Impressions of Israel
Wow, we just got back from exploring Israel for 10 days, including a mini side-trip to Jordan. I must say, Israel is an amazing country, full of beautiful flowers! I didn’t have many expectations before traveling there – which is odd. With all of my vacation planning I usually have a pretty good feel for somewhere before our plane even touches down. My only regret is we didn’t get to really get to know Israel, despite being there for 10 days, I feel like we just barely scratched its surface.
The purpose of our trip was to travel with my husband’s 95 (almost 96!) year old grandfather to visit his sister for her 97th birthday. Talk about good genetics! We stayed with family, which makes traveling with a 20 month old much easier! Our hosts, Amnon and Masha have 3 grandchildren of their own. So the house was pre-stocked with a crib, highchair, toys and endless amounts of patience! Our home base was about 30 minutes north of Tel Aviv.
I almost feel bad saying the highlight of our trip was Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world in Jordan – because Israel is absolutely beautiful and diverse, the people are so incredibly friendly (and all speak English) and the food was phenomenal. Petra just left us awe-inspired, it took us back in time and released our inner Indiana Jones. Everywhere you looked, every time you turned, you wanted to take a picture! More on Petra coming soon!
Upon our return, many people asked us if we felt safe while there. Hands down, the answer is yes. Throughout Israel and Jordan, we never felt unsafe. However coming from the United States, it was strange to see so many military personnel (they were everywhere), whom were all carry machine guns slung across their shoulders. Our hosts mentioned that the wars Israel have been involved in have personally touched each and every civilian, they all know someone who has been killed. Is is an extremely small country, that requires every citizen serve in the army for 3 years following high school. Unfortunately mandatory safe rooms and missile warnings have become a way of life. Our host tried his best to describe a missile warning to us and he came up with surreal. He was walking to his daughter’s apartment in Tel Aviv one night when the alarm sounded, the streets of Tel Aviv were packed with people enjoying dinner, drinks and each others company – and they just kept talking, laughing, enjoying.
Our Israel Itinerary was as follows, I’ve excluded our 2 travel days. Keep scrolling for pictures!
- Day 1: walked around the old city streets of Jaffa, followed by Birthday Party in the afternoon
- Day 2: Drove north along the Mediterranean Sea to Rosh HaNikra, Acre and Haifa
- Day 3: Drove east to the Dead Sea Region and spent the night at Mitzpe Ramon
- Day 4: Drove south to Eilat on the Red Sea
- Day 5: Crossed the border to Jordan and explored Petra with Desert Eco Tours
- Day 6: Explored Wadi Rum before crossing back into Israel and driving back north to Tel Aviv
- Day 7: Walked around Tel Aviv and had the best ice cream of our lives!
- Day 8: Relaxed at one of Tel Aviv’s beautiful beaches
- Day 9: Explored Jerusalem
- Day 10: Drove northeast along the Lebanon and Syrian borders, through the Golan Heights
