It’s been a year since war started with Iran. At that time we were on a river cruise on the Danube. When the cruise ended several days later, we disembarked in Nuremberg and flew the same day to Athens, not to Tel Aviv as we expected. We were stuck in Athens due to the war and very limited flights to Israel, only returning only after 10 days. Since then we’ve limited ourselves to mini-vacations: Tel Aviv, Herzliya Pituach, and Jerusalem. 

It was during February, 2026 that we booked a special spa package at the venerable Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv. We picked that hotel because the Dan chain offered a special spa package which included two massages and other goodies. A vacation in Tel Aviv? Why not, because there’s lots to do there besides hang around the hotel. But I must say that one of the reasons we chose that hotel is that it has excellent lobby seating facing the beach, the Mediterranean, and the promenade. I spent 2-3 hours each day reading in that excellent spot. 

One night we met friends at an upscale restaurant that I didn’t even know existed. When one travels through Tel Aviv, the number of huge hi-rise buildings is enormous. Well, among each group of buildings, or most of them, the area in front or between buildings has shops, restaurants, and cafes. We met at one of them, after being lost for a while despite having the exact address. We were among the oldest clientele there, which consists mostly of well-heeled people in their 30s and 40s. We did enjoy a delicious meal, which I thought was a bit overpriced. However, that’s a byproduct of the very high cost of living in Israel, especially near Tel Aviv’s Azrielli Towers and Sarona pedestrian market. Another night we ate in the market, which is jammed packed with consumers and offers many, many food outlets – including great kosher hamburgers.

We walked extensively throughout parts of this large city. One day we walked along Frishman St. and Ben Yehuda St., close to the hotel. The latter is the construction site of a subway line that the Tel Aviv Municipality is building. Many of the shops are closed and some parts are impassable. Bograshav St. was more interesting, with no construction to impede our progress. It has many shops, some quirky and others that are more conventional. On every street there are cafes and coffee shops so there’s no need to worry about going hungry.

At the hotel, Michal enjoyed two massages and I used the fitness room. I must say that the fitness room was disappointing, but the indoor........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)