Many a meal to freedom

After lunch, I spent sometime thinking about where to walk for the afternoon. I reviewed the map and saw that there is an art museum here in Tel Aviv. Now, back in the US I wouldn't go out of my way to go to an art museum; of fact, if you asked me if I wanted to go, I would say "no way." as a matter, but as here I have no way, I thought it would be meet if I went. I jotted down some simple directions to get me from the AirBnB to the museum and I proceeded to get lost.

The street names are inconsistent, changeable and often unmarked but I had the foresight and self-knowledge to anticipate my shortcomings and those of the local internet coverage and so I packed a paper map. I rerouted frequently, avoiding tolls and simplicity. While in the wrong place, I found a kosher storefront at which I purchased a cup of pomegranate juice for 20 Shekalim. Wonderful. Four and a half pomegranates squeezed into a cup. I drank it down. Now I needed an art museum, a sense of direction and a bathroom.

I eventually found the museum, next to the Israeli opera and under the sign that said "Museum - closed Sundays." As today is a Sundays, I understood it to be closed. Then it started raining harder, so I slowed myself to a saunter to enjoy the futility of trying to do anything remotely cultural. I wandered and my internal compass brought me to a library. I had no card, nor reason to go, nor did I know if they had any exhibits or special collections) but I did know that the rule in a library is silence so I could avoid anyone's knowing that I didn't know what I was doing there by just staying quiet and expecting the same of others. I was, as silence, golden. They also had bathrooms of which I availed myself. At least I hope they were bathrooms. Otherwise, I just donated to their "special holdings" and I can never go back there again.

I sat in the library and stared at the map. Where does one go when he has no where to go? Time to wander. As I strolled in the rain, my friend Brian called to check in. We are planning on having dinner together tomorrow so he was making sure I was still extant. I told him my location and he invited me to visit his apartment which was a 10 minute walk away. Or for me, a 15 minute walk and three changes of route. I visited and met his kids. We schmoozed. Maddie came by and we schmoozed some more. Then on his and others' recommendation, we went to a restaurant called Dunya. Fancy restaurant subsidized by the nut growers of the world. I found something which seemed light on the nuts and prepared to dig in. The waitress brought Maddie the menu item she specifically said she didn't want, but balanced it out by not bringing what she specifically did want. We ate much of it anyway. I dug into a pile of meat flanked by hot peppers which I saluted and then avoided. Then we understood the name of the place: "Done. You want to go somewhere else?"

The rain continued and we walked a little more. She had to get back to study for a test but we had time to "duck" into a vegan place (HaKatzav Hayarok, the Green Butcher) for a quick bite. The Beyond Burger was what you can get in a store so it was OK. She had the Ara-is, a sloppy-joe panini pan fried. It was good, but would have been better if it didn't claim to be an imitation for meat. Just call it a veggie sloppy joe and I would order it again. The fries were cut like potato chips but were thick like fries. The bread was actually bread. Weird.

Back to the AirBnB. A video call back to New Jersey to say hi to everyone and then Maddie was off to school and I settled down to collect my thoughts and throw them all out at you.

Tomorrow, we head south for the yellow area on the map which is apparently not as nice as the same yellow area on Tuesday. Exciting!