33 Hours in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv Spice Market

Tel Aviv Spice Market by Sherry Martin

After being up all night from working a long 11-hour flight from New York, I was happy to set my feet on Israeli soil. The weather was perfect. Anna, John and myself dropped our luggage at the crew hotel – the fabulous Intercontinental David Tel Aviv, located at the beachfront promenade. It was 4:30pm. We passed up the extraordinary view of the Sea and the desire to rest our heads on the soft feather pillow and literally hit the ground running. The first spot on our agenda, the Carmel market before it closed for the evening.      

Pausing by a sidewalk juice master, I gulped down some fresh squeezed orange juice – the natural sugars a welcome to help keep me awake. Looking for nothing in particular, we wandered through the glorified farmers market overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, and a variety of candy bins. Friendly vendors sold under garments, t-shirts, and a variety of Dead Sea body products. I purchased a scarf to cover my head and shoulders in case we entered a mosque and took to sampling and buying a variety of spices.       

Jaffa Sunset

Jaffa Sunset by Sherry Martin

Since it was John’s first time in Tel Aviv, we split off pretty quickly from Anna and headed out to Old Jaffa. Now a famed artist community known for its flea markets, galleries and ancient sites, Jaffa is located less than a mile south of the hotel. A 15 -minute walk along the beach, we hopped in a cab for 20 shekels because my feet were throbbing. Hungry for traditional food, we literally inhaled a lamb shawarma and my favorite – a falafel pita stuffed with french fries, hummus, tahini and hot sauce.       

Anxious to be John’s tour guide and to show him as much as I could before the sun went down, we rounded the corner up Jaffa Hill and found ourselves staring at an incredible sunset overlooking the Mediterranean. Stunned by the beauty, we grabbed our cameras and were mesmerized as the sun sunk deeper into the horizon. Since it was dusk, we fully expected that all of the galleries would be closed, so we decided just to take in the ambience of the Old City, wandering the twisting passageways past stray cats, soaking up the balmy air.       

Around 8pm, we came upon a window casting a warm light from inside, and were thrilled to learn that the gallery – Adina Plastelina -was still open. As we threw a coin into the wishing well, Adi, the young owner approached us, showing us a video of how she made her colorful unique jewelry. Impressed with the process, her technique using polymer clay has become known as millefiori (Italian for “a thousand flowers”) and could be traced back to Ancient Rome.       

Drawn to our energy, she invited us into a hidden room that her and her boyfriend had recently unearthed. Stooping low, we stepped into an attached section of the gallery that was in the process of repair and restoration. Amazed at the architecture and history right before our eyes, she explained that they were planning on turning it into a museum to display all of the artifacts they’d found dating back to Roman times.       

Tel Aviv Gallery

Sherry, Sam, Adi & John Adina Plastelina

Needless to say, we felt a connection. With hugs all around, we took pictures with the couple, and made plans to stay in touch. We walked out of the gallery overwhelmed and full of wonder, exhausted but delighted to make new friends, and reveling in how our longing to explore haphazardly led us to finding a gem.       

Happy to have had a great start to the first 6 hours of our layover, we finally decided to call it a night and headed back to the hotel to soak our feet in cold water and to drift into a hard slumber. Our alarms set – no sleeping in for us tomorrow – we’ve decided to head to Masada National Park for the 2nd day of our layover. Stay tuned for more…       

For Carefree Vacations, Sherry Martin  

Learn more about Sherry Martin        

Photography by Sherry Martin        

Portfolio: www.sherrymartinphotography.com        

Blog: http://dynamictraveler.wordpress.com

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One Response to “33 Hours in Tel Aviv”

  1. John Roberts says:

    …sounds like you guys had a GREAT time….looking forward to reading about day 2!

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