It wasn’t until the leaves of autumn glowed brightly that I began to understand why a holiday was needed in October. It had seemed so frivolous to just get a holiday at the end of the month, after years of teaching I should have known better. My patience was wearing and my spirit was antsy as the hours slipped away just as the sunlight disappeared from the sky but it was Friday and I had a plane to catch. I still hadn’t packed my bags as the school day ended, racing home I threw some summertime clothes and sunscreen in a backpack then called it a day.
I was buzzing in the airport and it was near impossible to tell if it was the prosecco or the anticipation that produced the bounce in my step as I boarded the airplane. My eyes were heavy with sleeplessness as we hopped out of our uber in an alleyway draped in darkness, filled with eerie echoes of an early morning. The beauty of Tel Aviv was being unveiled lackadaisically; the sparkling tide and silky smooth sand became illuminated by a hushed blush. My toes rushed towards the water and it it licked my skin the salty kiss cleansed my soul reigniting my energy. Jess and I bent twirled and twisted our way through a beach front yoga session while watching surfers lay on the monotonous sea as the sun morphed the sky into a masterpiece splashed with flaxen rays and silver shadows.
Happiness was rushing vigorously through my veins leaving me with an enchanting sense of serenity and feeling at home. It has been months since my eyes have heard an oceanic roar and my eyes had missed the sight of the sea kissing the shore. We still had hours to burn and packs clinging to our spines so we slapped on some swimsuits and enjoyed the warm embrace of the sun as we laid upon a grassy knoll until our skin was flushing with warmth. Our airbnb played hard to get so Jessica and I wandered into an international store and left with American treasures spilling from our arms. The rest of Saturday is painted with watercolours of a night splashed upon exhausted faces and insomnolent bodied that faded once we tucked in for a long and restful night of sleep.
Our Sunday started off with a bountiful breakfast at our favourite neighbourhood cafe before we pranced along the shore. Laughing and watching the tide ebb and flow we made out way down to a secluded beach where summer crowds once stood. The warmth of the sun was caressing our skin and we immersed ourselves into the salty sea just in time for a nasty little fish to bite me (I swear up and down that it happened, for real). After miles of walking with the white sand between our toes we traded our scenery for city streets where the sidewalk ends without warning. Arriving at our airbnb sun drenched we rinsed the day away before heading out to indulge in Tel Aviv street food.
It was about high time that we started to take some of the suggestions given to us regarding Tel Aviv’s food and to be quite honest arriving at Nunu’s Jess and I weren’t really sure what to expect. The store was straight out of LA and the menu only had about 6 listed options, all were eclectic but ended up tasting of magic. Twisting through the cities lively streets we eventually found our way up to a sleeping speakeasy which when it rose turned out to be a notch above our current style. We landed at a hipster bar named Sputnik where we met up with two friends from work traded stories, shared in laughter and then parted ways in preparation for our Monday adventures towards the Dead Sea…
a wanderess tale 