{"id":636,"date":"2016-12-12T21:50:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T21:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/12\/shalom-israel-getting-to-know-tel-aviv\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:59:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:59:43","slug":"shalom-israel-getting-to-know-tel-aviv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/12\/shalom-israel-getting-to-know-tel-aviv\/","title":{"rendered":"Shalom Israel! Getting to know Tel Aviv"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunday, November 20, 2016
\nLondon-Tel Aviv, Israel<\/p>\n

\nWe
\nwere deeply excited about exploring the Holy Land as it had remained on our
\nBucket List for far too long. Besides, Llew and I would be reunited there after
\nabout three and a half months of separation. It would be a really significant
\nplace in which to have a fond reunion. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nNov 19, Sat: London-Tel Aviv<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span><\/span><\/b> <\/span>I left my friend Rosemary\u2019s place in Battersea
\nat the crack of dawn to take an Easyjet flight from Luton airport to Tel Aviv,
\ncapital of Israel. Llew would be flying out from New York via Madrid. After a
\ncomfortable, if uneventful flight, during which we took off and flew right over
\na sprawling country estate in England, the white cliffs of Dover and the sea
\nport of Calais in France (all clearly visible from my window seat\u2014and I have
\npictures to prove it), I touched down in Tel Aviv after a four hour flight. It
\nwas about 6.30 pm local time.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/span>Llew had been awaiting my arrival for about an
\nhour and a half and it was quite easily (and with relief) that I spotted him
\nstanding with Moti, the man who would be our driver and tour guide for the
\nduration of our trip. We had our happy reunion and were immediately escorted by
\nMoti into his waiting vehicle for the hour-long ride to our hotel called Hotel Shalom<\/i> which was right by the
\nwaterfront. We checked into a very luxurious and spacious room which included,
\nunexpectedly, a Jacuzzi tub right in our room, and were in the process of
\nmaking ourselves comfortable when we received a call from our friends in the
\nlobby to inform us that they had arrived after a day spent outdoors. We
\nhastened down to meet them and were delighted to see our close friends Ian, Jenny,
\nCheri-Ann and Gemma again and to make the acquaintance, for the first time, of
\nVasanti and Glen as well as Ken and Fleurette. We would make a happy Tensome
\nfor the next eight days as we got to know each other in the Holy Land.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nExploring Tel Aviv\u2019s Boardwalk:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>It was at the suggestion of our
\nfriends, who had spent the whole day in Tel Aviv, that we did not lose any time
\nin seeing the Boardwalk which was right outside our hotel. Taking their advice,
\nLlew and I set out on the ten minute walk to the Boardwalk, which even at 9.00
\npm was buzzing with humanity as the Sabbath had just ended and life was slowly
\nreturning again to Israel. Apart from the fact that the shops were open for
\nbusiness, we saw a number of food stalls selling everything from barbecued chicken
\nto kanafi<\/i>, the dessert to which we
\nhad become introduced, a few years ago, during our travels in Jordan. Had we
\nsome Israeli currency on us, we would, no doubt, had ordered some and eaten it
\nright there. However, the lack of local money and inability to pay by credit
\ncard deprived us from tucking into a dessert that I did not find anywhere else
\nin the Holy Land in quite the same guise. Moral of the story? Do not arrive in
\na foreign country without some local currency in your pocket. (As seasoned travelers,
\nwe ought to have known that!)<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>After spending more than an hour by
\nthe water and getting a taste of Israeli night life, we decided to call it a
\nday. We turned back and walked to our hotel where, because we were only
\nspending  <\/span>a night and had a long and
\ntiring day, decided to make full use of our Jacuzzi. It was unlikely that we
\nwould find another such hotel. Accordingly, we filled the tub and got into it
\nand spent the next half hour soaking away our travel fatigue. Tel Aviv had
\npresented itself as a very modern city with highways as in the West and a
\nsocial life that looked similar to any enjoyed in the world\u2019s most prosperous
\ncities.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday, November 20, 2016 London-Tel Aviv, Israel We were deeply excited about exploring the Holy Land as it had remained on our Bucket List for far too long. Besides, Llew and I would be reunited there after about three and a half months of separation. It would be a really significant place in which to have… <\/p>\n

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