Tel Aviv, Israel

I finally got to fulfill a LIFELONG travel dream of visiting Israel!

About six months ago, my friend Melissa messaged me and two other friends, Hope and Lisa, to tell us that she was going to Tel Aviv for a work trip in March, and wanted to wrap a few days in Barcelona or somewhere fun around her work trip.  So we planned our trip to Barcelona, which was really exciting for me because I bought a cheap plane ticket, and we used Lisa's hotel points for the hotel! 

Then in January, Melissa says that I NEED to come hang out with her in Tel Aviv.  She said I could stay in her hotel with her for free.  Plane tickets from Munich, round trip and non stop were under 300 Euro (and that included a bag and a seat reservation!).  I just couldn't resist. I will never be able to go to Israel for less than this, and it's #1 on my travel dream trip list.

Hasta la vista, Germany!

I saw these cool cumulonimbus clouds over what I think was either western Greece or Eastern Turkey.

I got the N'th degree at passport control in Tel Aviv, which I had been expecting.  I had heard their questioning would be tough.  Imagine how confused they were when a girl with an American passport shows up to Israel for only three nights!  "Why are you only here for three nights?  That's a really long way to come for a short time."  Yes. I know that but I live in Germany.  Hmmmm.  Do you have another passport?  Yes. Yes I do.  To soften all of this, after you get through that, they have displayed about a million beers!  We are Israel, and we are here to prove that we are fun!

I hopped in a cab and made my way to the Renaissance in Tel Aviv.  Wait... La Guardia?!  Where am I!?  I shouldn't be in New York!  My friend Gil let me know that Fiorello LaGuardia was a big supporter of Zionism, hence a lot of things in Tel Aviv are named after him.

I finally made it to the hotel and dropped my stuff off in our room.  What the... are you kidding me with this view from the Renaissance!?  I come here for history and religion, and yet I also get beautiful beach views!?  I'm never leaving!

Ayala and I happened to be in Israel for the fun festival time of Purim!  Purim commemorates the saving of the Jews from Haman's plot to kill all of the Jews (including women and children!)  Haman was the prime minister at the time, but the King's new wife Esther (see: Book of Esther) was the cousin of the leader of the Jews, Mordechai.  Esther revealed her heritage to her husband, who then had Haman killed and made Mordechai Prime Minister in his place.  Whoo hoo!  Now that's a reason to celebrate - and the people of Israel certainly do.  It's a time to dress up, maybe have some cocktails and of course... perform acts of charity, including giving money to and feeding the poor. 

When we were in our room, we looked down and saw some Minions!  It was a warm day... I bet they were sweating in those costumes!

Selfie on a balcony!  Look how excited we are to be together in Tel Aviv!

Ayala and I decided to venture out and check out Tel Aviv.  It was really warm (and breezy) out, so we walked along the Promenade past the various beaches, restaurants and people running or working out. 

Our walk along the promenade took us past the Hassan Bek Mosque.  The Minaret is not the original, but the Mosque itself was built in 1916.

Not all of Tel Aviv is pretty.  Some parts could use some sprucing up!  Tel Aviv is a relatively new city.  While nearby Jaffa is very old (founded before the days of Jesus), Tel Aviv was only formed as a city in 1909.  After Israel was formed in 1948, the cities of Jaffa and Tel Aviv formed to become one large municipality in 1950.  Jerusalem has nearly double the population, but it is also about 2.5 times as large as Tel Aviv in square miles. Because it was basically built on sand dunes, it became more of a financial and business center over the years, since it didn't have fertile lands for farming.

We rambled through the Carmel Market which was really packed since it was the weekend of Purim.  They mostly sell food, housewares, clothing and flowers/plants.

Look at these spices!  So beautiful!

Once you exit the Carmel Market, you can take a right u-turn and head into the artists market which only occurs on Tuesdays and Fridays.  They sell some of the most beautiful ceramics, jewelry (I got some bracelets! I'm obsessed with bracelets!) and art work.

After we strolled through the artists market, we went back to Magen David Square.  Hey look!  Some doctors with Fred and Wilma!

Magen David Square, which translates to Star of David Square, is named so because it's located at the intersection of six streets (much like the six pointed Star of David).  Before I left for Israel, my mom sent me an email saying Israel wasn't safe to travel as a solo woman (which no worries, I wasn't doing anyway).  But look!  It's perfectly safe!  Police officers with machine guns!  We're all safe!

We decided to walk back to HaTachana (the old railroad station) to find something to eat.  It's mostly art galleries and some restaurants now.

When in Israel, why not stop for Spanish tapas and wine!?!  Sure.  That makes sense.  We had a seat at the outdoor bar at Vicky Cristina.

Patatas bravas.  And bacon wrapped scallops.  And some cheese and mini burgers.  Holy moley.

 Then the bartender came by and tried to give the girls next to us a drink.  They kept declining.  He walks over to me and says, "I made a few of these and then the table decided they didn't want them.  Do you want this? It's free?"  YES PLEASE.  I don't turn down free alcohol!

While we were sitting there, one Purim reveler walked by in a ladybug costume.  He/she kind of wandered around a bit, looking like the saddest ladybug in the world.  I think they may have wanted a bathroom!?

Selfie with a cow outside of a café in the HaTachana.

Cats of Israel.  It's a REAL THING.  As real as the dogs who were moving with a purpose in southern Spain.  They are everywhere!

We walked back to the beach and saw this sign.  My brother jokingly told me to look for Shlomo, and look!  I found him!  (Even better... his nickname was Cheech!)  He was born in Berlin (!!) and was a major general in the Israeli Defense forces and a former mayor of Tel Aviv from (as you can see) 1974-1993.  I love that you have to read Hebrew backwards.  That is... if you can read it at all!  Props if you can! 

Sunshine on a manhole cover makes me happy.

Sunset over the Mediterranean and Jaffa in Israel ALSO makes me happy.

Ayala and I rolled up our pants (or, ummmm... I did) and put our toes in the water.  I was surprised to find that it wasn't that cold!  (I mean, I wouldn't jump in the water... but it wasn't bad on the feet!)

As we walked along the promenade, we approached the Dolphinarium.  The Dolphinarium is a former nightclub, where in June of 2001, a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing 21 Israelis (of which 16 were teenagers). 

A close up of the Dolphinarium shows that you can still see the remains of wires, rebar and smashed concrete.  The families of the victims are still fighting to keep this as a permanent monument, almost 16 years later.

Ayala made dinner reservations because it was a) Friday night, b) the weekend of Purim and c) the eve of the Shabbat (where some places close down).  So she made a reservation at Mashya.  We could walk there from the hotel, and I snapped a picture of this interesting building on the way there.

Mashya rocked.  Right on down to their ivy walls (indoors!) and their bread that was on a stick.  Like a real piece of a tree from the outdoors.

Mashya also had Woodford Reserve.  Bonus points for that!

But their biggest sell was their food!  I had the Gnocchi, porcini mushrooms, arugula, parmesan and truffle oil.  Ayala had the Sliced picanha, potatoes, herb stock and pickled onions.

They also brought us a little sweet treat after dinner!  These were some sort of toasted marshmallow but it had the flavor of mango, which was outstanding.  And of course... real sticks.

What the what... English, Baxter!  You know I don't speak Spanish!

Back at the hotel with full bellies, the beach was equally beautiful at night.

The following morning, we went to Jerusalem for the day, which I will do a separate post for.... because if any trip deserves it's own post, it's definitely Jerusalem.  But at the hotel, they had the most enormous breakfast (FREE!) I've ever seen!  I'm not normally a big breakfast eater but this breakfast was kind of crazy.  Lots of pastries, local breakfest dishes (even herring!), and a full salad bar.  Yes. A full salad bar.

After our day in Jerusalem, we walked up to the port area to get some dinner.  The waves were crashing pretty hard onto the boardwalk, so you had to walk as far away from the seawall as possible!  We stopped at the Kitchen Market along the boardwalk for some dinner. 

No clue.  Not at all.  My google translate wasn't even happy with this!

First course was a tomato salad and bread.  And wine.  Lots of wine.

Pan con tomate!  No wait.  In Hebrew, this was לחם עגבניות

For just about every meal we ate in Israel, they would often bring us food or dessert we didn't order.  This one in particular was some kind of sweet cream cheese dusted with olives and covering strawberries.  Olives!  Yes!  And it was outstanding! 

After two bottles of wine, we walked back to our hotel. 

The Renaissance, where we stayed, looked pretty all lit up at night.

Ayala and I didn't want to settle in so early, so we grabbed a drink at the bar and went to the windy balcony downstairs to watch some bees do some pull ups.  Purim is so fun!

Yeah, this doesn't suck! 

Until next time, Tel Aviv!  You can GUARANTEE I'll be back!