A Friday Sabbat Beach Run

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Shabbat Shalom!



I have heard quite a hand full of talk about the Carmel Market here in Tel Aviv, and I finally put it to the test today and went out on an adventure to find it. At first I was ready to take the bus--why? Because I had heard from a hand full of people that it was not walking distance. I spent some time waiting at the bus stop this afternoon...waiting, waiting, and waiting. It was raining a little bit so I took this into consideration and thought that is why the bus was late. Eventually, I took it upon myself to ask one more person where the Carmel Market was...they said it was just a ten minute walk away. I was shocked to hear this answer. It really does matter who you ask when it comes to directions/mode of transportation/travel time. The majority of people I asked at first were older, and it was easy to tell they used buses at their preferred mode of transportation so the Carmel market was not "walking" distance in their eye. Luckily, the next person I asked was more....adapt to walking as a mode of transportation and gave me quick directions and I was on my way. This is a lesson learned that I should look up directions prior to departure for a place. I HAVE done this since my travels here in Israel, but, it's also nice to get verbal directions from locals, and this is a popular local place so I relied on verbal directions from the local Israelis for the navigation today. At least now I know for next trip to Carmel Market....



It was a lovley market, and I was really happy to meet my friend, Leah there. Leah is my friend who I met on our flight to Israel. We met each other in the airport in Canada, sat by each other on the 12 hour flight which gave us good time to become acquainted with one another. 😊 The beauty of traveling solo allows me to reach out to people I wouldn't reach out to otherwise. If I were with a friend, I would more often than not rely on my friend for social needs. I say social needs because it is a need in my opinion. Traveling solo is beautiful, I can do what I want, when I want, BUT, the social interaction is HIGHLY preferred and needed to function like a normal human day to day. Back to my day--the Carmel Market was what I imagined it as, authentic Israeli sales and food, the smell and atmosphere of Israel...it's the beauty of traveling! Sampling dried fruit...yum. Not to mention having a local try to sell me one gram of dried fruit for 10 sheckels (10 sheckels is roughly 2.50)...so no, todah (no thank you). I did find some nice deals in the market though...I'm happy I have found this market...and I'm even more happy it's open on a daily basis (With the exception of Shabbat Saturdays. Most things close in Israel on Shabbat. Luckily enough I live in Tel Aviv, which is hard to compare to the rest of Israel...) I've already had a few travelers mistakes with my money and I was prepared NOT to be fooled again. In addition to the Carmel Market, I was told that there's a local artist market which is open only on Tuesdays and Saturdays. This one is called Nachalat Binyamin, and it's located parallel to the Carmel Market. It's full of local artists with their eye-catching-unique works of art. All of you have been to art festivals back home, so imagine an art festival with lots of ruach (spirit), challah art, and falafel balls all around. Leah and I went to lunch and got shakshuka! This is the dish I tried last week when my friends made it for me on the hike. This time it had some different spices in it, which made it even more tasty 😊 Bon Apetit.



Last night (Friday) I went on a very empowering run along the Tel Aviv board walk! It's the perfect place and time for a run because the sun is down, making it the perfect cool temperate. A hand full of other runners were along the boardwalk too, so this made for good motivation. Post run, I was tired and ready to go to bed, and than my plans changed around 11:45. Sound late? To me as well...but that's not late in Israel. I went out with Dolev, another Israeli friend of mine (who came to Minnesota last summer.) We went to an area of Tel Aviv called Florentine, at a local bar. It was in fact so local and intimate that Dolev and his crew of friends knew the bartenders. One more cultural difference I learned last night...in Israel, what we call a "shot" of alcohol....is not called a shot here. It's called a "chaser" here. Interesting? I know... In America, a chaser to us is the beverage used to wash down the alcoholic taste. Bar close in Israel doesn't really exist, at least from what I've seen. As long as there is paying customers, they'll happily serve you. In America, you are out of the bar at 2 am.



As Shabbat is meant for the day of rest, being in Israel gives validity of this meaning. Today, Saturday in Tel Aviv, the buses aren't even running. It's a shock for Tel Aviv because as mentioned before, Tel Aviv is hard to compare to Israel. A large amount of shops are also closed along Dizengoff street, with the exception of many coffee shops and eateries. Those are busier than on a week day here, full of family/friends enjoying their Sabbath.



I'm coming up on my final full week in Israel, and I feel as though I have a handful of sights to get to, and friends to see! Time to get serious about planning I suppose. Time really flies when you are having fun and traveling! I now leave you because in front of me sits my breakfast, huevos rancheros. I'm not quite sure exactly what the remainder of the day has in store, but l'chaim (to life) to whatever it may bring.



Happy weekend to all of you back home (and I'll do my best to send the sunshine your way, I've heard rumors of snow in Minnesota already! Lo sababa (not good.)



Peace&Love

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Comments

[G and G]

Wow Sarah, you are quite the traveler. You write about your experiences so well. Very entertaining and one learns a lot from reading them. Love, g and g