Alas, all good things must come to an end.

For us, the end was delayed when our plane was diverted twice before landing in Newark 19 hours after we took off.

The trip was so much fun for all of us. We got a chance to relax, to sight see, and to catch up with family and friends. What more can anyone ask for?

On certain days there is Israeli folk dancing on the Tayelet, and this morning Aba went down to join the festivities.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent in Jaffa. The old city part of town is made up of small alleys and lots of stairs. We walked around and checked out the old architecture, starting with the main square.

After walking around the square, we went up to Sumimt Hill where we had some great views of Tel Aviv in the distance.

The rest of the time was spent walking around the small alleys, towards the port.

The port was pretty run down but there was some construction going on and a sign displaying a revitalization plan. In a few years it will probably look completely different. Hopefully next time we are there it will be full of shops and restaurants.

As with many older cities, there were a lot of interesting doors in Jaffa, here is a sampling:

The day before, we had seen signs posted about a gay pride parade that was scheduled for this day. At breakfast, a British woman was complaining to the hotel staff, rather unpleasantly, about the parade taking place near the hotel. The staff tried to calm her down, even though she was being totally unreasonable. She kept saying: “I have no problem with gay people, but why do they have to have a parade here, in front of me.”

We did some shopping on Ben Yehuda street, trying to find a menorah, but nothing caught our eyes. B, Aba, and I went to the beach instead.

Next to our beach was a huge area with a stage for bands to play after the parade. The huge speakers were blasting techno music pretty much the whole time which made the beach experience better for me.

B didn’t like the water at all this time. He’s very particular, kind of like his dad. Ema, M, and T went to an outdoor pedestrian market and bought a few things. After the market, they went shopping on Sheinkin Street and bought lots of clothes.

When the ladies returned, we watched the concert from the balcony of the hotel for a little while.

At night, T and I took B while everyone else went to Carmela Bistro for dinner.

Our hotel in Tel Aviv had an excellent breakfast buffet. In addition to the spread of cheeses, breads, and salads, they had an egg station where you could order your eggs any which way but loose. There was also a juicing station where you could squeeze your own fresh orange or grapefruit juice. Doing it was a little messy but the results were worth it.

יפו (Jaffa) is about a 30 minute walk on the Tayelet (boardwalk) from the Renaissance hotel. We started walking towards it, along the water.

On the way we stopped at the Opera House Mall for M to try on some bathing suits since hers had gotten lost. While she was downstairs in the bathing suit store with Ema, the rest of us went to the Matim Li (ML) store to look for clothes. The saleslady there was one of the pushiest I’ve ever met. She was wearing clothes from the store with the tags still on them. On the plus side, when we wanted to show something to Ema, she let us leave the store with the clothes on and walk downstairs. That would never happen in the U.S.

Back on the Tayalet, it was very hot, but at least a little breezy to make it bearable. We ate a huge “business lunch” along the water. I ate the best tabbouleh I’ve ever had there.

We decided to save Jaffa for another day and headed back to the hotel and then the beach. B loved the sand. He would pick it up and play with it and crawl around on it. He wasn’t too happy in the water, but tolerated it if he was in my arms. I probably took too many pictures that afternoon, but I couldn’t help it - he was just so cute!

T and I went out for dinner alone that night while Ema, Aba, and M took care of B. We ate at Carmela Banachala (Bistro), which is also owned by the same owner of Uri Buri and Helena. They had the same style tasting menu where the waitress chooses the meals. The three appetizers were very good, and for the main meal we had two seafood dishes, one meat dish, and 4 desserts (little ones, on one plate). Everything was delicious except the beef dish. Again, we learned that the beef in Israel is to be avoided. We walked along the Tayelet for a bit after dinner, making it a romantic night.

T, M and I went to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum while Ema and Aba took care of B. It turned out to be good plan because the museum doesn’t allow children under 10 years of age anyway. The museum is free which is pretty impressive considering the probable cost of running it.

The main exhibit is a triangular shaped, partially underground building that slopes upward towards the sky. At the end of the exhibit is a balcony that has amazing views of Jerusalem below.

The path snakes between exhibition rooms on each side of the building. The rooms were ordered chronologically and contained both artifacts from that period of time as well as video interviews with survivors. It starts with the beginnings of the Nazi party in Germany and ends with the formation of the State of Israel. The whole museum was extremely moving and emotional – especially as a parent.

We also visited the Eternal Flame and the Children’s Memorial. The children’s memorial was very interesting - it is a room that is completely dark except for lots of tiny memorial candles. There is a voice constantly reading out the names of the children that died in the Holocaust. The campus that the museum sits on is pretty large and contains lots of other exhibits as well.

Overall the museum was a great experience. However, there were many big tour groups there and at times it was very crowded.

After we were finished at the museum, we got picked up by Ema and Aba and drove up to Mount of Olives for views of the city. It wasn’t as picturesque as I’m sure it would have been the night before, but the views made it worth going there. At the viewpoint was a camel tied to the ground. I remember a camel being there the last time I visited as well.

The whole time in Jerusalem, we saw the Dome of the Rock from the side of the Old City. From the Mount of Olives, you can see the Dome of the Rock from the other side. The building is very impressive, but non-Muslims are not allowed in. I have read that the dome was built to be one centimeter larger than the the largest dome in Jerusalem at the time, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to show that Islam was a greater religion. After doing some research online I’m still not sure if that is true or false.

We got lost on our drive out of Jerusalem and hit lots of traffic. After dropping by our friend’s house to pick up some things we had left there, we headed towards Tel Aviv. We checked into the Renaissance Hotel and went to dinner at Forelin Restaurant. The food was very good and so was the service. The menu contained mainly seafood and everything was cooked to perfection. I had a chocolate espresso brandy pyramid and it was one of the best desserts I have ever had!