Tel-Aviv

After the Birthright part of my trip ended, I spent four nights in Tel-Aviv.  It was really nice to have some free days after 10 days of non-stop action.  I stayed in the Cinema Hotel, right in the center of town.  It was a great location.  I was on a busy street so I had plenty of food options and shops to look in.  I was also a 15 minute walk from the beach.  The first night, two of the girls I met on the trip came to my hotel and hung out for a little while before they left for Jordan.  Then I went to bed and slept for 12 hours.  It felt excellent after getting about five hours of sleep each night on Birthright. The next day was laundry day.  It was a long project since I had to wash everything I brought.  I also hung out at the beach for a while.  There were people surfing in wet suits and even some people swimming.  The water was too cold for me, but I'll go back when the weather is warmer.  On Thursday I met up with Yosi, one of the soldiers from the trip.  He gets to leave his base from Thursday night to Sunday morning most weeks.  On Friday I walked to the main market.  It was very busy because Shabbat was about to start.  I had an early dinner and bought some snacks at the grocery store because everything closes. 

 On Saturday I needed to get to Jerusalem.  The normal buses don't run on the Sabbath so I only had two options.  Hiring your own taxi costs about $100, or you can take a mini-bus for about $7.25.  I took the mini-bus and found it to be very easy and convenient.  It was quite informal.  They line up outside the train station and wait for ten people to get on, then off you go! They are not on any kind of schedule.  All the passengers pass money forward and someone near the driver collects it and makes change as needed.  It was a fun experience.  

Pictures:

1st: View from the roof at my hotel.  Dizengof square.

2nd: Awesome art installation at the hotel across the street

3rd: Along the beach

4th: Mediterranean

5th: Mini-bus to Jerusalem