​Touchdown Tel Aviv! I’ve always wanted to visit this hip and cosmopolitan city and I’m so happy I finally went this year, with the help of Project Muza, of course. I got an email from the Embassy of Israel Manila a few months ago asking me if I wanted to visit Israel. I double checked my the email to see if it was addressed to me because it’s always been me and my mom’s dream to visit the Holy Land. I immediately accepted the invite and a few weeks later, I’m already in Israel going around places and doing things I’ve never experience before in my life.

We stayed at Intercontinental David Hotel, which is a really cool spot for people like me who love the beach. Talk about having a room with a fantastic view! You just have to cross the street and there’s a 24/7 restaurant just 5-10 minutes away near the beach. On my last night, I just went there, drank a couple of beers and enjoyed people watching (yes, there are people swimming at around 1am).

Raymond and I had free time on our first day so we decided to go to the beach and chill. I know some people, including me, think you have to be in decent clothing or you have to be covered all the time when you go to Israel but to my surprise, I felt like I was in Miami when I got there! Everyone was in sandals, shorts, tank tops, etc.

The beach during Fridays and Saturdays are packed with people eager to swim and have fun!

Our first tour day consisted of going around historical places. We were able to see Jaffa, the oldest part of Tel Aviv, an ancient port city in Israel.

All the streets in Old Jaffa look so beautiful. I can really feel that I’m in another country and it’s really something I’ve never seen before. The breathtaking hallways, vintage shops and local restaurants have this touch of uniqueness in them.

For those of you who are not familiar with Project Muza, they’re an Israeli group/organization that aims to promote their country’s fashion and travel destinations. Muza is actually a Hebrew word for Muse and as we all know, a muse is a source of inspiration for creative work. Israel has tons of talented designers and I’m glad I met some of them.

We stopped by Ahava showroom where you’ll get to try and test products that includes minerals from The Dead Sea. Yep, they’re the only company who got the license to get minerals from The Dead Sea and produce them as beauty products. I got a lot of serums and body creams from them.

Also learned that all the streets in Old Jaffa are named after zodiac signs because of all the myths and legends that started here. The Jaffa port is also made up of legendary tales, including the story of Jonas being swallowed by a whale, which apparently took place here.

In Israel, once you turn 18 years old, it’s an obligation to join the army and serve your country. Two years of service are required for females and three years for males. At first, I found it weird seeing all these teens in military uniforms carrying guns, but it’s normal there. It’s not like they’re going to shoot a random person in the street during broad daylight. It’s really just to give service and to protect their country.

We had lunch at Benedict Rotchild, a famous brunch place in Tel Aviv and I got to try some of their authentic dishes like Shakshuka, a very tasteful Israeli dish that consists of poacked eggs, tomatoes, chill peppers, onions, etc and is good with chorizo and parmesan cheese. Put it on top of your bread and it’s ahhh-maaa-zinggg.

In between our tours, we inserted shoots here and there for Project Muza since we’re the first batch of influencers to be flown there. I met a lot of fashion/travel bloggers from around the world and we’re all still in touch now. One thing I love most about my trips is that I get to meet new people. I never knew I could do these things because of blogging.

I also got to visit “We Work”, an office that also does 3D printing. Cool right? These items are all printed out in 3D form. The future is here!!! Lol.

We had lunch at Max Brenner and WOW. They served us endless chocolate treats: chocolate cakes, chocolate waffles, chocolate ice cream, chocolate milkshakes and a lot more. Everyone knows how much I love sweets so I totally went gaga when I tried their desserts!

We had lunch at Max Brenner and WOW. They served us endless chocolate treats: chocolate cakes, chocolate waffles, chocolate ice cream, chocolate milkshakes and a lot more. Everyone knows how much I love sweets so I totally went gaga when I tried their desserts!

Read more at http://www.breakmystyle.com/travel-diary-tel-aviv-israel/