Monday, August 16, 2010: Arrival to Israel Arrival to Ben Gurion Airport, Transfer to family for some time on your own Overnight: On your own with family
Tuesday, August 17, 2010: With Family Spend time with family on your own Overnight: On your own with family
Wednesday, August 18, 2010: Tel Aviv: Palmach, Independence Hall, Ayalom, Jaffa Palmach Museum, Independence Museum, Tel Aviv, Ayalon Museum Overnight: Dan Hotel, Tel Aviv
Thursday, August 19, 2010: Caesarea, Haifa, Rosh HaNikara, Sea of Galilee Caesarea, Haifa, Rosh HaNikra, Sea of Galilee and Tiberias Overnight: Rimonim Galei Kinereth Hotel, Tiberias
Friday, August 20, 2010: Safed, Hula Valley, Jordan River Safed, Bycles around the Hula Valley, Ein Tina hike Overnight: Rimonim Galei Kinereth Hotel, Tiberias
Saturday, August 21, 2010: Tel Dan, Banias, Golan Heights Tel Dan Nature Reserve, Banias Hike, Golan Heights Overnight: Rimonim Galei Kinereth Hotel, Tiberias
Sunday, August 22, 2010: Archeological dig, Mt. Scopus, Old City Jerusalem Drive to Jerusalem, Archeological dig in Beit Guvrin, Mt. Scopus, Old City Jerusalem including Jewish Quarter, Arab and Christian Quarters, Western Wall Overnight: David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem
Monday, August 23, 2010: City of David, Israel Museum, Tad Vashem City of David and water tunnel, Model of Jerusalem from second temple period, Israel Museum, Yad Vashem Overnight: David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem
Tuesday, August 24, 2010: Ein Gedi, Massada, Dead Sea, Mitzpe Ramon Ein Gedi, Masada, Dead Sea, Mitzpe Ramon Overnight: Ramon Inn Hotel, Mitzpe Ramon
Wednesday, August 25, 2010: Jeep Tour in Ramon Crater, Eilat Sunrise Jeep Tour in the Ramon Crater, Drive to Eilat, Underwater Observatory in Eilat Overnight: Herods Hotel, Eilat
Thursday, August 26, 2010: Petra Jordan Day trip to Petra Jordan Overnight: Herods Hotel, Eilat
Friday, August 27, 2010: Leisure day in Eilat, Departure Day at leisure in Eilat, Flight to Sed Dov, Pick up, time in Jaffa with family, Transfer to Ben Gurion for your departure
Departure back to the US
Sunday, July 25, 2010: Arrival to Israel, Haifa Arrival to Ben Gurion Airport. Meeting and assistance. Transfer to your hotel in Haifa. Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Haifa
Monday, July 26, 2010: Akko, Rosh ha’nikra, Haifa, Bahai Gardens, Technion Akko (Acre), Rosh Ha’nikra, Bahai Gardens and Mount Carmel, German Colony, Technion Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Haifa
Tuesday, July 27, 2010: Zippori, Safed, Hula Valley Tzippori, Safed, Firing Range Ayelet Ha’Shahar, Hulla Valley nature reserve or Agamon HaHulla Overnight: Nof Ginosar Kibbutz Hotel, Sea of Galilee
Wednesday, July 28, 2010: Banias or el Dan, Golan Heights, Wineries, Rafting, Jeep Tel Dan or Banias, Golan Heights, border with Syria, Golan Wineries, Rafting down the Jordan River and Jeep Tour in the Golan Overnight: Nof Ginosar Kibbutz Hotel, Sea of Galilee
Thursday, July 29, 2010: Sea of Galilee, Beith Shean, Megido, Caesarea Around the Sea of Galilee, Beith Shean, Beith Alpha, Megido, Caesarea Overnight: Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv
Friday, July 30, 2010: Independence Hall, Diaspora Museum, Palmach Museum Independence Hall, Diaspora Museum, Palmach Museum, Nachalat Binyamin, Carmel Market Overnight: Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv
Saturday, July 31, 2010: Zichron Yaacov, Jaffa, Tel Aviv Zichron Yaacov for Bar Mitzvah, Jaffa, Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv Harbor Overnight: Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv
Sunday, August 1, 2010: Latrun, Mount Scopus, Mount Olives, Old City Jerusalem Drive to Jerusalem, Latrun Tank Museum, Mount Scopus Panoramic View, Mount Olives, Old City walking tour from Mount Zion to Jewish, Arab and Christian Quarters Overnight: Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
Monday, August 2, 2010: Ein Gedi, Massada, Dead Sea Ein Gedi, Massada, Dead Sea Overnight: Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
Tuesday, August 3, 2010: Israel Museum, Mount Hertzel, Yad Vashem, Tunnels Knesset, Israel Museum, Mount Hertzel and Hertzel Museum, Yad Vashem, Western Wall Tunnels Overnight: Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
Wednesday, August 4, 2010: Departure back to the US
Wine, cheese and chocolate – could there be a better combination? All this we’ll meet in a culinary tour in the green North of Israel, from the Carmel Mountain to the Galilee, which is known nowadays as Israel’s Tuscany.
We will leave on our tour from the center of the country and drive to the Tishbi Winery, where we’ll start the day with a rich breakfast. We will tour the winery and the vineyards and learn about the production process of wine and brandy as well as about the vineyard’s terroir. The Tishbi winery is one of the oldest in Israel. A visit to the winery is in fact an encounter with an unbroken tradition starting in 1882. The name “Tishbi” was given by Israel’s national poet, Bialik, in 1925. Once there, we’ll taste the Tishbi wines which have seen success both in Israel and abroad for quite a number of years.
Our culinary tour will then continue to the “Ha-Noked” dairy farm. “Ha-Noked” is an outstanding boutique dairy farm producing boutique cheeses. Its specialties are organic goat and sheep cheeses. During our visit we will learn about the way cheese is produced at “Ha-Noked” and about the principles of organic dairy production. Naturally, we’ll taste some of the delicacies. And if we’re lucky, we might even see the flocks of sheep and goats gently making their way on the local hillsides.
We’ll have lunch in an Arab restaurant in the Galilee, at Kfar Rama. “Ezba” is a well-established culinary hallmark. The restaurant specializes in the refined dishes of the Arab cuisine of the Galilee. Its cooking makes extensive use of herbs and spices from the area and offers us a unique opportunity to taste the simple and mouth-watering delicacies which are traditionally served on the tables of local Arab families. The dishes vary according to the season and to what Nature has to offer in the immediate surroundings.
After lunch, we shall continue our culinary tour with a visit at the “Rimon” winery where pomegranate “wine” is produced. This is the only place in the world producing pomegranate-wine. The winery uses a special kind of pomegranates which is grown locally and produces a deep-red juice with an especially high content of vitamins. It was a typical Israeli idea to try producing wine from these fabulous pomegranates and within a few years of the experiment, the wine turned out to be an unprecedented hit with the public. Nowadays, the winery produces a number of pomegranate wines all of which sell very nicely.
Not far from there, to the north, we’ll reach the Miles winery and Adir winery at Kerem Ben-Zimra, a high-end boutique winery. Indeed, the Northern Galilee and especially this particular spot is extremely suited not only for growing wonderful pomegranates but for cultivating vine in order to produce wine of the more traditional kind. The Miles winery, a small, very select family business, is known for the great care taken in all the phases of production. The owners believe that the process must start with the proper treatment of the vines, so all the work is done by members of the Miles family themselves, from caring for the vines and the grapes up to the aging of the wine in a specially built cellar.
Nothing can sweeten a culinary tour like having some excellent chocolate on our way back. This we’ll find in Kiryat Tivon, made by “Mishi”. Gourmet chocolate is used for the meticulous preparation of pralines that leave their mark for many hours. Nougat and fruit, marzipan and genache, with alcohol or any number of other fillings, a visit to “Mishi” will no doubt be a perfect conclusion to a culinary tour to Northern Israel.
This trip to Israel included total of 15 participants from the US, to participate in the Bat Mitzvah celebratiob of Tamar Waxman and Samantha Neff.
We visited Israel from the North to the South, and of course celebrated the Bat Mitzvah on top of Massada, followed by a special night at a Bedouin village near Massada.
Here is the itinerary for this trip, together with few comments participants had about this trip:
Friday, June 11, 2010: Arrival to Israel, Jerusalem, Western Wall for Shabbat
Arrival to Ben Gurion Airport (on Delta flight #152 at 17:00). Meeting and assistance by our representative, transfer to your hotel in Jerusalem. Time permitting, we might stop for a panoramic view of Jerusalem from Mt. Scopus and a traditional entrance for the Holy city with blessings. We will end the day at the Western Wall, the holiest place for Jews, to pray to God’s presence, put a note in the wall and join the people there for Shabbat services. Overnight: David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem
Saturday, June 12, 2010: Old City Jerusalem, Israel Museum, Bethlehem Full day tour of the Old City of Jerusalem. Starting with a panoramic view from Mt. of Olives, we will then continue pass the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus “often met with his disciples” (John 18:2) and where he spent his last hours in solitude before being captured by the Romans (Luke 22:47-53). Up to Mt. Zion to visit the Upper Room, Cenaculum, the place of the Last Supper (Luke 22:14-22) and the place where the gift of the Holy Spirit came upon believers who were gathered there on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Here is also King David’s Tomb, today an active Jewish Synagogue. Continue to walk the Via Dolorosa, the fourteen stations of the cross, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchure. We will then continue to visit the Israel Museum, the place where the Dead Sea scrolls are on display and the model of 2nd temple Jerusalem. Time permitting, we will then continue with a visit to Bethlehem. Overnight: David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem
Sunday, June 13, 2010: Western Wall Tunnels, Davidson Center, Ir David
We will start our day today with an early morning visit to the Western Wall Tunnels, walking under the Western Wall plaza to the base of this remarkable wall and along it, all the way up north, to where the Antonia Military Fortress used to stand. Back to the hotel for breakfast, then we leave again to visit the Jewish Quarter. We Walk through the Zion Gate to visit the Jewish Quarters and the Roman Cardo, the main street in the Byzantine period of Jerusalem. On to the Davidson Center to see the Robinson Arch and the excavations of the southern base of the wall. We will end the day in the City of David, Jerusalem of 3000 years ago. Overnight: David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem
Monday, June 14, 2010: Bat Mitzvah on Massada, Dead Sea, Bedouin reception and dinner Today is a special day for Tamar Waxman and Samantha Neff, we will celebrate their B’not Mitzvot today at Massada. We will leave early to Massada to have the Bnot Mitzvah together with the Rabbi. We will then continue to enjoy the Dead Sea, where we can experience ‘floating’ on the water. We will then drive down to Kfar Hanokdim, where we will enjoy a festive Bedouin reception, dinner, Camels and many more activities. We will spend the night there in the Desert. Overnight: Kfar Hanokdim, Arad
Tuesday, June 15, 2010: Air Force Museum, Mitzpe Ramon, Rappeling and Jeep Tour We will drive today to Beer Sheva to visit the Air Force Museum there before driving to Mitzpe Ramon, via the Crater and Desert. In the Machtesh Ramon, we will enjoy activities such as Rappeling and a Jeep tour at the Crater towards sunset. Overnight: Ramon Inn Hotel, Mitzpe Ramon
Wednesday, June 16, 2010: Archeological Dig Beith Guvrin, Sea of Galilee We leave Mitzpe Ramon today and drive to Beith Guvrin to participate in an Archeological dig at the Tel Maresha caves. We will then continue to the Sea of Galilee, stopping at a very nice and interesting shop in Kibbutz Kineret that has dates, honey, spices, olive oil, wine and lots of other Israeli products. We will then drive to Safed to hotel. Overnight: Rimonim Hotel, Safed
Thursday, June 17, 2010: Safed, Golan Wineries, Katzrin, Rafting on the Jordan River We will visit the City of Kabalah today. Safed is considered one of the 4 holly cities in Israel and was the home of many Rabbis in the 16th century. Kabalah was created here, the Shulhan Aruch was written here by Rabbi Joseph Carro and the city is special with its mystical synagogues and allies. We will continue from Safed to visit the Golan Wineries in Katzrin and will finish the day rafting down the Jordan river Overnight: Rimonim Hotel, Safed
Friday, June 18, 2010: Naot factory, Agamon Hachula, Jeep Tour in the Golan Heights Our day will start in the NAOT factory shop. We will visit the Nature Reserve Agamon Hachula and ride around the lake. Our day will end with a Jeep Tour in the Golan Heights. Overnight: Rimonim Hotel, Safed
Saturday, June 19, 2010: Rosh Ha’Nikra, Boat ride and Tiberias at night This Shabbat we will have the morning to spend it at leisure in Safed, enjoying the special atmosphere of the city on Shabbat. In noon time, we will drive to Rosh Ha’Nikra to visit the famous grottos there. In the evening, we will take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and have a festive dinner at Decks in Tiberias Overnight: Rimonim Hotel, Safed
Sunday, June 20, 2010: Tree planting, Haifa, Bahai Gardens, Caesarea, Tel Aviv Leaving our hotel in Safed, we will drive to Tel Aviv. We will plant trees in the Lavi forest on our way to Haifa. We will then visit Haifa, see the beautiful Bahai Gardens from the top of Mt. Carmel and walk through the German Colony. We will continue to Caesarea, the port city built by King Herod the great 2000 years ago and the place where Simon Peter shared the gospel with Cornelius, the Roman centurion who became the first Gentile convert (Acts 10: 44-48). The day will be over in Tel Aviv with some free time at the Tel Aviv Harbor before we leave to the airport for your return flight home (on Delta flight #153 at 23:35)
Wine, cheese and chocolate – could there be a better combination? All this we’ll meet in a culinary tour in the green North of Israel, from the Carmel Mountain to the Galilee, which is known nowadays as Israel’s Tuscany.