Israel - Tel Aviv - May 07

For a month or so I had known that I'd be going to Israel for work, and it was always interesting to hear people's reactions which ranged from the 'is it safe / are you nervous' end of the spectrum to 'cool, that should be great'. In response it was my contention that there are 100+ public companies there, many of which are also listed on the NASDAQ (one on the NYSE and a few ADRs) - and they all have investors... and most of those investors are risk averse / not overly speculative - so it must be ok.

- I got to Heathrow very early, concerned about security, and checked in really quite quickly (it turns out that leaving Ben Gurion Airport is where the quad-stage security is experienced). As an added bonus BA selected me to have an upgraded seat on the way out, and a window seat was key as our flight path took us straight over Paris, Zurich, Venice (missed that view - was watching the movie), down the Dalmation Coast, over the Greek Islands, and then the corner of Turkey.

My first impressions were that Tel Aviv was a bit run down and maybe a bit rough around the edges -- and even though I knew it was right on the Mediterranean I did not expect it to truly be a beach town - and the attitude/dress, etc. of its inhabitants tend to reflect that as well. I was not super impressed with what I saw initially, but the city really started to grow on me the longer I was there and the more that I explored the different areas near the hotel.

I knew that I was going to like our taxi driver for the whole visit (Michal) when on the first morning on the way to a meeting she turned to me at a light and said, "you know you are not going to see any camels or tanks here right? Americans always want to see camels..." - to which I laughed out loud (hoping that it was a joke - which it was).

I made sure that I frequently requested camels the rest of the trip...

One morning I took a run up the beach to Jaffa - which may be the oldest port in the world? It was fascinating to see and feel just how old it is, and apparently there is an historic market just outside it and a number of good restaurants that will require further exploration (and photographs) on a future visit.

I also spend a few evenings exploring Sheinkin Street - which is the Fillmore Street of Tel Aviv (for those non SF'ers, it is home to a collection of coffee shops, boutique clothing and jewelery shops, restaurants (there are 'milk' and 'meat' restaurants throughout the city - never do they have both), juice bars (the fresh juice places are fantastic), and a surprisingly really good, and cheap, pizza place.
-- Kind of a trendy area, but not overly done up or built up, and every Tuesday one of the streets off of it has a large crafts market that spans multiple blocks (with security at all entrance points to look inside handbags/backpacks, etc. as they do at all hotels corporate headquarters, and most restaurants - especially those near the US Embassy along the beach.)

- and then later in the week Michal introduced (and taught me how to pronounce) Neve Tzedek, a neighborhood that is kind of tucked away and frequently overlooked. It is much less touristy than Sheinkin St - and has a lot more charm -- being the first area build on outside of the port behind some dunes which eventually became Tel Aviv (the dunes are long gone, replaced by all of the hotels and beach restaurants). Apparently it was terribly run down a decade ago, but has now experienced a tremendous revitalisation (that's right - Brit spelling) and is now a coveted (and surprisingly very expensive) place to live because of its architecture and European village type feel of small streets, independent shops and good restaurants. In fact, I think my best meal since moving to London was had here - a great salad with shaved cheese and crispy sweet potato bits, and lamb chops in a honey/mint/orange sauce with a bit of spice and potato mash (yep - another Britism). The restaurant does not have a website - so I cannot post it (here is a recent review)- but all aspects of it were great, from the service at the bar (did not have reservations) to the decor / atmosphere, etc.

One thing that I was amazed by was that the city seems to have cats like Connecticut has squirrels...
they are seen all over the place, and apparently there is a program in place to capture, spay/neuter them, and take care of them - it was just interesting to see them darting across the street (here is one not fazed in the least by the beware of dog sign).




Two of my other favorite photos of Tel Aviv are:
and

and more can be seen here on this photo page.