This article first appeared on Sheknows with the title: “Studying in Israel as a teen gave me a lifelong love of travel:”
As a teenager, I was allowed to travel for nine weeks with 150 friends from Los Angeles on a summer Ulpan in Israel. We studied, we laughed and we learned about ourselves. That trip imbued in me a desire to travel that has never left. Because of that summer experience, I chose to study in Jerusalem during my junior year of college.
I never wavered. I decided to do it when I was sixteen years old and I followed through with a semester at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I lived in Israel during the first intifada and I did not worry. I knew I was where I was supposed to be.
After that semester, the feeling of living in another land became necessary for me. I chose to work at Club Med and on cruise ships and have traveled to six continents and over 100 countries.
In October 2015, I was invited on another journey to Israel. My life of writing about travel and creating videos of my experiences was leading me back to where it began. I was honored to be invited and thrilled that I would spend my birthday in Jerusalem during the adventure.
I highly recommend that you visit this amazing country. It will change your life.
Where to stay in Tel Aviv?
I absolutely loved the Brown Beach House. It is a new property just a block from the beach in Tel Aviv. The decor and atmosphere are inviting and inclusive. I loved the champagne in the lobby. It was the first time I indulged in a massage just after arrival at a property and this might become my new favorite ritual.
VIDEO: Brown Beach House
Another highlight of my trip was staying at the Ritz-Carlton Herzliya. The location on the marina is stunning. I loved walking on the beach for a windy sunset and returning to my two story sanctuary with a view. The Herbert Samuel is the first kosher restaurant at a Ritz-Carlton hotel and I loved the fully open kitchen which showcased many fresh seasonal ingredients. I loved the incredible tomato salad. I could have eaten a second and maybe even a third one. Breakfast was a buffet of fantastic tastes and I wish you could taste and smell the food on my video. It was remarkable like my room and the service.
Video: The Ritz-Carlton Herzliya
Enjoy all twenty-seven of my videos to see where we went and what we ate and feel like you were there with us!
We are just back from our first trip to visit friends and were blown away by the place! Vibrant, tasty, stunning, all the history. So sad the way the press portrays the country, I am glad we have friends here and ignored the media. Anna