easy way to get the app is to click the link: Give me this amazing application now, I cannot live without it!!

Back online…

So after a couple of weeks where my blog crashed and I couldn’t enter it to write lots of funny and interesting things for you all to read, I am finally back online.

Many thanks to Chen who made all this possible!

Here’s a bit of free advertising for him… you should check out his blog, it’s great and has everything you could ever wish to know about Tel Aviv!

Enjoy reading The Best Of Tel Aviv

The people that stole breakfast

I recently spent a delightful long weekend down in Eilat (South Israel) with my hubby. Here’s a little story about a strange couple at our thing we noticed during our stay at the hotel…

We spotted them on the first day in breakfast room, trying to hide behind a pot plant whilst making sandwiches from all the different buffet foods & they were taking yogurts, cheeses and salads too.

And when I say they were taking salad, I literally mean scraping salad off a plate and putting it straight into a handbag – truly weird! By the time they left the dining room, there were 9 empty plates on their table! Yes, I counted them!

They were to become known as “The Breakfast Burglars” or “The People that Stole Breakfast”.

The next day, they came to breakfast with an empty bag and once more strategically placed themselves on a table half hidden by pot plants – so the manager wouldn’t be able to see them. You have to hand it to them, they seemed to be pro’s at their craft.

Before they had even taken a bite of food, 3 full plates from the buffet had made their way into the ever-expanding black bag. They stole pickled fish, salads, yogurts & boiled eggs. Then the woman came back to the table with a block of Camembert cheese – well, not a block, THE block – she had taken the entire cheese from the buffet, wrapped it up in napkins and crammed it into her bag.

Her husband/co-conspirator then returned with an entire loaf of bread and also proceeded to place the loaf in the bag, which was now full to capacity.

I was in shock! I know that many people take a little food to snack on later in the day, but this pair was taking half of the buffet with them and they hadn’t even started their breakfast yet!

As the man came back to the table with a selection of bread rolls, jams and spreads, I rolled my eyes at Avi in amazement as he tried to put more food in the bag.

The man caught me, but I wasn’t embarrassed. He should have been though!