From King David to More Tel Aviv

I woke up in Jerusalem, surrounded by every comfort imaginable. Everything about The King David validated that it was one of the most luxurious hotels in the world.

My room was beautiful, with attention to every detail, and the service was just impeccable. 

Every time we turned around, someone was waiting, anticipating our every need.

I had been thoroughly enjoying the Israeli breakfast buffets throughout my stay in the country, but The King David took it one step further. In addition to a magnificent display, they offered made to order omelets and eggs benedicts – with ingredients such as truffles and salmon.

I chose a fresh vegetable filled omelet, and filled a plate at the buffet with cheese, fruit, and salmon, adding a small pastry and some halvah to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Before I packed up to leave, I walked around the hotel a little to check it out. 

I also ventured out to the courtyard and took note that it would be another pleasantly warm day in Israel.

We drove to Tel Aviv and heading straight to the Sarona Market. It was nothing like the markets we had been to on previous days.

Sarona Market is indoor and set up like a mall, but all of the stores and kiosks are focused around food and drink.

I wandered through the market with Jo Piazza, the former Yahoo! Travel managing editor who was one of the other members of our group.

Our first stop was at a very unusual spirits store where you could buy barreled liquors, such as cognac, whiskey, and liqueurs. We sampled a few and they were all good.

The Vom Fass store next door also had some interesting spirits, as well as a selection of Vom Fass oils in casks. They had everything there, including grapeseed oil, ginger sesame oil, and even avocado oil.

We stopped at a wine tasting room next to sample some Israeli wines. The store gave us the option of tasting a few little glasses, or purchasing a larger one. They were all kept at proper temperature inside a Wine Station.

I really like the pinot grigio from Lueria in the Upper Galilee and the Carmel Valley Winery Gewürztraminer.

It was hard to resist buying a bagful of the luscious cheeses at the next store we were at, but I knew they wouldn’t travel very well. It was also almost time to meet the group and head to the hotel.

On the way out, we walked past the Freestyle Raman Table, where it many locals were enjoying lunch, Fiori Fresh Pasta Bar, a store filled with spices, dried fruits and nuts, a fish market, and a bakery with many tempting breads.

We had to wait a while for the bus to come and pick us up, but I still had some time before dinner to take a walk down to the beach for probably the last time in Israel.

I showered and changed before the bus came back to take us to dinner at Herbert Samuel Restaurant. Joining us was Mira Marcus, the International Press Director for Tel Aviv.

Although they had prepared a menu for us, they did adjust it for my seafood allergy.

The group did rave about the calamari, but I enjoyed a fresh tomato salad and beef kabobs.

The desserts at Herbert Samuel Restaurant, while complicated in description and name, all proved to be scrumptious.

We headed back to the Dan Hotel Tel Aviv more than ready to retire. The next day would be our final one in Israel.

Exploring Highlights of Israel

I had been in Israel for just about a week. There was a lot to see, but we had been given a pretty set schedule. Fortunately, my fellow writers and I were able to convince our tour guide to go off the plan a bit and it turned out to be our best day of exploring.

I woke up at the Dan Accadia Hotel in Herzeliya to another sunny day.

The scenery here was beautiful and even though I didn’t have time to fully enjoy it, I did walk around the property a bit, taking in the views of the pool and beach.

After another delicious Israeli breakfast, we headed onto the bus and toward the desert.

We were off to the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea. Despite the fact that it is extremely hot, and the drop below sea level had our ears popping, the distance of the sun kept the rays from burning as much as you’d expect.

The drive took us through Jericho, though we only made one stop, for a pose with a camel that was much more likely to be a tourist attraction than a working animal.

Below there we could see a site you don’t see every day – goats being wrangled down the desert dunes.

We stopped the bus at Neve Midbar Beach. We had about two hours there and we all were anxious to get our swimsuits on and head down to the sea.

Since the addition of this stop was last minute, I really hadn’t done much research on the Dead Sea. I welcomed information as I walked carefully down the slippery ramp.

From our side we could see Jordan. In fact, the border between the two countries is in the middle of the sea.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the mud or the ability to float and both surprised me. It was actually a lot of fun too. 

The mud from the Dead Sea is supposed to be wonderful for your skin as it has many anti-aging properties. We figured we had nothing to lose as we spread it all over our bodies before getting in the water.

It’s true what they say about not being able to swim in this sea. The salt content makes everyone float, a strange feeling when you try to turn over.

We relaxed in the warm water as we hadn’t in a week, wishing we could stay longer.

Before heading back to the bus we made a short stop at the bar, then showered and changed. We were all so relaxed that most of us fell asleep in the bus on the way to Jerusalem.

We had no doubt when we entered Jerusalem as the view is like no other in the world, as is the history.

Jerusalem is the center of so many religions and the Old City, which we would be touring, is appropriately a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Even though it was the Sabbath, a Jewish holy day, the sites were quite crowded with tourists from all over the world.

You also couldn’t help but notice the high security and soldiers everywhere, protecting this holy land.

We started our tour on the side of the Tower of David, taking the road it’s believed Jesus took in his last week in Israel.

The Church of the Holy Sepulche, the place of the crucifixion and the grave of Jesus, was as spectacular as anything I had seen in Rome.

As we walked around the Old City, we could see the Gondan Dome on Mountain of Olives, believed to be an ancient Jewish temple.

We also visited the Room of the Last Supper, and the Room of the birth of King David, as well as the Western Wall.

It was all a bit surreal since it had been so many years since I had visited Israel and didn’t remember any details of these sites.

Before we left the Old City we did a bit of shopping in the Arab Market. I came home with some gifts, and a belly dancer costume for myself.

We headed downtown and checked into The King David hotel. Many heads of state from around the world have stayed at this hotel which I can accurately describe as royal.

Before checking in we had some wine in the executive lounge with the hotel manager.

My room was very large and well-appointed. It was clear I was in one of the world’s most luxurious hotels.

I refreshed quickly for dinner at Colony Bistro, a casual restaurant not too far away.

Dinner was delicious, starting with an Israeli Salad and an eggplant dish. We each chose our own main course, which included beef, salmon, and a black ink pasta.

I choose the gnocchi in a creamy cheese sauce and loved it.

Before we headed back to the hotel we nibbled on an assortment of desserts, including crème brulee and gelatos.

Needless to say, I quickly drifted off to sleep at the King David Hotel after a very full day of exploring Israel.

Welcome to Israel

It had been nearly 20 years since I had been to Israel and I was excited to have the opportunity to return with Israel Tourism.

The trip was focused around the city of Tel Aviv, but it would also give me a chance to spend some time with family.

Had to start the trip in New York, so left a day early to have dinner with my daughter. Mom met me in New York. Stayed overnight at Hampton Inn JFK to make sure we were both there long before our evening flight to Istanbul.

Although American Airlines upgraded me on the way to New York, Mom and I were flying economy on Turkish Air.

I had never flown them before and didn’t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised with great service, food, and even entertainment on the plane.

We slept for a couple of hours and woke up to breakfast at about 12:00 noon Turkey time.

We had been delayed so there was a mad rush to get to the plane. I was extremely impressed with the way they handled getting Mom, who was in a wheelchair, and I to the next plane on time.

Unfortunately, they didn’t do as well with getting Mom’s walker. We presumed it would meet us in Tel Aviv, but it actually was never found by Turkish Air and had to be replaced in Israel.

It was another pleasant flight and we were even served lunch as we headed on the two-hour flight to Israel.

Once in Tel Aviv, I can’t say the airport personnel were quite as helpful as the Turkish. It was Saturday, the Sabbath to many in the country, so I wrote it off as not the usual personnel working.

I picked up my rental car from Budget and loaded up Mom and the suitcase for the trip to Jerusalem.

The country of Israel is only about the size of New Jersey so it wasn’t too far of a drive anywhere.

It was still Saturday afternoon when we arrived at the Dan Panorama Hotel.

We checked in fairly quickly and went to our room to freshen up. We were pretty exhausted and decided to have an early dinner and head to bed early.

The buffet at the hotel was quite good, but staff here too seemed to be limited on Saturday.

Shortly after we finished eating I heard from my youngest cousin, Marge, that she couldn’t wait to see us.

She and her husband came over to the hotel. I hadn’t seen them in many years and it was great to know I’d see them more the next day.

It didn’t take long for Mom and I to head to the room and catch up on our sleep.

In the morning, we went down to the restaurant at the Dan Panorama Jerusalem for the first of many fantastic Israeli breakfasts I would eat.

The selection was huge and included something I had never seen before – halvah cakes.

I was always a fan of this sesame seed candy and would pick it up the rare times I would find it back home. It was always in bar form, but in Israel they had huge cakes with all different flavors.

I came to look for it at every hotel breakfast and make sure I saved room for this treat.

On Sunday and Monday, I had the pleasure of catching up with my cousins and my aunt. I also got my first glimpse in many years into the Israeli culture.

They had all grown up in Israel and now had families of their own. There were 17 children between the three of them and I got to meet most during a dinner we all understood well – pizza.

During that weekend, I had my first glimpse into a kosher McDonald’s.

In what seemed to me like a Saturday Night Live skit, my order for burgers and chicken was taken and then I had to go outside and in another door while the same guy who took my meat order went under a counter and came to take my milkshake and ice cream order!

(In keeping with kosher rules, the food was kept separate at all times.)

The kosher way of eating also had a huge impact on my diet. I was able to find more vegetarian and dairy meals since places were either meat or no meat.

I also was able to eat fish. My seafood allergy is severe enough that I had to give up all fish a few years ago. There was just too much cross contamination, but kosher fish can never come in contact with shellfish.

There would be many firsts to come on this trip to Israel, which would officially start the next day when I met the other journalists in Jerusalem.