The Traveling Idiots-Where The Tuck Are They Now?: Tel Aviv

Taken in Jaffa-Tel Aviv is in the background

Quite honestly we weren't sure what we would find in Tel Aviv. Obviously Israel is a friend of the US, but this is a pretty complicated part of the world where not everyone plays nice with one another. I'm going to try steer clear of politics and religion in these blogs but they certainly play a major role in the landscape of this amazing part of the world. The conflicts are real and I don't want to minimize them but what we found was an incredibly vibrant city of just under 4 million people (about the size of Los Angeles) enjoying life.
The work week in Israel is Sunday-Thursday so the city was running full throttle. We did what we typically do and that's hit the pavement and explore by foot. Over the course of the day we probably ended up covering around twelve miles.
We're staying at the Dizengoff Avenue Hotel.  We learned as we walked the recently opened Independence Trail that Dizengoff was the Mayor of Tel Aviv for 25 years. He was the first leader of the sovereign Jewish state since the expulsion of the Jews some 2,000 years ago. He is widely credited with laying the foundations for what has become a modern city and nation. The avenue named in his honor is filled with shops, businesses and cafes that were doing a brisk business when we left the hotel.
We headed down to the waterfront promenade that runs for about five miles along the Mediterranean Sea. Our first destination was Old Jaffa, which is the ancient port city at the Southern end of the walkway. Jaffa is mentioned several times in the bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It was conquered by King Solomon and his son King David.  In Acts, there is a story of Peter bringing a woman back to life at Jaffa. It is also the Port where Jonah went on what would later become the ultimate whale watching excursion!
We had a really filling early lunch at a restaurant in the Greek Market area. Excellent food and way more of it than we could possibly eat. We were joined by about 30 machine gun toting young men with "Underground Commando" shirts.  Military service is mandatory in Israel for most young people and they seem to train along the beach quite a bit so we weren't alarmed.
https://igoogledisrael.com/restaurant-dr-shakshuka/
After roaming around the Old Jaffa area for a while we made our way back towards the hotel on Rothschild Ave. This tree lined avenue has a very nice pedestrian walkway/park in the middle and is home of the recently opened Independence Trail.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/tel-avivs-independence-trail-follows-footsteps-of-founders/
After a little rest time at the hotel we headed out again. This time we turned right on the promenade towards the north end which is Metzitzim Beach. It was getting late in the afternoon, the walkways were full of runners, walkers and families enjoying a sunny and warm afternoon in an amazing city.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, we weren't sure what we would find. We're amazed at the liveliness and vibe of the city. There is one danger to warn you about. We didn't fall victim to them, nor did we see anyone else fall victim but watch out for all the bikes, motorized bikes, scooters, and motorized scooters. There are a bunch of them moving at a fast pace!