Expanding my Sphere

Last day of the week at the lab, I had it in my head all day that I would go swimming when I got home. I ended up staying later than I had planned at the university, door-to-door commute is an hour, and by the time I got my swimsuit on, the sun was low. I walked briskly toward the shore, and on Rehov Salame, a main drag, a woman yelled at me out of the blue, waving a piece of paper. Short, hunchbacked, perhaps in her 60's, wearing sandals, a long skirt, and a scarf on her hair--looked like some sort of pilgrim. "Sorry I don't speak Hebrew" I said emphatically but apologetically. "Oh, English, okay, do you know where is Florentine?" She spoke nearly perfect English and this questions was something I could certainly help with; it's my neighborhood. She was not comfortable with my directions so I offered to walk her around and show her.

Nicole is French, third time in Israel, and heard Florentine was a great neighborhood and something to see. She took the bus down here from up North, just to walk around and take in the scene. We walked back toward my house and into the heart of the neighborhood, we chatted and observed dinner-time Florentine in all its glory. Half-hour later we parted ways and I went for a swim.

I found an exercise park on the way to the beach which I was happy about, except that it doesn't have a chin-up bar. I wasn't sure about swimming in the dark for safety reasons, but saw other people in so I joined. Having things to do tonight, I didn't stay long. Guy called and I went to meet him in his sketchy neighborhood near the printing press. We went to a bar that he described as "a New York type of place" called 'Taxidermy.' It did have the sort of vibe you might find there, but the heads and antlers of deer, gazelle, antelope adorning the wall behind the bar put a hunting lodge spin on the place.

I was delighted to find that of the two beers on tap, one was Franziskaner (the other being Goldstar, a local beer), but then disappointed when it was not served in a weissbier glass. Nonetheless, the bar was a great find for the atmosphere and special tonight was a live band. They played punk and I was quite impressed--their stage presence and rhythm was captivating. They were too good to be playing in a little bar like that. As we went outside to leave, we were entertained by some classic Jersey Shore types stumbling out of the club next door. As embarrassing as it is to have this from America, I was astounded to see the same types in Cork, Ireland, and now Tel Aviv--I guess every country has the Jersey Shore crowd, they just made a TV series out of ours.