Sale at the Interchange

Ikea's big winter sale was mainly a pretext for a trip to the Poleg interchange zone  located south-east of the central city of Netanya.

The coastal route leading to the interchange, passes by some notable places: Levinsky college of education, Cinema City Glilot, high-tech zone with Microsoft's imposing building, 'Gaash' mineral springs Spa, Wingate  physical education institute and other.

The weather was wonderful!  Warm and sunny. I could hardly stay indoors on such a beautiful day.  On approaching Ikea, I  felt caressed by a very gentle breeze coming from the sea. (The latter is  not too close;  good thing, as it's winter  and easy to catch a nasty cold from the encounter with the Mediterranean).

Before entering the store, I like to take the time and contemplate the palm trees and the flags. I do so from under an adorable, slightly distant tree overlooking the Ikea complex.

tree overlooking Ikea complex

'Poleg' is a major central interchange leading north, and Ikea store is adjacent to it.  Every year the  area gets some new comercial companies added , becoming crowded, and somehow unesthetical. According to  economic articles, Ikea, with its beautiful blue/yellow colored complex is considered  key factor in the development of the  vast industrial-commerce area by the Poleg interchange. It certainly attracts a lot of customers.

There are some well-known firms (Ace, Office Depot, Auto Depot..) and less known firms and shops here, as well as bank,supermarket, and institutions.
I was rather surprised to see also the one and only popular "dollar store" Max, in a huge building ( huge, certainly compared to its branches in the city).

column with part of the business' names on it

Max  "dollar store"

Acostel, Optical center, H&O, Fox, WeShoes, Superfarm, Supermarket

Red  'Sale'  posters were greetting customers  not only at Ikea but also at some fashion stores. 

red Sale posters at Ikea

Sale posters at a fashion store

At Ikea, I intended to buy a certain new light fixture to replace an old one, but I was told the last one got sold out shortly before my arrival at the store. Pity. I might try my luck at another Ikea store (this one is the closest to my hometown). 
I didn't come home empty-handed though;  bought some trivial, things like a door entrance mat, some glass / metal candle holders, AA alkaline batteries, and a few other small items.

Inside the store - a festival of consumerism.; no other phrase would describe that better. And, of course, no one dares leave the place without sampling some swedish meat balls, soup in a bread bowl, salmon delicacies, and other swedish specialties at the store's cafe-restaurant section.  

When I leave Ikea, I take another look at the palm trees and flags, but this time from across the Exit direction.

                              

Of Beauty and Separation

My New Year 2012 has started with a positive, happy event . On the evening of January the first, I attended a 'Bar Mitzva' - a boy's 13th birthday celebration. Bar Mitzva means that the boy has reached the age of responsibility for his actions (from the jewish religious point of view).

The above event took place in a beautiful banquet-hall located in the city of Netanya. This israeli major city , on the Mediterranean Sea, is known for its fine beaches, limestone cliffs with gardens among them, long promenades facing the sea. Netanya , a center for tourism and for diamond trade, is rightly nicknamed "the diamond on the med".

tree and flower pot in front of the building

way to the Reception Hall

relaxation corner

It was cold and raining outside on that evening, but warm and colorful inside ,with beverages at the entrance bar and plenty of appetizers on tables lining the Reception Hall.

bar


appetizers

This was not an usual kind of occasion , the immediate family of the boy being religious (they became religious some 10-15 years ago), whereas many of the guests- secular.

In the Reception Hall we were together men and women, mingling, eating, chatting. However, in the dining/entertaining Hall, men and women got separated by a partition. It was a rather peculiar sight- that of men and women performing the activities of sitting , eating and dancing, separately. There was a male photographer for the men section and a female photographer for the women section.

The bar mitzva boy's two elder sisters drew a lot of attention. Even in Holywood it would be hard to find such beauties. One of them ,23, married and with 2- kids; the other one ,21, single. The beauty and grace of the two sisters, and that of a 12 year old blonde angelic- looking guest girl , "stole the show" from the bar mitzva boy and from everything else , and definitely brightened up the whole atmosphere.

the married sister with the two kids

the single sister with the two nephews

I would even dare say, the blonde little girl (accompanied by her grandmother), consciously or unconsciously, defied the religious atmosphere by taking off her coat and remaining in a non-modest dress (non- modest according to religious standards). None of the women present around her said anything about it or tried to cover her shoulders with a scarf.

G.mother and G.daughter dancing by the partition