Tel Aviv

So, since I'm taking something of a trapeze hiatus for the next few weeks, I thought I'd turn this into a bit of a travelog (sp?)

By far and away, my favorite place in Tel Aviv is the port. At the north end of Tel Aviv, the port, over the past several years has been transformed to a super-trendy, very lovely place. (Of course, I don't go out at the trendy evening/late night happening hours... but it's still a great place earlier on as well)

Aside from some terrific places to eat and some very apparently hopping clubs, the port has a bunch of stores as well as a lovely boardwalk that undulates in places... (will try to get pictures next time I'm there.)

Since the girls are in camp, I have seven (!) hours free to do with as I please, so today I found myself at the port, where I took a yoga class at EllaYoga. (Sorry, the site is Hebrew only, unfortunately.) The nice and surprising thing was that my instructor was apparently American, or a mashed up mix like me, and since there was a woman in Conneticut in the class, she taught it in English... which is good, as I was wondering how I would understand the Hebrew names for poses. As usual, the 60-minute class was too short, but they have 90-minute classes, in Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, etc., and I look forward to trying a 90-minute class soon.

The space itself is very lovely--very zen, and super-clean (and for the shivasana, the instuctor put a loely lavender-scented eye-pillow over my eyes). As a nice change, the yoga room wasn't mirrored, and it definitely changed the way I practiced... apparently you can pay 500 shekel (+-120) for a month's membership and take limitless classes. Since I already signed up for a gym membership for a month, I figured that was unnecessary, but will take a class or two a week here (trial class 50 shekel, and thereafter 80 shekel), but if I enjoy them, next summer will sign up for the month membership instead of the gym, and will maybe run along the boardwalk for my cardio, if I can finally figure out the running thing.

After yoga, which I really needed after yesterday's strength training session at what apparently is a very trendy Israeil gym called the Garage, (not sure why it's so trendy, apparently it's a great pick-up spot, but it wasn't as fab as it's hyped up to be in my opinion,) I went to the beach directly south of the port, called Mezizim (the peeping-Toms), and decided to study and have some lunch at the cafe/restaurant associated with that beach, called Mezizim 9. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one's viewpoint) it was way, way to hot to eat much today, so I left half of my salad.

But all in all, a really lovely way to spend an afternoon.

This is also my favorite beach to take the Things to, both because they love the shnitzel (chicken fingers) at the restaurant, because they have a playground area, and mostly because of the beach and the water. There is a huge section of very shallow water before it starts getting deep -- perfect for kids to play in and adults to cool off in, without battling waves. In fact, many people take their chairs (for rent for 6 shekel) into the water, about 4-6 inches deep, and sit there to read/keep cool/chat/be near the kids...) There's also a break wall which keeps the waves from coming in too strong, so when you do finally get in deeper, the waves aren't overpowering, and you can hang out in the water without expending lots and lots of energy...

Late in the afternoon, after feeding the Things, we went with my cousing to Shenkin street, a very trendy street with lots of shops and cafes, very bohemian feeling, (And where I got this tattoo last year:

While I was there, I bought a great pair of shoes. (I know I could probably find a similar pair in NYC, but who has time to shop at home?) I usually go crazy shopping in Israel, but this year I'm a little disappointed by the exchange rate, and I've really enjoyed the fashions I've seen in NYC, so I've been taking it very easy, and in fact, the shoes are my first real purchase -- pretty impressive for me!

I think that most of the shops on Shenkin can be found at the various malls in the Tel Aviv area, but it's really nice being outside and walking on the street. Plus, Fiji was able to come along!

Tomorrow I'm taking a static trapeze class with Florentin Circus. I'm curious to see how it will go, and whether they will teach me anything that I haven't seen in New York.

And just randomly, here is a lovely blog with photos of Israel.

Anyway, that's enough for now. I'll try to get some photos up soon, but decided not to buy a camera since I can't find my model here at all, and don't feel like upgrading at an absurdly high price.