Day 5 - I guess it was really about the diamonds

Ok ok, I know I promised today's blog would be filled with interesting information about the sites and history of Tel Aviv.

So what about this photo doesn't say "we saw you from a mile away"?

So our day started with us sleeping in again and missing breakfast at the hotel but no worries, Dr Juice was there to save the day.

So after a refreshing smoothie, we were ready for our whirlwind tour of Tel Aviv. And whirlwind it was. We got the Coles Notes tour of Jaffa and the guide mentioned we were driving by Sarona Gardens (I think I may have blinked and missed that photo opportunity). But surprisingly enough, we made it to the Tel Aviv Diamond Exchange with plenty of time to spare. We did get a couple photos of Jaffa (below) but were told the full tour was for larger groups. Fortunately we will be back here soon once we join the original 16 day tour Sheryl booked that starts in 4 more days, so stay tuned for those photos. In the interim here is what you get.

Ruins from the Bronze Age just dug up last year.

And here is what greeted us after that.

So the next couple hours had us and the group we were with looking at diamonds and more diamonds. There was a short tour of a diamond museum which was quite interesting and to be fair, if you were going to Tel Aviv with the purpose of buying a diamond (or two or three...) this place would be the place to go. There really was no high pressure salesmanship happening and the staff were quite happy to have us try on anything they had on display.

As the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words, so I told Sheryl to enjoy this picture of a 5+ carat neckless.

Not to be outdone, Samantha, here is your picture.

At the end of the tour we were given a free taxi ride to wherever we wanted. We chose Sarona Gardens as it appears everyone blinked as we drove by it the first time. As we entered the gardens we had our bags searched and were told no photographs so all you get is this paragraph. Although we did not see any gardens per say, I would suggest you visit this place should you ever visit Tel Aviv. I would characterize this as a "Granville Island" on steroids. A little less touristy than the Port of Tel Aviv but certainly a place you could spend half a day walking through. Also a great place to eat. We found another restaurant that I could not pronounce and had a great meal. I ordered the seal bass and although I am not sure it was actually sea bass it was phenomenal.

One last thing about Jaffa. They have this wishing bridge and we all made a wish

Can't tell you what the wishes were but keep following us, you may find out.