Israel 9,
March 23, 2024,
Hi Everyone,
It’s 10:30 Saturday morning with a temperature of 23C, a bluebird ski, only the occasional wispy cloud and a slight breeze to off set the heat. It is the first day that I feel inclined to remove my shirt and bask in the morning sun. I am writing my blog ‘up on the roof’ where I have a gorgeous view both of downtown Tel Aviv and the endless beach. Tel Aviv is wonderful. It stretches for miles along the Mediterranean. I am staying at a hotel on Yarkon St which runs parallel to the beach. It is a shopping street. On the streets which run perpendicular to Yarkon are other streets with shops and restaurants galore. A 10 minute walk takes me to Dizengoff Square which is the center of the lively night life.
A street parallel to Yarkon runs along the beach. It’s a 2 lane road with cross walks every 50-100m. The Israelis are very respectful of the pedestrians and the pedestrians only cross at the designated areas and even wait for the little green light man to cross. This is quite different from Montreal where ‘J’ walkers seem to cross at will. Next to the street is a narrower 2 lane walkway which is reserved for bicycles, small scooters and motorized skate boards which you can rent by the hour. This is a major form of transportation and can take 2 people. I have not tried one yet as the traffic here can be quite daunting. Do not walk on this lane if you value your life as they will not stop for you and you can be fined accordingly.
Next to the bicycle lane is a broad boardwalk filled with people strolling along and jogging. The board walk alternates with cement, wooden lattes and cobble stone. Cafes and restaurants line the boardwalk. The beach is 25 to 50m wide in most places. The sand is beautiful. The breakers keep rolling in and swimming was prohibited so far this week probably due to an undercurrent. The wind was up yesterday and there were a lot of wind surfers and kite surfers out. Today I see a number of sailboats out. 1 or 2 blocks from the beach are high rise hotels which are placed far enough back from the beach so as not to impede the view. The Hilton and Sheraton are of course present but there are enough 3* low rise 6 story hotels around such as the one where I am staying. Gaza is situated to the south of us. It has the same beautiful beach. Over the last 75 years the Israelis chose to build up and gather the tourist dollars. Palestinians chose to (not forced to) dig down and build a useless tunnel system financed by oil rich countries who have nothing better to do with their money except to buy European football teams, golf tournaments and Ferraris. Where is the sense in that? Why did the bleeding hearts around the world allow this to happen?
Yesterday morning I went to Carmel market with a friend who showed me around. Carmel market is great. The lanes are very narrow. You can buy anything that you want. Fake jewellery, fake brand name tee-shirts and the usual local artists goods. You see this type of merchandise in all the sooks around the world. One must be careful not to buy something that looks great here and then is placed in a drawer, never to be seen again, when one returns home. The food smells were tantalizing but unfortunately I had just eaten a good breakfast. I did have a capuccino with the vice-president of Birthright who explained how the organization ran around the world.
I came back to my hotel with the help of Seri (apple) as I can easily get lost in a paper bag. I ran along the beach for 5-6k which took about 40 minutes. I am not a great runner so I run 10 minutes then walk 1 minute. I will be doing 3 triathlons this summer so I must keep up my running which is my weakest of the 3 disciplines.
I then walked around and bought a good bottle of French wine from Bourgogne. I was invited for Shabat dinner to my cousins house, and according to my rule 1, never come to dinner as a guest empty handed. I met her family including her charming daughters who showed me around the neighbourhood. They are starting a Whats App international family group that they asked me to join. I will forward the invitation to my kids as well.
Love,
Brian
gobriantravel 