I've not written a trip report yet so i thought i'd give it a try.
This is by no means a report of a luxury or even a simple pleasure trip, but a trip for work - a business trip. Normally i have trips intra-EU from where i am in France for just 3-5 days, but this time a little further afield - Israel; for 5 days on-site plus travel time. By any means not a "jolly" or a trip that's expected to deliver lots of leisure time, but a typical technical visit restricted by corporate rules. So...

Firstly, apologies in advance for the verbosity; i've got a bit carried away . I'll also apologize for the lack of pictures in places, i feel a little cautious in places where it may be insensitive to take them such as in airports, etc - especially considering my destination. Other times, i just forgot

In the past I used El-Al for my trips to Israel, which typically took place every 2-3 years at a variety of our customers so i'm not a stranger to travel there - either from a cultural perspective or a corporate one. From where i'm based there are no direct flights to Tel Aviv with the majority of flights going from Paris. Now i'm more aware of FF status and it's privileges i've switched to AFKL for most flights where possible, and so normally a connection from either Nantes of Bordeaux. Being due on-site on a Sunday morning and not fancying a 3am-ish TLV arrival with work 5 hours later, an earlier 0915 flight from CDG on Saturday became the only choice. While i hoped to take a late flight out of BOD for a quick night stop at CDG, that flight connection was impossible to book by our travel agent. Next up was plan B - a TGV direct to the station in CDG, and then the more simple CDG-TLV leg - but that means a train on Friday evening.
Since Covid, the TGV schedules have been much reduced meaning there are now only 2 direct trains per day going from my nearby station to CDG. The latest at ~4pm means i have even less time at home so i chose a later train to the South of Paris, Gare Montparnasse. Even when travelling on business i hate crowds or busy periods. So i arrive in Paris. On Friday. At 6.30 pm. My favourite...



Along the quai, toward the Gare Montparnasse councourse - while walking


Down to the Metro station into the ticket hall. Queue for a ticket - 11.45euro between Montparnasse and CDG around 1hour away. To get to CDG i chose to take the Metro 6 line, and then the RER B all the way to CDG - although there are other routes. The M6 platform was packed. By the time the train appeared it was 3-4 people deep leaving little space for departing passengers to get through - like normal here. Once space appeared i didn't need to make any effort to get abord as I was guided towards the nearest door thanks to the pressurefrom behind. The ominous beep of doors closing sounded as i set foot on board so tried making a push for the comparative empty space on-board down the carraige, only to find there was a "young gentleman" with 2 large rucksacks (one worn on his front, one back) standing in the doorway blocking ingress and egress to all in in any direction - seemingly oblivious to the obstruction he was creating. Other passengers seemed quite happy to voice their discontentment which he ignored; being British i of course said nothing...
I needed just 3 stops to Denfert Rochereau. As seemed to be the custom, Mr Backpack was jostled by departing passengers for blocking the door so i joined in as i left; would appear to be rude not to....


RER B trains entering and leaving Denfert Rochereau


Next was a train on RER B - not a metro undersground train but a suburban line, of which there are 4 (A, B, C, D), which would take me to CDG. As the RER B line splits, i checked the overhead panel to see which train i should take. This time no crowding, no rucksack guy; plenty of seats were avilable, so i chose a nearby one. Lack of baggage storage meant my bag had to block 1 of the 4 seats - as it wasnt crowded not a major inconvenience to others. No major delays, and little over an hour later the train gets to CDG.

For a flight to TLV online checkin wasn't available; the website and app showed that i needed to visit a kiosk or a checkin desk. As i'm quite particular for having an aisle seat (business travel for us typically means economy, not business class), i thought i'd try checking in early at a kiosk. While using the RER B station CDG1 would be more convenient (CDG1 is the first station and doesn't signify Terminal 1 directly), i chose to go the full distance to the CDG2 TGV station to try a check-in kiosk in the corridor from the station to see if i could at least select a seat; no chance, i need a check-in desk. That can wait for tomorrow, as i'm not about to traipse around the terminal for 45mins to perhaps be told the same thing. So, onto my hotel for the night, the Novotel back at the CDG1 station.

Waiting for CDGval


From the CDG2 station down the steps to CDGval and 2 stops, less than 5 mins, including the waiting time, although this kiosk checkin exercise has wasted the best part of 30 minutes. On arrival at the CDG1 station go up to the main concourse. I think the Novotel entrance is quite well hidden - unless you know where to look; from outside the station it would probably be easier to see.


The hidden Novotel entrance


Through the 2 sets of sliding doors, past the bar on the right and down the long corridor to find the reception area. For a comparatively busy hotel i've rarely ever seen a single receptionist there, and there's always a wait especially if other guests have a problem with their reservation or request/question. There is a second small checkin desk for ALL elite guests at the other side of reception but i've only ever seen it manned once in the last few years. While i arrived to be the first to wait in line, it was a good 10 mins before i was served due to the guests before me and by which time there was a decent sized queue behind me.

Bar


Almost empty reception, but still a 10 min wait

Eventually my turn and all done within a minute. Drink voucher requested and onto room 401, at the far end of the corridor.


For a night stop the room is fine. Separate toilet and bathroom, small desk with chair, a chair to relax in and table, a small kind of ottoman that i'm not sure what i'm supposed to use for, tea/coffee facilities and a fridge. But nowhere to put a suitcase and open it fully which i would think is quite an omission (the ottoman is too small). So fine for a few hours overnight but it's hardly at the cutting edge of room design. There is a view of Terminal 2B across the apron, but its hardly something to look forward too.





Down to the restaurant "Luiza" for a quick bite. We've eaten here several times before and the food is not too bad, especially for a chain airport hotel. I chose the "salade Gourmande d'hiver" small size, quite tasty with some nice flavours. No main course, but a tiramisu for dessert and an espresso, though i noted a complete lack of any kind of coffee taste or flavour in the tiramisu - whatever. A short spell of work to catch up while i have a reasonably fast/stable connection, then an early-ish night for the early start the next day.....


Winter Salade

tiramisu without coffee, and a coffee



Next up - the flight...

Thanks for the report! We're headed to Israel shortly so I'm hoping we can learn from your travels there.

What with wanting a good seat and not being one to arrive at the last possible moment, i planned to get to checkin as soon as possible. Novotel breakfast opens at 5am, so i was down at around 5.20 and it was virtually empty - no great surprise for a Saturday morning in April. Reception was again un-manned, as was the breakfast - the same place as the Luiza restaurant from the night before. The selection is Ok but not what i would consider a great selection.




While my reservation was made with our company booking card, i needed to settle the bill with my personal card. No issue with that but the same problem as the night before - no-one to pay. Eventually i could find someone, pay the bill and headed back into the CDG1 concourse to take CDGval back to Terminal 2 just before 6am.
10 minutes later i'm back in the CDG2, above the TGV train station in Terminal 2. Then the walk along the terminal from the station to Terminal 2F and for non Schengen AF/Skyteam flights.




Having used ElAl for TLV flights almost exclusively over the last 20 years i'm quite familiar with the extra security involved. AF flights to TLV have their own check-in arrangements, fortunately check-in zone 8 was completely empty. First i was required to show my booking (on the AF app) to access the zone 8 area, and then a second time to go through the tensa barriers to get to the next step - security check, and a green sticker on my passport - much easier than with Elal. Finally on-to checkin itself, and finally a seat - 27H - and a boarding pass. No possiiblity to make any kind of upgrade.
Through now to passport control, and the special line for non-EU passports. The automatic passport control machine worked fine, and then a manual inspection, along with my French Residence Permit. The flight today was departing from Gate L22, meaning a short train ride from hall M after the control, to hall L.


waiting for the connecting train to Hall L

Despite being almost empty, the walk to the security check was characterised by the completely un-necessary tensa-barriers. I looked at the security staff offering to undo the first to reduce the walk but was told strickly not to, i had to follow the long route as well as those behind me. A woman ducking under a line got shouted at - not sure why it was such a big deal for them, but not the time and place to argue it.
I was directed to an empty security lane and was through in just a couple of minutes. So it's now 6.30, i have a couple of hours before boarding but i'd rather that than a last minute dash or a problem and the stress it would bring. Gate L22 was easy to find, the first after all the shops, with my plane ready and waiting. From the hotel to the gate had taken less than 40 mins.



A330 at the gate


With plenty of time on my hands i took a walk to the end of the terminal just for something to do. There are some recliner chairs at the end, where i could work a little and watch the early departures and arrivals. And also a sleeping cat.




With boarding scheduled for 8.20 i returned to the gate around 8.15 and pleased to see no gate lice, but a long queue for Zone 1 and 2 boarding. As FB Silver and boarding in Zone 3 i ambled up to have another passport check and took my place in the queue. 30 mins later, the board showed a 40 minute delay - like many of my recent AFKL EU flights and i thought unusual for the first flight of the day. But i had nothing else to do, and nothing i could do about it - other than wait.


Boarding then started at around 9.20, only a few of the Zone1/2 passengers had gone though when the next in line had some kind of passport check issue holding up the line for several minutes. The gate agents decided to allow us in Zone3/4/5 to go through. walking down through the plane i got to the cattle class seat where i'd be spending the next few hours.


Being almost first to board, an empty economy cabin

The seat came with a pillow, blanket and headset all neatly wrapped - at which point i realised i'd forgotten to bring my 3.5mm headphone cable. With no facility to connect by bluetooth to the AV system i would have to resort to the supplied headset - oh well... i settled down into the seat and i carried on working with my laptop and we took off closer to 1030, i had been hoping for more daylight time on my arrival. Initially the seat wasn't unconfortable, and acceptable kneeroom for my 1m81 frame. I stayed with the headphones and ANR to cut down the noise in the cabin until the meal service started


Just about enough room for my knees

As soon as the seatbelt light was off though, the small lady in the seat on front thrust her seat back which made things a little cramped. Breakfast was served around 2 hours into the flight; apart from the normal bread roll and cheese, orange juice, yogurt and fruit etc there was also a... red fruit crumble! Unusual for breakfast i thought but it tasted fine; although i did ask the cabin crew to ask the lady in front to put up her chair which she did and was where it stayed for the rest of the flight; i filed that under "just because you can, doesn't mean you should"... .


red fruit crumble for breakfast?

There was nothing in the IFE that appealed to me, so i carried on working (not easy with the seat in front reclined) until the meal time and then watched the original Bourne film while i ate. Drinks were bought around after breakfast was served, and then the trays cleared. An otherwise uneventful flight meant we landed closer to 4pm.
For travel to Israel our company uses a VIP service for arrival and departure. On previous trips i'd been met at the top of the airbridge, whisked away in a large V8 american minivan directly down to beat the queue at passport control. Since then TLV procedures have changed and this time i was met 3-4 mins walk after getting off the plane. We then had to walk through the terminal to the first passport check with all the other passengers where the VIP agent helped me skip the queue and get my little blue immigration card rather than a passport stamp. Then further through the terminal to passport control itself, for the biometric scan.





While we waited for my bag to arrive, i went off in search of water which i found in credit card operated vending machines. My comparatively new credit card of choice, an ALL branded Visa refused to work in multiple machines, so had to return to my previous mastercard. It seems BNP who issued the Visa card think Israel is in Asia and i hadn't enabled Asian transactions (yet). A long wait for baggage ensued, my bag being of course one of the last to be delivered around 45 mins after we landed.
The VIP agent called the pre-booked taxi driver from their holding area and we begun the walk through customs and the arrivals hall, up the escalator to the arrivals pickup area. Straight into the taxi, and away. The journey to Haifa is only around 100km which i always expect will take just under an hour or so but for whatever reason it always takes longer, this time around 90 mins despite the driver pushing on at some points.

from the taxi

The driver was from Haifa and as i was unfamiliar with the exact area around the hotel this trip he gave me a few pointers about where to eat on a Saturday. "Not far from the station, loads of places to choose from after you've passed it". A good starting off point, i thought.
We finally arrived at the Hotel, the Golden Crown just after 6pm (more of which later) - several hours after i had hoped. With the sun setting just after 7pm and knowing my upcoming schedule this coming week probably wouldn't permit it, i wanted to head over to "The Beach" to watch the sun go down from the eastern end of the Mediterranean. A quick shower and change, phone charge and a look at google maps for the walking route and off to The Beach.
Despite being very close to the port, it seems to be a mainly residential area between the Golden Crown and what i saw to be the nearest Beach even though the port is quite close. Past the station mentioned by the taxi driver and started to keep an eye out for restaurants for after sunset but not that many - must be further along. After 35mins of brisk walking i arrived at The Beach with just a few minutes to spare. A handful of people around on the promenade, but saw a breakwater going out into the sea, with a view of the sun setting, the Med, and Mount Carmel, and i assume some locals enjoying the same thing.



The Mediterranean and Mount Carmel

Now to find something to eat, well aware it's the Sabbath and choice may be limited. I see several places that are closed, a few cafes/bakeries, and some that self serve from a counter with the menu above on the wall, but no restaurants to sit and be served so i keep walking. I find one place, but they're full. Eventually i turn a corner and find the Abu Zeid restaurant with empty tables. Asking the waiter for a table for one he explains in broken English they're fully booked.... but ....just wait... while he asks. Other customer come in and go other other tables, and after he's done several tours of the restaurant talking to colleagues and serving other customers he points me to a table in the corner. At last. I ask for a beer and he asks, which reciting a list none of which i recognise so i leave it to him to choose: "i give the best". Ok, we'll see.
Not wanting a large meal i ordered some Houmus (well, you have to, right?) and some red snapper. Simple meal, i thought

What came was a large plate of Houmus, some bread, olives and some kind of sauce, which i'm still not sure what it was. The beer i was very surprised to see, but very happy to receive was a German HefeWeissen. As i started on the houmus, the red snapper arrived. I was expecting a simple plate of just 2-3 fish, but up turned a plate with 6-8, french fries and rice. The snapper tasted very fresh, not surprising considering the med was just a few hundred metres away. However, all too much for me to eat.




Back to the hotel, around a 5km walk there and back, some preparation for the weeks work to come, and some rest.

Next up: the Hotel. And work.

The Golden Crown wasn't my first choice of hotel but it was all there was available, as booked by our travel agent. Normally i stay in the Dan Carmel on the top of Mount Carmel or the Dan Panorama just along the road, but both were full - i think probably due to all the holidays around that time. The Crown is at the bottom of Mount Carmel near the port, and is advertised as a "4-star" property. It's quite unobtrusive and you could walk past not knowing it was there.




After checking in i got my key to a "deluxe" double, the mid-level room of the 3 types they appear to have. I was on the 4th floor, the single elvator has a nice view of the port even if the glass windows are quite dirty; i resisted the urge to take a picture considering the Israeli navy presence there - You never know who's watching... Again i was right at the end of the corridor, and going in i was quite disappointed at how small the room is. The bathroom faces the entrance with the bed and a small desk to the right side. They left a small welcome gift, which all went into the small, empty mini-fridge. The bed was comforable enough but felt a little small, and certainly no space for anything much apart from sleeping, using the bathroom or working at the desk. The chair doesn;t even face the TV, although i never turned the TV on during the entirety of my stay.


Welcome gift

a small "deluxe" room

Shower with no towel rail

No room to do anything much except sleep, no space for an open case

small desk and fridge


Being a corner room i at least had 2 windows, south towards Mount Carmel and west facing towards the Med. Apparently the hotel does have a bar but i could never find it, although i only looked once and couldn;t be bothered to ask. There is no restaurant though - only a breakfast area, which may, or may not be an advantage.

View from the south facing window

It was a little warm in there. It was about 20C outside, and felt a little more than that in the room. The air-con control made beeping noises when i tried pushing buttons - no instructions - so i thought i'd give it 24 hours. In the mean-time, as it was after 6.15pm and the sun had disappeared behind Mount Carmel i opened the windows to try and let some of the cooler air in. It was a little noisy outside so i closed the windows when i went to sleep. That only made the room stuffy and i found it quite difficult to sleep in.

Breakfast was served from 6am-10am, so went down early to see what was on offer. A reasonable selection of typical breakfast fair, but also a lot of Israeli or arab dishes. For the first day at least i thought i'd live the local dishes a try. I have though no idea what the selection i took was, although i intentionally choose items that didn't look overly spiced.




Taxi pickup time was 7.30. I waited outside from 7.20 be be sure that i didn't miss mine. A number of taxis all turned up all for other travellers; almost all of them with differnt accents - Spanish, French, Russian, and Hebrew of course. It's clearly a business hotel with a lot of business coming from the port and very few tourists - they're in the bigger hotels in the centre of town on the top of Mount Carmel. Eventually mine arrived about 15 minutes late due to traffic on the way from Nazareth. As we started to leave Haifa the traffic was obviously very heavy going into the town, but not a problem for me - off to work in the opposite direction. It was around a 40 minute drive to the Nazareth area with the driver, a russian Georgian called Eli, who freely gave his opinion of lots of global news stories ongoing at the time (whether i wanted them or not ). Something to pass the time. It turned out that Eli would be my driver in the morning each day bar one, and gave different opinions on different events each day.


Outskirts of Haifa in the direction of Nazareth

The return journey was much the same, although the driver changed, and typically a lot less chatty. even though i was the only passenger, 3 times in the course of the week i was in a 19 seater mini-bus - all for me!



After the underwhelming success of finding a restaurant "the other side of the station", i thought i'd find somewhere else by myself. A quick check of Google Maps show this time there was a whole street of eateries just around the corner which sounded much more promising. As i got there there was indeed a street full of restaurants right around the corner, slightly uphill towards the Bab Shrine and gardens.



After a stroll around seeing what was available i chose the Garden restaurant, a decent looking place with a covered, mostly empty terrace. I asked for a table for 1 at the entrance and was told they were completely full that night. "Really?" i asked in surprise, gesticulating to all the empty table? Yes, everything reserved, no chance even for 1 person. Huh, fine; quite a difference to the night before where they could find me a table when they were obviously busy.
So i walked 20m next door to the similarily busy "Shtroudl" restaurant and asked another table for 1 and was offered a choice of several tables. Once seated i chose again another HefeWeissen, an Arab cheese salad, and then the veal shawarma. This arrived as 3 mini pitas, each filled with nicely flavoured veal. Again the whole meal was too much for me, so resolved to try and chose slightly smaller portion for the rest of the week.




Upon leaving i thought i'd carry on walking for a while and headed back up the hill past the Garden restaurant that declined to offer me a table an hour or so earlier, sarcastically asking "still fully booked, still no space for 1 person?" "Yes, no space", even though they were barely 20% of the terrace tables full, and it was now approaching 9pm - past the peak i would have thought. So thats one place i'll not be going back to in the next week. Back to the hotel for a few hours work, and then bed ready to do it over again the next day.

Next: Monday and Tuesday

Great report so far! I was drooling over our your food pictures. Man do I miss the food in Israel!

Thanks. Hopefully i can get the next part up tonight.

Monday morning started off the same as Sunday. An early breakfast although this time i left the local options and went for a more traditional western/continental style selection and a little work before i go down for the taxi. Eli was already waiting and had been there since just before 7am, trying to avoid being late like the day before; a nice gesture.

Returning back to the hotel just after 6pm i took the elevator up to the 4th floor. Taped to the window by the lift buttons was a small sign informing "valued guests" that as tomorrow was Holocaust Memorial day, all shops and restaurants would be closed and the bar would not be serving drinks or food. Um, excuse me - what...? Everything is closed? Surely not, i'll bet i can find something open; i'm not that fussy if the alternative is nothing. But why only place the notice now? Why not from 6am in the morning where foreigners could be better informed about what was going on? Up in the room i opened the door to be greeted by a stuffy, warm room. The air con was still not working so i'll go and see reception about that later. Opening windows to try and cool it down doesn't help in the short time, maybe while i'm out looking for something to eat. Worried about what i may or may not find i settled for anything open where they'd sell anything edible... after walking around for around 45 minutes though, it appeared the elevator notice was quite correct - Everything was closed. No little corner shop, no tourist place, no bar, no shady little greasy cafe. Even the McDonalds at the entrance to the small shopping mall attached to the hotel. All closed. Um...

So i went back to the hotel and spoke to, it turns out, the manager. As they have no restaurant there was nowhere there i could eat. And the bar wasn't serving food or drink that night (so what did it serve?). After appealing to the Managers better nature, he'd see what anyone in the kitchen could come up with. About an hour later, dinner was delivered:



A couple of grilled cheese, tomato and pepper rolls and a salad, with a bottle of orange juice - great! All gratefully consumed while i worked, and quite tasty too. A little more notice though that nothing would be open, such as from 6am that morning so you see it when going down in the morning would be so much better. I wonder how the hotels at the top in town managed that?

Tuesday morning and still the air con was not working and the room was warming. During the night it was too noisy to leave the window open and insects came in, during the day the room would warm up so Tuesday morning i asked at reception. As the week before had been cold and wet the air con was off and switched to heating mode. "But that was last week, how about now?". "Sorry, the air con is controlled by the building management company, we can't change it but it will be turned on soon" came the reply. No choice then - due to be 28C today and no aircon in the room. At least our customer site was airconditioned. And i remembered to pick up a couple of bottles of water, just in case.

Back from work and i decided to have a look around, up towards the bottom entrance of the Baha'i Gardens at the end of Restaurant row, and then onto the Stella Maris Monastery at the top of Mount Carmel. The Bab Shrine is for a prophet re-interred there less than 100 years ago and the gardens constructed by the Baha'i faith who follow him. At a medium pace around 10-15 mins walk from the hotel. Very well kept, very organised, and very closed at 6pm - maybe one day this week if i can finish early.




Onto next the Monastery. This is around 30 mins walk from the gardens, around 2km away, but a climb of around 200m. There's a narrow footpath by the side of the road fortunately on the view side, so there's plenty to look at.


Cats are everywhere in Israel, even this metal one

iphone panorama of the bay.

Haifa port and bay from the road to the monastery

looking down on the marine museum

At the top there are quite a lot of people around; there's a cable car up from the beach, a couple of restaurants, the monastery, and a great view of the med. Before i set off I knew the the church would be long closed, although when i arrived i found the doors open and a private event being held. I wasn't sure of the protocol for visiting inside, especially due to my attire - shorts and T-shirt; it was still ~23C at 7pm having reached 30C earlier in the day - so i waited for many to leave, popped my head in for a quick look, and back out. Better planning for that one needed, i think. While, there the view across the med and the approaching sunset was stunning. Looking across you can see a small chapel down the slope, so i walked down the dusty track for a better look, and a couple more sunset pictures.


The monastery through the palm tress at golden hour

The Holy Family chapel at sunset

another sunset over the med


After the sun goes down, i start the walk down to restaurant row for something to eat having built up a bit of an appetite on the way up. Fortunately the walk down is a lot easier. With night now definitely fallen, it's dark by the time i get to Fattoush. I'd seen this restaurant while walking past and liked the look so i thought i'd give it a try. Having built up a thirst over the last few hours i had another HefeWeissen (spot the trend? ), and i chose another cheese salad and a "specialty plate" containing a selection of different things, none of which i now remember the names of. All very pleasant and tasty.


Fattoush


Wednesday evening started later than previous evenings due to a delayed taxi getting me back after 7pm. A pleasent surprise when i got back to my room; the air con had been turned on, set at a slightly chilly 21C. Having complained about the warmth i felt a bit guilty for then turning the aircon up to 26C to make it more habitable in the short term.

I left the hotel closer to 8pm by which time it was already dark. Next to the Fattoush restaurant from last night was another place that looked quite interesting, Mirabella. I asked for a table for 1 and was seated at an unset table in a passageway, they were a little busy though, no problem - for now. I asked for a beer, but as soon as i asked it clicked this was an arab restaurant and i think Ramadan was still ongoing. Either way not a problem, so i chose a large lemonade and a chicken and avocado salad, which had to be ordered on their ipad menu/ordering system. After 15mins i was moved to a different table on the main terrace, and as my glass was now almost empty i asked for another lemonade. 30 minutes later and now 45 minutes since i ordered there was no sign of my salad and the 2nd lemonade was now just a glass of melting ice.



more lemonade, sir?


I'd started to notice some strange service issues around me though. A couple near me had a couple of dishes served, then removed and taken back the kitchen (i guess), and not represented. A family arrived, sat down and after 10-15 minutes and with gestures of disgust discarded the menus on the table, called a waiter and promptly left without ordering anything. Or 2 servers having a somewhat vocal "frank exchange of views" next to another customers table. The couple that had had plates removed now received a new and visibly different dish, which the man started to eat from, but then a different waiter came, removed it again and gave it to the lady on the table behind him - leaving him with a bit of a confused look. While i waited for the salad it did provide a little entertainment, but left me a little concerned about what was to come. But, i ordered a 3rd Lemonade which duly arrived minutes later. About 5 minutes after, a waiter returned asking "did i order anything to eat?". After i explained the salad, pointed at the ipad and the server that took my order, they went away. Finally it arrived about 10 mins later, it was ok but nothing special, certainly not a gourmet meal needing 1h15ms preparation.

I ate quickly and went back to the hotel; i had work to catch up on and it was starting to get late. For sleeping i set the aircon at 24C, which turned out to be the best nights sleep i'd had so far

Thursday morning and down for breakfast; again i tried a couple of the different local offerings, but supplemented with some of the more international offerings. Disappointing the orange juice wasn't better; with so many oranges around here it's the one thing i thought would be better than in most other places, surprised to find it watered down from a concentrate.


Breakfast selection





Rather than eat in the customer canteen for lunch, a surprise visit by our local manager resulted in a lunch invite at a nearby restaurant. A 15 min car ride and we arrive to a typical local restaurant that was almost empty. When asked what i would like i decided to let my hosts choose as i'd likely get a better variety than if i had chosen. A good choice as out came a selection of dishes, far too much i thought for 3, but very little left afterwards.


Returning from work to the hotel another surprise when i got back to the room, the aircon had been set at 17C. It felt freezing in there, so I set it to maximum and opened the room door and windows to try and warm the room up as quickly as possible. Why anyone would set a guest room so cold when it had already been set by the guest i don't know. Sat with my jacket on i had to leave after 20 mins as it was just too cold. I sat outside reception while i and the room warmed up. Even after another 30 mins it still felt quite chilly coming in from outside, but enough for me to dare to take a shower and not get too cold afterwards.

For my last evening i wasn't about to push the boat out so decided to go somewhere i'd already been and enjoyed. a couple of places excluded themselves, so it was back to Fattoush again.


Fattoush Terrace

Another Weissen (or two) and this time chicken with green beans, finished off with an affogatto and and extra expresso. Another good meal and one to go back to if i ever have another trip there. Again, back to the hotel for some work while it was fresh in my mind and when fortunately the room had warmed up.



For my return flight on the Friday morning i had requested the early morning AF flight back to Paris flight leaving just after 7am. This though was rejected by our Travel department in favour of a 500euro cheaper option after 4pm meaning i had the morning to myself before my pickup at 12:50. Having put more than enough hours in this week already i wasn't going to give up the only bit of free time i really had during the week so decided to do a little more exploring. Having seen the shrine and gardens from the bottom i thought i'd go in and have a look around inside. I'd found out from the hotel that the entrance was at the top of the bottom section of the gardens. And, "there are guards there at the bottom gates to ask, they may even let you in". While that sounded promising, i wasn't about to put too much faith in it.

The road route on foot looked none too inviting but a detailed look at google maps seemed to show a couple of footpaths cutting off a fair bit of distance so thought i'd try and find them at least. The gardens were due to open at 9am, so i left the hotel before 9am, with at least 10 or 15 mins to the gates at the bottom. Arriving at the bottom gates there was no guard, but no problem. Turning left i started looking for a path, after about 50m not a path but a set of steps going up and a little overgrown. It can only be them, so here goes...


After about 5mins climbing i reached the top a little out of breath and it was clear that this wasn't the entrance to the shrine or gardens, just a residential area. Just across the road i could see more steps, so here we go again.



This set was much longer than the first and i perceived a little steeper. The further i got the more being a little out of shape took effect but I was determined to make it to the top without stopping even though my pace had reduced. All the way up i was watched by many, many suspicious looking cats, as if saying "why on earth would someone that unfit walk up all these steps?" Finally i reached what looked like the last steps and stopped to allow my heart to feel like it wasn't about to explode. I estimate the climb to be about 100m vertical over a distance of about 500m. Turning around gave a somewhat restricted view of the port area.

Loads of spectators of strange guy walking up the steps

Finally got to what i hoped was the top

Turning right i then followed the road and about 2-3 mins later i was at the gates. But closed. Not a soul around, no other tired walkers, no bus loads of tourists, no guards, just a couple of closed and locked gates and a sign saying it should be open. Not being especially surprised i could see the remaining Baha'i gardens going up to the top of Mount Carmel but decided that was a walk too far this morning. It was possible to poke my camera lens through the gates to get an idea of what was there though.

Through the gates

The Gardens continue to the top of Mount Carmel

About 100m further on there's another observation point across the bay, with the dome of the shrine just about visible.


Its now barely 9.30am and my planned morning activity has been eliminated and now find myself with much more time on my hands than i expected; i needed to try and fill 90 minutes. I could have gone back to hotel and waited, but a part of me felt i had unfinished business back up at the monastery from the other evening. A quick check on google maps showed it was viable so i set off. The route was unfortunately downhill to start with and not direct but back and forwards through the residential streets, but soon the long incline up to the top of Mount Carmel started again.


The metal cat still there but not scared or moving unlike all the others

Around 30 mins later i arrive at the top by the monastery and i see again the dome structure view point at the top of the cable car, the cabins making their way up, and The Beach i visited on my first evening.



The Beach, as visited on Saturday night.

This time the monastery is open and the area is full of tourists (like me) and tourist coaches. Traffic is backed up in both directions as the coaches load and unload their cargo or make 87 point turns to get around the small traffic island just outside - there doesn't appear to be a proper coach park or a dropping off point. While the monastery is now open, there don't seem to be many people inside but tours seem to be conducted in other areas of the property so the chapel itself is comparatively empty. I'm still reluctant to properly enter and take a good look, but then i see baseball caps, short skirts, T-shirts, selfie sticks and loud voices so figure i'm not high on the list of refusal targets to the non-existent staff so i enter and take a seat. The visiting nuns don't seem to object - at least vocally - to any of us.
The chapel itself is quite small, with the Altar front and center and a hollowed-out rocky area underneath. I had read earlier that there is a cave somewhere here abouts where the prophet Elijah had hidden - a story i vaguely remember from long ago when i was i child, so it must be this. The ceiling and dome though is quite ornate and pretty; all in good condition and well lit by the natural light. It's no sistene chapel nor incredible cathedral, but interesting to see and enjoy none-the-less. I sat quietly for a few minutes to take it in.

Monastery ceiling

alter and Elijahs cave

Another loud coachload came in so i decided it was my time to leave to take a walk outside. The views of the Med are great from up there and today there was no haze so the sky is quite clear.

Family Chapel as seen the other day at sunset, a tree, and the Med.

Before i left for the airport i wanted to get a light bite to eat, so i left the views and headed down again to restaurant row. While it was now a well trodden route for me i seldom saw anyone else in either direction so had the narrow footpath pretty much to myself. At the bottom a frustrated glance back up to the gardens and Shrine - would have been nice to actually walk around them, but perhaps Next Time.


from the garden gates down to the point along Restaurant row

It was now barely 11.30 and many places had yet to open up for food, but i found Cafe Cafe was open and had a simple menu which suited me perfectly. I chose the Smoked Salmon sandwich and a Mint Lemonade. It was more Mint than lemonade hence the colour and was made from crushed ice it was difficult to actually get a good drink of it, disappointing having built up a bit of a thirst. More Lemon, less mint and more liquid would have been nicer but no problem, fine as it was. So i didn't get lonely while i ate a cat casually entered, walked around a little then came to join me at my table; the staff didn't bat an eyelid, almost as if it was included in the service charge.


Whats green and Minty and doesn't really taste of lemons?

Service charge included stray cat

Not sure i really love Haifa as i wasn't there to enjoy it, but work. As an image though seemed like a fair summary of my non-working week.

I got back to the hotel just after midday, my phone showed my mornings exercise had covered >13km, and 17k steps - that will go a small way to offset those Weissens! In the Elevator back to my room i risked a quick shot through the dirty window of the port - without the navy vessels.


Next: the flight home

Thanks for the Trip Report and Pictures and Welcome to Flyertalk.

A quick shower and final pack and outside the hotel for the 12:50 pickup back to Ben Gurion airport, around 1h15 or 100km away. An uneventful ride down the coast on the highway, this driver didn't say a word to me through the whole journey. At one point i did think of looking out for several (recently released) Seditious Scribes....

A Coast from A Taxi


As you arrive at the outer perimeter of the airport there's an ID check. While my passport was in the back, my french residence permit which i had prepared in advance provided sufficient ID and we were through, about 5-10 mins before we arrived at the VIP service meeting point - we also get the VIP service for the departure as well, which is normally much more of a benefit. The driver though navigating his way through 3 lanes of cars in the arrival lane and not departures, they being parked or abandoned to collect other passengers with no kind of control - an exercise by him in slow speed control, hard turns, and surprisingly a little patience. We arrived at 14:10 where the VIP service was waiting for us by entrance 01 and we were inside the terminal within seconds. Then a queue for the baggage security check - a special security check zone for "VIP" customers. The VIP agent, a friendly young lady, who's only been in the job 2 months having spent the previous 4 years as an officer in the IDF much prefers to assist non-Israeli fliers and much prefers foreigners as they're more friendly. After she inquired in a friendly way about my travel and family she proudly told me that at 23 years old she was far too young to get married and have a family nor even a boyfriend. It passed a few minutes...

After about 15 minutes a quick interview to explain, no, i've not received any goods, no-one has given me anything to carry or hold for them, yes i do know the reason you're asking etc, i get the security label on my bag and passport label and then up to checkin on the 3rd floor. It's a big hall for most airlines all together and mostly empty being Friday - no queues. We take the priority line and duck under the tensa barriers while the agent is looking for the AF checkin desks. Again while i was offered on the app and by email the possibility to checkin in advance, it's not possible for me but i'm not surprised; although i was able to select a seat. In the sole exception in our travel policy though, for the return flight from Israel we have a fully flexible business ticket, unlike the journey to Israel. I've therefore spotted well in advance the AF SkyPriority desk and make a beeline for it. Before we arrive a checkin agent beckons us across and opens a new one just for me due to the large family group occupying the 2m radius around the original sole SP desk and the regular checkin desk the other side of it. The VIP agent had been looking for "Business class" titled desk, it was good to explain she'd need to look for SkyPriority for us AFKL/Skyteam customers.

Next the fast lane for security. I'd forgotten to empty my water bottle (i remember hearing that liquid are not an issue like in the EU) in my laptop bag but left it inside, but both my work and personal laptops came out, as well did my camera which stayed in its case. Passport control next and straight through the biometric machines, the VIP agent had to walk to the far end of the all with her security badge. Then through into the corridor to the departures concourse where the agent would leave me, the whole process having taken just 30 mins or so. The gates seem to be arranged in a hub-and-spoke type layout, the central hub with, i think 5 separate halls A-E. My flight would leave from Gate C7 which was conveniently close the the Dan Lounge just down from the central hub in spoke C.

Transit corridor down to the central departure hub, the opposite direction from a few days ago.

Central departures hub

Dan Lounge entrance

There's no specific AF or skyteam lounge at TLV but a contract lounge for multiple different airlines.Ffrom memory it's not as welcoming as the Dan King David Lounge i used previously when flying ElAl. it's long and slim, with a bar at one end with the long side exposed to the apron. Fortunately nothing was at gate C4, meaning a reasonably unhindered view of the apron. The lounge was quite busy with initially limited seating and limited power sockets available, but handily after 15 mins the seat with a socket near to me became clear and i moved to get a quick charge so i could work a little while waiting. There's a water fountain and coffee machines, small snacks, soup and a salade bar, but none of it looked especially appetizing although i wasn't too hungry having eaten not long ago. Alcohol is limited to a choice of White or Red wine, nothing petillante and it's not self service; after a few mins a lady arrived to serve a glass of red in a tumbler, a quick glance at the label showed it was an Israeli Cabernet Sauvignon, although it um, didn't entirely agree with my palette. Much as i dislike waste, after a few sips i decided to leave the rest lest i inflame my acid re-flux problem, and carried on with regular water. The wifi was quite poor, i guess due to the number of users there. Regular teams and Outlook messages took an age to send, to the extent i thought of tethering to my phone. Though for the short time i would be there, i just carried on.


Lounge food was uninspiring

View of the apron with the gate empty

not especially busy waiting area - an empty flight approaches.

Boarding was due at 1545 so made my way down to the gate at that time; as i walked out the board in the lounge showed "now boarding". At checkin i heard the flight was almost empty, so no rush. The crew boarded at 4pm and boarding starting for us at 1615, time for a quick call with The Boss back home. Clear we would be leaving a little later than scheduled.

Rarely do i get to "turn left" and it was over in a flash. It's not my first AF business flight, but they're rare enough for me that i'm no expert on the different seating arrangements. I chose seat 8A as all the others were blocked at seat selection time, i'm sure it'll be fine - for those that know or care, it's just in front of the engines. At the seat i put the blanket, pillow and hanger up top; i rarely use them. My last business class was back from JFK pre-covid on a 787 i think; i seem to remember then the footwell was offset from the seat and the seat was angled towards it; this time on the A350 the seats are inline and staggered, mine being directly next to the window and my feet directly in front of me; as it was plenty of space for my EU45 merrell shod feet. The screen is fixed directly in front, wired headphones in the cupboard to my right with a bottle of water that didn't last long, and a small document pocket by my right hip. Surprised to see a car style 3 point safety belt, rather than a normal lap belt. The amenity kit duly arrived, sealed by a small seahorse tag which i thought was a nice touch, although the kit it contained the usual suspects.

Front A350 Business class cabin

My seat, 8A

plenty of leg room at the time

seat side closet - i never used it.

Amenity kit with neat seahorse security tag.

the usual suspects - nothing to see here, move right along please...

By 1630 boarding was completed and the forward business cabin was perhaps 20% full. From then the service started and seemed like they were offering something every 5 minutes. First champagne, then a few minutes later hot towels, and then again the menu, and finally for my choice of main dish. Taxing took 15 mins, and we took off towards the sea at 1715, with the cabin lighting taking on a pleasant red/(white)/blue lighting scheme.

Ben Gurion and Tel Aviv

Neat ambient lighting - red, white and blue

Take off directly across the med.

Service began about 15 mins later with an aperitif; i took a glass of bordeaux, a 2017 Paulliac, but it was a little too chilled for me still, i'll leave it a few mins before i continue. Also served were a little box of cheese biscuits and an amuse buche, what appears to be a courgette roll filled with soft cheese and rolled in... well, something. The little box of cheese biscuits were lovely - light, crips and crumbly and cheesy. A suitable time later and dinner was served. The starter was houmus with a chicken terrine. While i was offered a different wine with the meal i stayed with the Paulliac. For the main course i chose the chicken Supreme with safron rice, although for some reason i elected to not take a sauce. Consequently it was a little dry, but my fault.

starter

Chicken supreme with safron rice, sans sauce

By this time i was starting to get quite full; i was starting to think even the light lunch i'd had 6 hours earlier was not a good idea. After the main course dish was cleared though, the food still kept coming - next up a selection of cheeses, and then the desserts. The desserts though were just too much, and i could only eat the macaron, the rest unfortunately going to waste. The whole time i was offered constant top-ups of the Paulliac to the point where the steward offered to leave the bottle - jokingly i think. Although i got through more of the little evian water bottles than i did the wine.

Cheese selection

Desserts

After the dessert was cleared i had a freshly made expresso, but declined the digestif. i've read it elsewhere that the AF food in business is superb and it really was. it was all really tasty, well presented and a pleasure to eat. I would have enjoyed that meal on the ground at a normal restaurant - everyone should try it at least once. When the meal service had finsihed, the lights were dimmed and the window blinds were automatically closed all at once. The A350 windows each seem to have 2 blinds. One closer to the passenger that reduces the light coming in that the passenger can control by a small button above, and another further to the outside that can be controlled by the crew which cuts out almost all light. These aren't electrically dimming shades like the 787, but physical blinds which move up and down; i thought they were quite interesting, at least for the first time i saw them. As the cabin was now dark and with about 2.5 hours before we landed in Paris i thought i'd get a little rest. The seat reclines into a fully flat bed, and still i had plenty of room.


interesting window blinds

We'd started our descent and the window blinds started to open causing me to wake from my doze. I didn't realise how tired i must have been as i was fast asleep, but the bed was comfortable enough for a couple of hours at least. I woke though a little startled and almost immediately started feeling quite crappy. I finished the last bottle of water the steward had given me, but it didn't help; i guess i'd entered REM sleep and my body didn't like to be woken from it. Disappointing that an otherwise good experience should end that way.

As we approached Paris the sun had already probably set on the ground. We landed about 40 mins late in Terminal 2K which at least meant no transit train between terminals was required. Then down into the concourse for the 5min walk to immigration. As a Skypriority passenger i was able to take the priority line and skip much of the queue for non-EU arrivals - that probably saved 20 or 30 minutes. I only had to wait 5 mins or so from the point i joined; a positive seeing as i'm still feeling not at all good by that point.

Sunset over france on the approach to Paris

Empty arrivals concourse on the ay to immigration

Immigration hall - sky priority passengers in the middle

down to the baggage hall to get my bag

After clearing immigration i went to the baggage hall; the board was showing another 19 mins to wait for the bags to be delivered. As a business passenger i should have a yellow priority tag on my bag to get my bag sooner, but that doesn't work and it comes in the middle of the delivery. Finally, out into the arrivals area and the long walk the length of the 2E terminal to take the escalator up.

the walk to the escalator can seem quite long....

I'm staying back at the Novotel in the RER station that i used to start this trip. I'm again glad that i chose this hotel for its convenience, and that my employee gives me a free hotel choice, within reason. So again back around the top of the station, down onto the CDGvaltransit train as before and back to the CDG1 stop. In the reception area the ALL elite desk is open and empty so quickly check in.

I felt as good as this picture looks, at the top of the TGV station

Then thankfully i get to the room and bed. I hope i feel better in the morning, i've another early start...

Next: the final stretch home

This is such a genuinely interesting report with great details. Thanks. Hope you are feeling better!

Thanks.
Yes, felt fine the next morning after some proper sleep.

One of the consequences of having my request for the earlier flight on Friday rejected is that i'd no longer be able to make it home that same day, Friday. Instead i'd be travelling back from CDG to home on Saturday, but this bought its own issues. Being a French school holiday travel weekend, it meant the early direct train from CDG to my home town was already sold out and unavailable so i'd need to travel back into Paris and take a train back from Gare Montparnasse in the south of the Capital. Having researched this in advance before i left, there were no trains after around 7.30am until around 3pm that Saturday - due to the exodus from Paris to the country for the holidays. Furthermore, looking at the necessary RER B connection back to Paris from CDG showed that on Saturday the RER line was closed due to maintenance from CDG to Aulnay sur Bois; that part of the journey would be by a replacement bus. Therefore having booked one of the last seats available on a TGV at around 7.25, allowing 1hour for the metro journey and 1 hour for the replacement bus journey, i figured i'd need to leave CDG around 5am if i was going to make it.

Not knowing how the day would turn out, i decided to get a good breakfast to start. While officially the Novotel breakfast opened at 5am, i turned up at around 4.50; no staff but a few other guests and breakfast was all laid out ready for just me







If you want a picture of an empty breakfast room, get there early before it opens

Having eaten quickly i went to my room to get my bags and was out of the hotel door by 5.15. Fortunately, the replacement bus service was leaving from the CDG1 RER station, from the back entrance. For this temporary service, there's a temporary bus stop in the bus station. I found the stand and saw that i had just missed the last bus at 5.15 - typical. The next bus was due at 5.45 - great (not), eating into my connection time. About 5 minutes after the scheduled time the bus appeared and became 1/2 fully instantly. A transit agent though boarded after 2 mins to say the bus was out of service and a new bus would be along in a few minutes - turns out the driver was due a break (! at 5.45am? There was no service before 4.45am...). Getting a little nervous now. About 10 mins later a new bus arrived, some of the other passengers having now wandered off so its barely 1/4 full; It doesn't wait long and within 2 mins we're thankfully off. Its now 6am and i've still got a TGV to catch on the other side of Paris.

temporary bus stop

replacement bus #2

Its now 6am and i've got a TGV to catch on the other side of Paris. While i'm not sure i'd thought it through fully i'm equally sure there's not a lot i could have done about it. As a replacement bus it was going to each of the other 5 or 6 RER stations that were missing a train service; for some reason i'd imagined it would go directly going pas perhaps 1 station - not all. Even at 6am on a Saturday morning in the outskirts of NW Paris there a reasonable amount of traffic and it takes an age to go to each station above ground. By the last stop the bus is packed and no space: doors are opened, no-one moves, passengers waiting outside move to get on but realise there's no-where to get on to, even the door step has people "inside" clinging on to their space; we move off again barely having stopped. Approaching 7am we finally arrive at Aulnay; there's a train waiting so run onto the platform and get a seat. But we wait, and wait and finally at well gone 7 we finally move off.

Realising i'm never going to make my 7.25 train i pull out the SNCF app and look for alternatives - I really don't fancy waiting 6 hours in Montparnasse. Fortunately, it shows that there are a couple of seat on the next train at 7.55 - a bit of luck at last! i had imagined such kind of problems and bought my original TGV journey on a fully flexible ticket, going against our company policy which states that only the cheapest non-changeable tickets must be bought - what a rebel i am! I've now a bit of breathing space, but not a lot and its now gone 7.30. Finally the RER arrives ar Denfert Rochereau station and i transfer to Metro line 6, the light green one, for the short journey to Montparnasse. An alternative would have been Metro 4, but that has a long walk from the Metro to the Montparnasse TGV station itself and right now i need every second i can get.

An almost empty Denfert Rochereau - 7.30 on a saturday morning

I've arrive at Montparnasse, work my way quickly through the station and see a surprising number of people - although it is the Exodus so i shouldn't be that surprised. I run up the 2 escalators on the left side up to the station concourse - sadly a connection i've done far to often in the last 15 or so years. The right side escalators are often quite busy with descending passengers and can be difficult to get through especially with baggage. The target is in sight now as i can see the ticket barrier for my train but my run has slowed to a jog as i run out of energy; the last remaining passengers are in front of me 2-3 deep in front of the barriers as i scan the QR code that represents my ticket. I find my carriage, #3 and along to my seat upstairs. By now the train is pretty full and luggage space is at a premium. As a duplex (double decker) train the luggage racks are too narrow for my bag but i finally find somewhere to stow it. A lady is sitting in my assigned seat by the window but i don't mind, just glad to get a seat. I sit down and start to relax. The journey across Paris that should have taken less than an hour has taken almost 3x that.

Within 5 of boarding and just a few mins after sitting the train moves off, into the south Parisien suburbs. The 90 minute journey is uneventful; i sit back and compose myself, feeling a little lucky that i did rebook the TGV and actually made it. We arrive at my station, pickup my car from the car park and then drive off home.

It wasn't a good trip or a bad trip or a fun trip, but simply another trip for work restricted by corporate policy. It's certainly the most interesting trip i've taken this year but only because the others set a comparatively low bar. I'm sure i'll get back to Israel again before i'm done but have no idea when - could be next year, could be another 7. All i know is i already have other equally other mundane work trips to prepare and plan for in the next few months.

Well, I have to say for your first TR that has been an epic! Well done!

Thanks, it has been a bit... long