Israel As It Gets

Making it out of Russia in one piece was a huge success. A dripping ceiling fountain and large marble stones were unexpected as we stepped off the plane in the Tel Aviv airport. It was a great point in our trip because we were invited to stay with Daniel and Anne Cohen, longtime friends of Bernard. After a lot of training and flights, we knew this would be a great stop to relax and soak in the Israeli culture. We made it through security and down to baggage claim to meet  Iziq,  the driver that Daniel ordered for us. Iziq safely transported us an hour north of Tel Aviv to the Cohen’s house in Caesarea. We felt bad arriving there extremely early, but Daniel warmly welcomed us with a sincere handshake as we were guided straight to our bedrooms. A comfortable bed accompanied us with complete darkness and a late 2PM wake up. Thankfully Daniel woke us up for a special meal. Anne prepared an unbelievable brunch out on the back porch. Cucumber and tomato salad, pita bread, potato salad, watermelon, and a refreshing glass of orange juice hit the spot. After losing several pounds from our previous stops, it was nice to load up on calories and refill our waistbands. After brunch, Daniel showed us around the neighborhood and familiarized us with what he called, “paradise". Paradise was a complete understatement as we passed by a two thousand year old aqueduct, the old port, and a dune layered beach.

Once we felt comfortable with the area, we walked minutes from the house to the beach. As we walked up the mountain of sand we were gratified with the miraculous Mediterranean Sea. After establishing our bronzing station, a wheelie bound ATV and many other off-roading machines buzzed by us. The beach was therapeutic. Fishermen stood atop rocks close to shore in hopes of catching dinner and families gathered nearby for barbeques. It was nice to relax and enjoy the sea but we had to get back for dinner with Daniel’s parents.

We were back at the house and happy to meet Daniel’s parents on the back porch for a cocktail before a traditional Jewish dinner. It was Friday night and it was a celebration night of Shabbat for the Jewish day of rest. Daniel led with a nice prayer and passed the Sabbath drink around the table, followed by a piece of Challah bread. Next, we passed around many delicious dishes including breaded chicken, lamb, roasted peppers, couscous, salad, and were able to wet the pallet with a tasty red wine.  Watermelon and cherries supplemented the desert portion and we were entirely satisfied with one spectacular dinner. 

After dinner we spoke with Ted, the Cohen’s son, who informed us to go to Mike’s Place in Tel Aviv for a good scene. Daniel informed us that there was a suicide bombing there years before so we had a lot of different emotions going into the night. Daniel mentioned this jokingly though, as Mike's place is currently one of the most welcoming places to Americans in Tel Aviv. Iziq picked us up after we finished dinner and brought us down to the city. We arrived in a long traffic jam along the coast, but were luckily able to walk a short distance to the pub. Mikes place was the place; with a live band and a crowd of friendly English speaking partygoers. Beers were consumed and a sneeze of whiskey from Garrett’s nostrils drilled a girl sitting at the bar across from us. It was accidental and the girls understood the situation. Once the pair left, we replaced their chairs and started to chat with a couple of cute girls from Israel and Australia. It was an instant eye opener as we heard that the Israeli girl had six more months in the army. The other girl was from Sydney and offered to show us around when we get there. We ordered some French fries for a late night snack and were quickly joined by an interrupting hand from our intoxicated and obnoxious bartender. Morning was breaking fast as we were out the door in search of a taxi for the Cohen’s house.