This one is boring – don’t bother (in Tel Aviv)

The initial enquiries PATP made for flying from Marrakech to Tel-Aviv went via Barcelona and Marseille, and arrived at 4am. Consequently, when the time had come for booking, they chose the convenient option of spending a night in London instead. Or rather, at the Stansted Hilton, conveniently on the airport grounds before getting up bright and early for their flight out of Luton the following morning (OK, they didn’t plan that connection all that well!).

While checking in to their flight, PATP met up with the Pamplemousse’s long lost friend – who was catching the same flight- before managing to lose her until 20 minutes before landing whereupon they quickly exchanged details.  On arrival in Tel-Aviv PATP caught a bus to the apartment they’d arranged to share with Pablo’s friend Gary who had arrived in Israel a few weeks earlier.  After dumping their bags it was off to get kosher shwarma (for the Pamplemousse) and falafels for the boys, before heading to a bar for some drinks.

The following morning PATP headed to the Dizengoff centre – a major shopping centre, where they eventually secured a prize – an Israeli sim card, usually only available with Israeli ID and credit cards.  Having acquired their sim card, PATP and Gary went to the Carmel market – both the generic food and souvenir sections and the far more interesting jewellery and craft market. Having received a last minute invitation to join the Pamplemousse’s extended family for a pre-wedding dinner, PATP left Gary to meet a friend of his and headed back along the beach to the apartment to change and jump on a bus.  There was something of a communication breakdown as the Pamplemousse wasn’t picked up to go to the mikvah with the girls, but it allowed for some catch up time with her cousin. When the rest of the girls returned, the festivities were in full swing with drinks a plenty and a Moroccan themed dinner of chicken, cous cous, salads and tagines – just in case PATP had been missing it in the 2 days since they left Morocco. Even the family dog Kiki biting Pablo didn’t ruin the evening, though it did show he was a grumpy little bugger (though Pablo had been warned that he wasn’t as cute and friendly as he looked).

The next morning PATP headed down for a free walking tour through Jaffa, with a visit to an artist’s museum, several of the historic sites and the flea market. After the tour PATP spent a bit more time wandering around the Old City of Jaffa and visiting the visitors centre – an underground museum of the history of Jaffa, built upon the ruins of a Jewish house destroyed in Roman times.  This was followed by a gradual walk back up the beach to meet some of Pablo’s relatives, Rita and Joe for a drink. After a little while chilling, Nat, the lost friend last seen last at the airport, picked up PATP and they headed back to Jaffa for dinner and a catch up in a quaint little restaurant, furnished and decorated entirely from the adjacent flea market.

Jaffa

The following morning, PATP headed to the Tachana – a fancy-ish new shopping area in the old, previously disused train station. They then went for a walk through the Neve Shalom neighbourhood next door, one of the first areas settled in Tel Aviv.  Until recently the area was quite run down and a little dodgy , however it is now awash with hip cafes, fashionable boutiques, novelty shops and art galleries.  After briefly exploring some of the shops, PATP had a quick lunch, before returning to the apartment to get ready for the Pamplemousse’s cousin’s wedding that evening.

(PS – photos to be uploaded when we get around to it!)