HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
•
NOVEMBER 2012
119
TELAVIV
||
THREE PERFECT DAYS
WORDONTHE STREET
Learning Hebrew, one lost cat at a time
Guy Sharett, a journalist turned linguist, has a unique
method of teaching on his StreetWise Hebrew tours.
He leads his charges through the bohemian Florentine
neighborhood, noticing things: lost-cat fliers, graffiti, a
1930
s manhole cover. He translates their words from
Hebrew, and then delves into deeper meanings: the
political signifiers in the graffiti, the cultural implica-
tions of a pet owner’s cry for help. The hope, for
Sharett, is that people will come away with not only a
grasp of Hebrew, but also a sense of the city that has
wrested this ancient language into the modern age.
Sharett also runs tours of Florentine’s world-class
street art scene. The heart of this community is The
Workshop, a few blocks of squat commercial build-
ings that have been transformed into a vibrant canvas
by local painters, some of whom have won broad
acclaim. While he photographs a cartoon octopus
that has appeared overnight, it becomes clear that his
particular teaching method isn’t just good for engag-
ing students; it keeps him sharp as well. “The walls
keep changing,” he says. “I have to be on my toes.”
into the spirit. The beats are
improvised—they start off
sparse, then build to a frantic
crescendo, crumble and start
anew as the sun slides toward
the sea.
Dinner is at a city stalwart,
Cordelia
,
located in an alleyway
by the Jaffa gate. The eatery’s
goth-ish interior is decorated
with items that chef Nir Zook
found at the flea
market, including
some imposing brass
candelabras. You
begin with home-
made bread dunked
in butter and warm
olive oil; follow it with truffle
ravioli with yolk dough, then
steak fillet dusted with ground
dried porcini mushrooms and
served on a bed of barley and
walnuts; and finish with panna
cotta in melon soup. You had
designs on an evening out, but
last night’s revelry and today’s
glu ony have exacted their toll.
So you return to the hotel, grab a
beach chair and sit out by the sea
with a bo le of local red.
DAY THREE
| Today is Shabbat,
so Tel Aviv is unusually quiet,
making this a perfect time for
a walk. You start by heading
south along the beach toward
Neve Tzedek, the first Jewish
neighborhood to be built outside
thewalls of Jaffa, in 1887 (though
it remained part of
Jaffa). Today it’s the
trendiest, artiest
neighborhood in the
city. You stroll the
leafy streets, past
design shops, res-
taurants and late-O oman-era
homes before se ling in at
Tazza
d’Oro
,
on the eastern edge of the
neighborhood, for a cupof coffee.
From here, you amble along
Ahad Ha’am into Noga, another
creative hub. Crisscrossing the
peaceful, tree-shaded streets,
you happen upon
Bookworm
,
a
pre y bookstore and café, and
pick up a volume of short stories
SELLING POINT
Left, an array of
trinkets on offer at
Tel Aviv’s largest
open-air bazaar,
Carmel Market
OFF THEWALL
Guy
Sharett spells it out
at aWorkshop mural
