May 16 2017

Well here it is – our real 35th anniversary.  We had our vow renewal on the 14th  as it had to be on a sea day for the Captain, and we will celebrate again on the 17th when we have 16 people join us for dinner.

We had our wedding trip to Israel 35 years ago so it is fitting that we celebrate our anniversary here!  We went to Jerusalem last year so this time we met my friend and colleague, Shosh Kazaz and her husband Roni in Tel Aviv.

We took the train from the Haifa station – the trains leave about every 20 minutes and are to the minute on time.  The station was a short walk from the cruise pier.  Shosh and Roni met us at the station and we set off on our day long adventure.

Rae Ringel, another friend and colleague who spends lots of time in Israel, gave us this advice which we shared with Shosh:

• Walk along the streets of Neve Tzedek – a beautiful arts colony with great shopping
• Check out Nachalat Binyamin arts and crafts fair
• Walk all along the beach on Hayarkon until you reach Old Jaffa which is an incredible ancient port with great restaurants a
• Go to lunch or a guided tour of Levinsky Street Shuk. The market specializes in spices and Mediterranean delicacies

We got to do all of these suggestions and had a wonderful day.

We love the markets and all of them were a treat!  So are the shops.

We stopped for both a coffee and snack early and then a wonderful Israeli meal about 3 PM.  Just the salads would have been sufficient but we enjoyed kabob and many other delicacies.

We walked along the seaside in Old Jaffa.  Beautiful.

We felt completely safe in Israel.  Although we saw young Israeli soldiers on the train, we didn’t see any police or Army presence during our visit. Tel Aviv is a cosmopolitan city – 24 hours a day and it is full of young people. Shosh’s two daughters live there and she says they wouldn’t move back.  She lives not too far from Tel Aviv, but with traffic it can take 45 or 90 minutes depending on the time of day.

The jewelry is lovely here and I did buy a necklace and earrings that were handmade by the artisan.  I also bought a pair of shoes.  I know some of you (you know who you are…) want to see these purchases.

All in all, it was a lovely day.  We took the train back and arrived about 8 PM, had a small bite to eat and while Norm read his book, I went to the movie. Thanks to Shosh and Roni for their hospitality and taking us all around Tel Aviv!