By the time I arrived in Tel Aviv I’d been traveling for over three weeks. The Old Jaffa Hostel was my fifth home in those three weeks (not counting one night spent in a tent in Wadi Rum, and another in a spare bedroom at my friend’s apartment in Amman), and it was getting exhausting. Not to mention that while traveling alone includes many amazing learning curves, and forces you to step outside of your comfort zone, there is only so much time you can go without a friend, especially in a foreign country.
Needless to say, I was not inclined to be a crazy tourist in Tel Aviv, simply take in the beach and as much sun as I could. Unfortunately the Tel Aviv sun was much more intense than I’d bargained for, and as I was running out of sunscreen, the two and a half days saw me avoiding the sun more than basking in it. The first afternoon I walked up the promenade and gazed at the awesomeness that is the Mediterranean Sea. I made friends with a cook in the restaurant I went to dinner at, who ended up taking me out to a cool bar that night in Tel Aviv (Fridays are ‘crazy’ in Tel Aviv).
Saturday I strolled down Rothschild Blvd, an old street filled with restaurants and cafes. Sunday morning I spent time on the beach, and ‘swam’ in the Mediterranean (you aren’t really supposed to swim at these beaches, so I submerged myself as much as I could in shallower water), which checked the third body of water that I wanted to visit this trip off my list. I had one last dinner in Jaffa, where my hostel was, before heading to the beach to watch my last Middle Eastern sunset.
Tel Aviv is quite old, as are all the cities I visited in Israel, and lacking a bit in aesthetics as the guidebook told me before I even arrived. And it does seem a bit disjointed, dirty, and very graffitied, but there is some charm to Jaffa, where antiques stores and small restaurants crowd the wide streets, so I mainly stuck to this part of the city.
All in all it was a fantastic trip, and I am extremely proud of myself for planning it and pulling it all off, but I am very ready to be back home in Boston 🙂
Hi Kimberly,
Another fascinating email! Now why couldn’t you swim in the Mediterranean? Oh now, going off with the cook to a bar!!!!!!! Jeff is quite upset that you are over there at this time and by yourself to boot! But you made it safely. And you can be proud of yourself because you accomplished so much on your own.
But now, what awaits you in Boston? Writing your research paper? A new apartment? A new job?
Love, Aunt Patty
Yes I made it safely, no problems!! I am very proud that I’ve accomplished so much this trip.
I am moving into a new apartment when I go back to Boston. For now I will just be waitressing at Thornton’s, maybe picking up another job on the side too. I will be writing our research report with Nina too, but it’s not super urgent as it’s not required, it’s just something we wanted to do to finish the project. I might still be applying to jobs too, but for now I’m fine at Thornton’s because I make decent money and I really like working there (which might not be the case if I were stuck in an office all day).
Love, Kimberly