sunset – Marilyn Ambach

1	Elton John	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
2	HaBanot Nechama	So Far Lihiot (To Be)
3	The Alan Parsons Project	Gemini
4	Nick Drake	Pink Moon
5	Nom de Plume	Coming close
6	Dan Hill	Sometimes when we touch
7	Dire Straits	Romeo and Juliet
8	Alessi Brothers	Seabird
9	dEUS	Nothing Really Ends
10	Jasper Steverlinck	That’s not how dreams are made
11	Don Mc Lean	Castles in the air
13	Jim Croce	Operator
10	Amos Lee	Arms Of A Woman
11	Norah Jones	One Flight Down
14	George Harrison	All Things Must Pass
15	The Beatles	Something

Tel Aviv Alive & Kickin’

December 6, 2012June 5, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

Let’s start this post with a little note to my fellow Belgians or should I say Europeans. I wouldn’t be discussing the recent tensions in the Middle East as this is certainly not a political blog. But as apparently everyone seems to own the conflict, I guess I do have a say. Maybe the media are the first to blame as they should stand for “impartial” and “objective” reporting? At university they taught us the media is the watchdog of democracy. Not what I see when I watch Belgian news about Israel. And as for the people’s opinion: maybe I wouldn’t know better either if I’d just watch your news and read your newspapers. But at least I won’t feel I have the right to preach, convince nor judge. I live in Tel Aviv since six years and I still feel I have no right to judge. Because I do not know war. I did not grow up with terror. I did not go to the army. So why do Europeans feel they have the right to? Most of them have probably never even been in Israel. Yes I’m bothered with that hypocritical solidarity. That being said; my blog is about my life, my life in Tel Aviv, both as a stranger and an insider. And I decide to focus on the bright side of it, the creative, the stimulating, the talent; what makes us wake up in the morning and smile. And I can tell you this: Tel Aviv is alive and kickin’. Towers still grow like mushrooms, people going to the beach, party in clubs, eat and drink 24/7, real estate is still unaffordable, there is still no parking and too much traffic, three new boutique hotels just opened around my corner, and the sun still shines…

All photos by me & my broken Ipod touch – maybe soon I’ll get a real camera…

Life is good @ Delicatessen: my Filofax, the blackberry, some sun, a knitting project and a “hafuch” or two or three Old versus New on Mazeh Street

Old versus New on Mazeh street

New boutique hotel Alma

Yarn Bombing on Nahlat Binyamin Street

TLV view from Jaffa

Electric art on Pines Street, Neve Tzedek

Sunset at Fortuna Del Mar @ Tel Aviv Marina

Kalisher Street

Sunset at Topsea Beach

Super Jew is Coming soon – Drawing by Julien Roux

Antwerp · Restaurants

Leave nothing on the grass… but footprints

July 25, 2012May 26, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

FINALLY! After a long period of waiting the sun has arrived and temperatures have risen with it. It’s the perfect occasion to go outside with friends, watch the sun set, look at the stars, fall in love…. yes, i’m a true fan of summer. In Antwerp there are lots of places where you can enjoy the sunny weather (it’s too hot to sleep anyway), but there is only one place where you can do all of the above mentioned activities together at once. Yes, even falling in love.

Every year, the city of Antwerp organizes a sort of “festival” which takes place all summer long. It is called “de Zomer van Antwerpen” (Summer in Antwerp). Next to theater shows in open air, a circus, live music in streets that are otherwise quiet, and so many other festivities, they also organize “de Zomerbar”. The first time I discovered this huge hide-away just out of the city center, was 2 years ago.

Walking on the long torch-lit path, feels like walking into a fairytale (please don’t insult it by comparing it to walking towards “the island council” of Temptation Island, thank you very much): there’s a forest with tables and chairs made out of tree trunks. There’s a beach with matching beach chairs and umbrellas. There are lights and hammocks hanging quietly in between the trees. Big plus for book-fanatics like myself: during the day you have access to an open air (!!) library. You can rent a book and just lay yourself down on the grass, or in a hammock, covered by the shade of a tree.

There’s a restaurant with delicious food, a wine bar, a bar with excellent mojito’s… It’s a little piece of heaven (in summertime) on earth. Oh and when you bring back your empty glasses yourself, you get some money back. Smart way to keep the grass clean!

Pictures by Sigrid Spinnox (c) & Stad Antwerpen

Zomerbar,Ledeganckkaai
2000 Antwerpen

from 07-07-2012 untill 19-08-2012
during the week: 16u-24u / in weekends: 14u-24u

Architecture · Design · Lifestyle · Neve Tzedek · Tel Aviv

Sunset happiness at Brown Hotel

July 24, 2012June 5, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

When Tel Aviv is as hot and humid as can be in July and August, cool spots are a must. Some days you can’t even leave the AC until late afternoon. Then you can finally find a little sea breeze and enjoy the sunset. And if you want to add more charm to this experience, go to the Brown Hotel’s rooftop and combine it with a cocktail.

This is how the Design Hotels website describes the Brown Hotel: “Behind the facade of a former bank is the intimate Brown TLV – a hotel defined by its rich chocolate-and-caramel colored walls, dark wood floors, and vintage-inspired furniture. It belongs to young hotel entrepreneurs, Leon Avigad and Nitzan Perry. In the lobby, tufted leather couches, low-slung chairs, and a floor-to-ceiling bookcase produce a more intimate urban experience than the bright, extroverted city outside its doors. Throughout, delicate details and provocative gestures meet: the diaphanous drapes of a canopied bed fall just next to black marble bathroom floors. Above its perfectly-tailored 30 rooms, a rooftop deck with lounge chairs, open-air showers, and white umbrellas invites guests back out into the Mediterranean sun and to reconnect with a bustling Tel Aviv below.”

The Brown Hotel is not just the coolest urban boutique hotel in town. The rooftop with panoramic view on the city serves as daytime sundeck and nighttime bar (also for sophisticated private events). The spa offers good massage deals either in the spa or on the rooftop. And beach lovers can even get their own little brown bag.