Our last day in Israel has been a whirlwind. What should have been an hour drive between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem turned into a two hour one due to bumper to bumper traffic. The slow moving allowed us to see the tanks on the side of the highway near Latrun. Again we heard about the battles for independence and the six day war.
When we finally got to Jerusalem we had some time to shop. Many of us shopped in the Old City, both in the Arab market and in the Car do, some went to Ben Yehudah, while others shopped at Mamilla mall.
One of the most interesting and tastiest things we did was a tasting tour of Machane Yehudah. We got to experience the market - it's sounds, smells, and tastes. We tasted etrog juice, which is very popular, then we tasted cheeses from various countries, we had Tehina, halva, Georgian cheese pastries (sweet dough with a salty cheese), falafel, and various flavors of ice cream. Following our tasting, we shopped a little, many of us purchasing rugelach from Marzipan and of course most finished with an ice coffee from Aroma.
After our treats we spent time at the Israel museum, touring the 2nd Temple model and the Dead Sea scrolls. Then we explored the many different areas of the museum.
We then made our way to the Kotel for a visit before dinner and the airport.
We ended together with an amazing dinner at Olive and Fish and then headed out for our various flights or extended stays in Israel.
What a remarkable 11 days we had! New friends were made, fabulous food was eaten, lots of shopping was done, and the incredible connections we made to the land and people of Israel indescribable. There were funny moments, emotional moments, hot and tiring moments, but most of all there were many, many holy moments!
We don't say goodbye, but rather L'hitra'ot, meaning, we'll see Israel soon!
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