Shalom

On Tuesday morning, Josh and I left London for Israel after retracing our steps back through Paris to England over the last few days.  We had been warned that the security screening would take a while and that we should have our itineraries, answers, and carefully-sealed quart liquid bags ready.  But there were few lines and we breezed through with nary a question on the Heathrow side.  Heathrow has a rather strange set-up where you wait in a central sitting area until less than an hour before your plane departs, when your gate is finally announced.  Then you race to your gate - potentially a 25 minute walk away due to the size of the airport - board, breathless, and collapse into your seat glad that you made it.  Luckily, we were at one of the gates that was a mere 10-15 minutes away and could amble easily to our new seats.

Once in Israel, there were questions but it was easy to get through, armed with our detailed itineraries (thanks, Mom!).  The airport was busy with Maccabiah athletes, here for the Jewish Olympics that opened on Thursday.  It was also bustling with groups of 30-40 Jewish high school and college students going to summer camps and birthright trips.  We withdrew some sheckels and left the crowds behind, winding through Tel Aviv to our hotel.

We met up with my parents and headed out to dinner at a lovely restaurant named Suzanna.  Though we were eating at 8:30 pm, the streets were filled with traffic and the restaurant was completely full.  As a result, it took a long time (and several clarifications) to get our food, but it was delicious.  

 Lamb stuffed into dried fruit. Yum!

 Our first falafel in Israel

As we walked back to the hotel, we saw construction, graffiti, and clothing stores.  Apparently this area is just becoming "hot" and is called the new Israeli SoHo, but it has a long way to go in terms of gentrification.

Though the midday in Tel Aviv is brutally hot in the summer sun, the evenings are perfection.  The warm air hangs around your shoulders as sea breezes dance under awnings and through palm trees.  The crash of waves near the shore mingle with the hum of traffic running parallel to the sand.  The evenings show why people have come here for thousands of years to make their homes, regardless of the failures of previous cultures.  It's beautiful.

Spotted: Falafel! And humus!  Israeli foods are some of my favorite in the world, especially those involving chickpeas.  The first night was a pleasant glimpse into the delicious eating of days to come.