Depart for Israel…. But first, Canada!

Rachel dropped Micah and I off at LAX early (more than 3 hours before our boarding time) so we had plenty of time to get checked in. \240Unfortunately, as we passed through security, we realized that some of the Bath and Bodyworks products were not allowed to be in our carry-on bas, but a very kind TSA agent let us return to the counter and an even kinder Air Canada agent agreed to let us check one of the bags with the offending items for free! \240With plenty of time left, we had dinner at Wolfgang Puck and settled in for the long wait to board the plane, although Micah did have a little trouble charging his phone - check out the video below. 😂😂😂

Takeoff was a little delayed but once we were in the air we had a very smooth flight and Micah slept almost the entire way. \240I got a few hours of sleep as well and we both woke up just before landing.

Father’s Day in Toronto

Micah really wanted to have French toast and pancakes with real Canadian maple syrup, so we looked around online for a good place to eat and found this placed called Sunny Morning that had both. In fact, one of the specialties of the house was Srawberry Nutella Dream French Toast!

We cleared through customs and then stowed my backpack, which was the heaviest of our bags, and went to find the airport train that would take us to Union Station by Lake Ontario. Along the way, Micah found a Canadian Nestle Crunch Bar and had to get it and take a picture to show his friends back home.

From Union Station, we took a taxi across downtown Toronto to the restaurant and got to see a bit of the city along the way, including Spider-Man perched atop a junction box!

The restaurant turned out to be a small, whole-in-the-wall kind of place, in a suburban neighborhood. We shared the scrambled eggs, French toast, and pancakes and everything was delicious.

After breakfast, we walked a block to the subway station and Micah sat on the steps for a bit while we waited for the train to take us back to Union Station. Once there, we explored the 19th century building before heading off on foot to walk the few blocks to Ripley’s Aquarium.

Micah was surprised to see so many people all wearing these blue shirts with the words Blue Jays emblazoned across the front. Turns out the aquarium, which was just off the Lake Ontario waterfront, was just adjacent to the baseball field and the Blue Jays were playing the NY Yankees today.

Once inside the aquarium, all Micah wanted to do was see the octopus but after about half an hour of searching in vain on our own, we asked for directions and were sad to hear it had passed away just a few weeks ago. \240At least he had fun playing with the wave simulator.

The aquarium boasts the world’s longest see through tunnel where you could ride along a moving walkway more than a football field in length and see sharks, rays, turtles, and all sorts of fish. It seemed like an excellent place to catch Covid, so we rushed though at a quick pace, took a couple of photos, and then left.

A couple blocks later, we were back at Union Station where we hopped on the train back to Pearson Airport, retrieved my backpack from storage, and got some food to bring on the flight to Israel. \240Luckily, a nice man gave us a ride in his cart to the departure gate. Micah took a break sitting at the bar while I got the food!

Our “day” ended with us back on an airplane to head off to Israel. I had the best Father’s Day with my Best Buddy.

Finally, we arrive in Israel!

We landed at around 10:30 a.m. (Israel time) after traveling for around 18 hours since we arrived at the airport in Los Angeles! \240We cleared through customers and, of course, took the obligatory Welcome to Israel photos and selfies with Ariel Sharon and Yitzak Rabin’s busts before hailing a Gett taxi for the ride to Gal’s home in Hertzliya. \240Micah fell asleep in the taxi within seconds!

When we arrived, Micah wanted to pay the driver with TVT shekels he had brought with him. Fortunately, I had eel shekels.

Gal had the perfect snack to welcome us - AVATIACH! \240It was so delicious and refreshing. \240After showering, changing into some tshirts we picked up at the airport in Canada, \240and catching up a bit, we headed out to the beach, which is so close - just a couple of blocks from the house!

We relaxed on a super plush sofa on the sand and ordered shitzel, hummus, and pita for a very-late lunch (aka early dinner) and then walked out to the water to dip our toes in. It was so warm - much more like Hawaii than California!

Afterwards, we went back to Gal’s and talked way too late into the night before going upstairs to bed. \240What a wonderful first day in Israel.

Our First Full Day in Israel!

Micah slept….and slept….and slept! \240Even when Albert joined him in bed he continued to sleep in. Finally we got him awake and ready for the day and Gal took us in to Tel Aviv for the day. We started with lunch at Shuk HaCarmel. On Tuesdays and Fridays there is an artists’ fair there in addition to the usual street vendors and we had a blast checking out all the beautiful crafts and even bought a few souvenirs. Micah found some really cool glasses to try on. Ut in the end didn’t buy anything.

After a few hours of wandering around the marketplace we walked over to the Shalom Tower, which used to be the tallest building in Israel, to see the temporary exhibit from Independence Hall that itself is closed for renovations. Unfortunately, it had already closed for the day but there were some beautiful mosaics on the wall by Nahum Gutman that I took pictures of to enjoy later (because Micah was already wiped out by all the walking and ready to go home).

We found a delicious street cafe in Hertzliya for dinner and Micah had a pita, hummus, and chicken shawarma plate and I had \240schnitzel and hummus in a pita. It was all so delicious!

Anu Museum and Sarona Market

This morning, after a good long sleep and lots of hugs from Albert, with Yo-yo close-by, Micah sat down with Gal for a little learning on his Torah portion.

Afterwards, Micah and I took a taxi to Tel Aviv University to see the Anu Museum or Museum of the Jewish People, which is the new museum where the Beit Hatfutsot used to be.

Micah is really becoming so independent on this trip. He even put sunscreen on his face all by himself like a “big boy”. \240When we got to the museum, we were all set up for a guided tour in English but as it turns out Micah had gotten some sunscreen in his eye and it was burning so much he had to go get first aid help from