Keep it simple stupid. It’s a phrase that is not necessarily associated with travel, but on our first full day in Israel it was my motto. After a long and sometimes stressful couple of flights (details in a future post), we arrived in Israel on Monday. Oh, how nice it was to feel the first blast of hot humid air on my face as I walked off the plane. The chaos of Ben Gurion airport, while totally insane and absurd, was a warm welcome to me to a place I had not visited in three years.
There’s so much I love about Israel, and over the next couple of weeks I will try to give a flavour of all the sights and sounds around me. On our first full day here, we decided to spend the day in the bustling city of Tel Aviv. It’s easy to get overwhelmed while visiting this city, so I stuck to my motto to bring success, keep it simple stupid.
Actually, I think it’s a good motto to have when traveling, especially when traveling with children. Complexity brings chaos, anger and confusion. Keeping it simple brings order, happiness and joy. And that’s what our day was all about.
With six kids in tow (that’s right six), I knew we had to keep things simple. Our group included my three children, my niece who is traveling with us, my niece’s friend who lives in Israel, as well as another niece who also lives in Israel. Age range of the children: 22 months to 12 years. Girl to boy ratio of said children: 5 to 1. Maybe that’s why my plan worked?
My day’s success was partly determined by the children’s willingness to walk, a lot. My favourite way to explore new places, anywhere in the world, is on foot. You can feel the vibes of a city by walking around its streets. You experience the culture by smelling the spices in the markets, touching the fabrics in the stores and eating at small cafes. On foot, you can scoot around quickly or meander slowly.
That was what we did. After a short train ride to the city, my plan was a walk through downtown, on both big boulevards and crooked narrow side streets, with a goal of getting to the beach and dipping our toes in the Mediterranean Sea.
Tel Aviv didn’t disappoint. The horns were honking, cyclists were cutting us off on the sidewalk and people were screaming. We took our time getting to our first stop, picking up a local SIM card for my phone and lunch for some of the kids.
Then here is how I decided to keep things simple. I had intended to walk through a local craft market, called Nahalat Binyamin. It only appears on Tuesdays and Fridays, and we headed in its direction. We took one wrong turn and ended up in another, very different market, called Carmel. While Nahalat Binyamin is full of local artisans and craftspeople selling beautiful pieces of art and jewelry, Carmel is a packed and cramped long path where local merchants sell everything from junk and household items to spices and fruits and vegetables.
I didn’t back track or panic or become angry. I went with the flow and realized that junk, candy and fresh fruit made the kids happy. They all picked out a bag of candy from one vendor and we enjoyed fresh fruit smoothies from another (I had pomegranate, pineapple, mango and passion fruit. Wow, so good).
Once we passed through the market we continued to meander through the city, and again, while I had at first intended to show the kids the Bauhaus district, which is a UNESCO world heritage site, I could see they were restless. They needed to run around and get off the street. I needed to keep it simple. So, I made a quick turn and headed in the direction of the beach.
The Tel Aviv tayelet, or boardwalk, is one of my favourite places in the world. The city of Tel Aviv is on one side and miles of sandy beaches and the Mediterranean Sea is on the other. I thought to myself as we arrived on the tayelet, let’s walk up the promenade and enjoy the long stretch of beach.
The kids would have none of that. No sooner did I blink and their shoes were off and they had all (okay, maybe not Nessa but she pointed) ran onto the beach and into the water. That’s right, fully clothed, into the water. They splashed, they squealed with delight and I smiled from ear to ear. I even gave up keeping Nessa in her stroller and let her bum walk her way through the sand and to the water’s edge.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. No bathing suits, towels or sand toys. No beach umbrella or picnic lunch. Just two adults and six rambunctious children, living it up in the sand and the sun.
I think we walked over 10 kilometers, ate more junk food than I had planned and got sand in places I would rather not discuss. It was a perfect day. It was a perfect, simple day because I sealed it with a KISS. Try it some time. It will make your travel experience fantastic.
