Israel, the land of milk and honey. And hummus, falafels, bagels, pretzels, avocados...

We've just got back from the most gloriously happy holiday, visiting friends in Israel.

Amit and Yulia live in Bat Yam, which is a satellite of Tel Aviv, the capital city. Their apartment is in a round building, with balconies wrapped around it, giving the most amazing views over Bat Yam and beyond.

When the sea is that close, you'd be mad not to swim in it every day. That's the Mediterranean you can see in the photos.

Lovely new friends, Yulia and Ariane. Both so incredibly sweet. Look at those beautiful smiles!
Amit and Yulia were the most welcoming and generous hosts, and Ariane is the most adorable baby, happy and calm, just like her Mum and Dad.

At night, the city is lit up with what looks like miles of fairy lights. You can see Rishon, Holon, Natanya and Jerusalem in the distance. It's a magical and mesmerising view. We spent hours on the balcony just watching the city at night.

Their apartment is the penthouse, and our bedroom suite with balcony was on the upper level. Extremely glamorous!

The main theme of the holiday was food. Hummus, falafel, shakshuka, pickled vegetables, salads, all manner of bread. We never stopped eating. We might have done some drinking too...

A big night out in Tel Aviv. That's Amit with me and that's Asi, his best friend, in the background. It was so lovely to catch up with him. The last time I was in Israel, they were sharing a flat, down south in Eilat

One day it was 'I'm taking you for the breakfast of champions', another 'You want to try the best falafel in Israel?' We visited other friends, all of whom insisted we eat. Food glorious food.

Doesn't look much from outside, does it? But in a space smaller than my sitting room, they've been turning out the best falafel in Israel for nearly 100 years. Three generations of the same family. We had a great laugh with them, they trying out their English on us, we trying out our Hebrew and Arabic on them.

I've been friends with Amit for nearly 20 years and he remains one of my absolute favourite people. Intelligent, funny, adventurous, interesting, loyal, incredibly generous and kind. Hopefully, once we've lost a few kilos, we'll meet again! ;)

Within the holiday, he arranged for us to stay a few days in a small beachside apartment, belonging to his friends Babai and Nataly. We were really spoilt.

Anyway, now I've set the scene, the next couple of posts are filled with pretty pictures of our travels. I hope you'll join me.