Arrived in Tel Aviv around mid day and found my hostel pretty easily. The room was about 2 streets away from the beach. On first impression Tel Aviv reminded me of Vancouver minus the mountains ( so probably pretty similar to California coastal cities) Along the promenade were various muscle beaches, kite surfers, and parks that ran parallel to high rise office buildings and hotels on the edge of town. The sun seemed to be constantly shining above the sea.
My first stop was Old Jaffa to the south of the city ( cakes names after ) This was the original Ottoman fortification that the city was built around after portioning in 1948.
I met up with my friend Yaara who I had met in Venice earlier in the year. She was on leave from the army so had offered to show me around. Spent the afternoon/evening touring the different areas of the town. Its always good to have some local knowledge and Yaara was a lovely person to spend time with.....
It was Friday afternoon and the beginnings of Shabbat the Jewish holiday ( some people refuse to bowl at this time …..) so there weren’t many people in the streets. Friday evening is traditionally when families get together to have meals. ( see Venice instalment for more Shabbat anecdotes….) The feeling around town was very chilled out until around 11pm when people started hitting the streets to party. Hung out in some trendy areas where the buildings were all in an art deco style and the street were lines with shops and bistros….the vibes couldn’t have been more different to Egypt. Later we hit a few local bars, drinks weren’t cheap, we managed to get lost a few times along the way and I struggled to stay awake in parts of the night, but all in all was a great evening……
The next day I was suffering from lack of sleep and stomach problems again so had a slow start to the day…was hitting a travel fatigue wall and spent most of the day chilling by the beach and trying to re-hydrate myself. In the evening I walked back to the Old Jaffa area and saw an amazing view of the city from a hilltop park that contained some Egyptian ruins…..I was back in the hostel by 7pm and exhausted…. had to pass on an offer to go out again that night as the suggested meeting time was 12am (Israelis really do start late when they go out…. this is something ive been unable to adjust to, or maybe my age is starting to show? ) Was asleep by around 9pm and slept for a full 12 hours…..
Next day felt infinitely better took my time getting ready in the morning and then got a bus north to Haifa where I would spend the next couple of days. Tel Aviv was a great city, although I spent probably half my time there sleeping …sometimes you have to just take a break and get better as soon as possible…..still it provided some great, if brief, memories and was the perfect place to recover from a few weeks on the road… Lets see if Haifa brings more detailed adventures to report….
No comments:
Post a Comment