Tel Aviv

Today (June 24) would have been my husband's 60th birthday if he hadn't died of a massive heart attack. I miss him every day but special days ramp up my grief. I have been privately processing my pain for several days. I didn't set my alarm this morning and I woke up having dreamt of him. I always love when I dream of Bryan. It feels like he came to visit me. Bryan and I had talked repeatedly of wanting to come to Israel with Bob Mullins. I am taking the trip we wanted to take together. I feel like I run into that reality over and over again. 

Laurie had arranged for a late check out today.  We took our time at breakfast until the manager reminded us that breakfast ended at 10 a.m. Zandra, Laurie and I headed to the pharmacy up the street. I wanted to purchase an anti-inflammatory gel that requires a prescription in the States. What a different experience it was to go to this pharmacy.  Every shelf was gleaming and fully stocked. 

Then we headed to a ceramics store we have walked past repeatedly and it was always closed. It was open and the things inside were even more lovely than we imagined. I have been looking for some presents and I found just what I wanted. 

Once we were checked out we took our bags down to our parked car. Laurie had downloaded the Jerusalem parking app so we didn't get a parking ticket. Stephanie is taking over the driving to Tel Aviv now that Bob is headed for his dig. We went to the Ben Gurion airport and turned over our trusted rental car. This Kia has served us well. We met our shuttle to our hotel in Jaffa -- the Market House Hotel.  It is just steps away from the Jaffa Market and the beach. The location is perfect. The hotel rooms are the size of a dorm room. Only one person can be moving in the room at a time. 

Zandra wasn't feeling well. I am afraid she caught her cold from me. She took several medicines and was feeling quite nauseous. At 5 p.m. the hotel serves appetizers in the lobby. We went down to enjoy them before dinner. It became apparent that Zandra was too sick to go to dinner. She headed back up to the room and the rest of us went to Puaa--a hipster restaurant in the Jaffa market. We had asked my son, Brett, to research where we should eat. This was his recommendation. The food was outstanding. The decor was garage sale decor. Everything in the restaurant was for sale-- from the dishes on which we were served dinner to the pictures on the walls.

I had read in my guidebook about an incredible ice cream place that uses fresh ingredients from the market. We never found it but we found a place called Golda's. I had chocolate caramel with salted almonds....best ice cream of my life. As we walked back to the hotel the Jaffa Market was closing down, which made the street art more visible.

We took some food and water back to Zandra.  Then Laurie and I headed out to watch the sunset. We walked past the clock tower. 

We climbed the hill to the Old City of Jaffa.  The sunset was all it promised to be. Jaffa is a very cool place. I hope Zandra feels better tomorrow when we explore Jaffa.