September 26th:
The daylight hours were mundane today. However, the evening featured a meet-up at a bar called Traffic. It was another wristband bar like Biggy Z’s, where you pay a certain amount and get to drink as much as you want. It was a good time! About 20 of us showed up. I paid 69 shekels for a Tuborg beer, 4 delicious cocktails, and some really dry white wine, which I didn’t finish. At one point, I sent out a goofy Snapchat image which was a hit.
Later on, Talia, Sharon, Zack and I ventured off to a nearby shop for some snacks, though Zack and I were more in the mood for an actual meal. Zack broke off on his own and I ventured on with the girls. We stopped at a convenience store, though I didn’t end up buying anything. When we got back to the bar, I saw that Zack went to Wok Republic, a restaurant I noticed earlier, and picked up some delicious-looking food for a very decent price. I decided to follow in his footsteps and went there. I arrived just in time: they were about 10 minutes from closing, and were already were starting to clean up and shut down. They welcomed me to order something, though. I think I ended up getting pad thai. I had a nice conversation with two young ladies working at the restaurant while waiting for my food. (They both spoke English.) After returning to the bar, I was swarmed by some of my compatriots, lured by the aroma of my meal (which was delicious). I offered to share, but they wanted to buy it themselves. I had to disappoint them by informing them that Wok Republic was about to close.
The food ended up being delicious. Definitely one of the best meals for the price that I’ve had here thus far.
September 27th:
Today was another day at the beach. Zack organized another group outing to Gordon Beach and went to over there early in the morning. Oliver and I caught a cab around noon. The beach was once again crowded with gorgeous Israelis, though the main attraction was the sea: large waves were crashing over each other and pummeling the shore. They were only about six feet tall, but being from the Midwest, I’d never experienced waves this large in person, so I was eager to see what it was like. First, however, were a couple games of volleyball with the guys. I made an ass of myself as usual, though I did manage to figure out a good serving form.
Following volleyball was a reapplication of sunscreen (I’d learned my lesson from my previous beach outing) and some sun tanning. After about 20 minutes, I decided to hit the water.
The waves were about what I expected: Powerful and large. I’d seen and read enough about the power of the ocean to know not to get too complacent. Nonetheless, the sea offered gentle reminder to me when I was about waist deep into the water: After a wave crashed into me, the back flow was so powerful I could feel myself getting pulled out to sea, even with my feet still firmly on the ground.
Keeping that in mind, I didn’t venture more than 30 feet from shore. (Which was for the best, anyway. There were some surfers farther out into the bay, and it would be unwise to try and swim next to them, lest you get accidentally smacked in the face with a surf board.) Every time a wave crested it felt like being slapped in the chest. A couple of waves caught me off guard and took me off my feet, but I managed to keep my bearings and only sustained a nose full of salt water. Jumping in time with the peak of a non-crested wave felt like jumping on the moon: With minimal effort, you’re suddenly six feet in the air. (Well, six feet in the water, but you get the idea.) It was a fun time!
After I had enough of the waves and their constant pummeling, I went back to the beach for another round of sunscreen and tanning before the group decided to call it a day.
On the way back, we decided to stop by a great yogurt place someone came across earlier. I ended up getting a mixture of vanilla and some sweet flavor (the name escapes me), with toppings of banana, grapes, kiwi, and chocolate syrup. Heaven in a bowl.
After coming back to the apartment and cleaning up from the beach, Oliver and I went to a restaurant called Moon for some sushi with others. I wasn’t very hungry, so I ordered one of the most inexpensive items on the menu. Turns out, it was inexpensive because it was so boring: Unseasoned salmon surrounded by rice, with some soy sauce for flavor. It wasn’t a big deal—I got what I paid for—but the experience surrounding the meal was disappointing: The service was terrible (it took 10 minutes just to get water), my soy sauce dish had a dead bug in it (I used someone else’s instead), and they messed up the bill–Oliver and Brittney spent 15 minutes sorting theirs out, and ended up with a novel of receipts. Combined, we probably spent 250 shekels. We only left a 7 shekel tip.
Luckily, there is another sushi restaurant in northern Tel Aviv called Foo which is recommended more than Moon. I’ll be sure to check it out at some point.
Aaron In Israel 