We flew from Rome to Tel Aviv, passing through customs with barely a question asked, much like China. Certainly not at all what we expected when entering Israel.
Our hostel is in the old town of Jaffa,
just south of Tel Aviv, on the Mediterranean Sea. The town dates back at least 4000 years but recently has been undergoing extensive renovations. It is relaxing just to wander through the lanes of the town and along the waterfront. Although small in size, there are numerous restaurants and bars right outside our door – as you can imagine, very lively into the long hours of the evening. 
Also a stone’s throw away from the hostel is a little flea market, described in our guide book as a great place to pick up antique items. I beg to differ as all we saw was a lot of junk – maybe we just didn’t dig deep enough through history and the supposedly thousand year old items for sale.
We have friends who we met while travelling in South America and now live quite close to Tel Aviv. Tamar and Asaph (and their 2 children – Rona, 3 years and Daniel, 7 months) have been wonderful hosts, inviting us to their house for dinner and introducing us to a few historic neighborhoods in Tel Aviv.
We enjoyed their company for breakfast in NeveTzedek, Tel Aviv’s first Jewish neighborhood dating back to 1887 and now a chic area for upwardly mobile families. After eating, we were out strolling the narrow lanes, enjoying the architecture of the houses .
Then it was off to the Carmel Market to take in all the sights, sounds and aromas of fish, spices and olives, just to name a few. 
Nearby was an open air craft market which we perused and then eventually found a café to our liking. The outdoor café scene is thriving in Tel Aviv and we are happy participants (of note – Starbuck’s tried but failed here in Israel as their coffee is too burnt tasting for this discerning crowd).
The following morning we met our friends again for coffee and pastries (probably one of the best almond croissants we’ve had in a long while). Then we set off on Rothschild Street and the nearby area in our quest for houses of Bauhaus architecture.
It is a style from the 1930’s and 40’s and although about 4000 were built, only a handful have been restored. They are lovely to behold and well worth the search.
We do have to thank Tamar and Asaph for answering all of our questions about current events as well as the history of Tel Aviv and Israel. We certainly had plenty and could probably could go on with more. The two of them are amazing ‘encyclopedias’ as far as Israeli and Jewish history is concerned. Gilbert and I pale in comparison regarding Canadian and American history.
A part of our ‘education’ was a bit on the lighter side, as when I commented to Asaph that there sure were a lot of stray cats around. His quick response was there are no rats to be found in the city. Excellent point so I concede – the cats can stay!
As for food, we have found that often two people can eat for the price of one. Meals will often include what they call ‘salads’,
a small but extensive array of cheese, dips and olives served with warm bread. A salad with a meal is usually a bowl of cucumbers and tomatoes mixed together with cilantro and mint and sometimes marinated. Bakeries are not lacking and the pastries are really fresh and delicious. 
For the real sweet tooth there is always the Balklava, an seemingly endless variety filled with different nuts.
Something else we did notice was that city is covered in Israeli flags.
We sensed that perhaps everyone is very patriotic. As it turns out, it is a long weekend to celebrate both Memorial Day and Independence Day (or BBQ Day as we have heard it affectionately called). Weekends are normally Friday and Saturday but the weekend is extended with Sunday and Monday as holidays as well.
The rest of our time in Tel Aviv was spent either on the beach
or strolling the promenade which runs along the Mediterranean Sea - from Jaffa in the south to the Tel Aviv Marina in the north, a distance of 14 kilometers. This ranks as one of the best beach areas we have ever seen – extremely clean and well maintained. And we had the perfect weather to go with it – sunny and warm with a wonderful sea breeze as ‘air conditioning’. We preferred to relax at ‘La La Land’ – the name of a restaurant and hence beach area but anywhere along the strip would have been fine. One quickly 
discovers a favourite past time – playing matkot – beach ping pong without the table. But activities are limited only to one’s imagination as there are joggers, cyclists, volleyball, exercise equipment, playgrounds and of course, swimming, surfing or just splashing around in the sea. A bit of people watching – we saw a not quite passable ‘Elvis’ look alike – his ‘rug’ was such a giveaway.
We spent 3 full days in Tel Aviv and are now traveling north of the coast to Haifa, with more stories to come.
Our hostel is in the old town of Jaffa,
just south of Tel Aviv, on the Mediterranean Sea. The town dates back at least 4000 years but recently has been undergoing extensive renovations. It is relaxing just to wander through the lanes of the town and along the waterfront. Although small in size, there are numerous restaurants and bars right outside our door – as you can imagine, very lively into the long hours of the evening. 
Also a stone’s throw away from the hostel is a little flea market, described in our guide book as a great place to pick up antique items. I beg to differ as all we saw was a lot of junk – maybe we just didn’t dig deep enough through history and the supposedly thousand year old items for sale.We have friends who we met while travelling in South America and now live quite close to Tel Aviv. Tamar and Asaph (and their 2 children – Rona, 3 years and Daniel, 7 months) have been wonderful hosts, inviting us to their house for dinner and introducing us to a few historic neighborhoods in Tel Aviv.
We enjoyed their company for breakfast in NeveTzedek, Tel Aviv’s first Jewish neighborhood dating back to 1887 and now a chic area for upwardly mobile families. After eating, we were out strolling the narrow lanes, enjoying the architecture of the houses .
Then it was off to the Carmel Market to take in all the sights, sounds and aromas of fish, spices and olives, just to name a few. 
Nearby was an open air craft market which we perused and then eventually found a café to our liking. The outdoor café scene is thriving in Tel Aviv and we are happy participants (of note – Starbuck’s tried but failed here in Israel as their coffee is too burnt tasting for this discerning crowd).The following morning we met our friends again for coffee and pastries (probably one of the best almond croissants we’ve had in a long while). Then we set off on Rothschild Street and the nearby area in our quest for houses of Bauhaus architecture.
It is a style from the 1930’s and 40’s and although about 4000 were built, only a handful have been restored. They are lovely to behold and well worth the search.We do have to thank Tamar and Asaph for answering all of our questions about current events as well as the history of Tel Aviv and Israel. We certainly had plenty and could probably could go on with more. The two of them are amazing ‘encyclopedias’ as far as Israeli and Jewish history is concerned. Gilbert and I pale in comparison regarding Canadian and American history.
A part of our ‘education’ was a bit on the lighter side, as when I commented to Asaph that there sure were a lot of stray cats around. His quick response was there are no rats to be found in the city. Excellent point so I concede – the cats can stay!
As for food, we have found that often two people can eat for the price of one. Meals will often include what they call ‘salads’,
a small but extensive array of cheese, dips and olives served with warm bread. A salad with a meal is usually a bowl of cucumbers and tomatoes mixed together with cilantro and mint and sometimes marinated. Bakeries are not lacking and the pastries are really fresh and delicious. 
For the real sweet tooth there is always the Balklava, an seemingly endless variety filled with different nuts.Something else we did notice was that city is covered in Israeli flags.
We sensed that perhaps everyone is very patriotic. As it turns out, it is a long weekend to celebrate both Memorial Day and Independence Day (or BBQ Day as we have heard it affectionately called). Weekends are normally Friday and Saturday but the weekend is extended with Sunday and Monday as holidays as well.The rest of our time in Tel Aviv was spent either on the beach
or strolling the promenade which runs along the Mediterranean Sea - from Jaffa in the south to the Tel Aviv Marina in the north, a distance of 14 kilometers. This ranks as one of the best beach areas we have ever seen – extremely clean and well maintained. And we had the perfect weather to go with it – sunny and warm with a wonderful sea breeze as ‘air conditioning’. We preferred to relax at ‘La La Land’ – the name of a restaurant and hence beach area but anywhere along the strip would have been fine. One quickly 
discovers a favourite past time – playing matkot – beach ping pong without the table. But activities are limited only to one’s imagination as there are joggers, cyclists, volleyball, exercise equipment, playgrounds and of course, swimming, surfing or just splashing around in the sea. A bit of people watching – we saw a not quite passable ‘Elvis’ look alike – his ‘rug’ was such a giveaway.
We spent 3 full days in Tel Aviv and are now traveling north of the coast to Haifa, with more stories to come.
What a life !! ;-))))) I can't wait to read more...
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