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In just a few short months, the world as we know it has changed, perhaps forever. Sheltering-in-place has become the norm and most of us are trying to do the right thing by staying home and staying safe. But, as we do what is required, we won’t know for a long time how we will find things as the orders to quarantine ourselves are lifted and businesses begin re-opening, little by little. Some bright spots in all this for us is that we have been able to book a number of trips for 2021 and 2022. So even though 2020 is a bust, there is hope for a recovery as people begin to think about traveling again. I hope everyone continues to be well, and if you want to book something now for next year or beyond, we’re ready to help.

It is absolutely mind-boggling to us what is going on with COVID. We are staying inside and have for four weeks already. No one knows how much longer – maybe two to four weeks more or even longer. One can only do so much cleaning and cooking and watching TV before feeling bored and restless. Thank goodness we live near a beautiful reservoir with a great walking path alongside. Every day we walk and that, along with the posts people send of musicians playing together virtually and inspirational writings from poets and pundits all around the world, are keeping us going. As far as travel goes, keep dreaming and remember that we are here for when things get better again. Stay healthy and safe!

Today is our last day in Jerusalem and we were ready to go at 8:20 after checking out of the Arthur Hotel. We met our guide for today, Ofir, a friend of Ron’s, at Shamai St. at the Harmony Hotel, one of the other Atlas Properties in Jerusalem. He had a big van with extra luggage containers and all our stuff fit, including the new menorah and some artwork. We began our drive out of Jerusalem, on the same road as we traveled yesterday, past the same Bedouin boy and camel, but this time we didn’t stop for a photo. The drive took quite a while and as we passed Bedouin camps with goats, and other items of interest, Ofir narrated a history and culture of the area. The most complicated thing for us to understand was the ABC zones, which described who lived where and what the rules were regarding where each could and could not go. Finally we got to Beit She’an and we walked all around looking at the ruins, seeing the Tel (the hill where things get buried) and learning all about these exquisite Roman ruins, including the beautiful bathhouse, theater, shopping area and toilets! Afterward we ate lunch at what appeared to be a local strip mall where we had meat (shawarma was a specialty, Scott and I had ground meat kebabs of beef and lamb) with salads and freshly-made pita. Then we stopped for gelato, which rivaled any we’ve had even in Italy – dense, creamy, with unusual flavors. I had date/banana and passion fruit – yum! Next we drove past Yardenit and the Jordan River, Tiberias and then to Tsfat where we walked around the town, saw one of the charming synagogues from the 1500’s and browsed the few shops that were open at the time. We got to our hotel the Ruth Safed (or Ruth Rimonin) a 200-year-old palace turned into a way station and still a hotel. Charming lobby and rooms, and dinner was served in a large, beautiful space overlooking the town. Unfortunately, the buffet which cost $60 pp was ample but nothing was particularly good, unlike our excellent food at the hotel in Jerusalem. We’ll meet Ofir again in the morning for the next part of our tour.

In the middle of COVID, it may seem crazy, but Scott and I are going to Amsterdam for a tulip-time cruise on Ama, in just a few weeks. We’ve decided that we are extra-careful already and will continue being vigilant. For anyone who is not traveling, think of the horrific consequences for people who are in other countries, or who work in travel in any way, who are suffering from the millions of cancellations by people who are reluctant to go on a trip because of the virus. My idea is that we, as travel Advisors, have access to tons of accurate information, and can help guide clients, and ourselves, to continue to lessen the effects of all the people who decide not to go. We’ll be staying at the beautiful Sofitel Legend in Amsterdam and although we don’t have much time on either end of the cruise, will certainly enjoy being in this wonderful city.

Got in so late from our 23 hour journey to Petra that we fell into bed and slept straight through til 9am. Had to try breakfast in the David Citadel so we hurried down to a beautiful buffet. There was a predictable selection of salads, shakshuka, halvah, baked goods, hot and cold cereals juices, and fresh fruit. There was also kefir and yogurt. The dining room is pleasant and light and service was acceptable. Cappuccino was not great, but it was certainly drinkable. We are disappointed to discover that the food at breakfast is no better than the food we were served at lunch the day before, which was mediocre at best. We talked to several people that morning from various places and they, too, thought the food was just adequate. Compared to some of the other, less elegant, places we stayed that had much better food, we were truly surprised. Oh, well. After breakfast we began to pack and soon got everything ready, including the new menorah, which we hadn’t opened since we bought it two weeks earlier and had been toting around everywhere. We decided to go to the Mahane Yehuda market to see if I could find the famous Kingdom of Halvah, which so many people had recommended. Finally, we found it, and it was an amazing place: filled with more than 20 flavors of halvah, and the vendor was willing to slice off a bit of every one if I wanted to taste them all. Even for me, that was impossible, so we ended up buying plain, pistachio and Lotus (Biscoff cookie) flavor, approximately four pounds. He cut big slabs and I wasn’t paying attention, which we had been cautioned we needed to do, so we didn’t end up with so much. It was all nicely boxed and wrapped, so at least it could go in my packed luggage and the vendor said it would last at least a year! We had been invited to have dinner at Happy Fish at the Mamilla Hotel next door to the David Citadel. It is a charming, tiled restaurant with warm wood accents and a summery vibe. We had been told to ask for the manager, Amit, and he welcomed us cordially and offered to pick things for us, as he and Ronit had already talked about what we might like. We thought that would be a great idea, but having already had the experience of way too much food in restaurants, we asked him to keep things light. They prepared a delicious drink for me made with tequila and some citrus juices and pomegranate which was yummy and we started with a huge array of expertly-prepared and delicious appetizer dishes: eggplant, hummus, tahini, cucumbers and tomatoes, falafel, cabbages, carrots, etc. but differently done than in other places. Then, we were served a carpaccio of salmon with a parsley-pesto that was out of this world, plus freshly-made bread. We were worried after all the appetizers that more food would come, as by then we were very full. Our server suggested that we end with one serving of their lemon pie – it seemed an odd thing to serve in Israel but it was awesome. The crust was a cookie-type with something crumbly on top, then a swirl of creamy lemon mousse, covered with a tasty meringue. More than enough for two and that’s how we ended our last meal in Israel. It was a delight, to be sure. Back to the room to pick up all our stuff and meet Alberto for the $100 ride in his car to the airport at Tel Aviv. United Airlines was on time, but the flight was super-full and only because we paid extra to board early, were we able to find any overhead bin space. We will not fly United again, definitely uncomfortable, plane not clean, and diffident employees who were unwilling to engage or help in any way. We much prefer Lufthansa or even Delta! Will arrive at SFO at 5:30am and will not deplane until the airport opens at 6am. L’hitraot! The beautiful menorah didn’t make it in one piece – it shattered and we have to throw it away. Such a shame as it was never put in luggage but apparently had not been packed carefully enough.

We set the alarm for 2am so we could be ready for our 3am pickup here at our hotel. The bus driver met us outside and we were ushered into a minivan with about ten others, to a location about 20 minutes out of the city. There we transferred to a very large bus and we were driven to Eilat, approximately four hours or so. At Eilat, we were met by a Go Israel guide named Lioni who helped us navigate the border crossing into Jordan. He told us we had to pay $60 and $65 each extra for the special Visa to Jordan and exiting Israel. We used American dollars for part of the cost and we used shekels for the rest, as they only accepted cash. Once we crossed into Jordan we had several stops, at each we were required to show our passport, and then wait til the next area. It was confusing, poorly-organized and it took about an hour and a half to finish all the bureaucracy to get into a new country. Finally, our Jordanian guide Nazir met us and took us to another bus and we began the drive to Petra. He was delightful, his English was excellent and we learned a lot about the history of Jordan. We started first in Aqaba where the government of Jordan is investing (and requesting foreigners also to invest, including investors for Dubai and China) in making a large, world-class city with modern infrastructure and amenities such as big hotels and conference centers. It took about two hours to get to Petra and we drove first through the Wadi Rum (Valley Rum), which sadly was socked in by heavy fog so we couldn’t see anything. On to Petra where we debarked the bus, were told what to expect inside Petra in terms of tourists and groups and how to handle the Bedouins who are the only ones inside Petra allowed to sell trinkets, and donkey, camel and horse rides ( all for exorbitant prices). Apparently, the Bedouins negotiated this deal with the Jordanian government and they are making hundreds of thousands of dollars, none of which makes its way to the local economy or banks, as all the money is kept in mattresses and under tiles in the houses. By the way, Bedouin children do not attend school and the Jordanians are working hard to change that. So far, no luck. There is a beautiful visitor center and many big hotels on the outside of the “rose-red city”, and we shortly passed the entrance gates and began our tour. It was amazing! The big rocks and canyons formed by major earthquakes thousands of years ago, formed the outer edge and funneled us down into the canyon. We saw some carvings made by the Nabataeans (who predated the Romans and Christians) and mostly used the caves for burial sites. We took lots of amazing pictures as we walked downward. We were told the area was famous for flash floods and it was easy to see why. Scott and I were reminded of the slot canyons of Arizona as we walked through with our guide Nizar. Shortly we came across the famous Treasury, gorgeous carvings in the red sandstone. It was never used as anything but a burial site, but at some point, someone shot a gun at an amphora up top, hoping to dislodge gold coins, hence its new name. From that point on, each site was more amazing than the last. We walked a couple of kilometers down into the canyon, ending at the great temple. We couldn’t go further as we didn’t have more time! Our guide left us at the bottom, giving us two hours to explore more or to go back up to meet him at the plaza at 4:15. We explored more on our own getting as far as seeing the colonnaded streets and soon began the 2 mile trek back up to the main level. The path is mostly sand and lots of rocks, so not easy walking, especially for Scott. We walked about 15 minutes before it began to rain in earnest, and soon the entire trail was filled with rushing water and waterfalls began cascading off the big rocks. Even though we had umbrellas and rain coats, we quickly were drenched and our shoes covered with muddy water as we climbed. It took us almost an hour to get back up, exhausted and soaked, and we were able to get a quick bite to eat and then get ready to leave. Our simple lunch of a bowl of soup, a Kebab of chicken and French fries and a lemonade cost more than $60 – very surprising to us! We were the last ones on the bus and we rode two hours back to Eilat where we went through the border again. Although by comparison, returning to Israel was more organized, we still had to pass metal detectors and body screenings, questions from agents and passport control. It took about an hour for all of us to get through and back to our Israeli bus. By this time, it was 7pm and Lioni (the same one who met us earlier in the day at 7am) greeted us and got us on the bus back to Jerusalem. It took five hours to get back to Jerusalem and finally arrived around midnight at our hotel. We had been touring for 23 hours! Pulled off wet clothes and quickly went to sleep. The trip was absolutely, 100% worth all the expense and time. All told, it cost us about $800, not including food. By the way, the lunch bag that was included on the trip was a dry bagel, an apple, an orange and a brownish banana, a fruit drink in a box and a bottle of water. Pretty much inedible…

Earlier morning, breakfast at the hotel with Frank, Jen and another couple from Toronto that we met. We finished packing and asked the hotel clerk which train station we needed to go to to catch the high speed train to Jerusalem. He said Ha-Shalom, so we got a taxi to the station, which took about 15 minutes. Found the train and bought tickets, about 22 shekels for both of us (apps. $7 each). We went down to the platform, and boarded the train. We were told we had to go to the airport first and then transfer to the Jerusalem train. While standing on the platform, we must have looked lost, so a kind employee told us that it would be easier to get on the Ashkelon train which was arriving imminently, transfer at Havana station, and then get on the high-speed train to Jerusalem. That is what we did and it was pretty easy. The train was modern, clean, and had an area for people with disabilities (and seniors, which we are!) so we didn’t have to drag the luggage down or up any more stairs. Quick ride to Navon in Jerusalem. Up at least four levels to the street where we found a cab to our hotel in Jerusalem, the five-star David Citadel. Now that we were just us, we decided to try one of the Virtuoso properties so we could visit and experience something different. Our contact at the hotel greeted us warmly, upgraded our room to a partial old city view, and assigned us to room 750. We decided we wanted to see how the food was in this beautiful place, so we had lunch in the lobby restaurant. It was Kosher, dairy at lunch and this is what we ordered: fresh onion soup (watery and tasteless, unfortunately), tuna sandwich on a baguette with watery cucumber/tomato salad, and a delicious halloumi salad with fresh greens and tomatoes in a sumac vinaigrette. I ordered iced tea which was the color of water with a bit of lemon in it. It was Clearly not brewed as it tasted like water, so I sent it back. Next came a glass with slightly darker but still no taste, tea. It was room temperature. Oh, well. Scott’s salad was clearly the best thing and the tuna was fine, just nothing special. The price for those few things was over $60 and they took the soup off the bill. We were hoping the food would get better. After lunch, we met with Nofit, who took us on a comprehensive and lengthy tour of the hotel and all its facilities. It is quite big and lovely and we even met the manager, a man from the UK. We were also able to tour the Mamilla, the Citadel’s sister hotel, with Ronit, their sales manager. It is lovely, much more Italian (read plain and spare) in decorative style. We did enjoy seeing their fabulous spa with a meditation room and hamam, open to all guests, and a fabulous, private wine-tasting area. After we unpacked, it began to drizzle again so for dinner we caught a cab to Chakra. Again, we had an amazing meal of delicious and unusual focaccia (thin and crispy, instead of pilloughy and doughy), mushroom risotto and a Caesar salad with a poached egg. The snowball for dessert that we enjoyed last time would just be too much, so we opted for a creme brûlée with something red on top. My guess is it was crushed dried raspberries, but I couldn’t be sure. Anyway, the food was fabulous as was the service and we highly recommend this restaurant. We climbed into bed early as we had to be up at 3am on Wednesday for our excursion to Petra, Jordan.

We were so tired from our long day yesterday, that we decided today would be a rest day. Up late, breakfast at Center-Chic and then to Jaffa on the bus. The only complication was that the bus we were on had no English on the crawler, so we couldn’t tell which stop was ours. As we were discussing among ourselves where to get off, a woman nearby heard us and offered to help. She was an American from Boston who had recently emigrated to Israel. She got off with us and walked us around Jaffa, leading us to her favorite place for lunch, called Old Man and the Sea, right at the port of Jaffa. It was a huge restaurant with many people already outside enjoying the food. She greeted her friend and we were seated. Immediately, appetizers began arriving, perhaps 20, in some cases quite different from what we’d been served at other places: two different cabbage salads, a potato/egg mixture, marinated tomatoes, hummus and tahini of course, two different eggplant preparations, sautéed mushrooms with red pepper, avocado, corn with olive, parsley salad, cabbages, pickles and olives and cucumber in tahini. Warm thin pita bread was brought along with a big pitcher of fresh lemonade with mint. Everything we are was fabulous, fresh, flavorful and we were almost full just from the appetizers. But, no, the salads were included as long as each of us ordered an entree and we knew we wouldn’t be able to do that, so we opted for two entrees, one of chicken, one of squid and shrimp in a light broth, and paid 55 shekels extras for the salad. The grilled chicken was a full, spatchcocked breast that had clearly been marinated and then cooked quickly on a flattop. Yummy! The shrimp was also delicious and the calamari tender. We left half of each, decided not to order dessert, and then were ready to finish touring Jaffa. The bill for four of us was about $130, pretty reasonable for all the great food. We meandered around Jaffa, looking for the flea market, which was pretty filled with junk and uninteresting. Later, we discovered a big open-air market which was much more fun. Tons of fresh fruit and vegetables, almost all twice the size of what we have back home, and in addition, many places that sold nut confections, Mexican food (I know, a woman there assured us she was the only one doing such food in Tel Aviv!) and halvah. We also watched a Druze woman prepare some type of crepe that was cooked on a domed pan. The young man who was buying it said it was delicious and we should try, but we were full from lunch. I had been looking for halavah, so we tasted several but none compared to what we had at the Arthur Hotel in Jerusalem, so we didn’t buy any. Fun to wander around there. We walked from the market back to our hotel, started packing up, and met our friends later for happy hour. We were all still stuffed from lunch, so we walked around the neighborhood a bit more enjoying the beautiful weather and great energy of the city, then we had delicious gelato and headed back to the hotel.

We were up at 5:30 am today for a tour. The company called Bein Harim picked us up at our hotel at 7:15am in a minibus, delivering us to a central location where we got in another mini bus with our guide Jacob, a senior citizen with tremendous zest for life and lots of good information. There were only 14 of us on the tour – six from the US, and the others were from Belgium, Amsterdam, France, Philippines and Germany. The tour was conducted in English and German and the guide did a good job with both languages. We drove out of Tel Aviv and our first stop was Cesarea. Amazing Roman ruins, including a completely-intact theater and the remains of another of Herod’s castles and pool. About 2000 years ago Cesarea was an important port city and has had some earthquakes and tsunamis that have pushed some remains into the sea. Next we went to Haifa where we stopped to see the lovely Bahai gardens (only able to access about two levels, the rest is private). Too bad my mom isn’t here – as a card-carrying Bahai she would have been delighted to enter the temple and enjoy the stunning architecture and full gardens. We were also able to see the gardens from down below and both ways, they were beautiful. Next we drove along the coast to Rosh Hanikra which is where the limestone caves and grottoes were. Originally, the British had plans to tunnel through the caves to connect rail service (on the Orient Express) to the rest of Turkey and the Mediterranean. However, they only got as far as dynamiting the tunnels, the rail tracks were never finished. Right after WW2, the Israelis realized that having access from Lebanon through the tunnels was dangerous, so they blew up one of the bridges so no one could get to Israel. The tunnels remain otherwise intact and we were able to walk through and admire the stunning grottoes. Our guide, Jacob, said he used to come to the grottoes as a young boy and swim, as the cable car from the top wasn’t built until 1971 which is how we were able to access the caves today. After Rosh Hanikra, we drove along the coast for a while and finally ended up at Akko (Acre) our last stop of the day. We wandered around the old city, stopping at two artisan-owned shops to look at jewelry and hand-hammered copper and silver platters. They were quite beautiful but we decided not to buy as we couldn’t figure out what we would do with them. I did buy some jewelry, though, made from Roman glass, which is a big deal here. The type I bought is greenish and very pretty. Acre was a major port and one of the longest continuously-used ports in the world. We visited the Arab market and saw some amazing -looking confections made out of nuts and fruits which some people sampled and said were fine but nothing special. Jacob said they all used to be made with real honey and are now prepared with sugar. We toured the Crusader’s castle which was absolutely astounding and required very little restoration. It had been turned into a prison after WW2 and several Israelis were hung there. Lunch was at a place our tour guide organized, run by a Muslim family he knows. We sat at big tables and were served freshly-made lemonade, falafel, shawarma, warm pita bread, a variety of salads with cabbage and cucumbers/tomatoes, pickles and french fries. Dessert was sweet dates and an espresso-sized cup of coffee scented with cardamom. Sated, we hopped on the bus and headed home for the almost two hour drive back to TelAviv. Dinner was at a restaurant near us called Souk and it was fish prepared in some type of crust and shrimp with cheese. I was still full from lunch so didn’t partake, but everyone said it was fresh and tasty.

As we were worn out from two long days of touring in the north of Israel, we woke up late, had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel (the food is definitely not as tasty here as the food in the Arthur in Jerusalem) and then took a walk to the beach, about two blocks from here. Easy walk and we enjoyed going toward Jaffa on the beautiful promenade that was filled with walkers, joggers, hikers, bikers and scooters. Everyone was out because the weather was sunny and about 69 degrees, couldn’t have been much nicer! Upon returning to our hotel which is in an absolutely wonderful location in the center of Tel Aviv near shops, restaurants and cafes, we had a lovely lunch at the Jenia, not far from our hotel. We ate fried eggs with warm eggplant and artichoke hearts, tapas-size fried cod with pea puree, and sautéed mushrooms over warm goat cheese. It was delicious and we had fun people-watching. There are tons of babies and pregnant women here which speaks to a hopefulness among young people, in spite of the political instability. Dinner Saturday night was at a well-known Turkish restaurant called Onza where we enjoyed a fabulous meal. We started with “simit” which is a Turkish bread with sesame, then eggplant puree, fennel said with dried blueberries and pecans. Next we had something called “pide” which is a bread boat filled with bits of chopped bacon, lamb and shrimps mixed with some sort of greens. Then we had a seafood stew in a cream base with squid, shrimp and mussels. The dessert was amazing – we had knaiffee which is a flaky pastry made with nuts and honey over sweetened, warm mozzarrella/goat cheese. It sounds a bit strange but was heavenly. We also shared a rice pudding seasoned with cardamom and served with caramelized bananas and toffee pieces. We were stuffed!