Mmmm, Ice Creame (sic)

Another Salute to Tel Aviv!

This past shabbat, Rafi quasi-surprised me with a Shabbat at the beach! I say quasi because he decided on like Wednesday that he wanted to do this. He thought it would be a nice present, and he was totally right, but I didn't think he'd pull it off so last-minute.

Pull it off, he did! We got to Tel Aviv, watched the sun set over the Mediterranean, ate serious Yotvata (famous kibbutz by Eilat, used to produce all of Israel's dairy) Ba-Ir (in the city) for dinner, and we even had some sushi!

After one of those Israeli hotel breakfasts, we spent Shabbat day at ChoFrishman (Chof = shore, Frishman = the name of the street. I figured out the clever name in Hebrew!).

It was the perfect beach day. It wasn't too hot, but wasn't too cold to go swimming (he did, I didn't). It wasn't too crowded, and we had plenty to eat and drink.

Things we enjoyed about the beach:
1. The incredibly fine sand. It was like flour. I didn't even mind lying on it. Which I did. For hours.

2. An assortment of Israeli salads and deli for lunch.

3. Plenty of SPF 50 (neither of us got burned AT ALL!).

4. So many dogs on the beach! So fun!

5. The family sitting right in front of us was hilarious. The daughter changed into her bathing suit (under her skirt and top, camp-style), which made me giggle. Then her father stripped down to his underroos, and then, nonchalantly, tugged them down (moooon!), sat in his chair, and pulled on his grape-smuggling banana-hammock (don't click of this if you haven't seen Borat, it's terrifying.), the bathing suit of choice at ChoFrishman.

6. Really, what's the deal with the bathing suit choices? I don't feel self-conscious, or a little chubby, or whatever, when I'm at the beach with people who look all bloated, except for the contents of their microscopic bikini bottoms, but really...why don't you just get a pair of bike shorts? We'll still get the idea, I promise.

7. Ladies, too...say no to bathing suits up the crack, whether or not that means thong or paying attention to your tush-covering bathingsuit. There was a woman in a full-on one-piece that included pants (kind of like the unitards I used to wear in dance class). I loved her.

8. The lifeguards got on the RamKol (microphone) at 2PM and said "Shabbat Shalom, Shavuah Tov [and some more hebrew, hebrew, hebrew]," as they closed down the lifeguard posts at 2PM, saying "have a peaceful Shabbat and a good week". On a Saturday. Who stops lifeguarding in the middle of the day? Good thing I'm a lifeguard, and under my hat, shirt, pants and long-sleeved shirt I was wearing a bathing suit, ready to save a life!

Finally, I would like to salute the guys working on the beach. It's not a bad life when your beach-centered job doesn't end when fall comes (I went to the beach on the 17th of November, while it was apparently 40 degrees Farenheit in Boston), but it's weird for me to encounter working Israelis on Shabbat. How much for the bathroom? A sheqel. (I HATE paying for the potty!). How much for a beach chair? Three bucks! (Good thing I brought a sheet and a towel for each of us!) How much for the snacks? I didn't find out...but I do know this...

Rafi loved the man with his "Ice Cream, Shoko Shoko!" chant. He never gave up, and was still peddling his wares after the sun set on Saturday afternoon. He was like one of those guys at the ballpark, with the box hangin from around his neck...with this one declaring, loud and clear, in English, its contents:

ICE CREAME.

Thanks, Rafi!