Travel Tuesday – Jaffa and Tel Aviv in Israel

Last week, I shared how I attended a Pop Up Shabbat dinner. Today, for Travel Tuesday, I wanted to share a few photos from Israel, specifically Tel Aviv, from my last visit there on a 4 day work trip in May. Previously, I have visited Jerusalem which if this is your first visit to Israel, I highly recommend whether or not you are religious. However, in the evening if you want to have multiple activities to do, or if you just love the beach, I recommend you stay in Tel Aviv. That’s why I did on my trip – and on my first couple hours there I did a little walking by the beach on the boardwalks of Jaffa and Tel Aviv in Israel.

I flew on Friday (aka Shabbat) so one thing I have noticed on both trips is that the plane is generally full of Americans and Europeans, as for this time period of rest those practicing the faith are not flying. This also means that when you land, you will find the airport very quiet, and expect that your taxi may have an additional surcharge. The streets will be quiet too, and many shops will be closed but not all of them. In the hotel, you may find special elevators that automatically stop on every floor so as to conform to Jewish law of abstaining from “working” or lighting “fire”/electricity here. How’s that for fun trivia?

Arriving a little after noon, I was able to check in but was determined to stay awake on Saturday until evening in order to adjust to the 10 hour time difference since I would need to start work in meetings in about 18 hours. So I took myself on a walking tour of Jaffa, the Old City portion of which Tel Aviv originally started and has since grown from and is one of the oldest ports in the world. Here is a view of Jaffa with the distinguishing Clock Tower looking South.

Old Jaffa has lots of old architecture and little alleys that has an old world Middle Eastern atmosphere. Here’s a visual taste from my walks trying to stay awake! As always, the contrast between the ancient and modern needs and functionality is always interesting to me.

  

The Wishing Bridge in Jaffa – an ancient legend holds that anyone boarding the bridge holding their zodiac sign and looking at the sea will have their wish come true. Here are some tiles from the start of the bridge and in the middle section.

The actual zodiac signs are on the railing of the bridge, which you can then gaze out to the sea and north towards Tel Aviv, or get a view of St. Peter’s Church.

From Jaffa, you can walk along the sidewalks and boardwalks of one long Promenade all the way up through Tel Aviv to the Old Tel Aviv Port area, which has been redeveloped to have many modern shops and restaurants. The total walk one way is about 6 km, so about an hour leisurely walk. This lets you admire the gorgeous beaches of Tel Aviv with lots of soft sand, restaurants and al fresco bars, some with tables that go right into the sand. After my work meetings, I would often stretch out my legs from being cooped inside at meetings along this Promenade. Alternatively, you can also rent bikes from bike stations instead of walking.
 

Here is when I arrived at the Old Tel Aviv Port area, which had lots of little as well as loungey al fresco restaurants, and a lot of open area at the end where a carousel played music as the sun prepared it’s descent towards sunset. Here, the boardwalk goes right up to the sea instead of the sand between the walking area and the ocean, so there is a splash zone as you can see from the water on the pathway.

Here’s a look once it gets dark, it is still pretty nicely lit
 

Have you been to other cities in the US or other countries that had such great walking paths by the ocean, where was it, how long was the walk, and what did you like about it? Have you ever seen beaches with this type of beach amenities before? What do you when you land in the middle of the day on an overseas flight?

Oh, and here’s my view dining at one of the restaurants along that boardwalk
 

And this is where I want to eat next visit… shoes off with the sand between my toes with an affordable full menu and service right along the edge of the water please.