Jaffa

My only plan in the morning was to laze about and catch up on some things like confirming my flight plan. I made some calls to the embassy to confirm and was relieved to hear that it was possible. With one less worry on my mind, I found myself back in the present moment. Playing with Rozi's dogs was great fun, their home was nice and furnished with a lot of memoribilia. I was to visit Jaffa today, the historical center in Tel Aviv but I also planned to also see the sunset so decided it was better to go later in the afternoon. I got hungry after awhile and asked for some recommendations from Rozi, she pointed me out to a restaurant where I can get some hummus but when I got there it was closed. Thinking it was still too early, I went back to the apartment to wait a bit more. I went back again later only to find it still closed, another lady was there who had the same idea as me but it looks like it wasn't open today. Now, I was very hungry so I set out further until I spotted an interesting kiosk selling sabich which is what I would describe as an eggplant sandwich. I eagerly waited in line, seeing how they would put in the various condiments and ingredients made it all the more appetizing. Needless to say, it was absolutely scrumptious and made for one of my favorite meals so far which is not saying much as this was my first actual Israeli meal. I went back to the apartment and told Rozi about my epic meal and it was pretty funny because turns out I had ruined the surprise they were preparing for me since they wanted to take me there for dinner. With my stomach full and being all freshened up, I was quite ready to go explore Jaffa and I got on the local bus and got off at the Clocktower, a popular landmark in the old district.

From there, I followed the path going uphill and saw an amazing view of the Tel Aviv coastline, a long crescent-shaped strip of beach with towering buildings in the horizon. I had a checklist with me of spots that I wanted to hit around the old town and so with my trusty umbrella shading me from the harsh sun, I made my way to the port. There was some construction happening that barred me from moving forward so I had no choice but to turn back and enter one of the alleyway entrances of the old town. I found myself transported back in time as I walked along the cobblestone steps of Jaffa. There was nobody else here which was always a welcome blessing. I quickly went into photographer mode and started snapping shots left and right. It was really fun to get lost in the old town and I was able to hit a lot of the places I wanted to see such as the Al-Bahr Mosque, also known as the Sea Mosque, St. Peter's Church, the Zodiac Fountain and the Suspended Orange Tree. Being spent from all the walking, it was time to hit the beach and enjoy the ocean vibes. This time, I went to Charles Clore Beach. The beach had a nice view of a monastery on the hill as well as an amazing view point for sunset but I was still too early. I tried to find a shaded area to hide away from the sun which later ended up with me under a bridge. It was times like these that made my mind wander off. With nothing to do and no one to talk to, I usually get melancholic. Fast forward to when the sun was closing in on the horizon, I started to look for a good spot to sit and watch the sunset. The beach had gotten quite crowded and it was always fun to people-watch as everyone has something going on and the dogs were always a joy to see. The sunset was beautiful as always, much better than yesterday's, I remember there was an elder couple beside me that enjoyed the view as much as I did. With the sun gone, the day grew colder and I started to head to the nearby bus station to go back to the apartment.

Unfortunately, Rozi and Elad were out and had other plans so they were coming back much later so I had no choice but to wait outside for a while but at least I had wi-fi. When they got back, we all went out for dinner, we were supposed to go get the promised sabich but ended up in a gastropub instead where I ordered an asado sandwich. We were able to really catch up and talk about a myriad of interesting topics from the Israeli-Palestinian relations, Japan, Jewish culture and the Ultra-Orthodox Jews, to which I endearingly call Super Jews for short. I've seen some of them here and there but Elad told me I would see a lot more of them in Jerusalem. They had a different life compared to the average Israeli with full focus on their religion and free from a lot of financial burdens that the average citizen must face. There's clear segregation in the community and they are tied deeply into the political structure of Israel. Rozi and Elad both served in the military as well and had some experience dealing with Palestine but it's still quite a touchy topic and something I still can't wrap my head around with. The night ended with more conversations about Jewish traditions such as Bar Mitzvah, funeral rights and other Jewish holidays.Read more