I’m taking a page out of an Israeli’s book and naming this post after exactly what it’s about. All of the stores here are named for what they are or what they sell, blunt and straight to the point just like an Israeli. Although the real title should be “Blogging Everyday is Hard so Here is a Masterpost of the Last Few Days” but that’s a bit wordy…
Thursday
David, my parents, my uncle and I headed to the north of Israel to visit some family. Nothing is more beautiful than the north in winter time. Everything is green, growing and covered in trees. After a quick three hour drive we arrived at our first stop “מקום יפה לקפה” which literally translates to “a nice place for coffee” and even rhymes in Hebrew.
There was a beautiful view of the Kinneret and the Israeli countryside. We all ordered some delicious brunch, complete with Israeli salad, before heading to the hospital to see my great uncle.
The hospital was right next to Tsfat so after visiting with him for a few hours we took a scenic drive through the Old City. We could only see the sites from the car since we had more to see that day but David and I are going to try and make it back for a better visit.
My great aunt lives in KIbbutz Yiron which happens to be right next to the Lebanese border (“you can see Lebanon from their house). After a fun evening of catching up and seeing some cousins we all headed for some much needed rest.
Friday
The next day we woke up early and headed to the חדר אוכל (dining hall). Afterwards we left the kibbutz to tour the nearby winery.
We had a private tour of the factory in the winery, watched a movie about its history and at the end did a fun tasting! I was especially happy about this because my Birthright tour didn’t include a winery like a lot of the summer ones did. We learned how to aerate the wine, spit it from our mouth and then drink it. The five of us had a good time smelling and tasting the wine (aerating it really does make a difference after all!).
The next stop on our tour of the north was a small town next to Mount Carmel to see my uncle and his five children, varying ages 1-11. Sometimes seeing my cousins is hard because I don’t live in Israel and many times they forget me and can be shy. Luckily these cousins grew up knowing about me, and had visited us the week before so they were instantly happy to see us all. Their family lives at the top of a hillside overlooking many villages below. They have a beautiful view from every side of their house and plenty of space for all of the kids. We had a delicious Israeli lunch, falafels, pita and all of the fixings including fries! And had a blast playing with the kids. Since David and I have an extra two weeks after my parents leave we’re hoping to make it out to their house again.
We headed back south for Shabbat dinner with David’s family. My uncle dropped us off in Ramat Gan as the sun was setting. After lighting candles with David’s mom and her cousin Louise we sat down for some tea and snacks before heading to a huge Shabbat dinner at Louise’s daughter’s house nearby. The table took up most of the apartment as the kitchen and living room filled with loud and excited Israelis. It was a lively meal filled with conversation and delicious food, seriously Mina is much too good at cooking I didn’t want to stop eating. After some tea and desert David and I headed back to my kibbutz for the night.
Saturday
David and I woke up early on Saturday for breakfast at my old neighbor’s house. Our whole block came out to see my parents, especially my mother it seems, and I got a bit nostalgic thinking about living in my childhood home. After brunch my parents, David and I drove to Moshav Avigdor to visit our family friends, Amit and Nurit, this time with their children their also. I got to do my favorite Avigdor pastime: ATVing! Their youngest son, Avi-atar took us out on their largest ATV and the three of us squeezed together for an exhilarating ride around Amit’s farm. Afterwards Amit took David and I, along with his second youngest son Yogev, out for a lesson on the ATV.
We got back in time for Avi-atar’s friend’s to arrive for lunch. I helped set up as the boys all messed with an old car in the backyard and my parents helped Amit grill up lunch. After a delicious meal David and I headed out with the kids to a nearby forest. Avi-atar brought along his Israeli coffee maker (you know the one with the propane tank and the pot that every Israeli has) and we all drank some tea and turkish coffee in the middle of the countryside. David and I decided to take a hike up the hill which gave us a beautiful view of the are and nearby cities. We apparently took the long way up and the long way down and spent most of the hike wondering if we were lost.
Once we got back to Amit’s house my parents, David and I started driving back home. After a quick pit stop in Bilu for some light shopping and dinner, we finally made it back to Naan excited to head to sleep and have a relaxing Sunday.
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