The last day (Tuesday 21 June 2022)

It was the day to leave. I was able to leave my suitcase with the management company,  but it was a fairly long, slow walk with the suitcase. Now I had time to go and really look at some of the skyscrapers (I am, after all, an engineer). I think you would agree that it's an interesting building. 

Then I got the obligatory falafel sandwich for lunch, and sat in this park to eat it and relax before the trip to the airport. 

Lunch in Jerusalem (Monday 20 June 2022)

My plans for the last two days were pretty light. Today I met a friend, who is newly a widow, at the old train station in Jerusalem. We had a perfectly lovely lunch at a kosher dairy place there. Since it was Monday, the restaurant wasn't too crowded, and we were able to linger at our table for a while.

While in Jerusalem, I was able to solve a pesky problem that I was having no luck in Tel Aviv: buying a replacement glass tumbler for apartment because I broke one. Anyway, on the local bus to meet my friend,  I saw a glass shop right by the shuk in Jerusalem. So I stopped there after lunch and bought the replacement glasses.  Of course, this means I have to carefully transport them on the light rail, the intercity bus, the local bus, and the walk to the apartment. I'm glad to say that I was successful. 

Then there was packing the suitcase-very carefully.  Yes, almost everything fit: a few things had to go into the carry-on. 

Tour of Golan Heights (Sunday 19 June 2022)

I booked a day tour to the Golan Heights for today. It's a place that I've wanted to return to, but it's quite a trip and I hadn't figured out how to do it on my own. It was small group (8) in a small bus. It was great. We saw several tank battle memorials from the Yom Kippur War, and the vistas were spectacular. There are extinct volcanos on the Golan Heights, lots of agriculture, and we had lunch on top of Mt. Beten, one of the volcanoes. You can see the Syrian border (easily), Mt. Hermon (in Israel,  where there's skiing in the winter, and the Sea of Galilee. 

Jerusalem (Friday 17 June 2022)

While I was in Jerusalem visiting some friends,  I picked a few things at the shuk there: marzipan shaped like challah, a key chain for my husband,  and some baklava. 

Tel Aviv Art Museum (Thursday 16 June 2022)

Today was the day to check out the art museum. They have lots of Israeli artists' work, and a number of notable pieces, like Picasso and Monet.  I'm glad I went, and then I picked some food at the shuk.

Visiting a friend (Wednesday 15 June 2022)

I started out the day by going out for a proper Israeli breakfast at Benedict in Tel Aviv.  Not too far from my apartment.  They're particularly known for eggs Benedict. 

Clockwise from the left: bread, unknown,  coffee,  feta cheese with sundried tomatoes,  Israeli salad, cucumbers in tzitiki sauce,  guacamole with black sesame seeds on it, eggs over easy, cream cheese.  Lovely. And filling. 

In the afternoon,  I trekked over to Petach Tikvah to visit some friends who I hadn't seen in years, and had immigrated to Israel. 

That's my friend Anne with her new son, David, and her eldest, Elisheva. I had a delightful supper and visit with her family. 

Levinsky Market (Tuesday 14 June 2022)

One objective for this trip was to visit the Levinsky Market in Tel Aviv and have a gazoz from the shop that invented them. I tried to find the Levinsky Market a few years ago, but I was looking for something the the Carmel Shuk, and it is, instead,  a blocked off street with lots of shops. It was about 8 blocks north of me, so getting there was no problem.  I had the address of Gazoz, but I couldn't find it. I decided to get a sabich sandwich (in a pita with grilled eggplant,  a hard-boiled egg, tahini and a bit of some salads). I asked the sabich guy if Gazoz is still open (in Hebrew) and he said, yes, just down the block. While my sandwich was to-go, the bowl of dill pickles was hard to manage. I did, in fact, find Gazoz, met the owner (and book author), bought a gazoz, and asked the women who worked there a bunch of questions.  We're going to make gazoz at the Ethnic Enrichment Festival in August.