Israel - Pesach 2025. The Tenth Plague. Stomach Virus.
Monday morning, we headed to our 11:00 a.m. breakfast reservation at Café Ramban, located in the Ramban Hotel (a place I’d actually never been before).
I think it’s fairly new (both the hotel and restaurant). All of the food is under the supervision of Asaf Granit – we wrote about him before, he’s also in charge of the food on El Al and is the chef from the Israeli restaurant in St Barths. It turned out to be a great spot. We met Nettie Levine there, a close family friend of the Kaplans from Los Angeles. She’s the mother of Zach Levine, who grew up next door to Tzvi and now lives in Singapore, and Nettie and her other two kids and their families all live in Efrat. Netti came into Jerusalem to meet us, and we had a really lovely breakfast together. The food was delicious — we got croissants, cinnamon buns, avocado toasts, great coffee… everything was really fresh and well done.
After saying goodbye to Nettie, Hadar went off to meet a friend, and the rest of us took a cab to the Old City. We stopped at the Kotel one more time. It was still crowded — not quite as packed as our first visit, but still very busy.
From there, we walked through the Jewish Quarter, stopping at the new Rosemary dried fruit store. The same guy who used to work at the location in Machane Yehuda was working there, and while there were still a few flies, it definitely felt much cleaner than the shuk. We bought just a small amount of dried fruit this time — not taking chances after last time (we brought home a ton of dried fruit and let’s just say we ended up with an infestation of tiny flies). We also stopped at Hadaya jewelry, then tried to make our way to the shuk. We waited a long time in the shade for a cab — it was hot, but manageable, and everyone held up okay (except for cranky Tzvi).
Eventually, we made it to Machane Yehuda, where we did our last shopping. We went to the spice store — and of course, as soon as I walked in, the guy told me he was out of onion soup mix and to come back in 15 minutes. We stocked up on candy and tried to find a potato bureka for Madeline, but every stand was out by then. Tzvi went to a sabich place across from the shul called Aricha Sabich, which is run by a chef that he follows on Instagram. The girls also wanted plain pitas which for some reason was really difficult to order. He enjoyed his sabich and the girls enjoyed their pita.
Eventually we headed back to the apartment and started packing up for real.
For dinner, we originally planned to take my parents out to a fancy restaurant as a thank-you (and leave the kids with Hadar). But my mom was still sick, and my dad didn’t want to go out without her — so we scrapped that plan. Then we decided Tzvi and I would go out alone to a bar after dinner (stay tuned to see how that worked out).
We left my mother at home and all headed to Tzidkiyahu for dinner. The restaurant is actually a nice space, and the food is very good, but it’s just ridiculous. . With every main dish, you get an endless spread of salatim — all kinds of Israeli salads, thina, three different types of eggplant, matbucha, pickles, carrots, beets, eggsalad, pickeled veggies, cole slaw, plus falafel, fries, and laffa — and that’s all before your entrée even arrives. We ordered entrecote skewers, chicken, a filet mignon (which was a bit too rare for me), and schnitzel for the girls. It was truly an exorbitant amount of food, but it was delicious. Highly recommend — would definitely go back.
We got back to the apartment stuffed and exhausted, and just focused on packing. By this point Tzvi was starting to not feel well. On top of that, he had a ton of work to do. I think he ended up working until 3 am. Not great.
Tuesday (Departure Day)
Our last day — and what a classic “end of trip” day it was. My mom was still sick, and now Tzvi wasn’t feeling great either. [Tzvi: I think that’s an understatement. I woke up with such a headache that I thought my head would explode, and Tylenol didn’t see to do anything. On top of that, I couldn’t stray too far from the bathroom (sorry if that’s TMI).] So much for ending on a high note!
The plan was originally for all of us to go to breakfast at the King David Hotel — but with my mom and Tzvi down for the count, Hadar (who was supposed to leave later) ended up heading home early, while I went alone to breakfast with my dad and the girls.
The King David is still such a gem — there’s really nothing like it. The breakfast spread is smaller than it was pre-COVID, but still beautiful, elegant, and classic. The same waiters have been there for decades. It’s just a special place. Madeleine had me walk up and down the hallway and read all the names to her — she wanted to know who everyone was. It was actually really sweet.
After breakfast, my dad headed home, and I took the girls to Mamilla. We walked from the King David, stopped at a few art stores on the way, and then walked up and down Mamilla doing a little shopping.
From there, we walked to Ben Yehuda Street, stopping at a small play area on the way. The girls were doing great. Hallie had the brilliant idea to get McDonald’s for lunch — which was honestly perfect. It wasn’t crowded (because nobody actually likes McDonald’s), it was air-conditioned, and it gave us a comfortable place to sit and relax. And Hallie thought it was the best thing ever. After lunch, I really wanted to hit the Ne’eman Bakery — but specifically the one on King George, not the lower one on Yaffo (which isn’t as good). So we walked up there and I bought a whole bunch of cakes, cookies, and pastries to bring home. Then we finally got a cab back to the apartment.
Later that afternoon, we went to see the apartment above my parents' second apartment, which is for sale. It’s a two-bedroom with its own private pool — and it is stunning. You can literally swim while looking out at the Old City. It’s just too small for real family living, which is a shame, because otherwise it’s kind of a dream space. Not that anyone is looking to drop 5 million shekel on an apartment at the moment.
Tzvi spent the afternoon alternating between working, packing, bed and bathroom. I ran to the supermarket to grab last-minute essentials: choco krispies cereal, Tony’s chocolate bars, and of course, Shoko (we hadn’t had any all trip!).
We finished up packing and finally, Tzvi felt well enough to come out for our last dinner. We went with him and my dad to the Hadar Mall, where we ate at Waffle Bar. The girls got malawach, Tzvi and I both had tuna sandwiches (his was very plain), and for dessert, we shared an Oreo waffle. It wasn’t quite as good as Waffle Factory (they’re definitely more creative and indulgent), but it was a solid final meal.
After that, we went back to the apartment, finished getting everything ready — and just like that, the trip was over.
