There's nothing like a late summer getaway - and since we hadn't really left the country this summer we decided to spend a couple of weeks of October in our favourite city, Tel Aviv.
With blue skies and 28°C of sunshine, we've spent lazy days reading books on the beach (I'm on my 6th already), wandering around the markets buying freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, cycling from lunches to cafes for ice coffee to dinners, and eating our body weights in Israeli breakfasts (served all day and comprising of freshly baked bread, scrambled eggs, salad, cream cheese, labaneh, tuna, jams, olives - pretty much everything you could ever want!)
Tel Aviv is simply thronging with fresh juice stands and my favourite one on Ben Gurion Street uses only seasonal fruit and will add everything you'd add at home from spirulina to chia. My go-to frozen yoghurt place Tamara has just started selling home made ice-lollies and their beetroot, carrot and apple one has become a daily ritual. The Old Tel Aviv port is full of great restaurants and organic fruit and veg markets and Neve Tzedek is the perfect place to spend an afternoon wandering through tiny winding streets and browsing amazing jewellery boutiques.
Tel Aviv really is a foodies heaven - food is a major cultural thing and you will find people sitting eating in cafes until the early hours of the morning. It is hard to get bad food in Tel Aviv but here are just some of my current favourites:
Puaa - nestled in the heart of the flea market in old Jaffa is this eclectic restaurant jumbled together from reclaimed chairs, tables and mismatched crockery. The breaded cauliflower with garlic aioli is a must have and I make it my mission to come here for lunch at least once every time I'm in Tel Aviv.
Brasserie M&R - This old school Brasserie is a Tel Aviv institution and is open 24hrs a day - and surprisingly busy 24hrs a day. Its french fries are the best in the country and taste even better at 4am after a night out clubbing.
Claro - Recently opened in the new Sarona district, Claro is slightly more expensive but the menu is full of creative and totally delicious dishes. Plus the cucumber and mint gin cocktail was possibly the best I've ever had. Be warned.
Hotel Montefiore - Set in the elegant boutique Hotel Montefiore, this restaurant is more of a fine dining experience but serves consistently delicious food with a french influence.
Abu Hassan - This hole in the wall is the local go-to place for proper hummus in Tel Aviv. There is always a queue and if you want to act like a local, eat your hummus using raw onions instead of pita bread to mop it up.
