Israel. Days 1 and 2. The Whole Plane Smells Like Fish.

Here we go.

Wednesday was hectic but not terrible. We left for the airport around 4:15 PM, in the snow. Tzvi fell down in the snow bringing suitcases to the Uber. Unfortunately I didn’t see it.  Hallie fell asleep on the way to the airport. We checked in at the SkyPriority check-in and got through security with no real issues (though they made us take our shoes off even though we had pre-check because the TSA agent didn’t know what she was doing). We bought some stuff at Hudson News, tasted some scotch and then headed to the gate. There was still almost an hour until our flight but they had already started boarding. We took Hallie to pee and they made another boarding announcement. We figured we should just get on. When we got to the gate they told us we would have to gate-check the stroller. We were like, sure and we’ll get it when we get off the plane in Paris.  But NOPE, they said we wouldn’t see our stroller again until we arrived in Israel, but that we’d be able to rent strollers at no charge in Paris. So that was the beginning of the end. They said it was Air France’s policy and there was nothing to do. Great.

We are flying in Air France Premium Economy on an A380. We got on the plane and walked quickly to our seats. It’s amazing how they really make you feel like there’s not an entire planeload of people right under you (the a380 is two floors). We booked two seats by the window and one in the middle, but it ended up that the entire middle row was open. The flight wasn’t full at all. It didn’t matter too much though because the arm rests of the seats don’t go up, so it was really just more space to throw our crap. Once we were settled they had to de-ice the plane, and then we were delayed even more because only one runway was open. So we literally sat there for two hours. That was fun. Hallie kept asking when the food was coming. Obviously when it did, she didn’t eat any of it. The label said pepper steak and mashed potatoes, but it was pretty gross.  Tzvi was upset he didn’t book a regular meal but managed to get the vegetarian pasta dish with cream sauce, which he said was at least edible.  We took off around 8:40pm and the flight was 6 hours and 11 minutes to Paris. Hallie slept maybe 4 hours. I did not.

pretending to sleep

actually sleeping

finally comfortable?

The premium economy was nice because the seats are hard-shells no one can recline into you, but the seats don’t go flat like business, they just kind of slides a little and then there’s a footrest that goes up. They were fine but not the most comfortable and Hallie had a lot of trouble getting comfortable and eventually she just sort of ended up on the floor leaning on her seat.  Also, the people behind us didn’t shut up the entire flight, so that was pleasant. Also, the flight attendants gave Hallie all of the kids toys they had on the plane as a birthday present, so we left with a bag full of more than a dozen small boxes of toys and puzzles, all of which are for ages 5 and up.

We landed in Paris at 9:10am, an hour after scheduled arrival, but really it just meant a shorter layover for us. As we got off the plane I asked about rental strollers and no one had any idea what I was talking about. Then one woman was like “oh, after security.” What she did not say was “after you walk 25 minutes and take a train to your next gate.” It was long. Hallie was crying. Great experience. We finally got through the second security check and still no one knew about the strollers, but then I spotted one in a corner! Victory! We wheeled Hallie to the next gate. People also had these shopping cart looking things that they were using to hold their carry ons, but I couldn’t find any for myself. We stopped at Pret-a-Manger to get some breakfast. Hallie did NOT like the yogurt and wouldn’t try the croissant. The Pret coffee was good. The only thing Hallie did have was a cup of cold milk and whipped cream from Starbucks.  Nutritious breakfast.

We got on our next flight around 11:15 and arrived in Israel at 4:45 local time. Decent flight. We just had regular economy on an a320, so it was basically like a JetBlue flight.  Hallie watched some of Toy Story and slept almost 3 hours. There was a lunch service, but it was gross and I didn’t touch it.  The hot portion was seabass with Mediterranean sauce and pasta.  Tzvi eat three of them and said it was “edible for plane food” but the entire plane smelled like fish and reminded Tzvi of the summer that he worked for his father’s friend doing telemarketing out of the friend’s apartment and every day the guy would microwave fish for lunch.

Once off the plane we made the long walk to passport control without the stroller, got through passport control pretty fast, and got our luggage fairly quickly. Then we had to look for the stroller. We finally found it near the oversize section. Well, it wouldn’t open. It was like something was stuck and there was nothing we could do. Then we heard cracking, so that was a good sign. We managed to get it halfway open and dragged it over to the lost luggage counter to report the damage. The woman said she didn’t work for Air France, but she would write up a damage report that we should submit. I kept trying to open the stroller and finally after another crack it opened. It is now lopsided and probably going to collapse any minute, but at least it’s open. We better get some compensation.

Avner, a driver we’ve used in the past, was already waiting to drive us to Jerusalem, so getting out of the airport to Jerusalem was smooth and easy. In the car we tried to switch Hallie over to Hebrew, but she kept saying “Merci” which she learned during her hour and a half in France.  We’ll get there.

Check in at the Waldorf was easy as well.  We’re here for three nights and had booked one night in the lowest category room and two nights in a grand deluxe room, but because of our status with Hilton they upgraded us to the grand deluxe for the first night as well.  The hotel is very nice as well.  I’d say it’s a typical Waldorf design – everything looks and feels very high-end and blends modern and traditional design features.  Our room is pretty big with a king bed and a big comfortbale chair in corner which has now been removed and replaced by a rollaway bed that is definitely bigger than a twin but still looks smaller than a full.  The bathroom is also beautiful and has a great freestanding tub in the middle of the room.  We have windows that open out to a “balcony” that’s just big enough for one person to stand on, and has views of the old city walls.

We got our bearings and headed to Waffle Factory for dinner. I’ll say the waffles are nice but the service leaves something to be desired. We ordered pizza for Hallie, salad for Tzvi, and I tried to order a custom salad. Two waitresses had to come over to deal with my order and they just couldn’t do it. They couldn’t understand how I wanted to do substitutions and that it would be expensive. I was like…just do it, I’ll pay anything. But nope, they couldn’t get their heads around it. So, I ended up with shakshuka. It was good, but not what I wanted. For dessert we got a waffle with chocolate and vanilla whipped creams, warm chocolate, lotus spread, lotus cookies and oreos. They sent one of the guys over to talk about allergies. Ends up he’s from Colombia and went to YU, graduated in 2014. The waffle was good, but Hallie was pooping when they brought it, so they left me the lighter to do a candle for her birthday when she returned.

After dinner we came back to the hotel and the cot still wasn’t here. Hallie bathed and got ready for bed and it still wasn’t here. Tzvi called again and was like my kid needs to sleep.

After Hallie went to sleep we took a bath and opened our complimentary bottle of wine. That was nice. Smart to drink something dehydrating in a hot bath after 18 hours of traveling. Oh well. Even though we spent the entire day traveling, ending it with that bath and a glass of wine really made us feel like we were on vacation.  Then I went to sleep at Tzvi did some work on the bathroom floor.

1:40 AM.

“MOMMY I WANT TO COME IN YOUR BED.”

 Well, that was it for the next two and a half hours. She peed a few times, cried, walked around, ate some muffin, and finally ended up on the floor next to my bed. Tzvi was snoozing along very nicely. It was rough.

 FRIDAY

Tzvi woke me up at 7:30 panicked that he couldn’t find Hallie, which woke Hallie up. She climbed into our bed and hugged Tzvi.  She said, “I’m cuddling Daddy!” and then about ten seconds later she was out cold.  I went back to sleep. Tzvi laid there awake and unable to move for fear of waking Hallie.  Finally we all got up around 9:15, got dressed, and headed to breakfast.

Breakfast was a standard Israeli buffet. Hot foods, lots of cheeses, breads, pastries, and vegetables.  Really good roasted vegetables.  Avery and Gabriella we were ready the same time so we all ate together. The food was good and it was very nice just sitting. There are two restaurants in the lobby but it’s all pretty open, so it’s kind of just one big space with a glass roof in the middle.  Also I’m pretty sure I saw Jamie Gellar having breakfast with her family. I did not say hello.

After breakfast we walked through Mamilla to the old city. Hallie liked seeing the men playing music. Walking into the old city we ran into Ethan Jesselson and took a picture. The first stop in the old city was iced coffee at Café Neeman. Hallie asked for some seeded bagel thing but then didn’t like it because she didn’t want the seeds.  Like the entire thing was covered in seeds, so I don’t really get why she asked for it in the first place.  Tzvi got a boreka. We walked to hadaya and got Hallie a bracelet to replace the one we bought last time we were here that got lost when the diaper bag was stolen out of our car (or maybe out of a shopping cart (or maybe I just left it in a shopping cart)) at the Stop N Shop in Inwood.

“I just blue myself.”

Anyway, Hallie was hungry so we went to CoffeeBagel to get her a bagel with cream cheese. That’s when it started pouring. Actually, I think it may have been hailing, because it was pretty loud.  We stayed at CoffeeBagel as long as we could and then decided to skip the Kotel due to rain, and walked through the shuk back to Mamilla. It wasn’t fun.

We met my parents in the Mamilla lobby as they checked in. That’s when they found out that the lunch we were supposed to have tomorrow wasn’t a typical Shabbat lunch, but just a regular a la carte restaurant lunch. Mamilla seems to be the least religious of all of the hotels, though we did see a religious man in Feragamo shoes and a Feragamo belt sleeping on a sofa in the lobby, so who knows.

After they checked in we all went to Roladin for lunch. Three of us got tuna salads and my dad got some quesadilla thing. I walked Hallie around in the stroller until she fell asleep. Lunch was fine but once again the waitress didn’t understand the questions so I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, but at least it was closer. 

After lunch we came back to the hotel and explored.  There’s not much to explore.  There’s a “temporary” gym since they’re still building the permanent gym, but we saw people in there who said its been temporary for years. There’s also signs all over that say the spa is on the lower level, but I don’t think they ever built it.  After that we just went back to the room, lounged around, and got ready for Shabbat.

Shabbat shalom!