PARTY LIKE IT’S 2019 IN TEL AVIV

Standing with my husband and our three children on our favourite beach just outside of Tel Aviv – our whole faces naked and exposed to the gentle breeze, the sea air flooding our nostrils – it felt like we’d finally woken up from a nightmare. No more masks, even inside. No more sticky hand sanitiser, or worrying that the kids might start playing with children outside our “bubble”.

I went for drinks with friends the other night to one of our favourite spots, Beit Kandinof in Jaffa, and it was teeming with life again. The simplest thing felt so crazy – going for cocktails with girlfriends and actually being able to take a sip of each other’s drinks. I popped into the Norman Hotel for a breakfast meeting, and it was as busy as ever.

We’ve also been packing in weekend trips further afield to places like Caesarea and Jerusalem, checking out the many attractions, restaurants and museums which were renovated during lockdown. I recently tried the upgraded flight simulator experience in Herzliya, and together with the family we used ancient techniques to recreate Roman glass at a workshop in Caesarea.

Before restrictions in Israel were lifted, I was worried we’d all be socially scarred from lockdown, that we would have forgotten the “old normal” of warm human interaction. I am happy to report that having been to two huge birthday parties, where everyone was kissing, embracing and dancing together, that it has all come back so quickly. It’s time to party like it’s 2019 in Tel Aviv.