Israel - Pesach 2025. The Ninth Plague. Bacterial Infection.
Sunday morning, we got up early — we had a van waiting for us at 8:15 because we were heading to Ra’anana for a candy-making activity.
This was the one activity I had researched and booked myself, so I was pretty excited for it. I think we were actually on the road by 8:45 which wasn’t that bad. At this point, my mom started not feeling well — so, another one bites the dust. The drive went smoothly. We had a nice, spacious bus – Hallie said it was like a party bus because it was all captains’ seats and one was even backwards. We arrived in Ra’anana only a few minutes late and headed to Tomo Candy.
Tomo is run by an Australian man named Tony and his assistant (I don’t remember her name but she was American, originally from Queens). Tony said he used to be a corporate lawyer but decided to change careers during Covid and opened the candy shop.
The activity itself was so fun. It’s a hard candy-making workshop (like, we made hard candy, not that the workshop was particularly difficult): you choose your flavor and colors, then watch as they melt the sugar, add in the colors, and start shaping it on the metal table — just like those Instagram videos I always watch. We helped mix the colors, rolled the candy, and then cut it into designs. It was really hands-on and just a great experience overall. We made little hard candies with designs, swirly lollipops, and rose-shaped lollipops. The only one who didn’t get much out of it was Tzvi, who doesn’t like candy — so he just took pictures. They also let us sample some of their other flavors and sent us home with a bunch of candy. Highly recommend!
From there, we walked a few minutes to a bakery that Hadar had found on Instagram. It was one of those very over-the-top, picture-perfect pastry places — they had croissants shaped like bows, square croissants stuffed with chocolate, and just wildly beautiful baked goods. We were all starving by that point, so we got sandwiches and pizzas, and shared a bunch of desserts. The standout was this chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips and strawberry — it might honestly be one of the best cookies I’ve ever had.
What blew my mind was that this was all happening the morning after Pesach — and they were fully stocked and operating like it was any other day. Compare that to being back home, where it takes places four days just to find the flour!
From Ra’anana, we drove to Tel Aviv and picked up Inbar, who was coming to hang out with us again — yay! We drove to Hostage Square, which Tzvi had actually never been to before (and neither had Hadar), so we walked around and showed the girls the area. We bought some merch. It’s all very depressing, especially the section for the Bibas family. There’s also a whole tunnel that’s supposed to be like the tunnels in Gaza and show you what they’re experiencing. So you’re walking through and there’s sounds of explosions and digging and its dark and claustrophobic.
After that, we went to Sarona Market. Before going inside, the kids played at a little playground nearby. Actually, first we stopped at another one of those outdoor gyms where the kids climbed all over the gym equipment, and then we moved on to the kids playground. Then we went into the market. We first stopped at a bureka place, where we got a bunch of burekas. The guy working there told us he used to be a backup dancer for singers like Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Lopez and used to live in Pico-Robertson in LA (where Tzvi is from). And now he makes burekas. Very random, very Israel.
We also stopped at Bread’s Bakery and Delta (a clothes store), because Tzvi wanted to buy more of the Israeli underwear he bought last trip, and then we dropped Inbar off at the train station and headed back to Jerusalem. I think everyone fell asleep on the ride back except for me.
That night, we had dinner at the Ticho House. I think we have a meal there on every Israel trip, and every time, it’s a different dairy restaurant. I don’t know why nothing can last there, but hopefully this one does because I think it’s the best thing to ever occupy that spot. The new restaurant is called Eser and its run by the same chef as 1868 (another really good restaurant in Jerusalem).
We started with vegetable tempura and these roasted potatoes coated in a ginger syrup that were absolutely incredible. Madeleine had pasta and Hallie had pizza, which was good. For mains I had the salmon, which was fine, and Tzvi had an artichoke ravioli that he loved— but I think the apps and sides were the real stars. Oh, and Tzvi and I both had really good cocktails. For dessert, we had a lemon tart and a chocolate mousse on a brownie base — both excellent. It was funny because I wasn’t even in the mood for a big meal, but it ended up being one of our best dinners of the trip. While we were there, we ran into Suzanne and Barry Gurvitch and their kids, so it was nice to see them.
When we got back to the apartment, my mom took her temperature and, sadly, had a fever. Not the best way to end the day — but otherwise, it was a great one.
Before we turned in for the night (although do we really ever get to sleep here?), my mom really wanted us to go see the light show at the Tayelet (the Jerusalem Promenade), so we rallied. My dad drove us — it was only a few minutes away — and while we were there, we randomly ran into family friends, Miriam and Neil Kugelman. The light show was about 25 minutes long and really well done. Basically there are lights set up all around the city and its themed to the music playing at the Tayelet.
Great way to end the day.