But I doubt it gets more picturesque than this, with the snow falling on some men praying at the Western Wall. Awesome capture!

The picture was posted on the Spirit of Israel Facebook page, but we don’t know who actually took the pic…we’ll gladly credit the source!

You can catch more Jerusalem pictures here and on our Facebook page (much more), and if you’re looking for some more snowy Israel images, check out our North of Israel album!

1. Stay close to the AC! Air conditioners are everywhere in Israel these days and you should be OK practically everywhere you go. There is the occasional inner-city bus or taxi that doesn’t fire up the AC for whatever reason, so if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in one of these, grin and bear it! Just remember to keep drinking fluids as that AC can dry you up…

2. Ah, ice coffee! One of the pleasures of a hot day in the Holy Land. Some even prefer it to ice-cream, it’s that creamilicious! Our hot tip: grab a medium-sized cup from one of the main coffee chains in Israel, and not from a small-time kiosk. The coffee and ice will probably be a lot fresher at one of the big boys. Our own preferences include Si Cafe, Cafe Cafe, and Coffee Bean, who all have great iced-coffee machines churning away constantly. In our opinion, don’t bother with the ice coffee at one of Israel’s biggest and most successful chains, Aroma.

3. Mmmm, ice-cream. The food of champions. Or rather the food of very hot, sweaty locals and tourists. Tel Aviv has some amazing ice-cream places, including the ever-busy Iceberg on 108 Ben Yehuda Street and Vaniglia (which has a number of branches). In Jerusalem head for Sorrento on HaLamed Hay Street. In fact, anywhere you go in Israel you can find excellent ice-cream to keep you cool and refreshed. We smell a guide to the best ice-cream joints in Israel coming soon…

4. Grab yourself a fancy hand fan. OK, we can’t see this one being too big with the fellas, but ladies, this is a great way to stay cool – and look hot! Made by two local ladies, these fans are a stylish way of beating the heat and are available from a number of outlets across the country. And did you know there’s even a language of seduction using a hand fan? Check out their Facebook page for more details.

5. A dip in The Med. Or Red. Or Dead…take your pick of the nearest Sea and dink your toes in. Oh go on then, strip off and plunge in! On a hot day there’s nothing like having a soak in the sea, just remember to splash on the sunscreen when flashing your skin. We could be utterly wrong, but the Red Sea down by Eilat has always seemed the coldest to us…

6. Watermelon and Bulgarian cheese. This combination might sound a little odd to most of us, but in this part of the world it’s a hit. And a refreshingly cool combo that will delight your taste-buds! Bulgarian cheese is a soft, crumbly, salty cheese, that contrasts nicely when sprinkled on a slice of sweet watermelon.

7. Lie on the floor. You certainly won’t want to do this in the winter, but in the summer those cold ceramic tiles you see in almost every Israeli home can be an amazingly cool place to rest a hot, sweaty body. Best to run the AC for a few minutes before doing this, for maximum effect! And make sure the owner of the floor knows what you’re up to!

8. Eat some spicy food. Oh yes, just think about it and all that spicy food in Thailand, or India. It’s no coincidence that many people in hotter regions of the world eat spicy food. Spicy food increases perspiration which helps cool the body down as it evaporates. You might also get an endorphin rush which might help you forget about the hot food! Make sure you ask for hariff when ordering food, especially at felafel or schwarma joints.

9. Wear light, cotton clothes. You probably won’t want to wear very much anyway during the hot summer months, but cotton is the way to go if you do end up wearing t-shirts/shirts and trousers. Heat gets trapped by synthetic fibres, but cotton soaks up all that sweat and its evaporation helps make you feel cooler. Light colored clothes also reflect those powerful Holy Land sun rays…

10. Take a cold shower. OK, probably the most boring option, and not the most environmentally sound, considering Israel’s constant shortage of water. But invite a friend to shower with you and consider yourselves greener than green! And, of course, depending on who you invite…

Yesterday it hit 27 Celsius in Tel Aviv. People flocked to the beach (I’m guessing a fair few of those were tourists here to celebrate Christmas), and ice-cream sellers were smiling once again. I didn’t make it to the beach yesterday (you know, life gets in the way sometimes…) but I did take my kids to the beach a few days earlier, a week or so before Christmas. And I thought you should see the pictures (taken with the iPhone, so excuse the quality)…

December in Tel Aviv…and just in case you were thinking this is a one-off, this is what it was like back in January this year. Blimey.

But of course, as soon as it gets all hot and steamy in the Holy Land, there’s a catch. And it’s a cracker. As you strip off at Tel Aviv beach and relish the thought of the cool Mediterranean water rippling all over your hot, sweaty body, watch out for that guy screaming and waving at you like a wild thing. He’s actually an inspector and he’s there to stop you having fun.

OK, he’s actually there to help stop you drowning. Because all Tel Aviv lifeguards are in Eilat this week partying on a course. Why they couldn’t have reserve batch of lifeguards, or do the course in shifts, or heck, even do the course in Tel Aviv, we’ll never know. So just watch out if someone looks like he’s about to rugby-tackle you as you head for the water…

Mount Hermon is definitely your destination if you’re after some of the white stuff (though it has also been known to snow in Jerusalem fairly often). Mount Hermon is actually an attraction all year round, snow or no snow, but with its 28 miles of ski runs, including two runs that have officially been declared as Olympic-standard, January and February are usually the months in which to get your winter fix.

The facilities might not compare with some of the best in Europe or North America, but there are chairlifts and T-bars to carry those interested further up the mountain, a ski school where skiers of any level can get themselves schooled in the art of avoiding broken legs, and a pretty well-equipped ski accessory shop. Skiing in Israel might leave you disappointed if you’re looking for apres-ski action, though I guess that would depend on the company you keep…just don’t expect too much in the way of bars and clubs, not in this neck of the woods anyway.

The skiing in Israel scene isn’t huge but is growing, so if you’re like many of the Israelis (some 300,000 visit every winter) that end up at the Hermon and not for the skiing, how about a toboggan ride for you/the kids? Or a quick bit of snow-sledding? Or you could just play it safe and bring along your camera, preferably on a sunny day, and catch some of the amazing scenery.

If you are into skiing in Israel, you can get a ski pass for Mount Hermon, or take a package deal that includes local accommodation (in some mighty fine local guest houses). Check out the Mount Hermon official site in English for further information.

A quick guide to some of the Mount Hermon prices (a full guide is here):

• Entrance Fee: 45 shekels (40 shekels for kids aged 3-12)
• Daily Ski Pass: 230 shekels (1/2 day ski pass is 190 shekels)
• Ski/Snowboard Equipment Rental: 150 shekels (135 shekels for kids)
• Private Lessons: 200 shekels per person (up to 3 people) for 1 hour

And if you want to make sure you’re trek up to Mount Hermon (some 3.5 hours from Tel Aviv) isn’t in vain, check out the live webcams before you set off. Just click on a picture to display the webcam.

So in answer to the question – yes, it does rain in Israel!

Officially the rainy season in Israel is said to kick off in October. But I don’t think you’ll be getting too wet in October or November, with only a rare day of rain here and there. It’s only in December when the rain starts to get a little more serious. And when I mean serious, you might see 4 or 5 days of rain the whole month. Israel isn’t an umbrella’s worst nightmare, as you can see…

This week actually saw 2 or 3 days of seriously heavy rain pretty much throughout the whole of Israel. Even the south and the Negev desert saw huge amounts of rain, enough for the local rivers to burst and cause some serious flood damage. Unfortunately a few people got caught up in these floods, and a couple of people were killed. So no, I wouldn’t recommend going to see the flash floods in the desert. Yes, spectacular, but also very deadly.

So if you’re coming to visit Israel in December – February, bring a brolly and some waterproof clothing. Don’t forget to read our guide to the best time to visit Israel.

And here are a couple of great little charts that show the climate throughout the year for Jerusalem and Eilat. Check out Eilat’s huge volume of rainfall!

As the snow and sleet build up on your window sill, with yet more cold January days ahead, and your thoughts turn to dreamy days on idyllic Mediterranean beaches, I’ll be thinking of you as I strip down to my t-shirt and shorts and hook up again with my flip-flops.

Oh yes, the weather in Israel is at its best this weekend. It is, of course, the middle of winter, but you wouldn’t of thought it here in the Holy Land. I’ve previously told you about the best time to visit Israel, but when you get weekends like this one, it seems like Israel is a great place to visit all-year-round!

Just to get that green-eyed monster working overtime, here’s a screenshot from the BBC weather site a couple of days ago. Bliss!

So put away the gloves, scarf and hat, throw some t-shirts and shorts into a bag and come on over. The water really is lovely!

WTF???

Everyone here will tell you, Israel has only two seasons: summer and winter. Summer, we all know about: Hot. Hazy. Humid. Repeat. But last Thursday morning, at the exact same moment, everyone from the Galilee to Tel Aviv (sorry, Negev) would tell you the same thing: winter’s here.

How did we all know this at the same time? Rain! Geshem chazak! On October 29, sometime between eight and nine o’clock in the morning, it started raining. And it kind of hasn’t stopped since. Now for sure, there have been some breaks. Most of Sunday was sunny and nice. But the skies opened up again that night, and it continues to rain off and on as I type this on Tuesday morning.

Here’s the thing about rain in Israel: it is effed up. And not because it’s been a near constant for almost a week now. In New York, I experienced plenty a full-on rainy day, and some unfortunate stretches where they strung together to make a washout week. And that’s tame. Hello, Seattle? Or while we’re at it – England?

The biggest thing bothering me about Israel’s rainy weather pattern is this: she’s such an Attention Whore. She loves to make an entrance, so first we get these teases with stagnant, dark clouds and ominous, far-off thunder. But, already with the overkill! Instead of a quick warmup to the eminent downpour, this bit can go on for a few hours. Tacky. She does not know when to quit.

And her act can’t be what we’re expecting or anything we’ve seen before. That simply won’t cut it in her eyes. So, none of the standard drizzle-intro into heavy downpour standard fare. She’s thinking: Snoozefest! So, she throws this endless and unpredictable barrage of flash-floods at us followed by pregnant pauses. But here again, she misses the mark. This can go on for hours (or days, as the record now reflects). Know when to quit, Babe! Always leave them wanting more. Your act gets staler than Tal Bagels’ inventory during Pesach.

So, I’m sayin’ it now for all of us: Sh!t or get off the pot, Israeli Rain. If you are trying to prove your point – you’re impressive, you can take charge – we get it!!! But give it a rest already, will ya? Not sure if anyone else has had the b@lls to tell you this before but: it is not all about you! Sheesh, such self-importance! Personally, I don’t care if you soak us all day and all night with a drenching downpour. But this start-and-stop bullshit is just tired, girl.

None of this is any good for Israel’s low-tech green clothes-drying methods. If you’ve got a load of wash out on your clothesline while all this is going on – what are you supposed to do? Seems foolish to leave garments you’re drying outside in the middle of a downpour. But what the eff are you supposed to do with sopping wet clothes if you bring them inside? So, I leave mine out on the line to get what I’m calling “extra wash cycles.” (Note to self: plastic clothespins don’t bleed into your clothes. Wooden ones do.)

And the temperature outside vs. inside….inneresting. Outside, you can get away with shorts and a sweater or scarf; some people even still prefer just T-shirts, especially if the sun is out at a given moment. But indoors, it’s a mite chilly, isn’t it? WTF? I’m a “winter person,” who’s survived much colder temps in the northeast U.S. I think it’s the fact that all our homes here are made of concrete and none of the windows are weatherproofed. Plus, my heating system is also….my air conditioner. In New York, I’d have to open my windows in the dead of winter, my stinkin’ radiator was so blazing hot. Here, I’m already wearing double socks inside to keep the tootsies warm. Hmm.

And while we’re at it – do the whipping winds against your windows sound like something out of Disney haunted house, too?

But I’m full of it. For a guy who hates to schvitz – kol zeh is still preferable to the soupfest we get for the other six months of the year.

Yes, it’s still definitely t-shirt and shorts weather, still time to visit the beach and still time for plenty of ice-cream…and it looks like staying that way for quite a few days more.

Below are a couple of October sunsets on Tel Aviv beach…and yes, that’s my son in an Arsenal shirt, it’s a life sentence for some of us Brits…

And as September slips into October (hello October!), here are another three pics of Tel Aviv beach in September, taken just a couple of days ago…