If you haven’t read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series you might want to do that first.
Picture taken with iPhone 4 and edited with Camera+
I am a coffee drinker. In fact, I might even say I have a problem. I’m drinking it the moment I wake up, some point during the day and then again at night. This is why what I’m about to tell you is so shocking and just plain ol’ wrong!
Are you sitting down? Do you have some coffee?
Go get some and come back…
Okay, are you ready?
PEOPLE, THERE IS NO COFFEE IN ISRAEL!!
Holy What The What?
That’s right, God has banned coffee from the Holy Land. Okay, this might be a stretch but it’s true. Well not the God part but the no coffee part. I searched high and low and low and high. The closest they have to coffee is instant coffee sold in grocery stores. Yes, the have cappucino and espresso and those types of drinks but I’m talking good old fashioned coffee. I was mortified and to be honest my mornings were all screwed up. I even broke down and bought a jar of instant coffee for about $13 US Dollars. Now, I’m no coffee snob but this stuff was awful. So that was the end of that. I even went to Jerusalem where they had a Coffee Bean & Tea Company store. Yes, an American store in the heart of Old Town Jerusalem where Jesus Christ himself once walked. Surely they’d have coffee at the Coffee Bean & Tea Co. Did I mention the word “Coffee” is actually in the name of the store, “Coffee Bean & Tea Co.”? Well guess what?
NO COFFEE!! <–What? Is this some cruel joke played on American tourists? Ughh….
Picture taken with iPhone 4 and edited with Camera+
One of the things I loved most about visiting Israel was walking around Tel Aviv. The streets were alive with people, cafe’s, fruit stands, and plenty of benches to sit and take in the sites and smells. It truly is an amazing city and in many ways resembles what you’d find in America and/or Europe. I’ll have to admit I was a little cautious around the buses as they drove up and down the street. If nothing more than the simple fact that two weeks prior there was a bus bombing. I will say though, there were hundreds of buses going every which way. It’s obviously a very common form of transportation and the chances of you actually being near one should that happen again are slim to none.
[Slight Break For Tangent] I will say that after visiting, my fears about any type of terrorism or bombing or the like were grossly exaggerated due in part to our wonderful media outlets in America.
Picture taken with iPhone 4 and edited with Camera+ (Jake wearing Bibagogo Bib)
Anyway, what an amazing experience it was. With so much walking you had to have a stroller or carrier with you for the little ones. My feet were killing by the end of the day whether or not I was carrying one of the kids. Whenever you did get tired there was never a shortage of cafe’s to stop in to get a drink or something to eat. It reminded me so much of Europe in that sense. The cafe’s were bustling with people throughout the day. Some patrons would be sipping cappuccino (note, no coffee) while reading a book and others would be enjoying food among the company of their friends. It was something I so wished we had here in the States.
Picture taken with iPhone 4 and edited with Camera+
The impetus for our trip was actually to see my sister get married. My sister was born in Israel over 30 years ago and has been living there the last four. She met her husband in Israel and now call it home. Since I had lived in Israel (I’m older than my sister) this was my first visit back. It held special meaning for me. While I was not born in Israel (we moved there when I was one) I spent a good portion of my early childhood (or Toddlerhood) there and have many fond memories.
Picture taken with iPhone 4 and edited with Camera+
The wedding was spectacular! It was set on the rooftop of a very old building in the city of Yaffo. This is the same city where Noah’s Ark set sail. You remember? Yeah, all those animals in pairs climbed the ship and when the floods came it took off? Yeah, this is where it happened. Only this time there were no animals, no floods, and no Noah.
Everything about the wedding was amazing. This may sound funny but one thing stood out as very emotional for me. O was a flower girl and her job was to walk down the aisle throwing rose pedals from a little basket. I was standing at the Chuppah with my sister and the minute I saw O walking up the aisle I freakin’ lost it.
Yeah, like I cried.
I don’t know if it was the emotions of the whole wedding overall or what. I also think it was the fact that here was my daughter, who’s now old enough to partake in something like this, and actually is. One of the most significant things in my family’s life and my little baby girl, my princess, my everything is contributing. It’s a small contribution overall but a very large one for her and one that hit me over the head like a ton of bricks.
Call me a softy. Not in the, “He’s totally a fat dad.”, kind of way but more of the, “I’m so grateful I’m a dad one!”
Stay tuned for my next installment of DadStreet Goes To Israel.
