Eden Boutique Hotel in Tel Aviv

We love to travel but never have had the pleasure of traveling over to Israel and the beautiful city of Tel Aviv. One of these days we might get there since it is on our travel bucket list. In the meantime, I was sent some information on the Eden Boutique Hotel that I wanted to share with all of my travel blog readers who may be planning a trip over to Tel Aviv. The article and photos are courtesy of Eden Boutique.

Eden Boutique Hotel is an elegant, 12-room boutique property smack in the middle between Tel Aviv's vibrant Carmel Market and Mediterranean promenade, offering guests intimate, unprecedented service and luxurious amenities in a quiet and picturesque corner of the city.

Eden Boutique Hotel boasts classically designed, well-appointed rooms and suites with lavish amenities, including Executive and Double rooms with street-view terraces and Victorian-style standing baths; a bistro offering a dynamic menu influenced by French, Eastern European and Israeli cuisine; 24-hour concierge service and complimentary WiFi, as well as culinary workshops and tours of Tel Aviv's Carmel Market led by Eden House Bistro.

Eden Boutique Hotel is ideal for travelers looking for a hyper-local experience in Tel Aviv, and conveniently located within Tel Aviv's historic Yemenite Quarter, adjacent to the Carmel outdoor food market and a three minute's walk from the city's vibrant Mediterranean seaside beaches. Guests of Eden Boutique Hotel will experience attentive service and a home-away-from-home ambiance unlike any other property in Tel Aviv.

Eden Boutique Hotel is the brainchild of co-owners Mikhael Ustinov and Sergei Solovyov, two Tel Avivians via Moscow whose aim was to open a stylish, yet comfortable business and leisure-savvy property adjacent-to-but separated from Tel Aviv's seaside resort hotel scene.

The hotel's Eden House Bistro has emerged as a culinary institution for travelers and locals alike, offering innovative Israeli cuisine cooking workshops, including expert-led expeditions through the city's bustling outdoor food markets. And throughout the hotel, guests can discover vintage furnishings, artwork and interior décor items imported from Eastern & Western Europe, and sourced from the famed Jaffa flea market.

"We are excited to welcome travelers and locals alike to experience our unique gem of a hotel in one of the city's most enchanted neighborhoods," said Sergei Solovyov, owner, Eden Boutique Hotel. "Our guests will find the extraordinary level of service and hospitality at Eden House Premier is unlike any other property in Tel Aviv, said Mikhael Ustinov, owner."

Eden Boutique Hotel is currently ranked in TripAdvisor's annual Traveler's Choice Awards as one of the "Top 10 Small Hotels in Israel," "Top 10 Romance Hotels in Israel" and "Top 25 Small Hotels in the Middle East."

For more information about Eden Boutique Hotel and to make reservations, visit www.edenhousetlv.com.

ABOUT EDEN HOUSE PREMIER: The Eden Hotel Group is a cultural hospitality brand founded in Tel-Aviv in 2009. Eden Boutique Hotel is located in a meticulously preserved International architecture-style building dating back to the 1920's - and located just a short walk from Tel Aviv's Neve Tzedek neighborhood boasting fashion, art, culinary and cultural attractions, as well as the famed Carmel Market and vibrant beaches. The hotel's acclaimed Eden Bistro offers a gourmet dining experience unlike any other in Tel Aviv, combining French and Israeli-inspired culinary traditions with a modern Eastern European twist, with all ingredients sourced daily from the nearby market.

Beautiful Sunsets at Sunset Beach in Cape May New Jersey

Back in early September we headed down to the Jersey Shore for a week long vacation in Wildwood. On one particular day we took a drive down to Cape May in New Jersey and spent the day & evening seeing the sights.

We headed over to Sunset Beach where you will find a few shops, a grill to grab a bite to eat and to play miniature golf on the beach. The WW II bunker, WW II lookout tower, the Cape May Lighthouse and several other local attractions are all within walking distance or located on Sunset Beach.

After we were doing playing mini golf...we waited around for the gorgeous views of the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay. If you love seeing gorgeous sunsets and are visiting the south Jersey area, this is definitely the place you want to be! The sunsets here are AMAZING!

You can also sit on the beach and watch the boats go by, do a little fishing, have a picnic lunch and if you are really lucky...you might even see some dolphins swimming by. Every evening they do a Flag Ceremony to honor veterans and a lot of people turn out for that.

You can learn more about Sunset Beach in Cape May by visiting their web site and to get a schedule of their current activities and offerings. Frankly, we love it there and every time we are in South Jersey...we stop in for a visit.

6 Important Tips for Beach Bike Rentals

Summer is just around the corner and families will be hitting the beach for a summer vacation. For many of us, we don't take our bicycles along with us and prefer to just rent them at the beach. Renting them saves you the hassle of transporting them with you and usually you can find beach bike rentals at a decent price.

Before renting any beach bikes there are a few important things you need to consider before signing up on the dotted line.

1. Payment – It is recommended that you use cash for your bike rentals. If you have to use a debit or credit card, make sure you obtain a receipt.

2. Maintenance History - When you arrive at the shop, ask the shop owner or employees about the maintenance of the bikes. When were these bikes last inspected? Are the brakes in working order and are the tires fully inflated? You want to make sure that any bikes that you rent are in perfect working order before taking them out for a spin.

3. Insurance and Liability – Are the bicycles covered under the shop’s insurance policy if you should have an accident while riding? If not, who is liable for accidents and any damaged caused to the bicycle or the person riding it?

4. Late Fees – Most shops rent their bicycles out to people by the hour and the user must return the bike before a specified time. If you are late in returning it, what kind of fees will you be responsible for?

5. Cleanliness – Most bicycles are not cleaned from one user to the next. We recommend that you take a pack of disinfectant wipes along with you when renting a bike. Wipe down the seat and handle bars before you leave the shop for your ride.

6. Safety Rules – Before leaving for your ride, go over all riding safety rules with every member of your family. Make sure they all understand the rules and what you expect from them while out on your ride.

Riding bikes with your family while on vacation is a great way to get some physical exercise and to spend some quality family time together. We hope those 6 tips help you have a safe and enjoyable ride while at the beach!

Top 15 Inspiring Travel Quotes

The old saying that the best part of traveling is the journey it takes to get there is very true! Over the years we have been very blessed to have done a lot of international and domestic travel. Even though we are well-seasoned travelers, we still daydream and look forward to new adventures every year.

Today I wanted to share with all of you our Top 15 Inspiring Travel Quotes that we have collected over the years. We hope that you enjoy them as much as we do!

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." - Martin Buber

"I travel not to go anywhere but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." - Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson

"We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment." - Hilaire Belloc

"Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are."
- George Eliot

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." - Lin Yutang

"A turtle travels only when it sticks its neck out" - Korean Proverb

"Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection." - Lawrence Durrell

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” - Susan Heller

"A wise traveler never despises his own country." - William Hazlitt

"I think the more we travel around the world and learn from various other countries, the better it is, the more we become one community rather than fighting one another." - Arnold Schwarzenegger

“People don’t take trips – trips take people.” - John Steinbeck

"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love." - Ernest Hemingway

"I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad." - George Bernard Shaw

“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.” - Fitzhugh Mullan

"In America there are two classes of travel - first class, and with children." - Robert Benchley

If you know of some great travel quotes, please feel free to email them to us or leave them in our blog's comment form. If you are taking them from the web, please leave the source too! Enjoy and Happy Travels to you all!

Big and Beautiful Farms in Pennsylvania

Farm Near Harrisburg PA

Our photo of the week for this week is one that I took back in September of this year. As many of you know...I live in the capital of our great state - Harrisburg and when I tell people where I live they assume that the entire area is made up of city buildings and definitely not farm land.

Today I wanted to show you that as soon as you leave the Harrisburg city limits you will run into beautiful farm land! Pennsylvania is a big agricultural state and you will find large beautiful farms all over our great state! This particular farm sits right between Harrisburg & Hershey.

Farm in Amish Country Lancaster PA

If you take a 45 minute drive from Harrisburg down to Lancaster Amish Country you will see hundreds if not thousands of beautiful farms and once you get closer to Lancaster County you will see hundreds of Amish farms. Some of these farms will even let you pay a fee to take a tour through them which is a great family-friendly activity to do that is normally pretty affordable.

If you love looking at the beautiful countryside and local farms we highly suggest that you take one of the Amish Horse & Buggy Tours that are available in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. Last year we took one and it was the highlight of our trip down to Lancaster. You can find information about that by looking through my travel blog under the Pennsylvania category.

Well there you have it! Our travel photo of the week! Enjoy!

Family-Friendly Campgrounds in the Hershey Area

If you are planning a trip to the Hershey area in Pennsylvania and looking for something other than an expensive hotel, campgrounds may be just what you are looking for. Here in south central Pennsylvania, we have three nice family-friendly campgrounds available to travelers.

The Hershey Conewago Campground is located in a country setting approximately 6 miles from downtown Hershey. You can call them directly at 717-367-1179 for their hours of operation and driving directions or visit their web site for complete information. This campground has RV sites, tent sites and even little log cabins that you can rent. Amenities includes: free hot showers in the bath house, on-site laundromat and large picnic pavilions for a small fee.There is a country store where you can buy supplies, free wi-fi for the internet, outdoor pool, a gazebo, arcade room, pond, playground, horse shoes, volleyball, tennis and basketball areas.

The Hersheypark Camping Resort just celebrated their 50th anniversary of being in business. This campground is open year-round and is situated on 55 beautiful acres with over 300 open & shaded sites. You can rent a site for your tent, RV or rent one of their cozy cabins. Amenities include a country store, two outdoor swimming pools (in-season), fire rings, picnic tables, restrooms, public showers for guests, wifi service, self service laundry, indoor game room, several playgrounds for the kids, shuffleboard courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts and more!

The Hershey KOA Campground is out just a little bit further but is a super nice campground for families to enjoy.  They offer tent camping, RV camping and cozy cabin rentals. Amenities include outdoor fire rings, wifi, cable tv available, outdoor dish washing stations, picnic tables, dump stations, a camp store, laundry facilities, pets are welcome, snack bar, outdoor swimming pool, playground and more!

All three of these family-friendly campgrounds in the Hershey area are well-kept, clean and very easy to get to. Both of them are within a few minutes driving time to all of the Hershey area tourist attractions. Please visit their respective web sites to learn more about them. Happy Traveling and enjoy visiting the Sweetest Place on Earth!