Makabi & Liron present

The Grand Tour · 2026

Miami → New York → Tuscany → Lake Como → Jerusalem → Home
SEPTEMBER 1 — 30, 2026
🇺🇸 🇮🇹 🇮🇱
BOOKED · EK206 JFK→Milan · Sep 1
WATCHING · Business / Premium upgrade · every 2 hrs
TO BOOK · MIA→JFK · MXP→TLV · TLV→MIA · hotels & trains
The Route

One Month, Three Worlds

A wedding under the Tuscan sky, the chagim in Jerusalem, and a single perfect New York day to begin it all.

AMERICASEPT 1 · ONE PERFECT DAYMIA / FLLdep ~08:30JFK · New Yorkland ~11:30 · T4The OhelQueens · 15 minprayer · pastrami · takeoffEK206 · 22:20 ✈ITALIASEPT 2 – 10 · THE BOOT, OUR WAYMilanComoModena · Motor ValleyFlorenceVilla Pitiana ♥PisaCinque Terre /PortofinoSienaa wedding under the Tuscan sky — then la dolce vitaISRAELSEPT 10 – 28/30 · THE CHAGIMTel Aviv · TLV🍎🍯 Rosh Hashanah · Sep 11–13🕊 Yom Kippur · Sep 20–21🌿 Sukkot begins · Sep 25✈ LY nonstop home · dep 00:15Mon 28 / Tue 29 / Wed 30 · 787 Dreamlinershana tova — then sun-tanned & home
STYLIZED ROUTE — NOT TO SCALE · ROME RESPECTFULLY SKIPPED · NAPLES NOT INVITED
New York City at golden hour
Chapter One

🇺🇸 One Perfect New York Day

Tuesday · September 1
~08:30
Fly Miami → JFK To Book
First nonstops of the day leave ~08:30 (Delta & American, ~12 nonstops daily). Delta lands at JFK Terminal 4 — the exact terminal Emirates departs from. FLL→JFK on JetBlue is the backup if times/fares win. Target landing by ~11:30.
12:00
Drive to the Rebbe's Ohel 15 min from JFK
Ohel Chabad-Lubavitch, 226-20 Francis Lewis Blvd, Cambria Heights, Queens. Open 24/6 with a visitors center (bring the luggage — pre-flight visitors do it all the time). Write your pan, take your time.
12:30–15:00
The Ohel — prayers & presence
A meaningful send-off for the journey: a wedding, the chagim, a new year ahead. ~2.5 hours, no rushing.
15:00–17:00
Late kosher lunch
Two plays: the Five Towns or Crown Heights. Either keeps you 30–40 min from JFK.
17:30
Back to JFK Terminal 4
Emirates check-in opens ~18:20 (4 hrs before). Drop bags, lounge, breathe.
22:20
EK206 · JFK → Milan MalpensaBookedUpgrade Watch On
Emirates A380, nonstop, 7h55m. Economy Flex Plus for two — and if Business or Premium Economy award space opens, the upgrade alert fires straight to you.
Tuscan villa among cypresses
Chapter Two

🇮🇹 La Dolce Vita — The Boot, Your Way

Sep 2 – 10
Wed · Sep 2
Land & Glide to Florence
  • 12:15 land MXP · Malpensa Express to Milano Centrale (~50 min)
  • Frecciarossa/Italo to Firenze SMN (~1h55) — book ahead
  • Evening passeggiata + first negroni · sleep off the jet lag
Thu Sep 3 – Sat Sep 5
The Wedding · Villa Pitiana
  • Thu ~14:00: private transfer Florence → Villa Pitiana (45 min, Reggello)
  • 15:00–17:00 castle check-in · 17:00 reception · all-white dress code
  • Fri: pool, Kabbalat Panim, 16:00 ceremony, black tie feast & after-party
  • Sat: recovery breakfast · 11:30–13:30 checkout · back to Florence
Sat 5 – Mon 7
Florence & Deep Tuscany
  • Two Florence nights: Duomo at dawn, Oltrarno workshops, bistecca
  • Sun: Siena & San Gimignano (or Chianti wine drive — 1-day rental)
  • Mon AM: Pisa pit-stop (~1h by train) → onward to the coast
Mon 7 – Tue 8
The Quaint Coast
  • Ligurian seaside, Positano-energy, zero repeats:
  • Cinque Terre (Vernazza · Manarola) or Portofino / Santa Margherita / Camogli
  • Seafood dinner over the harbor · overnight on the water
Tue 8 – Wed 9
Motor Valley 🏎
  • Train to Modena · Ferrari Museum + factory area, Maranello
  • Lamborghini Museum, Sant'Agata Bolognese (book tours NOW)
  • Modena overnight = Osteria-level food town · optional Pagani
Wed 9 – Thu 10
Lake Como Finale
  • Train Modena → Milano → Varenna (~2h30 total)
  • Mid-lake ferry triangle: Varenna · Bellagio · Menaggio
  • Thu: slow morning on the lake → 1h to Malpensa → Israel ✈
Jerusalem with pomegranates and honey
Chapter Three

🇮🇱 The Chagim in the Holy Land

Sep 10 – 28/30
Thu · Sep 10
El Al · Milan MXP → Tel Aviv To Book
El Al flies MXP T1 → TLV T3 daily including Thursdays (up to 2–4x/day, ~4 hrs, LY382/LY388 family). Exactly the pre-chag Thursday flight you spotted — Como morning, Kotel state of mind by night, a full day before Rosh Hashanah.
Fri–Sun · Sep 11–13
🍎🍯 Rosh Hashanah
Begins sunset Friday Sep 11. You're settled, rested, and nowhere near an airport.
Sun–Mon · Sep 20–21
🕊 Yom Kippur
Fri · Sep 25
🌿 Sukkot begins (yom tov Sat Sep 26 in Israel)
First days in the sukkah with family and friends; chol hamoed starts Sunday Sep 27.
Chapter Four

🏠 The Dreamliner Home

Sep 28 / 29 / 30
00:15
El Al LY17 · Tel Aviv → Miami nonstop To Book
787 Dreamliner (Business + Premium Economy cabins available), ~13h45, lands MIA early morning the same day. Operates most days except Thursday — pick Mon Sep 28, Tue Sep 29, or Wed Sep 30, all post–first-days of Sukkot, all "end of the month." September is also historically the cheap month on this route (~$750 RT average).
~06:30
Land MIA · home, tanned, married-off friends, new year begun
The War Room

To-Do — Booked, Watching, Missing

Tick as you go — progress is saved on this device.

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