Sunday, April 17, 2011

Knesset, being tourists & Tel Aviv


Talia says:
Today was our first full day; we started out in Jerusalem and ended up in Tel Aviv. For breakfast the hotel (which was kosher) served matzo, I was not ready for the matzo yet. After breakfast my mom and I went to get an Israeli cell phone, the store was closed. We went back to the hotel and started packing up. Then we headed to Tel Aviv, it was 97 degrees f. we stopped at a shopping plaza to have lunch. I really like the food here.

Jody says:
I slept all of 4 hours last night, woke up wide awake at 5 am. The rest of the family slept until 8. It was a long 3 hours… Breakfast was typical Israeli- cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and cheese platters. Talia chopped it up and made a yummy Israeli salad. Elizabeth was non-plussed. The hotel was already ready for Passover and served matzah. They asked us not to put any bread products in the refrigerator in our room!

We had to do something touristy so I dragged the family to the Knesset (Israeli government). Our gps sent us to the entrance but when Mike saw the checkpoint he turned around thinking it was the wrong way. When we got back the guard said we couldn’t drive in- we had to park “b’Tsad Hasheni” (on the other side). We parked and walked up the hot hill only to find out we couldn’t go in without a reservation. It was a typical tourist moment, where we were all hot and bothered, and I was dragging us around to boring places and taking pictures of the family under street signs.

 Shai, Kaya, Elizabeth, Talia & Lina reunited
Exciting moment: We saw a giant army helicopter land nearby. We thought it might be Bibi Netanyahu but it turned out to be a group of soldiers. We saw them sitting later under a tree in the Rose Garden. We decided to stop being tourists and headed north. Stopped near Modi’in to pick up a few items at the pharmacy and grocery store. It was fun to walk around and see all the items written in Hebrew. TGot to love the gps, plugged in “store” and it brought us to the closest one.

We then headed North to Tel Aviv to see our friends Amy & David and their 3 daughters who made aliyah a couple of years ago. We spent the afternoon at the beach sitting, talking, playing in the sand, and laughing at all the little naked children playing in the sand. (I took a little nap.)

Cool moment: I overheard someone ask Talia something in Hebrew. She said B’seder (Ok) and Mike asked what she said. Talia says casually- Oh she wanted me to watch her stroller while she went in the water. Go Talia!!

Dinner was at the top of the beach, big Adirondack chairs around coffee tables, drinks, humus, schnitzel, kube (not as good as Debka’s at home!!) and greek salads. 


Sunset over the Mediterranean with a full moon rising.

1 comment:

  1. Dani says: 1. She would have nothing to eat there. 2. Wondered why you couldn't use your cell phone there. 3. Didn't understand what was so cool about Talia watching a stroller until I explained that it was cool that she understood the Hebrew!

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