Tel Aviv'n

Jet lag. Uch!
I was sooo tired last night and fell fast asleep. But around 2 am, my eyes popped open and I was awake. I finally fell back to sleep a few hours later, but by 7 am I was ready to begin my day.

I went to the hotel dining room for my first Israeli breakfast. It was a buffet with lots of choices. Yogurts and cheeses, eggs and potatoes, humus and breads and a salad bar! Salad for breakfast? OK, I'll be a brave little bear and try it. Of course, being a bear, I saw smoked salmon and pickled herring. Even for breakfast! Papa, Nayna and I found the orange squasher and made ourselves glasses of fresh orange juice. That was the best!
Today we explored HaCarmel shuk and met Nayna's friend.She works at a clothing shop.
To get to the shuk we took a sherut. The first one was full and passed us by. We waited another 5 minutes and saw one coming down the street. Nayna held up her hand and the van pulled up to where we stood. We didn't have exact change, but we got in, found seats and Papa passed two coins - 10 shekels each to the man in front of him. Because we were near the back, he passed it to the next person who passed it to the driver. He made change and the whole thing began again with the passing back until Papa held out his hand to receive the coins.
I stayed tucked in Nayna's purse so I was safe while Nayna and Papa stood up before the sherut stopped. That way the driver knew where to let us off.

Now for our adventure into the shuk. Lots of people, lots of voices and lots of little shops. We passed clothes, shoes, hats, school supplies, as well as jewelry and housewares. The further we walked down the narrow street with booths on both sides, the more I smelled food. Fruit and vegetable bins, spices, olives, fish, meat, cheese. But my favorite was the candy! Lots and lots of candy.
 It smelled so good.

We found a side street that took us away from the hustle and bustle and we were in a section of the shuk that was open and wide. There were still shops on both sides of the street, but there were also cafes with outside dining and benches to sit and people watch.
We passed a very old door and both Nayna and I decided we'd like a picture in front of it. I think maybe it was the door to a synagogue a long long time ago.
After our shuk walk we went across the street and got a fruit shake. Frozen fruit blended in orange juice slid down our throats and cooled our bodies. Mine especially. I'm still wearing my fur coat, don't you know.
We met Nayna's friend, shopped a little and then she told us we should walk to the Dizengoff mall. It was a short walk down King George Street, she said. Papa and Nayna walked and walked and walked some more. Thankfully I rode in Nayna's purse. My little bear legs would never have made it.

We walked inside the mall after the security guard checked Nayna's purse (with me peeking out) and the mall was huge. Three stories of stores! It was almost dinner time and we found a yummy cafeteria, got our food and sat at a tall table were we could watch the people as we ate. Fish, cole slaw and spaghetti for Nayna and me. Between us we still couldn't finish our plate - there was so much food. Now I'm really a stuffed bear.
As tired as we were, we needed to walk back to Ben Yehuda and Frishman to catch our sherut to the hotel. But which street would take us there? Thank goodness we had a map.

By the time we got back to our room, we'd walked a lot and it was still warm even though it was around 6 pm. We had a busy day. Maybe I'll sleep like a bear tonight. Tomorrow we go to Jerusalem!