Tel Aviv, Israel

Tel Aviv was a great introduction to Israel. The airport is about a 20-30 minute drive into downtown and makes for beautiful scenery. There aren't too many airports in the world where you'll see palm trees and lemon groves within 2 minutes from leaving the terminal; you can here. Tel Aviv sits right on the Mediterranean Sea and offers an interesting mix of beaches and commerce. The city is less then 100 years old and is considered one of the Bauhaus architectural/artistic capitals of the world. After walking around town, you definitely get a feel for that. Over the years they have maintained the progressive design, requiring all new construction to be built with solar panels for energy consumption.

A little south of where we stayed was an old fishing village called Jaffa. Walking around here you get a sense of deep history, from many different cultures. A few tour groups (domestic and beyond) strolled through the streets of Jaffa, but for the most part you'll find locals enjoying the beautiful weather and historic surroundings. Art galleries, unique craft shops, fisherman and natives relaxing seem to dominate the streets, squares and parks of the old town. Looking north you get a beautiful view of the Tel Aviv skyline.

Walking north from Jaffa brings the Mediterranean to your left and various buildings to your right. A large walking path allows plenty of room for bikers, joggers and walkers to take in the scenery of the beach to the west or the variety of Tel Aviv. In a span of 15 minutes along this walk, you are likely to come across the following: people fishing off the boardwalk, 1-2 people in deep prayer/thought on the beach, several large hotels, a mosque, mid rise apartment buildings, men surrounding tables playing backgammon or dominoes and a handful of cafes/restaurants for people to take in these scenes.

The warm weather here was outstanding and a welcome change. On the last day there were sunny skies and temperatures reaching the mid 60s. From talking with locals, Tel Aviv gets pretty humid during the summertime, however the air the past few days was really dry. The temperature really cooled off at night, but the vivid blue sky and warm temps made it worthwhile. Overall the most memorable parts of the trip was the people. All the residents go above and beyond to make you feel welcome at all times. Friday morning came pretty early as we had a 5:30AM flight. At 3am we were driving through downtown Tel Aviv in our taxi - the nightlife was still kickin'.

Please click here for the rest of the shots from Tel Aviv...