Tel Aviv & Yafo

We cruised into Tel Aviv, past skyscrapers and million dollar condos, past people in trendy clothing shops and cafes, couples strolling holding hands and people playing volleyball in the sand in the city built on a beach.

I love Tel Aviv. Of course I haven't seen even close to all of it yet, but I have seen enough to know that this is a city I would like to spend a few years living in. A beautiful, sunny apartment with Jack, days spent wandering the beaches, shopping for fruit and vegetables at the sprawling Shouk Carmel, browsing the stalls at Friday's artist market on Nachlat Binyamin, hitting upscale clubs on the weekends. Sounds like quite the life, doesn't it? Ahhh well, I can always dream...

View of the city from Yafo, the old port and the oldest quarter of Tel Aviv.
Yafo is full of beautiful old buildings.
We stopped at a cafe that owns the patio in the left of this photo, where we sat outside and drank coffee. Well, Jack drank coffee, I had fresh squeezed grapefruit juice.

One thing I must say about Israeli coffee: it is invariably wonderful. For coffee lovers like myself and Jack, it is like coffee paradise. Lattes are always perfect, not too strong, not too weak, with beautiful frothy milk on top. Mmmm... I want one right now :)


The streets of Yafo are tiny and winding, with lots of cool little shops and galleries to explore.
He loves having his picture taking, can't you tell?


Hamsas for sale at the artist market on Nachlat Binyamin. Hamsas are, hands down, the most ubiquitous thing in Israel. Hamsas are everywhere. Every shop, every house, every cafe, everywhere.

Basically it is meant as a protective hand, the hand of God. More specifically, it can be thought to ward off the evil eye, which is a huge thing in all Middle Eastern cultures I have encountered. Jack bought me a beautiful hamsa made of blue Australian opal that I wear around my neck. You can see it in this post.