Let's take a trip back in time to the first time we traveled together. Give you some background info.
We met at Yankee Stadium in June 2017, the day I bought a Sony HX400V point-and-shoot camera and lugged it to a work event. I can't even remember how the conversation started, but it swiftly became one where I talked about going on a trip to India in a few months and Shani mentioned applying for a job once as an Emirates flight attendant.
We both loved to travel and had similar experiences growing up.
I played with my camera and its 50x Optical Zoom, and we chatted about photography and travel over garlic fries.
Over the months we began chatting more regularly, the culmination of our conversations being the all-expenses-paid company trip to Israel.
We were the experienced travelers in the group. We were the only ones who'd been on a plane more than twice (a few had even just gotten their first passports explicitly for this trip!).
After explaining how security worked, everyone was on their way, and we sat down for some sushi and drinks before heading to the boarding gate, where we ended up being the last ones there!
Once in Israel, it became Shani's responsibility, being the resident Israeli in the bunch, to ensure that everyone ended up at our hotel outside of Tel Aviv in a timely fashion, despite one of our co-workers needing to go through extra security measures.
That was when Shani decided the last thing we would do was go to the company dinner. Instead, another friend and I snuck off with her to Yafo/Jaffa, the old city, for a traditional dinner at The Old Man and the Sea, a dinner full of hummus and fried fresh fish. Far better than anything to be had at the gala.
After eating way too much, we wandered around Yafo and took a brisk seaside walk along the waterfront.
At this point, it was getting late, and even though we doubted anyone was asking for us, we headed back towards the hotel so we could get enough rest for a 3-hour bus ride to the Dead Sea the next day.
Since this is article is more about how we became friends and realized we traveled well together, I'm going to skip forward a day or so to when we skipped out on a day of exploring the desert around the Dead Sea ("What's there to explore? It's a desert!" explained Shani when I attempted to argue) to catch a bus to Jerusalem. I barely had any energy to argue (and I was slightly hungover anyway) so I followed her across the street from our resort to the bus stop, where, within five minutes, the bus that would take us to Jerusalem appeared on the road. Within an hour and a half, we were in one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean region.
Shani showed me around town. We spent most of our time in the Arab Quarter, after stopping at the shuk for the most amazing hummus I'd ever had in my life at a tiny, almost literal hole-in-the-wall stand right in the middle of the market.
From there, we wandered through the Arab Quarter, where we ended up at the Western Wall and Al-Aqsa, and ended our trek at the Jaffa Gate at the edge of the old city and in the Christian (Greek and Armenian mainly) Quarter.
In the crash course of Jerusalem I received that day, both in cultural and geographical terms, we reached an understanding.
Why do I tell this story?
A. To give you some background about us, to bring you into our lives as we embark on this travel blog journey.
B. To let you know that it's never too late to let someone in who's going to change your life for the better.
I had no idea this person who struck up a conversation with me about my new camera would become my travel buddy, best friend, and later roommate (Yes, dear reader, we moved in together just under two years after meeting! But that's another story for another time.). I took a chance, made a friend, and we've both brought new perspectives into each other's lives. The both of us are all the richer for it.
Two months later we were on a flight by ourselves, to the Caribbean island of Martinique, which solidified that we are indeed the perfect combination of sponaeity, fun, planning, and adventurous and chill.
We plan, we leave things to chance, we allow for mistakes. And this is why we started sharing our travel journey.
Traveling isn't just about cheap flights or the fancy views and luxury experiences. It's who you meet, the food you eat, and who you experience all this with. It's why we do what we do.
We want to share all this with you.
If all this tickles your fancy, piques your interest, and you're interested in finding out how a culturally ambiguous American and Israeli based in New York find ways to get away for a weekend without breaking the bank but ensuring you get the full experience, well, by all means, bookmark our page, follow us on Instagram, leave us a comment, send us an email!
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