Tel Aviv

The room? I finally got to a bed almost 24 hours after leaving my comfy bed in Marianne’s house, and what did I do? Did I collapse and go to sleep? Well, no. I cried and cried and cried. I tried to be positive, but the only plus I could see was that there were points to charge my phone, iPad and laptop, and the pillows were comfy. (It’s hard to get comfy pillows in Europe!) I had booked this hostel three months after my darling Momo died, purely for sentimental reasons. I should have taken notice of its 5.3 booking.com review score, although many guests gave it excellent reviews. I must be just tired which I am, and sick, which I am, to make me feel so miserable.

The room itself is narrow- the bed was maybe 2 foot wide (about 2 inches on either side of my hips!), definitely not enough room to roll over and not fall out of bed onto the cold, hard tiles. The curtains had seen better days, and the walls were filthy. I showered (the hot water took more then 5 minutes to come through) so by the time I actually got in, the entire bathroom had flooded and was running out into the bedroom, which must have lower tiles. Now, not only was the floor cold and hard, it was also wet! I sat on the bed, drying my feet with the one small towel I had been issued, before putting on my thermal bed-socks and trying to sleep, but sleep would not come. I was shivering with cold so I reached into the top drawer and found another blanket and finally settled down to sleep, thinking, if one solitary creature crawls on me during the night, I am outta here, whether I’ve paid or not. I was imagining the Big Bang episode where Shelton sits in Penny’s red chair that she brought up from the street and imagines big black cockroaches crawling all over him. God only knows how, but I finally fell asleep, probably from pure exhaustion combined with a lot of crying.

I woke up with my eyes caked shut-I thought I had conjunctivitis- but remembered it was dried tears. I waded to the toilet, dried my feet and got back into bed. I was prepared to put up with it, until I spoke to Stacey who convinced me I was paying too much to put up with a wet floor, and to ask for a mop and a new towel. I went down to reception and explained the situation. He sent a girl up immediately to mop the floor, and he was going to get someone to fix the bathroom. I said it’s ok, there’s a shower just across the hall I can use, I just won’t use my private one. He offered to move me to the room next door, which was identical to mine except smaller! My suitcase wouldn’t even fit in there! I went back down and told him I couldn’t have that room because my suitcase didn’t fit. He hadn’t realized it was actually smaller, so then offered me the double room! Yay! It’s not huge, but the bed is comfortable, the curtains are intact, and there’s even a wardrobe! But ii’s still freezing cold! What I wouldn’t give for those slippers and hot water bottle I left with Marianne now!

My voice has returned, but I was still coughing like a smoker, so thought I’d try to see a doctor to get some antibiotics to knock it on its head before the flight home. The guy at reception (I still don’t know his name) tried calling a local doctor but it kept going to voicemail. The girl made me a lovely coffee, and I went out to explore but left my camera on charging. I bought two pastries and an iced coffee from the little supermarket next door, and thought I’d try to find a park bench to sit down in the sun and enjoy my little picnic. First I found the American Embassy, just round the corner, then the beach! No wonder it’s so expensive here! This is the American tourist area! Dozens of hotels and hostels all within a stone’s throw of each other, and so close to the beach.  Summer holidays for Jewish Americans!

I sat down on the beach enjoying the delicious pastries and the sunshine before heading back to see if the doctor had been contacted. No luck, so he tried another. Yes, he could come in two and a half hours, so I collected my camera and headed out again to take a few photos of the beach. I wasn’t quick enough though as the rain came pouring down again, but I braved it anyway. It soon cleared- I walked down the beach and round a few blocks, before returning to book my tours at the desk. I was planning on the Massada and the Dead Sea tomorrow, and Jerusalem on Saturday before my flight. Best laid plans. Dead Sea tour is cancelled tomorrow because of the rain, so have booked that for Saturday, although it hasn’t stopped raining so that might not happen at all.

After all this exertion, I lay down to have a rest before the doctor came. He examined me and told me I had a viral infection and would not prescribe antibiotics- he gave me Sudafed! The whole point of paying 490 shekels ($125!) was to get antibiotics! And then he left without giving me the (expletive) receipt I need to claim on my travel insurance! What a jerk! I said if I’m still sick in two days, I’m going to call you back. He assured me I’d be well by then. He had better be right! I’ll be calling him tomorrow to get that bloody receipt anyway!

When I went to the chemist to get the Sudafed, the chemist tried to tell me all I needed was Vitamin C. I smiled sweetly and left. Who do they bloody think they are!

I decided to call in to a local café for some early dinner. Traditional home-cooked Israeli food was advertised on the window, so I thought why not? The vegetables were done differently, but it was chicken schnitzel, the same as I can get at my local pub for $10. It cost 52 shekels, which wasn’t bad, but he asked for a tip! The cheek of him! They must be used to American tourists!

To say this has been a culture shock after Portugal would be an understatement. My local area is filled with hotels, hairdressing salons, and money change places. But tomorrow I’m heading to Jerusalem where I hope to see a different side to Israel.

And to add insult to injury, I can’t post because I can’t read Israeli, and even when I did guess it correctly, it’s posted with punctuation marks in the wrong places, and ends of sentences on a line on their own. Don’t ask me! I just copied and pasted like I do normally. It must be an Israeli thing. I just had a Sudafed, and am getting sleepy. The tour picks me up at 7.15am tomorrow so I need an early night anyway.