Thoughts of a Traveler: Settling in to Tel Aviv

Part of our Travel Diary series where our travelers write about their experiences abroad and share it with our readers.

Thank you very much Stacey, for sharing and allowing us to share with all of our readers! 

-----------

We have happily settled into our apartment in a neighborhood called Neve Tzedek. We are on the 12^th floor of a large modern building, and have a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  By foot, the sea is about 15 minutes away, and there are many Israelis (and tourists) swimming and boating there each day.  Our view is nothing short of glorious, and we, like the Israelis, eat all of our meals “al fresco”.  Every day has been sunny in the upper 70’s to low 80’s, which apparently is typical of TA, which boasts 300 sunny days per year.

Surprisingly, French (and not Hebrew) seems to be the more dominant language spoken among the residents of our building.  In this year alone, 5,000 French Jews have emigrated to Israel (a full 1% of the French Jewish community), some make aliyah while most seek a safe refuse and foothold outside of France.

A few of our favorite experiences thus far have been: Seeing the chic Israeli women hauling an “old ladies” cart and haggling over prices at the Shuk Ha Carmel (market); Visiting the Yitzhak Rabin Center that chronicles Rabin’s remarkable life with the most cutting-edge technology; and Climbing on the ancient Roman aqueduct in Caesarea at sunset.

So far, we have not seen or felt any signs from the Gaza conflict that ended only two months ago.   On Monday, we travel North which will include the Galilee, the Golan Heights, and the Syrian and Lebanese borders.

Sending you much love.  Stacey