Tel-Aviv
Tel-Aviv – Day 15
Today is the last day of our trip in Israel. Before I left, I wanted to visit my great-grandmother’s grave. The last time I saw her I was 11 years old and full of confidence that I’ll see her again soon. That was nearly 20 years ago. My uncle and I went this time (grandma and her sister went earlier in our trip) and we cleaned the grave a little and put fresh flowers and lit a candle. I don’t know what the custom is for taking a picture of a loved one’s grave, but I didn’t. It seems a little tacky (though I did take pictures at the cemetery on Mt. Hertzl) to take pictures of the grave of a loved one. After the solemn start to the day,...
Read MoreTel-Aviv – Day 14
Everything is closed today. I was getting really nervous since I hadn’t gotten much in terms of souvenirs and had only 1 day left. My uncle was off work and we could do something since he has a car, but it’s a holiday (Pesach or Passover) so everything is closed. Therefore we decided to go to Jaffa since we didn’t really see it as part of the tour. We only got to get off the bus for 5 minutes and take pictures – that was our only view of Jaffa.But today, my uncle, his wife, his youngest child, and I went to Jaffa. The day was perfect – a very slight and pleasant breeze accompanied the warm sun. Because it was a holiday, there were hardly...
Read MoreEilat, Tel-Aviv – Day 13
This morning the weather looked absolutely gorgeous and my uncle asked if I wanted to go tanning. Having lost my voice completely by morning, I declined (the Silent post was written on Eilat – Day 12). So we set out back to Tel-Aviv right after breakfast, ahead of schedule. Too bad this gorgeous weather wasn’t there for us yesterday. But oh well. I guess I’ll have to come back. On the way back, we passed the same raw natural beauty, road signs I won’t see at home, and the same Kosher McDonald’s. Somehow I managed to nap most of the way back. This was also the first day of Passover.We don’t celebrate with all the customs and...
Read MoreTel-Aviv – Day 10
This morning I had breakfast at the hotel and then my uncle (technically, he’s my second cousin, but dad calls him “brother”, so I call him “uncle”) picked me up. It turned out to be not a short drive to Tel-Aviv from Jerusalem, but we didn’t really hit any traffic until we got to the general Tel-Aviv area. Today was the day I rested. Sort of. Mainly played with the little cousins (2nd cousins once removed) who are 8 and 3. I don’t remember what we ate, but it was good. Everything is quite delicious and the veggies are very yummy. We also went to the “downtown” area and walked around trying to find souvenirs. No...
Read MoreLong time no post
So I haven’t posted in a while. It’s been rather expensive to purchase internet service even for an hour. But now I’m back in Tel-Aviv and will post the other few days of the trip. But basically, it was great and we did a lot of walking and I was TIRED! I so need a massage when I get back! Share this:
Read MoreTel-Aviv, Caesaria, Haifa, Nazareth – Day 3
Today, there were hot things for breakfast. So I decided to try the omelets (I had one with mushrooms, tomatoes, and cheese) and some of the same things as the day before. And nobody sneezed on my food, so I find that breakfast was great overall.After breakfast we headed to Carmel Market near our hotel. It was still very early so most of the shop stalls were still closed, but there were some that were open. The spices were so fragrant, the strawberries superb, the bread amazingly fresh-baked, and the flowers glowed. I was glad that it wasn’t busy so I could take pictures, though I do wish we had gotten the full sense of the market. There were also plenty of...
Read MoreTel-Aviv – Day 2
This was the first morning at the hotel. It was a lovely breakfast, even though nothing was hot. No omelet station and no toaster for bread. The reason for that is Shabbat. There is even a “Shabbat” elevator, but more on that later. I tried a little of almost everything, but I was staying away from unknown dairy products (is it yogurt? milk? cottage cheese? I just didn’t want to waste it). But a few pieces of bread with apricot jam and hot tea, some smoked salmon, fruits comprised my breakfast.As I was getting a plate of fruit and coming back to my table, a kid from the table next to mine sneezed all over my table and the food already on it. ...
Read MoreTel-Aviv – Day 1
We were picked up at the airport by family we have in town and spend most of the day together. It was wonderful. I got to meet people I’ve only seen in photos and see others I haven’t seen in a long time. This being family means we had a LOT of yummy food. And as you read in the previous post, I even got a new recipe. Yay! But because things having to do with family are private, I will not go into any more detail about that. In the evening, the family went with me to the hotel and essentially handed me over to the tour guide. It was really cute. After I got to the hotel and checked out the room, I decided to change it because it was smelling of smoke...
