no not the bloomfield bubble.
tel aviv is referred to in israel as "the bubble". after spending the weekend in the city, i think i have a bit more understanding as to why this is so.
it was my first time in tel aviv, so on friday my roommates and i spent our day at all the most touristy destinations: the disengoff center mall, the carmel outdoor market, and allenby street. friday is a major shopping day in israel that families use to prepare for their shabbat dinner on friday night and day of rest on saturday. the markets were especially busy this weekend, as shabbat was followed by another holiday called shmini atzeret. lots of parties, hosting, and feasting- it's what jews do! friday ended with a celebration of new and old friends, as i joined a camp friend (who had just made aliyah) for dinner with her boyfriend and two of their neighbors.
shuk (market) haCarmel
hanging on allenby with the roomies!
saturday: still a tourist. my roomates and i headed to jaffa, the bustling port city next to tel aviv, for shopping and lunch at a famous hummus place called Abu Hassan. Jaffa is a mixed Arab-Jewish city, so although it was shabbat, many stores were still open and there was plenty to see and do. After that we joined friends at the beach, where I lasted about ten minutes in the Mediterranean sun before spending the rest of my time in the sea. I was grateful for the heat, though, when I found out about the chilly weather in Michigan. Typical October...
saturday ended with a night out in the neighborhood around our hostel. the area is called the florentine district, and is known as the hipster capital of tel aviv. after three days spent there, i can confidently confirm this reputation. we wandered just a few blocks from the hostel before finding a fantastic microbrewery called the dancing camel. israeli beer is notoriously bland, so this was an exceptionally exciting find- we're still exploring the option of getting deliveries of their brews to Lod.
the beer was nothing, though, compared to our next discovery: a restaurant across the street that serves VEGAN SHAWARMA. you heard it hear first folks: lenny's in the florentine district offers a vegan version of this israeli delicacy that will rock your world. i almost, ALMOST ordered another round once i finished my first bite.
WOAH BABY
another recommendation that comes to mind is our lodgings for the weekend, the appropriately named hostel florentine. it is geared towards backpackers but the 16 of us tourists felt completely comfortable in dorms and, for some of us, beds in the rooftop hangout. the hostel costs only $15 a night, with free breakfast and coffee, and the staff are ridiculously fun and welcoming. if you're looking for a place to crash while exploring tel aviv, this should definitely be on your list.
i mentioned that tel aviv is often referred to in Israel as "the bubble". this could not be more fitting- tel aviv is unique for many reasons, not least its cosmopolitan culture, expat prevalence, and the fact that it's just about the only place in the country where one can find a decent taco. not that tel aviv doesn't have its problems- high cost of living and low relative wages have thrown the city into recent contention. but as an outsider, it seemed that residents of tel aviv are more concerned with what's going on in their small city than what is happening throughout the rest of their country. contrast this to Lod, a city where every small spat between Arab and Israeli inspires chatter on streetcorners and in homes.
so you can imagine my confusion on saturday night, when the news broke about the stabbing murders of a jewish family in the Old City of Jerusalem, life went on in tel aviv. when violence escalated the next day, we were in Jaffa (a mixed city itself) and business continued as usual. was it really that the city's residents were so isolated that they could disregard tragedy? or was it that, as israelis, they were so used to such tragedy that it no longer made headlines? i have a feeling that in coming weeks, as tensions inevitably intensify, the answer will become more clear.
street art in Florentine. for more pictures from the trip, check out my week 2 photo gallery!