Panama (Part 1): From the Busy City to the Quiet Countryside
We could finally relax. We were at the gate waiting for our flight and there was nothing else to do. After a week of being on the go all the time it felt nice not to think about the next errand, or packing or making another trip to the storage unit. We were both fast asleep before the plane even…
Last Few Days in Vancouver and Hasta la Vista
For more than six years we lived in our lovely apartment in the family housing on UBC Campus. We fell in love with the place the moment we passed through the doors. We quickly made it ours and felt right at home. But we always knew the day would come when we would have to move out. Last week this…
The Baking Project: Tales From Our Kitchen
In 2010 I started “the project”. It was in the dark days when I was working on my thesis and was looking for something that would keep me happy. I admit that I was a bit inspired by the movie “Julie & Julia”, but my idea was a bit less ambitious. I wanted to try to bake at least one…
The Tower of Ritter
Early this summer we found ourselves with an astonishing collection of Ritter Sport bars. This wasn’t exactly planned – we had a few bars at home, and when friends visiting Germany offered to bring us some more, we of course took them up on the offer. It turns out Ritter Sport is about a third of the price in Germany,…
More Explorations of Seattle and Nearby
In early December we headed to Seattle again. Not exactly a place of sunshine and warmth this time of year, but a city with many attractions and good food to offer. Tal, Gili’s brother, was assigned to work in Seattle for a few weeks. He visited us in Vancouver for a week and after his first week at work we…
The Lonely Planet on Beer Sheva
Friends were visiting recently and had an older Lonely Planet guidebook for Israel. While looking through it, I looked up a few favourite places. I found that Ramle was labelled, somewhat aptly, as “off the beaten track”. But I was surprised to find out that the authors make fun of Beer Sheva, the town Maya and I spent three years…
Best Travel Insurance for Canadians
You like to travel, right? But, what if you are involved in an accident or serious illness, who will pay the bills? It might be a good idea to get some travel insurance. Since we’ll be leaving on an extended trip soon, I’ve been busy doing some research on insurance companies, which I’m sharing so that it can hopefully save…
Wreck Beach: A Different Kind of Trip
UBC is the only university I know of that has a nude beach. Imagine yourself, on a mid summer day, clambering down the wooden stairs to Wreck Beach, through pristine forest, coming out to a scene in the spirit of the free love atmosphere of the 60’s. There are volleyball nudes, beer hugging nudes, sunbathing nudes, ice cream selling nudes…
Tel Aviv the Bike City
When I was in high school I used to cycle everywhere. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do in Tel Aviv, although this city is actually perfect for cycling: it’s flat, the distances are short, and the climate is convenient. However, riding my bike was always a battle between the parked cars (sometimes parked half or fully on the sidewalks),…
Plums, Plums & More Plums
We always say that my friend Mari knows everyone, and in a way it’s sort of true. So when I mentioned at work how much Gili and I love picking fruit, and that we would be happy to pick some plums, she immediately connected us with friends of hers in Burnaby. We cycled to their place on a beautiful Sunday…
