Tel Aviv and back, back in the U.K.K.K.

6/19/2011 - 6/23/2011

That title seems dated and implies the UK is horribly racist. Perhaps I should have thought of a better one, but it is kind of catchy.

In Tel Aviv we met, for the first time, a Couchsurfer who had previously stayed at our place in Japan! Ketty and her sister took us in, but Ketty's husband was doing his doctor bit for the army in exchange for his tuition fees. That night we had our first experience of 'Western' sushi, very fancy, with all kinds of avocado and sweet potato wraps, sandwich-like layers and even teriyaki and spicy mayonnaise as dips! Very weird. Not as fresh or tasty, and there's no way each member of staff there slaved away for ~10 years as an apprentice to an overbearing 店長 to get that obsessive Japanese level of perfectionism, but they compensated with variety and colour.

Ketty told us how when she asked for teriyaki sauce in a Japanese sushi restaurant she instigated a confused huddle in the kitchen. Eventually a bemused waitress came out with a freshly-made sauce and asked hesitantly if that was really what Ketty had asked for?

We took a slightly strange tour of Tel Aviv university's sculpture and architecture, led by an old French lady with a Canadian woman the only other visitor.

Nanuchka for dinner, fantastic Georgian food.

The second free Tel Aviv tour was an evening walk led by a very entertaining bald guy who had all sorts of great stories to tell that I've completely forgotten.

The third and last free tour we took was a huge group led by a very ineffectual guide who managed to make the beautiful old town of Jaffa quite boring. The only good point was free entry to an art gallery home full of twisted metal sculptures and re-purposed items.

So, including Yuval's place we stayed at seven different people's places over 24 days, only staying for one night in one hostel. All that with no pre-planning, no organisation and a very haphazard schedule. Is Israel the most Couchsurfing-friendly country in the world? It certainly has been for us. In fact Israel spoiled us so badly that our half-arsed attempts to Couchsurf elsewhere have often lacked the necessary rigour and forward-planning.

In short, Israel is awesome because of the people that live there. Definitely one of my (our) favourite places in the world.