That Time Tea Was "On the House, On the House"

(All pictures in this post stolen from Mike and Humberto)

The previous post ended with me sleeping in the driver's seat of a car somewhere in Tel Aviv, with Sam sleeping in the passenger's seat beside me.

Around 4:30am, Aaron and Froy returned from wherever they had been, and Aaron directed me to Amir's apartment. Amir lives on Firebird St, or 'rehov' firebird as one might say in Hebrew. (That's far superior to Churchill Dr., Erskine Woods Dr., or Massachusetts Ave., where I've lived previously.) His apartment is, quite simply, AWESOME.

It's also within walking distance of one of the many beaches of Tel Aviv. Mike had been bragging about how he planned to sleep on the beach, and by the time I got to Amir's apartment around 4:45, he was doing just that. So, I went to meet him, and we spread out a blanket on the beach.

There are many reasons not to sleep on a beach at Tel Aviv. Here's a few of them:
- People. Even at 5am, the beaches are far from deserted.
- Trash. Everywhere. In fact, it's difficult to find a trash-free napzone.
- Sand groomers. Large tractors with large metal rakes that could potentially kill you
- People. Bums.
- Temperature. It's hot in Tel Aviv, even if it is cooler at night.
- Sunrise. It happens, much too early to my liking.
- People. At 6:30, they wander around, asking questions in languages you don't speak.

The sleeping-on-the-beach experience was a short-lived ordeal for me. Since the sun was already up at 6:30, we decided it was a hopeless cause. On the way back to the apartment, we wanted to eat pizza (why? I don't know...), but everything was closed. Less than two hours earlier, the area was alive and everything was open, but perhaps 6am is closing time in Tel Aviv. Pizza was not obtained, and instead we settled on yogurt and orange juice from a convenience store.

Back at Amir's house, I put on some sunscreen, and went out to the deck to join the rest of the crew who were sleeping in disarray, scattered about the couches and floor of the living room and deck.

When I woke up a few hours later, everyone was gone, except for Mike and Sam who were still asleep inside. Eventually, Aaron ascended the stairs and heavily suggested that we grab some breakfast. Not just any breakfast could satisfy Aaron, shakshuka was required.

Thus began our quest to find breakfast. Amir gave us recommendations for two places to get food, and off we went. We walked and walked, and could not find the first. Turned back on a different road, walked some more, discovered the second (Benedict), but were turned off by the long time. Continued walking, passed a breakfast place that was open and serving breakfast, but not shakshouka. Walked and walked to Cafe Noir, but breakfast was over. Walked back the direction we came. Went to Max Brenner, breakfast was over, but shakshouka was still being served. Phew. At least we worked up an appetite.

Shakshouka is a traditional Israeli dish consisting of eggs, tomatoes, garlic, and onions. Imagine a really spicy bowl of stewed tomatoes, and you're trending in the right direction. Perhaps it's good for other times of the day, but as a first meal, shakshouka and my digestive track weren't quite the best of friends. I couldn't finish more than half of my massive bowl.

Breakfast was followed by beach, as Sam, Mike, Aaron, and I met up at the beach with the rest of the crew that had stayed in Tel Aviv. I was planning not to swim, since half my bathing suit is still in the US in Miss Seema Shukla's house, but fate had other plans for me. Fate in this case, refers to the fact that it was hothothot. It wasn't long before I took a dip in the Mediterranean, clothes and all.
It was hard to grasp the fact that the beach was for a sea rather than an ocean. The scene was the same: sandy beach, body of water with large waves, people tossing balls around or laying under umbrellas. But no! This is a sea.

We swam and floated and footballed, and after we'd soaked up a significant amount of sun-age, headed back to the cars. I've been a driver for pretty much the entire time we've been here, with the occasional side-trip in the back seat. For the first time, I sat in the front passenger seat and was able to enjoy the views rather than suffer anxiety due to the terrible driving of those around me.


Other than Mike and I, all of the van passengers slept through a lot of the journey. While they weren't paying attention, we decided that we should take a short excursion off the main highway into a random city. Ramla was the closest city mentioned in my guide book (thanks Pam!), so we went. Except it was Saturday, and Saturday is a synonym for "Everything is closed". Sadly, Ramla was lifeless, and our passengers seemed frustrated with our indirect route back home.

But hunger got the best of them, and Humberto (with phone input from Max) suggested that we return to Abu Gosh. According to wikipedia, Abu Gosh is an Israeli Arab town that is a model of peaceful Israeli-Arab coexistence. We certainly got a nice vibe from the city when we visited.

The staff of the restaurant we went to was amazingly friendly! While ordering, I asked our waiter what "fool" was. He quickly scurried away and returned with a steaming plate of beans, saying "try! try!", and without charging us anything. I didn't really like the beans, so instead I got hummus with mushrooms, and split an order of stuffed grape leaves with Mike. What I have learned here in the Middle East is that not all hummus is created equal. The hummus in the Abu Gosh restaurant was infinitely better than the tub-o-hummus I regularly encounter at WILG. And the stuffed grape leaves... wow. Grape leaves have this quirky flavor that is almost pickle-like, but not quite. I really like the oddness of it, and it's probably one of the best things I've tried here.

The pita supply was endless, and often times, I didn't even see how the pitas arrived. Our basket would be empty, and suddenly, POOF! pita! Falafel and pickles also came standard with the meal. At the end, as we were waiting for the check, our waiter came back and asked us if we'd like any tea of coffee, and before we could answer said "On the house, on the house!" We were a little skeptical, but all ordered tea anyway. The tea was a perfect end to a perfect meal, especially the free kind.

Obviously, I enjoyed this dinner. It's been my favorite thusfar, both because the food was simple yet tasty, and because the customer service rocked. When we finally returned home, I was eagerly awaiting some desperately needed sleep. After a Y1 logistics meeting, I collapsed in my bed for a long slumber.