We travelled to Israel for a work related summit, and it was an eye opening trip about a country I know so little about. First, on the not so bright side, no direct flights from SFO to TLV. Had to take a stop, but thanks to inflight entertainment, the inward journey was a breeze.
I stayed at the Savoy, less than half a block from the beach. The office was a 40 mins walk, but the weather was so awesome that I walked on many days. On Saturday I went to city of Jaffa by bike - yes the hotel gives out bikes to travel along the beach, which was awfully nice of them.
On Sunday, a working day in Israel, we planned a trip to Jerusalem. It was amazing how that one place is so sacred to Jews, Arabs and Christians at the same time. We went to the wailing wall, the church of the Holy Seuplchre where Christ was put to rest post crucifixion and resurrected thereafter. Never before have a I seen a single place of such religious importance to three religions at the same time. We did not visit the Armenian quarter.
The work was awesome, but so was the Google office! The food was amazing. A great assortment of Israeli and middle eastern food. They also had fresh squeezed orange juice which was awesome. Dinners in the evening were another thing worth mentioning. We went to one of Port Said's hotels, where the dishes are very innovative, yet tasty. There were a bunch of new dishes that I tried - Matbucha, Shakshuka, Mujaddara and the original versions of falafel, hummus and tahini.
On the way back, I got upgraded to business class which was awesome. It was a 12 hour flight on a 787 and the upgrade really helped to get some sleep and catch up on movies.
All in all, an amazing trip!
I stayed at the Savoy, less than half a block from the beach. The office was a 40 mins walk, but the weather was so awesome that I walked on many days. On Saturday I went to city of Jaffa by bike - yes the hotel gives out bikes to travel along the beach, which was awfully nice of them.
On Sunday, a working day in Israel, we planned a trip to Jerusalem. It was amazing how that one place is so sacred to Jews, Arabs and Christians at the same time. We went to the wailing wall, the church of the Holy Seuplchre where Christ was put to rest post crucifixion and resurrected thereafter. Never before have a I seen a single place of such religious importance to three religions at the same time. We did not visit the Armenian quarter.
The work was awesome, but so was the Google office! The food was amazing. A great assortment of Israeli and middle eastern food. They also had fresh squeezed orange juice which was awesome. Dinners in the evening were another thing worth mentioning. We went to one of Port Said's hotels, where the dishes are very innovative, yet tasty. There were a bunch of new dishes that I tried - Matbucha, Shakshuka, Mujaddara and the original versions of falafel, hummus and tahini.
On the way back, I got upgraded to business class which was awesome. It was a 12 hour flight on a 787 and the upgrade really helped to get some sleep and catch up on movies.
All in all, an amazing trip!
