Israel - trip #2 of '08

(I just thought this was funny while stuck in traffic by Herzlyia - OIPH instead of IHOP)

Just a few weeks later and I was back again ... this time to introduce another colleague who focuses on a different set of services to clients there. He'd been to the middle east before (Dubai) - but had never been to Israel - and at the end he said that he liked it much more than Dubai because it had a similar beach/Mediterranean atmosphere - but that it also looked and felt much more 'real'.

I was hoping he'd see some decent weather too - but as luck would have it I now can say that I was there for the first time in 10+ years that it has snowed in Jerusalem twice in the same month. The same storms were there for the first couple of days - windy and wet and it got to the point that many were apologising (as I should, for that spell check correction) for the weather... but then it cleared by the end of the week.

I've been trying out different hotels... this time a newer 'boutique hotel' called Melody - right across the street from the massive Hilton and a park that looks down on to the sea. Great location for getting to the Old Port's shops & restaurants - and a good spot to head out for runs/walks either south along the beach to Jaffa, or north past the port and up along the Hayarkon River.

Melody Hotel

Plus - it is about half the cost of the bigger 'brand' hotels - and also includes a good breakfast (which would be $18 at a big hotel like the Intercontinental, Sheraton, or Hilton), free wifi ($20/day at the others), and snacks in the evening (n/a).

It was once the Canadian Embassy - but has since been converted to a 7 floor hotel - with a roof deck:

view from roof deck looking north east

south east:

and west across the street:

We were there for just 4 days - and stayed fairly central - in and around Tel Aviv, to be able to see as many companies as possible.

One thing that I've been wanting to capture - I'm sure that any one who has walked up the beach north towards the Sheraton & Hilton has seen the guys below - who take the beach paddle game to an entirely new level. I grew up calling it Kadima (didn't it used to say 'pro kadima' right on the paddles?) - but in Israel Kadima is a town, and is also the political party of the Israeli Prime Minister - so they call it something different that I cannot recall right now...

Anyway - they line up in front of a wall at the base of one of the hotels and just fire the ball at each other... I have not yet figured out their rules - they appear to be:

1. hit it as hard as you can at the guy in front of the wall
2. see if he can fire it back at you / return it
3. repeat until the ball hits the ground or someone else that is walking/biking/running past
   

Sometimes it looks to be 2 v 1... these might be training sessions or perhaps they are al just out there for the exercise - Many wear gloves, and are so proficient with the paddle that there is a small wear mark not much larger than the size of that little blue ball on it. Others wait their turn to 'play' - while many other people stand by and watch the spectacle. The noise is amplified by the wall - but anyone who has ever spent some time on the beach playing this game (or really just any time on almost any beach) will recognise the sound immediately: