Walking Around Tel Aviv
Up bright(ish) and early(ish) this morning. Today is our only full day to experience Tel Aviv. It’s not over yet, but I needed to get some details down before I forget.
First, again, I must stress how fantastic our lives are in the privileged industrial world. The first thing I did this morning was video chat with my family. This is not new technology, but I had to pause to savor the pure wonder of seeing the faces of my loved ones 7000 miles away, in real time, for FREE (except for the cost of the equipment and our home internet service, but that’s not important now). Just fantastic.
Breakfast. Can i tell you about breakfast? I have vague memories of our family trip to Israel when I was a kid. I remember cucumber and tomato salad and yogurt for breakfast every morning, and not much else, though I’m sure there was more. I’d heard about the standard Israeli hotel breakfast, and I knew it would be varied and plentiful. But the scale of it. I was awed. I skipped the 3 kinds of fish and the cheeses and the yogurt entirely. Also the chocolate cake (that was a challenge). Still didn’t come near to tasting everything. I will never be happy with an American-style hotel buffet again.
Fortified, we set out south along the water toward Jaffa. On the way, we had a stop at Shuk haCarmel, the large market in the middle of town. The sounds and the smells were wonderful. I really missed Bonnie here–this is the kind of thing that she loves. Derek bought some sugary pecans from a stall staffed by Russian speakers, and I smelled fish and cooking meat and fresh fruit and bakeries.
On to Jaffa. We kept walking for a bit along the beach, then turned left up the hill on which the old city sits. About halfway up the hill, we stopped to look at the minaret of the local mosque, the middle of which was just about eye-level from our position. Just as I was taking a picture of it, the midday call to prayer began. We stopped to listen to the 2 or 3 minutes of chanting. I was struck by the musical similarity with the sound of Jewish prayer, and felt a little melancholy about the continued tensions in the region.
We climbed the rest of the way up the tel and admired the views of the Mediterranean and the surrounding city. And then it started to rain. Just a little. Then a little more. And then we were in front of the Napolean Patisserie (very Israeli sounding, non?), and we thought it was a good time for a cup of coffee. Just in time. If we’d been outside for one more minute, we would have been soaked by the 10 minute downpour. As it was, we had some very nice coffee and an excellent plate of hummus.
A little more walking around Jaffa, now in the sun, brought us to an old palace that is now full of bats. The sound of their chirping was kind of cool, but I was glad I wasn’t inside.
And now back at the hotel, having some blogging time, giving the feet a rest, and enjoying the afternoon “snack” once again. I think in a bit we’ll try walking north to see what’s in that direction. Maybe eat again.
I always enjoy your foodie travels….keep eating…