Eclectic Trips

Sometimes the simplest of things are the most important. I missed out on a trip to Bali in July. My husband had a month long  job in Bali, and I was planning to tag along as I often do, but my dad got ill and I ended up staying in New York. All of July [...]

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Today is sunny, warm and breezy- perfect. It’s the end of August in Odessa, and I am visiting for a few weeks.  I was born here, and moved to New York  when I was 15. I returned two Summers ago, fell back in love with Odessa, and keep coming back. My friends from London are in town, and I am showing them [...]

View all of 'My home town'

We didn’t have an underwater camera, so our underwater journey remained undocumented, but in a way I am glad- It keeps the image of the dolphins fresh and vivid in my mind. It’s an image I hope to preserve and remember for years to come, and when it fades I’ll just have to come back to [...]

View all of 'Swimming with the dolphins in Makaha'

It’s  a short drive  from Waikiki to the simple coastal town of Kailua, and the amount of gorgeous scenery per mile is immense. I call this the high impact drive, because it is relatively short and really, incredibly, overwhelmingly beautiful. Coming from Waikiki  you would take highway H1 to H2. H2 took 37 years to  [...]

View all of 'The “high impact” drive to Kailua'

We landed in Maui’s tiny airport at 11am, and Masha was waiting outside in her old beat up green station wagon. Bright red Hawaii print nylon seat covers adorned the front seats. I guessed this car gets pretty wet, sandy and muddy at times, though it looked perfectly clean now. “I love this car- I [...]

View all of '5 things to do in Maui like a local'

Our destination was The valley of the Temples, and the traffic from Waikiki  to Kaneohe was brutal. It would clear up for a minute, and we’d start rolling slowly, but then it was bumper to bumper again for the next 10 miles. We got there at 6 PM, The Valley, and with it the temples were closed. [...]

View all of 'Two Thai restaurants, or why I do not trust guidebooks'

Waikiki is crowded. That was one of the first thoughts I had when we arrived a week ago. Though this impression hasn’t left me completely, it has subsided. I have gradually come to realize that Waikiki is not crowded in a loud obnoxious way, and there is still an element of peacefulness in the thickest of crowds. I think it comes [...]

View all of 'Waikiki- the good and the not so good'

When you visit Tel Aviv, there are 3 things that are an absolute must for any itinerary. Jaffa, neve Tzedek and Shuk. Jaffa and Neve Tzedek are two beautiful areas next to each other, so when you go, plan to spend a day there. Make sure not to go on Shabbat as everything is closed,  so Thursday [...]

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We are sitting at a place called Lala Land on the Tel Aviv beach, listening to mellow atmospheric music played by an attractive DJ, and watching the beautiful sunset. I am on my third glass of wine, and really savoring this time- I leave tomorrow, and as it happens on really incredible trips, I am [...]

View all of 'Tel Aviv – Cafe culture'

The name of one of the loveliest neighborhoods in Manhattan, Nolita sounds like a pretty girl’s name, but it simply means “North of Little Italy”. This lovely area has some of the best cafes and boutiques in New York City, all concentrated around a several block radius. You can spend a lazy Saturday afternoon here, [...]

View all of 'NYC- Nolita'