An Appetite for Adventure

Tel Aviv: A Walk in the Park

Another free day and I was determined to get some exercise and see the city while at it. Tel Aviv’s large city park, Hayarkan, looked nice on the map, so I laced on my kicks and made my way north on foot. I quickly learned that there’s a reason Tel Aviv’s streets start to clear in the early afternoon — the heat is unbearable. On the hour walk up to the Yarkan River, I must have sweat out a few pails worth of perspiration. Grooving to my ipod, I barely noticed someone filming a few girls before he turned the camera on me! Faced with the decision to keep rocking out or embarrassingly stop, I obviously chose the former. So any Israelis out there, keep an eye out for a skinny white chic in red shorts lip syncing to Britney Spears somewhere in Tel Aviv.

At the park, I realized there was a good couple miles of sparsely treed paths along the river until the real park even starts. Taking in the palm fronds, muddy waters and blazing heat, I realized that Tel Aviv is exactly like Florida, minus the random rain storms. I finally found the pond and settled in for a nice afternoon of reading and sunning.

After another long walk home, I reunited with Shirl and we went out to grab sabhit, an Israeli stuffed pita that includes a hard boiled egg, hummus, cabbage and a whole lot of other good stuff. Then, we got ready for our first big night out. Tel Aviv has a vibrant party scene and there is a reason it’s known as a 24-hour city. Problem is that everything gets started a little too late. This leaves many hours for motivation to wain and the bed to beckon.

We rallied through the tough spot and headed out to an underground club called Maxim. The club instantly reminded me of Filter 14 or Sullivan Room back in NYC. The local DJs were playing some great minimal-type music that was just full enough to bring on a good dance vibe. Made some new friends and went home all smiles.

[08.06.26] Tel Aviv

June 28, 2008 - Posted by piegirl | Israel, Tel Aviv | dancing in the streets, hayarkan, heat, movie, Tel Aviv