A Trip to the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv

I wish I could take each of you with me through my 'grocery shopping' experience, but since that isn't possible I thought a visual trip would be second best. I walk past these scenes at least once every couple of days. The Shuk HaCarmel (an open-air market is called a “shuk” in Hebrew) is directly at the end of our street. It is full of fresh produce, meats and foods that are set out every morning and picked up as the sun begins to set every eve. You get a real sense of the brazen culture strolling through the shuk. The sites and aromas just overwhelm your senses. There are stalls and stalls of vendors, and I've gotten into a rhythm with whom I visit and for what purpose. Like the wonderful man in the last photograph - he is my go-to vegetable vendor. He will swap out a vegetable if I've chosen one that is not as fresh as it should be and likes to help me with my basic hebrew. It makes shopping an entirely different experience than the typical grocery store. There are several throughout the city but we rarely need them. If we are out of something first thing in the morning, or before I start to cook a meal, one of us can simply run right down the street to pick it up and be back within 5 minutes. It's one thing I will miss the most when we leave Tel Aviv. But for now, I'm thankful to have it right outside our front door.