Day 0: Even though I packed everything the day before, I still felt rushed and stressed to do a bunch of stuff last minute before my flight. Does anyone else feel like that’s just a law of traveling? If you don’t get stressed out at the last minute, are you even a traveler? Anyway, I am glad I decided to go to the gym, because as soon as I left I got a text saying my flight was delayed. At first I was relieved, because that meant more time to shower, change and do my last minute stuff without having to rush after the gym. But I quickly realized that it could also completely fuck me over if it made me miss my connecting flight from JFK to Tel Aviv. After the saga with my mom getting stuck in NYC for two days over a cancelled 1-hour connecting flight home (with Delta, which I was flying), I was a bit wary of the consequences of said delay.
To spare you most of the drama, my flight ended up getting so delayed that they had to rebook me on a new flight from JFK to TLV, on a different airline. I had to literally SPRINT to the gate at my second flight to even make it on, and was not met with much encouragement. The staff at El-Al were like “who are you?” Apparently Delta hadn’t sent over my information or an alert to expect me on the flight. GREAT. After getting grilled for ten minutes by El-Al security, I was finally allowed to board, but not before the staff member laughing when I asked if my bags would be on the flight. Le sigh.
Day 1: After a very long flight, I finally arrived in Tel Aviv. Yay! My excitement quickly drained as soon as I got to the baggage claim and confirmed that my bag had in fact not made it. I was annoyed, but this is the third time this has happened to me, so I was trying to just surrender and trust that it would make it to me soon. I still ended up spending two hours at the airport filing a claim for my bag and such.
When I FINALLY made it to the train station, I was relieved to just be outside and once again excited that I was in Israel! I have unfortunately only been here once – on my Birthright trip seven long years ago – and have been dying to come back since. A quick train ride and a taxi ride later, I was at my cousins apartment. Our reunion was nothing short of amazing, and I had to pinch myself to believe I was actually here with her!!
We went upstairs so I could put my stuff down (literally just one small carry on bag), then she gave me a tour and we drank some wine before going to meet up with her friend at a bar nearby. The place she took me to was tucked in an alley (which had a few other bars and cafe nestled in next to it) and had a super low-key, mellow vibe. We ended up just getting more wine there, then walking around with her friend and finally getting some food. All I wanted was some Israeli food, and my prayers were answered because that was about all that was still open! We split a falafel laffa (basically a big flatbread filled with falafel), piled high with pickled veggies and delicious sauces. HEAVEN! We called it a night after that, which I was grateful for because the journey took a lot out of me!
Day 2: My cousin took me to a cute library-themed cafe for breakfast, where we split a yellow shakshuka and beet carpaccio with shaved feta. YUM!!! After that, we walked to her friends’ apartment nearby so I could meet them. They were all super friendly and chill – they reminded me of myself and my friends from San Diego. The vibe of the apartment was very San Diego as well. Given that Tel Aviv is situated next to the beach, it’s not surprising at all that a lot of things here remind me of San Diego!
Anyway, we left their place so I could walk to the beach and my cousin could go to her dentist appointment. I posted up on the beach, but I didn’t feel very relaxed, since I didn’t have my contacts and had to wear glasses to the beach (which I never do), and also didn’t have any of the other stuff I brought for the beach. Shortly after I got there, my cousin’s friends got to the beach and texted me that they were there too. I went to hang out with them, then met up with my cousin after she got back from the dentist and hung out with some of her other friends at the beach. Finally, she and I walked back to her place to chill and wait for my bag, which was supposed to be delivered that night.
If you guessed that my bag was NOT delivered that night, you would be right! I went from being totally chill about it to being completely annoyed and on edge. When I say I packed nothing in my carry-on bag, I mean ABSOLUTELY nothing. Not even a toothbrush! Luckily, El-Al provided a super cute toiletry bag to me at the lost & found counter at the airport, which included toiletries (obviously) and a pair of pajamas, but I really just wanted my shit back!
Day 3: After two nights of wearing my prison pajamas and a morning spent yelling at the delivery guy for taking so long, I finally got my bag back!!! When I went down to grab it, the guy had the chutzpah to say “the time, is ok?” No moron, is not ok!! I wanted my bag two freaking days ago!!! Ok, Alana. Wooooosah! Needless to say, my mood was INSTANTLY improved by having my stuff back! I brought my bag in, took out the stuff I brought for my cousin (vanilla matcha and matcha joe joes from Trader Joe’s), showed her all the clothes I brought for her to borrow, and FINALLY got dressed in my own clothes and used my own toiletries and makeup and WORE CONTACTS!! If you wear contacts and have ever been forced to wear glasses for days on end when you didn’t want to, then I’m sure you feel me.
This was my first “real day”, and it was a really fun one! My cousin and I went to Jaffa with her friend to get kaftans and desserts for our Mimouna party that Friday night. For those that don’t know, Moroccans have a tradition of throwing a party at the end of Passover to celebrate eating bread again. We celebrate by eating tons of sweet cakes and crepes and other goodies smothered in honey, and drink a shit ton of alcohol. The party is called Mimouna. It’s lit.
Finding kaftans was a success in the end, but not the desserts. We took a few pictures and wandered around Jaffa before taking a bus to another “shuk” (outdoor market). That one was hectic – and about to close – but we managed to score a box of baklava for our party, which looked so incredible I wanted to eat it right away. We meandered back toward my cousin’s house, stopping for a late (and delicious) lunch at a super cute cafe with an outdoor patio.
When we got back, another one of my cousin’s friends stopped by to hang out, then we binged watched Big Mouth on Netflix before going out. Thursday is Israel’s Friday night (because of Shabbat), so there were a lot of people out. She took me to this place that was half indoors half outdoors, with a large courtyard surrounded by a few bars and restaurants that all seem kinda connected. It is hard to describe, but it is very “Tel Aviv”, and you would understand if you saw it! We weren’t feeling the vibes there, so we stopped for a drink at one of her go to bars then took a cab home.
Day 4: Despite not really doing much the night before (besides walking SO far in heels), we ended up going to bed pretty late and slept in Friday morning. Once we woke up, we frantically rushed out the house to pick up a few last minute things for the party that night before everything closed. After going on a full on mission to get to these shops, we realized that not only was everything closing early for the holiday, but most places never even opened. FAIL. So we just went to the corner store and got a couple things instead.
After we got back to the apartment, I reorganized my suitcase (I always roll my clothes when I pack but it makes for a pain in the ass when you’re at your destination and trying to look through your stuff), then changed and headed to the beach. I spent a few blissful hours soaking up the sun and playing in the clear blue water. Not much to say here other than this is my definition of heaven!
I came “home” feeling happy and relaxed after some much needed “me” time at the beach. I showered and got dressed to go to dinner in an hour, even though I felt way too hungry to wait that long. Luckily I wasn’t the only one dying to eat, so my cousin and her roommate and I walked over to the burger place we had decided on, a bit earlier than our reservation. It ended up not even mattering that we were early, since the place was pretty empty and they didn’t even know we had a reservation (classic Israel). I am honestly not a burger person at all, but these were AMAZING. My cousin and I split two burgers: a falafel style burger with tahini, schug, and a leek-beet veggie patty; and a Moroccan style beef burger topped with merguez sausage, harissa and preserved lemon mayo. We freaking crushed those burgers!!
As soon as we got home, we had just enough time to chill for a minute before preparing for our party. Luckily, my cousin has stayed home and cleaned while I was at the beach, so all that was left was making sangria, laying out the desserts, and then getting ourselves ready. By the time the firsts guests were arrived, we had our kaftans on and our faces beat and were ready to party! The party itself was super fun, and well worth the effort we put in. Especially considering we had about six bottles of alcohol left over by our guests. Score!! A lot of our guests went out, but we were pooped from the party and decided to just chill at home after everyone left.
Day 5: Saturday morning was the first morning that we didn’t have to rush out of the house or anxiously await my bag, so we were content to laze around the house for hours. Since Saturday is Shabbat and most things are closed anyway, there was really no rush to go anywhere. When we finally left the house around 2:30, we went to get lunch at a cafe down the street, basking in the sun and enjoying the afternoon. After lunch, we walked to the beach and walked all the way down the beach to a cool graffiti-covered spot where her friends were chilling. We only stopped by for a few, then continued through a gorgeous neighborhood called Neve Tzedek. This boujee looking part of town is filled with old Mediterranean style architecture, in stark contrast to the modern high rises of other parts of Tel Aviv.
As we meandered back toward home, we stopped for snacks and visited her friend, then went home to chill after all day of walking around. We had big plans to go out that night for Mimouna (which was actually that night, we just had our party a night early), but ended up not even leaving the house for dinner. We tried ordering food from several places but completely failed each time and literally were forced to eat rice cakes for dinner. I am kinda bummed we didn’t end up going out for Mimouna, since I had really been looking forward to that and had heard it’s way more fun in Israel, but we had a great day and were both exhausted anyway. Maybe next year! Or whenever I move to Tel Aviv, because at this point I think that needs to happen.
Day 6: My cousin had to go to work at a preschool (another reason we didn’t go out the night before), so she left before I woke up. I was later rudely awoken by loud knocking at the door, which I quickly found out from the million missed calls and texts from my cousin was the A/C repair guy coming to fix the unit in his room. I let him in, then sat in the living room in a weird daze for an hour and a half until he finally left. I was not pleased to see that he left a HUGE mess in my cousin’s room. I told her and sent her a video of the damage. Needless to say, she was PISSED!
I had plans to meet up with an Israeli friend of mine that I met in Thailand a couple years ago, so I quickly got ready to go meet him. I walked to this giant mall about 30 minutes away to meet him and his two British friends, and we all walked to this little outdoor shopping area across the street to get food. My friend really wanted American pancakes, so we went to Max Brenner (which I thought was an American restaurant, but is apparently an Israeli restaurant). He ordered a giant Israeli style breakfast (which I “shared” with him instead of actually ordering anything lol) AND a huge stack of pancakes drenched in chocolate. He calmly and methodically ate both meals while his British friend struggled to finish just his chocolate pancakes and immediately rushed to the bathroom. Is that what they are teaching the soldiers in the IDF?
After brunch, we walked all the way to the beach, passing my cousin’s apartment on the way. I got a fresh juice and a falafel on the way to the beach, then posted up there with them for a couple hours. It got way too cold to stay out there, so I said my goodbyes and walked home. The rest of the night was spent chilling with my cousin, watching the new Jungle Book movie, and coming up with a “predatory animals bracket”. My cousin and I really did not feel like dealing with the mess in her room (her maid was supposed to come but ghosted her, again classic Israel), so we both just slept in the living room. It was actually really comfortable so I wasn’t even mad!
Day 7: After the stressful morning I had on Sunday, it was nice to actually sleep in and wake up feeling relaxed (aside from the slightly disturbing dreams I had). I took my time to wake up, do some yoga, grab breakfast from a bakery downstairs and eat, then put away my laundry and get dressed for the beach. It was WAY warmer at the beach than the day before, so I spent the entire day there getting as tan as possible. I guess I got pretty dark, cuz as soon as I walked in the apartment my cousin took one look at me and goes “fuckkkk you!”. She’s pretty golden, but she is always complaining that she can’t get dark no matter how long she lays out. Sorry fam!
I was exhausted from spending all day in the sun, so I was happy to shower and just chill for a few hours. We didn’t have any plans that night (it was a Monday, after all), but we both got antsy after a certain point and decided to take a walk. We walked through a park near her place, then over to this very busy street next to her apartment that was packed with bars, restaurants and shops. There were so many cool places on this street and it was SO close to her apartment, that it was blowing my mind I hadn’t seen any of it yet!
On the way home, we stopped for some fresh juice (which you can get literally ANYWHERE in TLV for so cheap, ugh) and bananas. We both ate like shit all day, so we decided to just have our juices and my favorite snack (banana slices with tahini, honey and cinnamon) instead of getting dinner. We chilled for another hour or so before we got tired and passed out on the couch again. Don’t judge us!
Stay tuned for the rest of my adventures and a Tel Aviv city guide! 💕
