Tel Aviv: One of the Coolest cities in the Middle East

Tel Aviv is a small city with a big city vibe. There’s always a lot of things happening in different areas of the city.

There is a laid back and open-mindedness to the people that you don’t find in the more biblically famous city of Jerusalem. Don’t get me wrong, we met some cool people in Jerusalem too but it seems like Tel Aviv’s vibe is closer to California than it is the rest of Israel. Maybe it’s that the sound of the ocean makes the people who live there happier. That’s definitely true for us. The sound of waves can relax anyone.

We only had one full day in Tel Aviv so we set out immediately to make the most of it.

Dropping our luggage off at the Market House Hotel in the Jaffa area, we picked a direction and just started walking. First, we walked to the harbor area and enjoyed the sights and sound there. Stopping to enjoy the performance of a couple of incredibly talented street musicians, we noticed the smell of something delicious. Walking until we found the source, we stopped at a place frying up some delicious seafood. We bought some fried calamari, shrimp, and fish and chips, eager to try a little bit of everything. Finding a bench near a stretch of local merchants booths, we stopped to feast and people watch.

After our meal, we walked along Tel Aviv’s famous beaches. We noticed that there are a lot of signs saying not to do things. Signs that everyone completely ignores. There are no swimming signs everywhere along the beach, even though everyone there is swimming. The people of Tel Aviv have no time for stupid rules and we really liked that about them.

As animal lovers, we were also pleasantly surprised to see that the beaches are dog friendly, even though the signs say no dogs of course.

It was fun to watch so many dogs playing together and splashing in the ocean.  We walked for a long time, going as far as our feet would carry us before we took a break and watched the sunset. I don’t know if every sunset in Tel Aviv is as beautiful as the one we saw but we like to think so. Feeling properly rested we started our walk back.

When we reached the Jaffa area again we still weren’t hungry enough for dinner.

So, we stopped at a local bar with great tunes called Urbano. Having a couple of drinks in their outside patio area, we heard Beck’s song, “Nicotine and Gravy” playing. We had to laugh when he got to the line in the song, “She looks so Israeli.” Sometimes timing is everything and life can gift you with its great sense of humor.

After a couple of drinks, we were finally ready for a bite to eat.

We wandered around for a while trying to pick a place that had just the right atmosphere and a great bottle of wine.  Eventually, we found both when we reached a place called Jopea Kitchen Bar. They had a gifted French sommelier who helped us pick out a great bottle of wine. We ordered a cheese plate and baked bread with freshly made hummus, salsa, and tahini that were scrumptious. The food in Israel is reason enough to visit the country. Soaking in the atmosphere and enjoying ourselves, it was very easy to conclude that we really liked Tel Aviv. Any place with beaches, great food, and wine is a fun place in our book.