Remember our daytrip to Tel Aviv for our anniversary last year? That was lots of fun. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we went back again this year – and stayed the night! The photo above shows the view from our hotel window. Hello, beach!
This was our first night away from our kids together in five years – since we went to Zichron Yaakov overnight for a previous anniversary. Big thank you to Sabba and our dogsitter friend for making this possible. ❤
So what did we do, what was it like, and how much did it all cost us?
After dropping the kids off at school, we hopped on a train to Tel Aviv. On the train, we had the privilege of meeting and schmoozing with a group of five retired Australian Christian women on a month-long self-guided #ladyvacay in the Holy Land. Some had been to Israel before and for others, this was their first time. We really enjoyed getting to know them and hearing about their trip. We admire them so much for visiting Israel and supporting us during this challenging time. Safe travels, ladies. Thanks to our public transportation app, we maxed out at 37 shekels per person per day on buses and trains, totaling 148 shekels on transportation.
We bidded our new friends farewell and got off at the Tel Aviv University stop and made our way to ANU: Museum of the Jewish People. We were blown away by this museum. Jewish history is so very long and Jewish people are incredibly diverse. While they couldn’t show everything, they did a great job presenting what they did. The exhibits were fantastic. We particularly enjoyed the interactive ones.
The “What my Judaism means to me” section featured life-size screens with video recordings of Jews from all walks of life. We were able to stand opposite them, look them in the eyes and hear their stories.
We also got to learn about Jewish cuisine from around the world and learn to make traditional dishes in their virtual kitchen.
We learned about influential Jews from throughout history, saw miniature synagogue models from around the world, and learned all about the expulsions from the Land of Israel and how Jews ended up all over the world. They also have a new October 7th memorial exhibit. Very well done. We can’t wait to go back and see all of the things we didn’t have time for. While tickets generally cost 52 shekels a piece, we bought tickets for 42 shekels each (totaling 84 shekels for the museum) through a credit card deal.
When we got too tired and hungry to keep walking, we headed down to the museum cafeteria, where we spent 103 shekels on lunch.
After regaining our strength, we got up and bused to our hotel. We checked in, settled into our room, oohed and ahhed at our view, and took a stroll around. We then headed down to the spa for our rejuvenating couple’s massage (our only complaint was that 45 minutes wasn’t long enough), and then hit the streets of Tel Aviv in search of dinner. As the temperature had cooled by that point, we sat outside (in front of a huge fan) and enjoyed laffot full of meat plus some fun sides for 153 shekels.
We returned to our hotel and parked ourself in a jacuzzi on the sundeck. We laughed and talked and watched the sun go down. The hotel, couple’s massage, and breakfast buffet cost us 855 shekels total, thanks to a voucher we purchased through a Brown Hotels special promotion a few months prior.
The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel and walked one short block to the beach. We spent 20 shekels on a rented beach lounger, where Finn relaxed while he watched Fiona enjoy the waves.
We then showered, checked out of our hotel, got pizza lunch for 76 shekels, and headed home in time to pick the kids up from school.
In total, we spent 1,439 shekels during our two days in Tel Aviv. This included all transportation, a visit to a state-of-the-art museum, four meals out, one night in a hotel, a couple’s massage, jacuzzi access, and a morning at the beach. We had a great time and enjoyed our freedom. Our kids and dog did just fine without us. Kind of makes us want to go away again without them – sooner than five years from now – and longer than one night. Wish us luck! 🤞
What do you like to do for your anniversary or to celebrate other milestones?
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Chasing the Fionist Dream 
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