Monday 17 June 2019

Douze Pointe and Tea for Two

Netta Barzilai, also known mononymously as Netta, is an Israeli singer, recording artist and looping artist who won the fifth season of Israel's HaKokhav HaBa, "The Next Star". This earned her the right to represent her country at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. On 12th May 2018, she won the contest, held in Lisbon, Portugal, with her song "Toy", marking Israel's fourth win in the Eurovision Song Contest after wins in 1978, 1979, and 1998.
After Netta's grand victory in Lisbon, the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest took place here in Tel Aviv a few weeks ago. When I read about this fabulous sculpture of Netta that had been installed in the Eurovision Village in Tel Aviv, I knew that I had to pop over to see it. It was created by Nirit Levav Packer, whose extraordinary exhibition of life-size statues of pregnant women I saw back in 2017. The Netta sculpture has since been moved to the Israel Children's Museum in Holon after the Eurovision Village's closure.
Inspired by Netta and her song 'Toy', Nirit Levav Packer composed the massive recycled sculpture of the singer, crafted entirely from tens of thousands of used toys collected from kindergartens around Tel Aviv, including stuffed animals, Legos, balls, rattles, puzzle pieces and more. The sculpture is 4 metres tall, 6 metres wide, 2 metres deep and weighs 2 tons. It has been created with so much imagination, creativity, humour and sensitivity. I was thrilled to see it!
The day before the Grand Final of the Song Contest happened to be my birthday! Mister Handmade in Israel and I spent the day in Tel Aviv, first watching Izhar Cohen perform A-Ba-Ni-Bi in the Dizengoff Centre, before joining friends at the Eurovision Village for a cold beer and an afternoon of dancing. The boys didn't want to join us but there was time for cake before we left!
My birthday surprise, saved for another day, was afternoon tea at the Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem. Opened in 2014 and located only minutes away from the Jaffa Gate and Jerusalem's Old City, I had never even been inside the hotel, being more used to an ice cream or Diet Coca Cola for my afternoon's refreshments!
Afternoon tea was first introduced by Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford, in 1840. Under Queen Victoria's reign in Great Britain it became a formal event and ceremony of great cultural significance. Our British Afternoon Tea (a Middle Eastern Afternoon Tea is also available) was served in the King's Court restaurant. We dined on small cucumber and cheese sandwiches, savoury pastries filled with smoked salmon and egg salad, alongside scones with cream and jam (okay, the cream was not clotted), sweet pastries and cakes. This was all served in Villeroy and Boch tableware with a silver butter knife, dessert forks, strainers and teaspoons. We chose from a dozen Ronnefeldt loose leaf teas, including Darjeeling, Assam Bari, Peach, Bora Bora and more.
I can't honestly remember ever having had afternoon tea in the UK but it was great to experience it here in Jerusalem. Somehow the atmosphere was charming and intimate, whilst outside the Jerusalem traffic crawled by and a hamsin wind blew.
The property that originally stood where the Waldorf Astoria now stands was built in 1929 by the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin El Huseini, as the first luxury hotel in the Middle East, named the Palace Hotel. The Palace offered luxuries that were unheard of at that time: elevators, en suite bathrooms and modern plumbing, bedside telephones and heating. What is basic today in every youth hostel, was in 1929 the epitome of luxury and Haj Amin El Huseini hosted many monarchs and heads of state in great magnificence and splendour. The Palace hotel closed in 1935.
In 1948 with the establishment of the State of Israel, the government of Israel took over the deserted building for offices and the Ministry of Commerce and Trade occupied the building for over 50 years.
In 2006 the property was bought and converted back to its original purpose - a renowned luxury hotel. The renovation works took nearly eight years to complete. As a heritage landmark, the façade of the building was never demolished and instead, a team of architects worked for three years to restore the 1929 architecture, and even the original main entrance has remained. Many Jerusalemites viewed this venture with trepidation, as The Palace was known as one of Jerusalem's most beautiful buildings and they feared it would not return to its previous glory. The hotel blends Greco-Roman, Gothic and Ottoman architecture, together with classic style and, thankfully, its design is acknowledged to be a spectacular success.

29 comments:

VeggieMummy said...

Happy Birthday! Great sculpture and that afternoon tea looks divine. We've had a few in London to celebrate various 18th and 21st birthdays and it's always a huge treat. Hope you enjoyed the dancing. xx

Cheryl | TimeToCraft said...

Happy belated birthday. What a fabulous way to celebrate. The hotel looks amazing and what a great job they've done with the renovation. I love the idea of afternoon tea. The statue made from recycled toys is certainly eye catching. What a statement. #mmbc

Miss Val's Creations said...

This sculpture is amazing! How whimsical that it was created from toys. I love those scan me decals. How times have changed that we can scan and download like we do now. Happy Birthday! Fancy afternoon tea sounds like a perfect way to enjoy it.

Anne said...

Happy Birthday! (sorry it's late) It looks like you had a fantastic time the afternoon tea looks brilliant. I love the sculpture, it's truly amazing. it's a wonder the children don't try to take the toys off it though.
#mmbc

Catherine Lanser said...

What a lovely sculpture. I think sculptures made of recycled materials are so interesting and often so colorful. The tea and hotel look lovely too. Happy Birthday! #MMBC

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

A great sculpture which is really eye-catching. I love that it's made from recycled toys too. #MMBC

Annsterw said...

WOW! That artwork is really amazing!!! Some people are so creative...really really cool!

Annsterw said...

oh...AND...Happy Birthday!

Kim Carberry said...

That statue is amazing!
What a wonderful way to celebrate your birthday. I do love an afternoon tea. #MMBC

Junieper/Jesh said...

What great celebrations, Lisa. Happy belated birthday to you from All Seasons! Also celebratory is that the Waldorf is back to its original purpose:):)
This artist - I can't imagine the time that was spent in finding all the recycled toys -suffering for art, haha. Would like to meet her sometime!
Wow, the Euro-songfestival - when living in Europe we never missed seeing that on TV:) have a lovely week. Am glad you are able to celebrate life - very special after your illness!!

alid said...

The sculpture looks fab. I went for afternoon tea for my birthday too, not quite as grand as the Astoria, but it was still lovely.
#MMBC

Tamar SB said...

Oh Netta!
Happy birthday! I have heard the Waldorf is just amazing there!!

Photo Cache said...

What a great honor to be bestowed a statue.

Worth a Thousand Words

Fun60 said...

A very creative sculpture. I love afternoon tea. Those cakes look delicious.

NCSue said...

Looking at your pastries has made me hungry!
Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2019/06/classical-art.html

Tom said...

...I want to wish you a belated 29th Birthday! Thanks for sharing this colorful post of info that is new to me and I also gained a few pounds just looking at all that food. I hope that you are having a wonderful week.

Joanne said...

OH wow! That is quite the neat sculpture. Happy birthday.

Powell River Books said...

What an interesting sculpture. So colourful. - Margy

riitta k said...

Amazing environmental art! So colorful & joyful!

Pieni Lintu said...

Wow :D

Rhonda Albom said...

The sculpture is quite fun and funky. Happy birthday. Your afternoon tea looks sumptuous.

betty-NZ said...

That's an amazing sculpture. Your birthday seemed to be celebrated in style! BTW, I have some shoes like yours :)

'My Corner of the World' wouldn't be the same without you this week!
My Corner of the World

By Land and Sea said...

What a wonderful birthday! Everything looks delicious and sounds like a great way to celebrate!

Charlotteontheroad said...

What a great way to spend a birthday! I really love afternoon tea. Great post! #feetdotravel

Jayne said...

So glad that you had an amazing birthday Lisa, you thoroughly deserve it. The afternoon tea looked delightful!
I love the toy statue it looks awesome! Very creative. xx #MMBC

Obligatory Traveler said...

What a lovely way to celebrate your birthday. I am always up for a good afternoon tea. That one looks like it came with a lot of treats. #WeekendWanderlust

Shona Grant said...

The sculpture of Netta is brilliant, what a lovely play on her song. I'm glad you had such a lovely birthday. That afternoon tea looked incredible. #feetdotravel

Lauren said...

What a wonderful birthday surprise!! That "tea for two" looks divine :)

MrsS said...

What a lovely surprise, Happy Birthday!!! I do love an afternoon tea. Thanks for linking up to Monday Escapes

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