Dateline Jerusalem – In the middle of October the temperature in my town in Israel is still in the 80s.  The sky is a perfect cloudless blue, so unique that a palette of oil paints or box of crayons could not do it justice. Palm trees, ferns, and other flora outside my living room window give me a feeling of vacationing in Hawaii or the Caribbean.  Colorful flowers are still in bloom and blossoms are sweetly scented.  I am living in paradise. 

The main boulevard that vertically bisects the center of town has giant trees planted over one hundred years ago, their limbs touching second story windows, their leaves creating a cool shade above the sidewalks.  Little shops and cafes, sidewalk kiosks, and street musicians give the boulevard a quaint look.  It is like Old Town or Main Street USA, out of the 1950s. Shops with awnings and tables with umbrellas can be seen in every direction.  People watchers or those just enjoying the smog-free fresh air munch on assorted potato or cheese-filled flaky pastries called burekas, chocolate chip croissants, honey drenched baklava, or pita pockets smothered in humus with Israeli chopped salad of tomatoes and cucumbers, falafel balls and fried eggplant.  Others choose sandwiches of lafahs filled with turkey, chicken, or lamb shwarma  or breaded chicken schnitzel.  A quick coffee and snack for some sitting in these outdoor cafes can last hours.

Narrow alleys, called passages, which rhyme with massages, shoot out from the main boulevard as do apartment-lined streets that connect the center of town to the rest of the city of Rehovot.  Modern high-rise apartment buildings are adjacent to one-story single family houses with red tile roofs. Some buildings dotting the landscape are from the 1890s, when the city was incorporated. To retain these historical sites, they often become the facades or frontages of new modern office buildings and apartments.   It is sort of old meets new, in perfect harmony. Every other block has a neighborhood park with playgrounds for children and benches of senior citizens chatting under shade trees.

Of course, the City of Rehovot is not without a two-story indoor mall and the largest outdoor outlet mall in the country, in addition to thousands of small shops and boutiques. Most  are shoe stores!  For a shopaholic like me, this is the greatest place to live, or maybe the worst. I really do love living here.

L'hitraot.  Shachar