For those of you who didn’t have the pleasure of reading my last blog, just a very short introduction. My name is Sharon Zieve, I’m married with two kids (yawn) and live in Tel Aviv. While I’m up all night with unsettled babies, tourists and locals are up eating, drinking and frolicking around this wonderful city. Recently I’ve noticed that the tourists of Tel Aviv in no way, shape or form fit the tourist stereotype. These tourists are cool, chic, refined. And at the same time, the depressing reality hit me that I’m no longer in touch with what’s hot or not in Tel Aviv. So I decided to meet Tel Aviv’s tourists and learn from them how to enjoy the city to the max. Tourist number 1 (and 2): meet Amber and her mum Mandy from London. They came to Tel Aviv for a long weekend, to rewind and more importantly to top up their tans before Amber’s wedding. I met them on the beach on a Monday at the start of December. I was dressed like most locals, in jeans, boots and a thin long sleeved top. But low and behold Amber and Mandy were wearing bikinis, lying back on Banana Beach, sipping coffee and lapping up the sun’s rays. ‘Hilarious’, was the first thought that crossed my mind. Surely these people were freezing their butts off just to look golden on their big wedding day. Locals would certainly not be seen on the beach in bikinis in December. But, Amber swore that the beach was beautiful and as I pledged when I set out to write this blog I had to follow the advice of the tourists that I met. So, sure enough, the following weekend, I packed up our bucket and spade, and set off to the beach with my family. Amber and Mandy were absolutely right, what a genius idea! The beach was quiet and the sea sparkled. We didn’t have to skip over the sand to avoid it burning our feet like you do during the Israeli summer or worry about slapping on sun cream every other minute. The kids had a ball (a beach ball and in the metaphorical sense) and my husband and I could relax without worrying about dehydration, sun burn and all the other beach related things that responsible parents are supposed to worry about. So thank you Amber and Mandy, for a truly wonderful tip. I think we’ll head back to the beach on !

“Even Mr.Blobby can be found in the Med in the winter months”

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“People of all ages basking in the sun”

“Hubby and daughter enjoying the beach”

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What makes the Tel Aviv Tourist ‘Special’?

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours as a tourist in the country that I live in. I’ve lived in Israel now for 6 years and unfortunately it’s rare that I venture past my local Tel Aviv café or the swing park. Yep, I guess I’ve fallen straight into that stereotypical and universal motherhood mould. But yesterday, on my way to complete a mundane task at a government ministry in Jerusalem, I decided to make the most of it and spend a couple of hours as a tourist. I chose to visit the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and tomb, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Magnificent, awe inspiring and truly spiritual (even for a non-Christian), I was totally blown away. I just couldn’t believe that one of the world’s top pilgrimage sites was at my doorstep and it had taken me 6 years to get there!! It wasn’t only the beauty of the building or the emotional expressions on the faces of the visitors that moved me, but also the feeling of being a stranger in a new place. Walking through the Arab Market to get to the Christian Quarter, I was totally filled with that tourist buzz.

Something else that struck me was the difference between the tourists in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. In Jerusalem, it was easy to pick out the tourists. Fanny Bag a plenty, guide books in one hand and maps in the other, tourists eagerly walked under manmade bridges being counted by their tour guides. This breed of tourist you just don’t see in Tel Aviv. Chic, stylish and cosmopolitan, the Tel Aviv tourist blends in with the locals and is often very hard to spot. Suddenly, it dawned on me that the Tel Aviv tourist is probably a wealth of local knowledge. Rather than asking a local what to do or where to eat, why not ask the tourist?

On a quest to break out of routine and live Tel Aviv for the truly amazing city that it is, I have decided once a week to try something new. ‘Something new’ recommended exclusively by Tel Aviv tourists, let’s see where it takes me. This is where my blog begins. I hope you enjoy it!

Jerusalem Tourist                        Tel Aviv Tourist

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