Bead shop in Tel Aviv

176 beadshop
Originally uploaded by fiona655.

I have the opportunity to visit a bead shop here in Tel Aviv,
And soon realized that this wasn’t the only one around.
There are at least 2 more bead shops along Allenby,
Which I found out much later.

Sunset

193 beachview sunset
Originally uploaded by fiona655.

What a pretty sight!
The sun sets here pretty early, around 5.30pm.
To be in my hotel room this early is a rare treat itself.
So, let me savour the moment.

Kfar Saba

207 Kfar Saba fruit stall
Originally uploaded by fiona655.

Fruit stall at Kfar-Saba.
Colourful display of fruits and veggies.

Carmel Market

213 Carmel Market sweets stall
Originally uploaded by fiona655.

This is a stall selling sweets in Carmel Market.
The place is almost like Chinatown in Singapore during the Chinese New Year period.
The hawkers are selling their wares, shouting at the top of their voices.
Both sides of the streets are crammed with people,
Beware of your pockets, I was warned.
But hey, markets are for buying and selling stuff, right?
Shopping, here I come!

Shalom.

Greetings from Tel Aviv, Israel.
Yup, that’s where I am now.
Took a midnight flight from Singapore, transit in Frankfurt.
The whole journey is a punishing 17 hours.
I am one of those who will never get a good sleep on the plane.
Maybe I am too excited.
Or maybe it’s a plus-sized woman who needs to visit the lavatory ever so often, when I am sitting in the aisle seat.

Flying nowadays is very safe. I was security-checked twice at Frankfurt airport.
Well, all for better.
And I do not trust the baggage control at the airports.
So I was lugging all my bags from one terminal to another.
Geez, I think I look like a clown.
A very tense, baggage heavy, untidy hair, travelling clown.

Reach Ben Gurion airport at around 4pm local time.
First thing I did when I reach my hotel room is to take a hot shower.
Imagine not having bathe in more than 24 hours!
Then we went to a quaint Chinese restaurant near the hotel.
The meal cost us 60 shekels (~S$21) each, but not as nice.

The people here love bread very much.
Bread for breakfast, bread for lunch, and bread for dinner.
I am lucky I have very good hosts.
They make sure that I am "fully fed" during my stay here!
So nights on the hotel bed are spent tossing and turning on a very very full stomach.

Another "delicacy" is the beanpaste, "Kormose" they called it.
(I am not sure I am spelling it right. Then again spelling is another thing here. Later.)
Beanpaste for breakfast, beanpaste for lunch, and beanpaste for dinner.
The locals loved it!
I think it tasted like bland cheese.

The fruits here are very nice. And cheap.
One big bag of oranges (think almost 12 pieces) cost only 2.5 shekels (~ S$1).

Downtown. Singapore’s equivalent of Orchard road.
Armed with a map, I walked from the hotel to Dizengoff.
It’s a short walk of about 20 mins.
The spelling of the road names does not really tally with that on the map.
I had to guess where I was.
In Dizengoff, individual shops selling clothes, shoes, wines, etc…
But there is a lot less people than in Singapore.
I managed to visit a bead shop, but more of that in another post.

Another thing I noticed is that the locals has very dirty cars. (No offence!)
I was told that is was due to a lack of rain here, and that they washed their cars like once a month?
I know someone who waxed his car in Singapore every 2 weeks!

I do not have any chances of taking good photographs of the place.
The sun sets here pretty early, around 5:30 pm.
So by the time I want to go "shopping", it already "feels" very late.

I just found out that my name (Fiona) in Hebrew means Pigeon.
And "nana" means mint.
Nana tea means mint tea.
Nana Fiona means Minty Pigeon? Wahahahaha!!!

Shalom!

Stupid Guard

Of all the days I wasn't carrying anything,
He doesn't stop me to check my mobile phone.

Today, I am carrying a very heavy bag of library books,
He wanted to see my phone.

Stupid guard!!

Author note: Our company has a strict rule about mobile phones with cameras. Cameras of any kind are not allowed in the premises.

My clay projects

ClayProjects
Originally uploaded by fiona655.

Hello~~!
I know I have disappeared for quite some time in this blog, but I was busy somewhere else!

The picture is proof that I am doing something with my life. Right. Heehee.

Here's why. I have picked up a new hobby. Polymer clay! At first I thought I will let it go after a while. Too messy, too tiring, too many steps to follow...
Instead, I got hooked! I am dreaming about new things to do every weekend, especially jewellery-related. Shape of the beads, colours, patterns...

Polymer clay is a very interesting medium. It enables you to control the final product. And when you are not satisfied, you simply roll it up and start over. Of course, this has to be done before you bake the clay!

I will be going abroad for around a week. Haiz~~! That's the week before Chinese New Year... I have to get back home on time, NO DELAYS! I shall go bonkers! Man, I will miss my clays!

Will write more about my coming trip next update.