Israel #1

Israel is what's happening.  Just spent the last two days in Tel Aviv living like a king.  People say the city is completely different from the rest of the country. Big metropolis with amazing beaches.  Nice to go relax at the beach, play paddle ball (which literally everyone at the beach plays) and float around. Good vibes with the whole city being on the beach.

My good friend Shay and his girlfriend hosted me and took me to the good places to eat and showed me around the city.  They live super close to the beach and after just a few hours, I felt like a local.  Saturday was a chill day around the city, as its like the American Sunday with most stores closed, no buses and a free day for everyone.

Just south of the city is the old town of Jaffa.  This is the place to be in the night.  Old city streets and a huge Arab population serving some of the best food on the trip.  Crazy ordering and yelling to get the food. So many people out on the street enjoying life and eating.  Just like Europe, bread runs the show here and there are so many variations to try out.

The Carmel Market was packed full of produce, spices, cheap Asian products and clothes.  A unique experience which feels more like the Middle East than most of Tel Aviv.  Drinking carrot juice on the street is all the rage, as well as coffee in the cafes.  Been nice to try the local drink as well as spices, dates and such from the market stalls.  Not exactly a cheap country, but so far, a good time with good people.

Now I'm in a local shuttle up to the Sea of Galilee to meet my traveling Dutch friends for fun in the north of Israel.  The adventures continue!