I have significantly less to say about part two of our trip to Israel, even though it lasted three times as long as our stay in Galilee. To my mind and memory, the second part of our trip, mostly in Tel Aviv, focused on three things: (1) Jeremie & Ortal's wedding festivities (which lasted several days) (2) passover (it's preparation and celebration) and to a lesser degree, (3) the beach. I have separated out the photos. The bulk of the photos (including the wedding) are here. And here are the pictures from passover. Finally, the best pictures of all: the beach. The last theme of our stay in Israel is that Henry had a blast
with his two cousins. If nothing else, the best part of this entire trip was
giving Henry the chance to play (and get into mischief!) with his
cousins, Alena and Aaron.
The wedding was great! As for their marriage, Jeremie and Ortal truly are a wonderful couple; it is such a joy to see two people so well suited for each other begin their life together. As for the wedding celebration, all I can say is that Israelis know how to party! One of the coolest thing at the wedding was this camera which hovered above the dance floor on a huge arm, swinging over the crowd and taking videos. It then simultaneously showed those videos on two huge screens above the bar. In short, the wedding really felt like being in some exclusive nightclub. (with Henry in tow).
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| The happy couple |
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| The three amigos, staying out of (or getting into?) trouble, each on their "own" smartphone |
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| Dancing! (note the camera above the dance floor and the screens behind) |
The last time we were in Israel, I think we were in Tel Aviv only for a few days, and we spent the majority of the time visiting museums. On this trip, I particularly enjoyed having the luxury to walk around and get to know the city much more intimately. As last time, this time we again visited the Carmel market (a souk or bazaar) and the shopping area, Neve Zedek, a neighborhood that I could spend a week in, just looking at all the gorgeous handmade jewelry. Another area that we saw this time (which may not have existed last time?) is the new shopping area that was formerly a train station, which was very cool. We also visited Jaffa twice on this trip, which we did not get to do last time, and which I loved (except for the Jaffa flea market, which I found disgusting but admittedly fun).
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| Olives for sale at the Carmel Market |
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| enjoying ice cream in Neve Zedek |
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| Posing from Jaffa, with Tel Aviv in background |
We also took day trips to the Bahai gardens in Haifa, the port city of Akko, and had a special VIP tour of the Weizmann Institute.
Bahai was pretty (if not bizarre), Akko was interesting, historically, and the Weizmann tour was deeply
inspiring, and I thank my in-laws for thoughtfully organizing these
trips for us.
Here is my two favorite pics of all, from, of course, the beach.
And now I think I've come to an end of my blogging about our trip to Israel. Tel Aviv is a great city, where people know how to eat well and have a good time. It is artsy and athletic at the same time, with a very young population and vibe. Lucky me to have family who live there, as we will surely be back soon........!
