Cheese & Pivo – in Tel Avivo.

All business done down in Israel; now for some R&R: a leisurely springtime stroll around a sunny Tel Aviv.

Spring’s the best time of the year in these parts, IMHO. Summer here is just oppressive – hugely hot and horrendously humid – forever reminding me of Bulgakov’s words: “More than three hours had gone by since the procession had reached the hill, and although the sun over Mount Golgotha had already begun its descent, the heat was still unbearable.” Ok, he was referring to Jerusalem, but that’s only 50 kilometers away. But I digress…

More digression: what’s interesting is that, at the point in time Mikhail Afanasiyevich was referring to, Tel Aviv was nothing but desert; not that you’d guess that today. And, curiously, though it was perfectly warm enough for a dip in the sea here last week, hardly anyone was doing so. I guess 25°C is considered too mild here for bathing :).

More anglers than bathers…

Walking along the shoreline, I notice how old-school two-story buildings are dotted about, set against a backdrop of ultra-modern skyscrapers.

Can you guess what the long installation in the next pic is? What’s it do, who for, and why?

Beer + waitress. The beer was delicious; the waitress nice and chatty :).

Refreshments duly imbibed, we stroll further… and stumble upon – a specialist cheese store.

I’m no major cheese fan, I can normally take it or leave it, but this aficionado behind the counter was so convincing and persuasive… He had us try a few pieces – and, oh my gourmet! – it was scrumptious! The cheeses were from all over the world, and came in various vintages – just like wines. He told us how a certain type of grass in this or that region of France gave ‘warmth and body and nose’ or some such to this or that particular brand. Ok, not quite; but his mini-seminars were most interesting and surprising – which added to the volumes of cheese purchased by our group that day, I’m sure. Perhaps most curious of all was the fact that the cheese connoisseur behind the counter was Russian! Thankfully, he didn’t recognize my face; if he had I’d have had a tough time extracting myself I think. Phew.

Nighttime Tel Aviv reminded me of… not quite Manhattan – but it will do soon if construction keeps up its current pace.

Someone told me I just had to take a pic of the following bakery. I can’t recall why. Can anyone jog my memory?…

Hmmm. A welcoming Asian restaurant? With a name like ‘Sayonara’ (Goodbye!), I’ll leave that to you to decide!

A restaurant named ‘Farewell’ or ‘See You Later’? Innovational. Creative. It got me thinking: why not go the full hog: have a restaurant named ‘Leave Now’, ‘You Must Go’, or ‘Get the Hell Out, Dammit’? Why not, indeed.