Wednesday 2 January 2019

The Best of 2018 - Part II

1. Holidays in Haifa  2. Shoham Forest  3. Tel Beit Shemesh  4. Yaacov Agam Museum of Art  5. 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza  6. Koolulam at the Tower of David 7. The Port City of Acre  8. A Bridge at Nesher Park and Rosh Hanikra  9. Ein Avdat National Park  10. Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir and Agamon Hefer

Happy New Year! When I started writing this blog back in 2008 I initially kept it as a blog purely about my papercut art. However, I soon found out that people were interested in reading a little more about me and my life here in Israel, as well as viewing my latest creations. Whilst I still don't write every single detail about myself here, I have opened up to you about my Jewish faith and many of the holidays we celebrate, and I have written about some of the beautiful places I have been fortunate to visit in Israel.
This month I will be marking 24 years in Israel. That's exactly half my life! Over the years I have enjoyed exploring the country and finding off the beaten track places to visit, particularly when the kids were younger (they are now teens and less interested in coming out with Mum and Dad). We have been north, we have been south, east and west - though that's not so hard really since the country is so small!
This year I travelled abroad twice, to London in March and then Amsterdam and Hull in the summer (lucky me!). We also took a short trip with our boys to the Negev desert - you can see just some of the places we visited here. I have walked over a 70 metre suspension bridge at Nesher and joined a communal singalong at the Tower of David in Jerusalem. We explored Haifa and Acre in the north and hiked Ein Avdat in the south. In addition, I have been to several museums, my favourites by far being the new Yaacov Agam Museum of Art in Rishon LeZion and the incredible exhibition "Rock Paper Scissors" at the Tower of David Museum, below. I would say it was a good year!
I have blogged about all of these places and more, but thought it would be fun to pick my top 10 of 2018. So, in no particular order, please click on the names above and enjoy exploring Israel with me!

... and this is me, 24 years ago, when I first moved to Israel!

“hilarystyle
Sunday Snap

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Israel looks like a beautiful country!
Emma
https://happywiseowl.com/2019/01/02/travel-wishlists-wrap-ups/

VeggieMummy said...

I've loved hearing all about the wonderful places that you visit, and look forward to more in 2019. Happy New Year! xx

Camila said...

Some of my friends just came back from Israel and they said it was one of their best trip to date and that the food was marvellous!

Miss Val's Creations said...

You've had such an amazing year! It is wonderful that you can travel and see so much. I hope 2019 brings you the same amount of fun!

Jessi (Two Feet, One World) said...

Yay for lots of domestic travels - I'm hoping to do lots of exploring of my country (New Zealand) in 2019 too. Looks like you've seen some amazing parts of Israel!

hilarystyle.me said...

What a great year and I love the photo of you from 24 years ago! I'm a big fan of exploring in my own home, and it looks like you are as well! #farawayfiles

betty-NZ said...

I appreciate you sharing your 'adventures' and your artwork over the years. And, thanks for linking up at My Corner of the World!

Mudpie Fridays said...

I have never really considered visiting Israel but I think you have just changed my mind. I still have two young kids so I think I would wait until they are a little older and can deal with the heat but I love the look of the Grottoes. #farawayflies

Rambling Woods said...

Happy New Year and I love seeing the photos... Your link was added when the page is refreshed. It is annoying I know..but it was there...Michelle

Jayne said...

I've really enjoyed learning all about Israel through your travels. Looking forward to seeing more this year!

Thanks for sharing with #MMBC. x

Jill said...

Happy 2019! And cheers to such a wonderful year of travel in 2018. It looks like it was a good one!

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

I'm really glad you share your life experiences and travels around Israel. Although I love your beautiful art, I also enjoy your adventures.

italiafinlandia said...

Hello Lisa,
have a wonderful New Year filled with creations!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Happy New Year Lisa....I enjoyed this review so much. And while I am in awe of your talent and love your creative and beautiful art works (for that is what your cards are), I am also grateful that you include posts like this one about your travels and daily life in your beautiful country. This kind of sharing is the true joy of blogging for me! I could read books and magazine articles about Israel (and I have done so), but blogging feels like I (somehow magically) have a neighbor who lives there! And of course that’s true for other countries and other parts of my own....we are so lucky to have this way of learning! Thank you for your part in my education!

NCSue said...

What a marvelous country you live in. Full of history and lots of natural beauty. Hope to come again!
Thanks for linking up at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2019/01/homemade-pasta-easy-and-fun.html

junieper said...

You covered quite some miles in Israel, as well as abroad! Enjoyed reading about all your experiences of your trips! You can be proud of your blog - it is far beyond one tone - versatile and speaking to different audiences. That 2019 may be a year of new strategies and adventures!

Jackie@travelnwrite said...

Glad I found your blog today, I've signed up to follow. . .hopefully you'll check out our Travelnwrite, we are almost 'neighbors' as we are expats in Greece!

Peabea Scribbles said...

So glad you share your country, but still enjoy your crafting too. How awesome to walk where I read about in the Bible. How fun the museum at Tower of David. So enjoy visiting. Thanks for sharing at Pictorial Tuesday. Have you seen Sharon's Travel link on my blog where you can also link your travels. Have a great week and week-end.

Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid said...

I haven't been to Israel since 1996 and am desperate to go back! It's definitely top of my travel list and I'm pinning this for when (note I don't say if,) I plan my trip!

likeschocolate said...

Thank you for sharing! I have bookmarked this post, so if I ever come to Isreal again I can follow your recommendations!

KB said...

Lovely pics

Jibberjabberuk said...

What a lovely collage photograph to sum up the year. I really did like the Rock Paper Scissors exhibition. It was so different with so many work and imagination gone into it. I do like learning about your life in Israel and your travels around the country.

Aritha V. said...

You are the best graphic designer living from Israel ✂
Love to see your art.