Tel Aviv and Jerusalem! | Shorashim - Israel with Israelis

Tel Aviv and Jerusalem!

Good afternoon from somewhere south of Jerusalem!

Yesterday was a marathon of visiting amazing sites. Getting an early start, we bussed to Yitzhak Rabin Square to discuss the political turmoil and tragic events surrounding the assassination of one of Israel’s greatest. We split into groups and spoke with locals in the area regarding their experiences surrounding the events. We discovered a variety of opinion; ranging from apathy to heartbreak.

As our day progressed, we traveled to the studio of Rami Meiri, a street artist who has painted office, home, school, and alley walls all over the world. After Rami gave us a play-by-play of much of his work, we got the chance to make our own street art on a wall that is dedicated to Taglit visitors outside his studio. I think everyone would agree that the highlight of the wall is now the expertly painted Brown logo. Little did we know that that would only be the second most important wall of the day…

Next was lunch in Jaffa, with more falafel and some haggling in the Arab market (the biggest garage sale ever). We found a lookout point that had a gorgeous view of the sea, Tel Aviv, and Jaffa before getting back on the bus and heading on to the big kahuna….Jerusalem.

Our guide Lior led us through the highlights of Old City history as we stopped at significant points of interest. He kept us all in suspense, not knowing when the Western Wall would finally appear before us. It was worth the wait, because the moment the Wall was visible, the whole group fell quiet. It was a breathtaking sight.

After a few toes were completely numb (yes, Jerusalem is cold. Not Providence, but cold!), we got onto the warm bus and traveled on to our hotel. When pulling into our hotel, our bus driver, Yair, once again proved he is almost as gifted as Yoni (see Andrew’s post above). Then came dinner and a visit from Michael Eglash, a representative from Birthright and the CJP. We ended the night with a preparatory discussion for our upcoming visit to Yad VaShem, Israel’s famous Holocaust museum.

Until next time…Shalom!