Tel Aviv, Israel - January 13, 2011

new shopping center - Tsammeret Park

winter foliage - Tel Aviv

fresh veggies @ Eden Market - Tel Aviv

dried fruit and nuts @ Eden Market - Tel Aviv

older couple hand in hand - Tel Aviv

religious man walking - Tel Aviv

After a 14 1/2 hour flight from LA to Tel Aviv, I finally made it to my apartment in the center of town. Sometimes it's a good idea to break up the long flight with a short stop in Europe or NYC. In this case, I wanted to avoid any weather delays so I opted for the non-stop flight.
I woke this morning to a beautiful, warm (high 60's - low 70's) winter's day. What better way to deal with jet lag than to go out and walk in the sunshine. I decided to walk in the neighborhood and see what was new. I took a short 2 minute stroll to the new mini-mall serving several high-rise buildings in the "Tsammeret Park" neighborhood. A new market, Eden, was open and I spent at least 30 minutes walking through the amazing food displays. The fresh fruits and veggies, the displays of fresh lentils, dried fruit and just about anything you could expect to find at your local Whole Foods was there, including "Soy Vay", my favorite marinade from Trader Joe's. Who knew??
I continued my walk to the Kikar Hamedina, the circle of high-end, designer shops servicing a high-end Israeli consumer (of which I am neither high-end nor Israeli). You never know when you need to make that Louis Vuitton, Burberry or Ralph Lauren purchase!
As always, the most interesting part of walking through any city is people watching and Tel Aviv is no exception. Because people spend at least a good part of their day walking about and sitting in cafes, people watching can become an interesting way to gauge the feel of the beat of the city.