Inspiration: Wearing Pants

Let's face it. As much as I love the easiness of a dress or a skirt in the summer, I just can't stop wearing pants in the fall, spring and winter.

So rather than deny my natural instincts, I've decided to embrace my love of pants.

These images are inspiring me lately:

Calivintage

Fashionistable

Bright Young Twins

Lisa.xo

Israel: What I Wore

Today I thought I'd post something a little different from my trip in Israel.

I managed to take outfit photos on one day of my trip. It was so hot in the afternoons there, it was so nice to have a week of easy summer dressing!  Now I'm back to spring coats and scarves I can't wait till the weather warms up in Winnipeg.

Turquoise Necklace: Bought in Jerusalem in the Old City

Bow Tee, Green Skinny Belt, Blue Flats: Joe Fresh

Green Silk Skirt: Jacob

Lisa.xo

Israel: Day 4

Here's how we spent our Saturday in Israel. Day Trip!

We rented a car on Friday so we could do a day trip to The Dead Sea and Jericho. 

Arne (one of the actors) has a terrible sense of direction, Graham (the other actor) is ok. So I wielded the map and navigated while Arne drove. Arne is a good driver despite his terrible sense of direction, so between the three of us we eventually make it to our destination in Jerusalem with the car! lol!
Driving to The Dead Sea was easy, just one highway to follow!

A sight on the side of the road on the way to the Dead Sea.

It was an incredible day. One I won't ever forget! The Dead Sea was so amazing! It felt so tropical in some ways, palm trees, beautiful blue blue water, flowers, sand...Only it's in the middle of the desert. I saw the shores of Jordan that day too, on the other side of the Dead Sea of course! ;)

And the mud at the Dead Sea! It was so neat! Gummy and cool, the sand exfoliated a bit. After I let the mud dry and rinsed it off my skin felt incredible! Never softer! 

And floating in the Dead Sea was so cool! To just lie there and float. Relaxing. But if you turned onto your stomach for some reason your body would want to go into the water head first. Which is bad! ...the water tasted awful. I didn't get a big mouthful, just a drop in my mouth. So so so salty. At this point Swimming in the Dead Sea was the highlight of the trip. One of the coolest things I have ever done in my life. 

Then we drove to Jericho. What a cool city. It's the oldest city in the world. 

Market Square in Jericho.

I found it much better than Jerusalem in a lot of ways. It's only Palestinian people living there so there is none of the religious tension that there is in Jerusalem. Palestinian people are so nice, friendly and kind. 

That being said I would never visit Jericho alone. The men there stared at me very openly. I stuck pretty close to the guys. That was't happening so openly in Jerusalem. I would feel very safe travelling in Jerusalem by myself. 

We had lunch at a Palestinian restaurant in the market square. I had Falafel. 

These were just the starters for lunch!

Arabian Coffee

I was too hot to be adventurous. I just needed a little something I knew I liked in my tummy to keep my going.

We visited the Sycamore Tree in Jericho. It's believed to be 2000 years old. It is said that a man by the name of Zacchaeus climbed this tree to get a better view of Jesus walking through the crowed streets. I don't know much more about the story. The tree was cool though.

There were several men selling souvenirs there who were a bit pushy...I bought a woman's Palestinian kaffiya (that's the scarf I'm wearing in the pic. beside me is the man who sold it to me.). He kept touching my head and telling me how beautiful I was. I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth, or if he was trying to sell me a scarf. Ah Well...

Then we visited some Palace ruins (Hisham's Palace) built in 743-744 AD. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 749 AD so it has been ruinous for a long time! It was beautiful there too. Beautiful carvings and there were some amazing mosaics that had been miraculously preserved as well. 

I couldn't resist sitting on the ancient toilets! lol!

We were all pretty tired at this point and headed back to Jerusalem. We had a rehearsal then Graham, Arne and I went out for dinner. We went to a trendy spot in West Jerusalem called Foccasia  Bar. It was ok. The smaller, more authentic places we've been to were better, but you never know till you try right? There were a lot of Western items on the menu. We of course ordered foccasia which was delicious! I had linguine marinara. It was ok. I've had better in Winnipeg.

I can't believe we did all of that in one day. And the afternoon sun is so hot there. It's nothing like Winnipeg. Somehow I didn't burn though...I just got a touch of colour. And my legs were sore from walking...but my skin felt like a baby's bum! lol! 

I'll post Days 5 & 6 later this week! 

Lisa.xo

Israel: Day 3

Whoo! This post almost didn't make it today! Somehow I magically didn't experience much jet lag in Israel, but I'm not doing so well now that I'm home. I get incredibly tired around 6:00pm (well after my "Israeli bedtime") and today I've been feeling under the weather: slight headache all day and an upset stomach. I've only started to feel better in the last hour.

Day 4 was a pretty big day, so I've decided it and day 3 will be their own posts.

Day 3 was pretty low key compared to some of the other days we had.

We made a trip to the Old City.

We sat in a beautiful little cafe. We drank freshly squeezed orange juice and watched the crowds of people walk by.

After some exploring we worked up an appetite and then ate falafel! It was awesome! Some of the best hummus I've ever eaten!

We had a rehearsal in the afternoon. And then went out for dinner. Oven fired pizza and Palestinian salad. Yum! The food just kept getting better and better! ;)

We also rented a car on Friday and started to navigate our way around the city. Interesting to say the least! lol!

I'll tell you all about our trip to The Dead Sea and Jericho tomorrow!

Lisa.xo

Israel: Days 1 & 2

This trip was a lot of firsts for me: first time flying overseas, first time flying (or travelling) solo and my first time in a foreign country other than the US.
Needless to say I was a bit nervous as I left Winnipeg. I travelled to Toronto with the actors, but we parted ways there to be re-united in Jerusalem.

Killing time at my gate in Toronto. 

It took me nearly two full days to get to Jerusalem. Three flights: one to Toronto, one overseas to Rome and one to Tel Aviv. Then I took a shuttle from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which wouldn't take me into East Jerusalem to my hotel (in disputed Palestine), so I was dropped off at a hotel and took a cab to my hotel.
The world works in mysterious ways...I was the most nervous about finding my way to my hotel and as it turns out I met a girl from Tokyo named Miho who was going to my hotel too! So we split the cab fair and talked to each other the whole way!

After I checked in and settled into my hotel room we went out for dinner. A recommendation from the hotel staff: Boarderline. There we ate carrots and olives as a starter and drank Danish beer. For dinner I ate fried Denier fish. Which is a local fish from Tel Aviv.
After dinner we ordered a hooka to our table and smoked! It tasted like star anise and made me a little light headed and giggly!

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel...nothing too special, but it was free. I had a hard boiled egg, a delicious croissant with nutella inside and some fruit. Then we headed back to our rooms to rest before our tech rehearsal, I read a little on my balcony and had a nap.

Then we headed to the theatre and did tech for 6 hours. We met the festival organizers who were all very nice. We got everything we needed to do for our first performance on Sunday.  

Outside the Cultural Centre we performed at. This is the banner for the festival.

This was our theatre. It was in a bomb shelter on the 7th level of the parkade under the centre. 

The floor of the restaurant where we ate vegetarian sandwiches and coffee on our break.

We attempted to walk back to the hotel from the theatre, but it was just too far and we got tired. So we hailed a cab. We did walk through an amazing street market/mall in the new city on the way though.  

An outer wall of the Old City

Then we went out to dinner at a restaurant called Philadelphia. The food was even more amazing than dinner the night before. We got free salads to start...and not just a garden salad each! The server brought 8 small bowls and each one had a different salad and there was hummus (the best I have ever eaten!) and baba ganoush and warm flat bread. We ordered a bottle of Israeli red wine which was pretty good. Then dinner came. I had stuffed lamb with rice and veg. Really good! Then the server brought a plate of fresh local fruit for desert!

So that was day 1 & 2. And the trip just gets better from here! I'll post days 3 & 4 tomorrow!

Lisa.xo

Jerusalem Killed My Flats (and other tales from the airport...)

Hi! Have you been enjoying my photo posts from Israel? They were all I could manage between mad sight-seeing, rehearsals, shows and eating awesome food (I slept somewhere in there too, I think).

And I'm finally nearing the end of my trip. The last leg to be exact. I'm waiting in the Montreal airport for my last flight home to Winnipeg. The flight doesn't leave for another hour and a half...I've been here since 3:00 this afternoon...and I've been travelling since 5:00am Israeli time. This is the day that will never end...

Let's just say I'm a little tired of sitting, being in public and watching strangers rummage through my belongings.

Oh...and Jerusalem killed my flats. Here's the photographic evidence:

They did not look this beat up when I left home last week. Small price to pay for an amazing week though. Now I get to go buy new shoes!

I also have a few thoughts about travelling while I sit here. None of which are very original, but more reason for people to do something about these things.

One: Why do so many people travel with screaming children? I don't care if you pump them full of sugar and buy them toys or drug them up, just please shut them up. We're all tired and jet-lagged. Your screaming toddler is not adding to the ambiance.
No, this may not be very sensitive, but it's my blog and this is the third airport I've been in today, sixth in the last 7 days...I get to bitch...

Two: Yes, I understand you're travelling internationally, but why are you wearing those ugly sweatpants? You don't need to wear a suit to travel, or even heels, but try to put in a little effort. You're in public...and I have to look at you. So does everyone else. It's amazing what a nice pair of jeans, a great tee, a trench, some flats and a scarf will do for your travelling attire. And it can also be comfortable! (this is in fact pretty much what I'm wearing now) Give it a try. Please.

Not too bad for a girl who's been travelling all day right? 

Most other airport indiscretions I can tolerate (except of course rudeness...there's never any reason for that...).Basically I just don't want my sight or my hearing to be assaulted while I'm forced to sit here. Thanks.

Thoughts? Am I being to harsh? Or do you agree? Any reccomendations for a new pair of flats?


Lisa.xo

Good-Bye Israel

I'm sitting in the Tel Aviv airport waiting for my first flight. I'm eager to get home now to see my family.

What an amazing week! I can't wait to share it with you! 

Lisa.xo

Dome of the Rock

Lisa.xo

A Snack in The Old City

Apple Strudel and Coffee in the Austrian Hospice in the Old City.

Lisa.xo

The Dead Sea

We drove to the Dead Sea today for a swim. Amazing! One of the best experiences I've ever had in my life!

Lisa.xo