Israel/Jordan Day 3: Our day in Tel Aviv

When arranging the tour, we scheduled a day "off" in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  Part of it was that we are not really used to having a guide with us all the time and part of it was the four of us love to walk and explore - get lost, get found.

We got an early start again, setting off on foot on King George, up to Dizengoff Circle.  Dizengoff street runs from the center of the city, northwest to the north end of the waterfront.  It felt a little like the "champs elysees" of Tel Aviv (I'm laughing, because we constantly make those comparisons, ever since Beth's dad called Da Lat in Vietnam the "Oakville of Vietnam"... lol) - tree-lined on both sides, small retail shops and restaurants lining the street.  

We got an early taste of gelato at Golda, the one Eric had recommended (we have really discerning tastes for gelato.... not) and kept on strolling north.  The retail got a little less upscale as we progressed, until the street dumped us out at the waterfront area of the old port.  Beth spotted a huge cheesy sign the she described as "Te heart 4" but kim corrected her, pointing out it was "Te-love-iv"... too funny.  Of course, that's why we had to take the obligatory picture.  Turns out, these heart signs that are made for posting on social media are littered throughout the country.

The sun getting higher in the sky and it was starting to really warm up... that was another factor in Alex and I convincing the ladies to scooter down to Jaffa.  I had made the intential seed planting with Alex on the little arabic I knew, and he took full advantage on the ride.

One of the most common Arabic words used, yallah means “let's go” or “come on” and is frequently used by all nationalities in the Middle East to mean that you want something to happen or want things to keep moving along

The boardwalk whizzed by, and despite some minor tech problems with the scooter app, it was a pretty great way to commute down the path next to the beach boardwalk. 

All that scootering made us hungry, so we got a shawarma wrap... of course, and then it was off to the old Jaffa market.  The market is really a collection of shops across a small section of streets.  Most of the shops were pretty junky - and actually some were actual junk shops, with all kinds of crap piled on top of itself and and outside the shop.  

One of the coolest qualities of Alex is that he wants to try everything - he wants to experience everything, travel everywhere, eat anything - it's his core quality for having a far above average zest for life.  So it was no surprise then, that after the shopping, Alex and I were sitting on a sidewalk trying some Hookah for the first time - this one was fruity with a very light tobacco taste.  Hookah was a great way to sit on the side of a busy pedestrian street and watch the world go by - thank you Alex.

We walked (this would clock in at another 20km+ day of walking!).  North then north east towards the Levinsky street market area where we indulged in spice shopping and a few street snacks, including another Golda (we wanted to make sure the quality was consistent throughout the city).  Levinsky felt very local... like the Kensington Market of Israel (Lol!!).

Walking back, we strode up the Carmel market back to the hotel.

We hung out for the rest of the afternoon on Allenby near our hotel at a place called Nabi Yuna that had an eclectic mix of couches and chairs outside, surrounded by young hipsters chatting, smoking weed and delving into their tech.

Dinner was at a basic restaurant in Najara street, and the conversation amongst the four of us was an excited replay of our time here so far, and wondering what the rest of the trip would be like.