Meeting up with Michal and her brother in Haifa, I had a very comfortable way of reaching Tel Aviv by car. Michal, her boyfriend and their cute dog hosted me for the following days which was much appreciated. It’s always good to meet up with people you know from previous travels, and it’s great to stay with locals in their home.

I had 2 full days for Tel Aviv which was easily enough time. The whole city is very walkable, even all the way down to Jaffa, the old part of town. On Saturday, Michal showed me around mainly in the southern part of the city. We walked along famous Rothschild Boulevard, through the small streets of Newe Zedek and along the beach until we reached Jaffa. Weather was rather grey and cool unfortunately, so chilling on the beach was not really an option. I really liked Jaffa with its little streets and old buildings, resembling other old towns I had seen in the days before a bit, e.g. Akko.

At the flea market area, we met up with Ornit, who I know from travelling South America in 2012. We went for lunch in one of the many nice restaurants of the area. The afternoon was filled with more walking around and visiting different Tel Aviv neighbourhoods.

On my second day in Tel Aviv, I took the bus to the northern part of the city, starting my day with a delicious breakfast at cafe Benedict (recommendation!) near the Hilton. I then walked along the beach to the harbour of Tel Aviv, and further on to Gordon Beach. There’s a nice beach walk which you can follow pretty much all the way from the North to Jaffa if you want to.

I turned inland again though, wanting to see some more of Tel Aviv’s architecture and markets. I passed by Levinsky market street in which there are many nice cafes, but really enjoyed Carmel market with all the different products it has to offer. Then, I returned to the beaches where I chilled for a while, soaking up the sun. There was still a cool breeze and it wasn’t too hot though, so I skipped the swimming part.

Overall, Tel Aviv was a cool city to explore. While there’s not many wow-ing sights, it’s more about the lifestyle here – beaches, hip cafes and nice restaurants are waiting for the traveller. Apparently also a good night life, but I skipped that part. Maybe next time!