Today we visited the Mt. Hertzl memorial site in Jerusalem before exploring the great city of Tel Aviv. We saw the graves of leaders in the Zionist movement, one being that of Itzak Rabin. Our guide Muki described to us some achievement of Rabin as the first Israel born Prime Minister. Later in the day in Tel Aviv, we drove past the location of his assassination and considered the significance of his life. While it was a somber moment in our trip, it felt necessary for us to continue learning the history of Israel's independence.
Later, we explored the great city of Tel Aviv. We started off at the Jaffa lookout, and the view was marvelous. We then began exploring the streets of Tel Aviv. The first thing we noticed was how lively Tel Aviv is and how hip the people are. We were given free time to explore the city ourselves and check out the market. The market had a variety of things ranging from knockoff sunglasses to beautiful rugs and tapestries. I was able to grab some more (SHWARMA EVERY DAY) delicious shwarma before we left. After grabbing a few gifts, we headed to the beach for a bit.
The beach was a great break after many long days of programs, activities and traveling. Shortly after going to the beach we were given a tour of city hall where many events took place that solidified Israel's independence. It was very fascinating to see how Tel Aviv has grown to be one of the most lively cities in the world.
To finish off the day we visited the port for dinner. It was absolutely beautiful and the view was great. There were many nice restaurants to choose from. We all visited a chocolate factory and found many great souvenirs for those at home. Tel Aviv was definitely one of our favorite cities and we definitely want to go back some day.
p.s. shwarma is a big deal.
- Elliott Norris & Karl Schwinghamer
