Packing For A Month In Tel Aviv
“Larry had brought me blue jeans, a red polo shirt, jogging socks, my white Nikes, an extra cross from my suitcase, the silver knives, the Firestar complete with inner pants holster, and the Browning and its shoulder holster. He’d forgotten a bra, but hey, except for that it was perfect.” Laurel K Hamilton
No suitcase in the world is fit to contain the multitude of useless junk I consider bringing on even the shortest trips. I’m a high maintenance traveler. I have a few enviable skills but packing is not one of them. Spending a month in the same place with weekend trips is a packing challenge for me. Its much easier to pack when I’m moving around. How can I survive a month in a city without my black leather fringe boots?
How many t-shirts , socks and underwear do I have to bring if I am actually going to be doing laundry – something I normally avoid on vacation? Do I bring the laundry detergent with me? By not bringing so much underwear, does that give me room to bring even more denim?
I always pack like I’m going to Cuba or Myanmar twenty years ago. I’m a fan of duct tape. You can use it for anything – broken luggage or broken toes. Also zip lock bags. Everything spills. I always bring flip-flops. I live in fear of a disgusting shower floor. I’m a germaphobe and always travel with hand sanitizer. I think every public restroom carries malaria or bubonic plague.
Sexy lingerie? If I think about it enough, it’s going in the suitcase. Workout sneakers? There is a lot of ice cream in Israel. How many purse options should I bring? There are many different ways to carry around credit cards, rumpled cash, gum, eye drops and lip gloss.
It is going to be raining. Do I need the cute red rubber rain boots? I almost never wear them in Southern California because of the drought. It would make a cool Instagram photo with the old city of Yafo in the background.
What about all those books that I have lying around that I am planning to read? I can bring those for the plane .
This time I have many presents for my god-daughter. I’m bringing an extra suitcase for her gifts. Gift giving practices vary by country so be aware of the customs. She is two and half and doesn’t know the customs yet.
I’m a traveler and I know that packing heavy is a rookie mistake. I spend a lot of time organizing because of this. My packing mantra is less things, more experiences. Sometimes it works.
Ps. Our AiirBnB is two minutes from the American Embassy. I wonder if they will need help packing.
Fly safe,
JAZ
Travel Well, Fly Safe 
Heh heh heh. For up to two weeks I take a roller-board suitcase. And I travelled once for a year and a half with just what I could carry. Remember, Jayne. They have stores in Tel Aviv. And you’ll have an empty suitcase after you give your goddaughter her gifts. And for heavens sake, don’t take laundry detergent.
Ha: thanks for commenting 🙂
You cray-cray……..
Jayne my wife and I are going to Israel for a month in March Thanks for your insight. When will you be there?
Thanks for reading: so funny to connect through fb. I just got here. I will back before you get. Here . I will mostly be in Tel Aviv this trip. Everything is fine here. If you go to Eilat go to Petra Jordan for a day . It’s really cool. If you sign up for a tour they deal with the visa stuff for you. You can decide the day before. I will keep you posted on restaurants etc we are going to the crater. Next week in the Negev. There. Is a beautiful hotel up there but you have to drive.
You mean it’s strange and funny to reconnect after 48 years? Yes.
We are thinking of going to Petra and the crater. We will have a car. What is the beautiful hotel? I look forward to your reports. Have fun and safe travels.
The hotel is called Beresheet we are going t.here on Monday . I usually write when I’m back so.. ISRAEL seems a lot. Safer then the state dept makes you feel so no worries. A taxi driver told me not to go to Jerusalem this week. I said because of terrorism.? He said no because it’s snowing .if you read my blog on Petra (put it in under search) it will tell you who I used etc. also rosy hanikra is kind of cool if you are near Haifa. Ha i don’t figure it in years
Thanks for the info and the stories. Yes we will be in Haifa for a few days.
You are right, it doesn’t seem that long and then again it seems like a lifetime ago.