Israel, Day 2: Old Jaffa & browsing

I (somehow) started off my first full day in Tel Aviv with a run - I think I was just up early and felt like seeing some of the city. Dave and I had taken a walk on the beach front the night before before bed, but it was a different view in the morning for sure!

Running along the beach front trail in the morning

After we ate breakfast, we walked down the sun-blasted trail (a mistake we wouldn't make again on the trip) to Old Jaffa, an ancient section of the city that viewers of "Clash of the Titans" will know as "Joppa," where Andromeda was chained to a rock for the Kraken.

It's much more tranquil these days.

Old Jaffa, a.k.a. Yafo, Joppa

We wandered around the ancient streets, although of course most everything has been rebuilt and I really don't know how old anything is. It's right on the sea and has some very lovely views. Definitely a contrast to modern Tel Aviv, with its Bauhaus architecture and bustling streets.

Still, there is not much to do in Old Jaffa, so we didn't linger. We walked along the sea for a bit and up to some markets in Old Jaffa, which ranged from mangy old flea markets to fabulous fabrics and trinkets.

We enjoyed browsing and I even found an old VHS tape of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in Hebrew. Almost bought it for my sister.

Spider made from welded bike chain, art gallery in Tel Aviv

The Jaffa markets were fun to browse, and there were a lot of food vendors in there, as well. It was a nice, low-key thing to do on our first day, but don't expect to spend hours there.

We lunched at Port Said, which I expected to be totally crowded but was very easy to walk up and get a table. We continued our trend of eating outdoors. 

The restaurant is right next to the Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv, which I didn't go in, but Dave and Michael did, and they said the interior was underwhelming. We figure that's because Tel Aviv isn't known for its religiosity.

Next we headed up through the boutique-lined streets of the Neve Tzedek district to the Nachalat Binyamin artist & craft market - it's only there twice a week, and we happened to be there on one of them (Tuesday). 

Of course, I found the yarn store, which also displayed a fun crocheted mural on the wall outside.

Found these all over Tel Aviv

After the market, we walked up Rothschild Boulevard as recommended in my guidebook, to take in the clean, white, curved lines of Bauhaus architecture. We also stopped at Leggenda for some tasty gelato, as well as the Beer Bazaar stand just outside of the Carmel Market for a few tasters.

As an aside, the beer in Israel overall wasn't bad, but they tend toward less flavorful varieties (with the exception of a burgeoning IPA scene). Lots of ambers and pilsners. That said, I really enjoyed the Israeli wine we had throughout the trip.

We took a nap in the afternoon and went down to the ocean afterward, where we saw tons of kite surfers on the water. 

That evening, I had made a reservation at legendary North Abraxass for dinner, and it was truly a stand-out meal on our trip. The food was fresh, local, and a good combination of innovative and traditional. We had some lamb dishes, some veggie dishes, multiple rounds of shots, and a nice Israeli white wine. I highly recommend a visit.