December 7 through 13, 2022
Fourth week here ... a recap with some observations.
1) Spent a day wandering central Tel Aviv, specifically the library and art museum areas. I was in search of information to pursue my "am I related to Meir Dizengoff?" mission. Although I definitely found some people willing to help (a bit 🙂), and I was able to request help online from a local genealogy group, I made very little progress. The language barrier is indeed a barrier. So is the fact that Meir had no surviving children (really Meir ... 😐). I don't expect to find anything while I'm here which is kinda sad and disappointing.
2) While I was in the vicinity, I decided to pay the art museum a visit. I loved being able to spend as little or as much time as I wanted (since I was on my own 👍) and about 60 minutes was perfect. I was impressed with the breadth of their collection; quite a few names that (even) I recognized (Picasso, Monet, Gauguin, Matisse, etc.). I still don't have an eye for appreciating what's considered "great art" but I guess I know what I'm drawn to (pun intended) 😉.
3) The highlight of this week was my trip up to Tiberias. I decided to see the city and also run in the 5K race (part of the larger marathon/half/10K). So glad I decided to *only* run the 5K since I am not quite "in shape" these days (although my clothes still fit!). I also got to visit the tombs of some famous ancient rabbis and see the remains of some ruins. I took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee (just me and a bored boat driver 😜) and wandered around the Little Tiberias shops area. Still loving the end-of-tourist-season vibe.
4) Crazy aside: on my last day in Tiberias, I decided to visit a local-ish kibbutz with a Chocolate Farm onsite. They give workshops and sell the chocolate 🍫 as their source of income. I knew it was Shabbat so I ordered a taxi in advance (you can get them on Shabbat, they're just pricier). My taxi never showed 😕 so I went in search of one on the main road. I was about to give up when I finally (randomly) found one. The driver's English was weak and he'd never heard of the chocolate farm 😟 but we made it there. Then he offered to come back for me afterward, and even gave me his phone number. I called him 1.5 hours later and there was no answer. I texted, I left voicemails, but no response 😯. I tried to call for another taxi, but no luck. So, with no other options, I hoofed it back to the hotel... which was 7.7 miles away. That's right, I deserve a second medal (I practically did the 10K on my own 🏅). I was lucky to have enough time to make my bus back to Tel Aviv, and super lucky to get a seat since my feet sure were tired!
5) I have noticed in many places in Israel that once Shabbat rolls around, there are pop-up sidewalk booths with orthodox men (Chabad?) who try to convince other Jewish men to wrap tefillin. It's a sight to see, and I'm glad I'm a woman and never get wrangled into this 😑.
6) As Chanukah approaches, we've seen lots of donuts for sale (as well as menorahs) in the bakery shops and grocery stores. So many different varieties too. What we see far less of is latkes, which I find interesting 🥔. (And occasionally we also see Xmas displays...🎅)
7) We went out for a fancy Indian dinner one night in Tel Aviv, which was lovely and delicious 😋. However, apparently we didn't tip enough (huh?) and the server came over and called us out on it ("was there something wrong with the service? we just want to know... Are you new to Israel??"). We did give more cash before leaving, but it was super awkward 😳. I will never be going back which was unfortunate because I did enjoy the food.
8) Having visited Tiberias and Haifa, I can now compare cities and say that Tel Aviv is definitely noisier and livelier than both of those, it's much more like New York (as I've said before). I am glad we chose Tel Aviv to live in because it's easy to get to everything and I like having the beach so close by 🌴 (and of course, my namesake street is here).
9) We are/were hoping to get Covid boosters while in Israel, as well as travel vaccines for our upcoming far east travels. That is proving to be incredibly difficult; they seem to reserve them only for their citizens. Plus nearly everything is in Hebrew so trying to communicate or make appointments is a challenge (even with Google Translate) 😒.
10) I've managed to find enough diversity of groceries (which is sometimes a bit of challenge) to make eating in a regular possibility (which I'm very glad about), so I'm feeling more at ease with my diet and exercise these days. Hoping to keep that in check in the coming months 🤞.
11) We finally got to see the dancing fountain ⛲ in the middle of Dizengoff Square (happens twice a day and we perpetually miss it). It was lovely and (I'm told) will be even nicer when the lights are re-installed post-renovation. I took a video but it's way too big to include in this post, so you'll have to take my word for it 😁.
As always, missing our girls ... 💕💝💕
Deena and Art
Sufganiyot!
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