Any recommendations, not necessarily wine related or food related, but general, would be appreciated.

Be sure to go to the Rhone Valley and Burgundy. Great food and terroir driven wines.

Troll.

steve8,

Very funny. I mean Israel, which I'm sure you know as you posted that last one with your tongue firmly in your cheek.

cdr, not sure what time of the year you are going, but if in the spring or early summer then the Galilee area is a must. The Upper Galilee area is as beautiful as any I have seen. We were based in Tiberias for five days and enjoyed the city a great deal.If the weather is nice, the view from the Mount of Beatitudes will take your breath away. I have pictures in my office of this site with a sea of wild flowers, bougainvillea everywhere and the rolling hills. Not one person has ever looked at these photos and guessed what part of the world I was in.

As for the Old City, perhaps the greatest experiance of my life. We spent seven days exploring all of the Four Quarters we could take in, all!

Please take note and avoid the Damascus Gate when entering the Old City. All other gates were fine, but the Jaffa gate is still the best in my opinion.

Not sure where and what you are interested in, and might be of more help if I knew.

If you have any specific questions, I will try to help. Have a wonderful time and take it all in.

Envious.

quote:

Originally posted by cdr:
steve8,

Very funny. I mean Israel, which I'm sure you know as you posted that last one with your tongue firmly in your cheek.

I think he was serious about the troll part. You have been horrible lately, cdr. Anyways you may want want to take a short drive over to Palestine, I myself would like to check out the Gaza Strip to see what all the fuss was about.

Boy, you people took that Ana Nicole stuff and my criticism of N.O. rebuilding efforts pretty hard.

Anyway, I am not going to Gaza, as the wife and children will be with me and it doesn't sound appealing.

Wine + Art, we are going in November. I am actually arranging with the kids' teachers/schools to accelerate their classwork to assure that they can be gone for a while and not get behind. There will be some internet studies each day and some hard work over this summer. I am not the bst planner and like to just wander around when I travel, but it sounds like a list may be in order.

Planning is important.
You'll be quite safe, so long as you DO NOT go to Gaza, (where there is nothing to see anyway, unless you like squalor), and also, you want to be careful not to go to Ramallah and Nablus.
If you go to Bethlehem, make sure you have a good guide.
Tiberias is indeed wonderful. There is a good restaurant there called Decks. They make various meats on skewers, almost like a Brazilian place.
You'll benefit from a guide also in Jerusalem, to give you history.
If you go to Eilat, the beaches and the snorkeling are superb.
Also, good beaches in Tel Aviv and north of Tel Aviv. The wine places are mostly in the Golan Heights, also quite safe.
Have a great time.

quote:

Originally posted by irwin:
Planning is important.
You'll be quite safe, so long as you DO NOT go to Gaza, (where there is nothing to see anyway, unless you like squalor), and also, you want to be careful not to go to Ramallah and Nablus.
If you go to Bethlehem, make sure you have a good guide.
Tiberias is indeed wonderful. There is a good restaurant there called Decks. They make various meats on skewers, almost like a Brazilian place.
You'll benefit from a guide also in Jerusalem, to give you history.
If you go to Eilat, the beaches and the snorkeling are superb.
Also, good beaches in Tel Aviv and north of Tel Aviv. The wine places are mostly in the Golan Heights, also quite safe.
Have a great time.

irwin, I'm not sure I would go to Bethlehem anymore.

When were you last there?

last time I was in Bethlehem was 1970.

Irwin,

We had planned on visiting Bethlehem, but based on the input here as well as the fact the the Palestinian authority (Hamas) now runs Bethlehem, I think we will pass. This is going to be a major event in my, my wife's and my children's lives and we want to keep safety first while feeling as free as possible to see the sites most important to us.

I am actually well acquainted with some people born and raised in Ramallah and he has enthusiastically offered us an opportunty to visit and have his fanily as guides. I made no commitment and will probably tell him we won'y have enought ime, just to be courteous.

Thanks for the replies.

I’m not sure if your family is Orthodox but you may want to have your wife and daughter read this before you go. I’m glad to say that I am VERY reformed.

this article is totally irrelevant for tourists, as you won't be taking any public buses.

Altaholic,

We're Catholic, actually. I wouldn't take a bus in Israel in a million years.

cdr---
you will be absolutely fine. Last time I was there (2000) we went through the Christian areas in Jerusalem with no problem.
There is almost no street crime.
Enjoy the trip.

Thanks for the input, all.

cdr-

I was last there in 2000, just before the 2nd intifada. I will third or fourth everyone else's recommendation about the galilee. Also, if you can go to Safed I would very highly recommend a day's walking tour there. It is a magical place. My wife and I stayed there for 2 or 3 nights and it was truly a highlight for us.

I don't know if it's still safe to cross over to Jordan, but if so I also recommend a 3 day foray into that country. 2 days to/from/in Petra, and a day in Amman. Amman is something like 100 miles from Jerusalem, and Petra is quite a bit farther south (IIRC about 4-5 hours by car). We had a private guide take us through Jordan and it was fascinating. Petra must be seen to be believed. If you go there stay at a hotel called the Taybet Zeman. The most fantastic hotel I've ever stayed at. The other choice is the (yawn) Movenpick, which is very nice, but quite Western and therefore boring.

Amman is a very nice city, and we felt very safe walking through certain parts alone.

thanks, great info. I am going to have a hard time being patient for this trip to arrive. Like much of the travel we have done as a family, I am expecting this to be a life altering event for my children.

As for Safed (Tzfat), it was hit pretty bad in the last war/engagement (whatever) with Hezbollah - and before that, there were no decent hotels there, as an FYI

I was last there in summer '05 - I personally do not feel comfortable in any part of the Arab Quarter of Jerusalem, including parts of the Christian Quarter, but that is just me -

The Galilee is a very pretty place - If you have time, the Mitzpeh Ramon is really cool (although in the desert) -It can be visited in conjunction with Masada (you may not be visiting there though)-Very unique it is a crater like place, very huge and feels sort of lunar.

cdr:
The tour guides in Israel are government certified and very knowledgeable. You'll want to go to see the ruins at Caesarea, an important Roman place.
I agree with Jcocktosten about the Arab quarter in Jerusalem. Safed (Tzfat) is fine---no significant war damage. You'll be totally safe there. There are some beautiful mystical places there.
In Jerusalem, make sure you eat at a Moroccan restaurant. Good experience.

Hi,

Wine & Food related:

• You will find a lot of good information in Rogov's forum . He is the leading food and wine in Israel. There are also options for offline meetings on that site - might be worthwhile to explore this option as an opportunity to meet some "real" people and not just the ones you encounter as a tourist.
  
• If you are for some serious dining don't miss "Mol Yam" in Tel Aviv - the best restaurant in Israel with a very good wine list.
  
• Carmela in Tel Aviv offers authentic cuisine from fresh products of the nearby Carmel market. The setting is great.
  
• Arcadia in Jerusalem is another highly recommended restaurant that has more of an Israeli touch to it.
  
• Nazareth is the home of on of the best Arab restaurants in Israel: Diana
  

For the children:

• The biblical zoo in Jerusalem: a real treat for kids. The animals are kept in large, almost naturally isolated spaces. Zoo site
  
• Science museum in Jerusalem site here
  
• Chilren's Museum, Holon site here
  

The Galilee is very pretty. It is one of the best places for winery tours (Dalton & Galilee Mountains wineries for example). The best place to stay is the Relais & Chateaux Mitzpe Hayamim. The Muscat Restaurant is highly recommended. The two Hotel restaurants are Organic.

The Negev desert, on the southern part of Israel is very interesting, it requires some good planning.

Yaron.

Thank you, all.

I'll be in Tel Aviv for three weeks work in May, so the advice above is much appreciated.

I've already done some research on sightseeing but I'll have only three weekends and must spend one in Amman (see below), and was planning to spend one or possibly both others in Jerusalem.

I hope to visit Mol Yam, but would also appreciate any moderate or cheapo restaurant recommendations for the area around Gordon Street and the marina? Are there any grocery stores around there? (I get tired of restaurant food after a while...)

I'll also go to Amman overnight one weekend for work, so time will be limited - what would be the best way to spend a Saturday afternoon and evening there?

Finally, and most importantly, where does one buy wine (besides Israeli wine, which I'm looking forward to trying, but I expect will not really be meaty enough for me). And dare I hope to find some vintage port somewhere?