20. Sunny Walk; Late but Fast Train: From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. 1/7/23

Greetings from Jerusalem –

Last night’s dinner at Dalida was great. We sat at the bar where we could watch all the kitchen action. We had the sweetbreads kabob followed by a pasta stuffed with eggplant and spices in a wonderful creamy tomato sauce (really great, but a very small portion) and then a lamb kebab… and of course dessert. The menu is very creative and combines Arab, French, and Italian tastes. Highly recommended.

This morning we learned that because Saturday is Shabbat, the trains don’t run until 8:45 pm! So, we spent the entire day walking in Tel Aviv, which was fun, because it was clear and sunny, although got overcast late in the day. But this new information meant that our “fast train” to Jerusalem would get into the station at about 9:30 pm.

We walked through another area near our hotel filled with murals and then headed to the areas we had not walked yesterday when the rains started. Initially we headed to the long linear park that edges the beach. It was sunny and Saturday, so everyone seemed to be out… soaking in the sun, biking, walking, or sitting in the park area. Mike decided to join the “sitters” in the sun and I strolled ahead meandering through many different neighborhoods and sweet alleyways and pedestrian streets with interesting housing and shops.

Eventually I found myself on Shabazi Street (good thing I didn’t get there yesterday, or I might have blown the budget shopping in all of the boutiques that lined the street). I suddenly found myself walking around a big crowd that seemed to be waiting for something or trying to get into a shop. I surveyed the situation and realized they were all trying to get into an ice cream store. Since there are many ice cream shops in Tel Aviv, I figured this one must be special, so I joined in and finally got to the counter to place my order. The few people on line speaking English were saying it is the “best ice cream in the world!” Not sure, I’d go that far but it was pretty damn good… very decadent, hand-made, real cream-based gelato and frozen yogurt with over 150 flavors (not every day.. they switch em up; about 20 per day). I tried the pistachio and a nougat/chocolate/chili one. Realized I hadn’t had lunch, so I figured it was important that I get some energy.

Then Mike called that he was walking as well, having soaked up enough sun—and we agreed to meet at The Norman, an iconic hotel. It apparently began with three residential buildings of different architectural styles, one of which was influenced by the Bauhaus. It has lots of character and history and is quite elegant. Since I hadn’t revealed my little ice cream lunch, I met Mike in the restaurant (Alena) and we ate a late lunch (4:00). We had a wonderful pizza that had eggplant as its base (instead of tomato sauce) and Israeli cheese and spices and then just as it comes out of the oven, they put an egg yolk on top which gets warmed by the pizza. Really rich and very tasty.. Then we followed that with a calamari dish that was also very good.. and paired so well with our wine.

By then it was dark out and we decided to take a taxi back to our hotel area.. Traffic was crazy and many streets in the area of our hotel were totally impassible, so we hopped out of the taxi about 1/3 mile from our destination and walked the rest of the way. By the way, I now have the app Gett (like Curb in NY—where you can both order and also pay for your taxi). So, we just have to punch in our location, and you know when a taxi will come to pick you up. We eventually came back to the Market House Hotel to get our bags and then headed to the train station.

The fast train (45 minutes from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem) was fine. When we arrived, the station wasn’t yet open, so we waited with everyone else for the gates to open. There was some kind of security check and we had all our luggage so I expected a nightmare since most people only had only a backpack. But they asked for our passports and then waved us in. We figured out how to purchase our tickets and which station in Jerusalem we needed (they have three stations). There was virtually no English at the station, but we figured out the track/platform and got on the right train. It was a little cumbersome with our baggage, but the train wasn’t too crowded, and we could take up more than our two seats. Other people did the same. 

The train and the station were filled with families (with many children in each family) and they needed to navigate carriages and such, so our load was easy compared to them. When we emerged from the train it took two elevators and two escalators to get to the street (not sure why it was designed that way). We found a taxi right near the station and headed to our hotel: Villa Brown Moshava, in the German Quarter. Since it was now a bout 10:30 pm we couldn’t see much enroute, but the hotel is quite nice. It’s a landmark historic building with just 24 rooms. Our room has a little balcony (have no idea what we see since it’s dark outside) and very tall ceilings. The rooms are all small, but elegant. We’re here for three nights, but given that we thought we’d arrive by noon today but instead got here well after dark, we may add another night here and shorten our stay in Akko which is a really small town so maybe we don’t need as much time as we’ve given it. We shall see.

That’s it for now. 

Fern