Day 33 - The Olive Oil Journey

Tel Aviv | November 27th, 2022

I get to bed at 3am and wake up at 10:30 thanks to the blackout blinds at the hotel as well as my previous day's sleep deprivation. When I look at my phone I realize 11am is the probable checkout time and this lights a fire in me to get ready - though I still took 50 minutes from opening the eyes to exiting with the room packed up.

Only then I realize checkout is at 12pm, phew.

I quickly do some writing then opt to keep my bags at the hotel as I roam throughout the city. Stop 1 was Carmel market and immediately what catches my eye?

Gigantic Pomegranates - though I do assume they're genetically modified to be that size and perfect shape (but I may be wrong).

I get a quote for a [Shekel to Dollar converted] $6 cup of pomegranate seeds. Pass.

Later in the market I see another guy that displayed low prices all around and quote his pomegranate cup price (never displayed of course): $2.50. I caved in. I intelligently brought 0 cash (ha) and walked to the ATM at the beginning of the market to come back and get the seeds. They tasted great.

I continued with some Thai veggie spring rolls which resembled a salad but in finger food form. On top I snagged some unbelievable sunflower seeds that I remember from my trip 4 years ago. Same stand, and probably same $3 for the giant container.

When done with Carmel market, I scooter (a Tel-Aviv must) to the old city of Jaffa and take about an hour to aimlessly wander and buy some street food (Za'atar Pita & to-go bowl of Hummus). Once it registered in my head that I wanted to be more productive with my time, I leave but not without a stop at the area by the water (Mediterranean Sea) - I wanted to replicate a picture from 4 years ago but never actually made it to that area (took a selfie instead that you'll see below). 15 minutes observing the guys with the giant fishing rods then I head back to the hotel, lay down for a couple minutes, grab my bags, and lug them 25 minutes through the city to the next destination: Abraham Hostel.

I arrive and immediately take a nap. 45 minutes later I wake up, throw in a load of laundry, run to the area with shawarma (chose the best 1 of 4), scooter to hostel, change laundry, and write alongside the world cup "viewing party" in the main room of the hostel.

10pm hits and I head out to meet my parents' friend for drinks. On the way there were some packed outdoor world cup viewing areas (admittedly had some FOMO as the party in the hostel was about 6 people max). I park the scooter and grab drinks for some time, then scooter back home to bed.

1 Olive Oil Takeaway

Speaking with Olive Farmers gets you better information than the internet - a too simple takeaway I wish I knew earlier.

-Jack

Thank you for reading and welcome to the blog! I'm traveling through Europe on a quest to find great Olive Oil.