TLV

On my first day in Israel, I decided to hitch a ride with Rotem into Tel Aviv to spend the day exploring. I really didn't have anything in mind as she dropped me off at the Harbour on a glorious spring morning. The sun was out, the coffee was good, the waves were crashing against the shore and people were milling up and down the boardwalk enjoying the Passover holiday.

At one point I had an interesting conversation with a man who sat down on a bench next to me. That's one thing about Israelis- there is no compunction in just sitting down and chatting with a total stranger. We talked about the weather and then about why I didn't live in Israel. He used a lot of metaphors. His name was David. He was nice. But it was still awkward. I'm not used to just random conversations with random people.

Before I knew it, I had reached the Carmel Shuk and was kind of hungry to made my way up and down the narrow path, eventually picking up a HUGE bottle of water (gotta stay hydrated, folks), some super, super, super fresh fruit, delicious pitas and other goodies to make a delicious lunch. I also found a used book store with English books and picked up a Deborah Crombie mystery. How I love her stories!

I had lunch in a little park, finding a bench in the shade, before making my way over to the new art museum. They had just built this beautiful new building and I went there first, as it was mainly Israeli artists. It was certainly more of a modern feel to things and I was surprised to see the metal faces on teh ground liek I had seen in the Jewish museum in Berlin! Unfortunately there was no explanation. The new building also had five stories and an open layout so that on the walls going up and down, there were phrases and comments painted. It was captivating.

The older branch of the building had the more typical artwork, especially lots of impressionists and post-impressionists. My favorite section though was an exhibit where local designers had made dresses inspired by famous works out art. My favorite is the picture below. I love the bright colors of the face reflected in the dress.

I eventually met Rotem back up at the University and then got to spend the afternoon with her kids, Amit and Ivri. Obama was speaking to a group of students at Hebrew University so we watched his speech and then watched Amos's interview on the news afterwards. I LOVE these two kids and could spend hours with them without getting bored. I already miss them tons!