Israel Day 1 & 2 - May 1-2, 2023

With a few people arriving in Israel prior to yesterday, and others who met us from cities outside of Boston, our group came together in Tel Aviv yesterday, Monday, to celebrate the formal opening of our journey in Israel.  

 

When we arrived, the skies were beautiful and sunny and the temperatures were in the comfortable low 70s. For those of us who flew in yesterday, we had easy travels and our non-stop flight of 11 hours arrived on time. We boarded a bus and took the short drive from Ben-Gurion airport to the center of Tel-Aviv – Israel’s most modern, sophisticated, and contemporary city. Tel Aviv is a major city in every way – technologically advanced, diverse, cosmopolitan, and trendy. A city on the Mediterranean Sea, Tel Aviv is known for its beaches, restaurants, shopping, and businesses of all kinds. Our hotel, “The Brown Brut” is located just across the street from the beach, where people are enjoying the wonderful colors and scents of spring flowers and strolling along the sandy boardwalks next to the water. 

 

Everyone settled into their rooms, and then we met to go to our first meal together. The restaurant, called “Dallal” was just a couple of short blocks from the hotel. Puzzle Israel representative Naor welcomed us to Israel and walked us to dinner. The food in Israel never disappoints, and restaurants in Tel Aviv are filled with people on both weeknights and weekends. We were joined by Guy, one of the co-owners of Puzzle Israel and we had a delicious dinner – appetizers, wines, salads, an entrée and dessert. Though we were tired, it was great to be together and we were warmly welcomed “home” to Israel. After dinner and introductions, we walked back to the hotel to prepare for Tuesday’s adventures.

 

Today, Tuesday, we woke up and were treated to a traditional Israeli breakfast – which is always a feast for the senses as well as the stomach. Israelis are serious about their breakfasts and coffee – and again, we sampled some new foods and talked about the plans for the day. Our guide, Yoni, and our Puzzle Israel staff member Shimon came to the hotel, welcomed us to Israel and then we boarded the bus for a day in Tel Aviv. 

 

Our first stop was at the newly renovated museum called “Anu” on the campus of Tel Aviv University – which used to be known as The Diaspora Museum. It has been completely redone over the past 10 years. It really offers a cultural and social history of the Jewish people from ancient times until the present day. Our guide at the museum, Amit, took us through the multi-floor museum and we got a sense of the breadth and depth of Jewish history and practice. There is so much to learn in Israel. No matter how many times one travels to Israel, there is always something new to absorb and consider about Jewish history, culture, and peoplehood. The museum opened with an entire room filled with life-size videos and photos of Jews and Jewish families telling their stories from around the world and defining what the meaning of being Jewish means to each of them. We saw exhibits about Jewish music, cooking, religion, and art from around the globe, walked through a room containing dozens of small synagogue models from throughout the world, and enjoyed hands-on exhibits about Jewish humor, Jews in Hollywood, and the difficult and magnificent history of the Jewish experience over the millennia. 

 

From the museum, we took a short bus ride to the middle of Tel Aviv where we spent time at the Shalom Tower (which up until the 1980s was the tallest building in the middle east) learning about the history of Tel Aviv. It is remarkable how new Tel Aviv is compared to other cities in Israel, some of which go back to the time of the Bible. Tel Aviv was first “settled” in 1909 by 66 families who drew lots written on the inside of seashells to select the location of the first homes in the original neighborhood known as Tel Aviv. Just 100 years ago Tel Aviv was only an underdeveloped desert that required a lot of imaging and work to cultivate and turn it into the major hub of Israel. But for Jews who were being persecuted in Eastern Europe or elsewhere, Israel provided a safe haven in what the settlers hoped would soon be an official state and no longer a dream in the minds of the Zionists yearning for their Holy Land. 

 

After we learned some fascinating things about Tel Aviv and its history, we went to one of Israel’s best outdoor markets – the Carmel Market – just a short distance from our hotel. There are restaurants there and so much happening. The Carmel Market has for sale the usual foods, drinks, fruits, vegetables, breads, desserts, clothing, kitchen-ware, jewelry, and everything else you could possibly want We were given a wonderful culinary tour of the Carmel Market, making 6 stops at different restaurants along the way and sampling all kinds of goodies – traditional foods like Hummus and Felafel and other delicious but less well-known treats. After the tour of the Carmel Market, we had a couple of hours free to continue to explore the market and/or to wander the Tel Aviv arts/crafts fair that stretches from the market all the way down toward the Sea. This fair is only open on Tuesdays and Fridays, so we were lucky that we hit it right in Tel Aviv and could enjoy walking outside while looking at the literally hundreds of independent artists and their displayed work of all types and in varying media.

 

We all made our way back to the hotel for a short time before departing for our tour and whiskey “Milk and Honey.” What an interesting and enjoyable experience! We learned all about how whiskey is produced and why Israel presents specific challenges to the creation and production of creating and producing whiskey in Israel’s climate and environment. We sampled 4 different types of whiskey produced by Milk and Honey – including its special whiskey that a few weeks ago was recognized for its excellence and named “Best Whiskey in the World.” 

 

We had dinner on our own tonight, which offered everyone some free time to enjoy an evening in Tel Aviv. Tomorrow, we go to the Ancient City of Jaffa which is just a mile away from Tel Aviv and was one of Israel’s most important cities and has Israel’s oldest port until the more modern port was built in Tel Aviv much more recently. Then we will drive south a couple of hours to the Negev Desert and the destination of Mitzpe Ramon. More tomorrow!

 

Everyone is enjoying and having a great time!