Due to Hanukkah and a busy week (so far), I'm still behind, so please bear with me. Thanks!
Monday's Topic:
What experience have you had where food and adventure went hand in hand? Maybe this meant going to faraway lands, or perhaps no further than a friend’s house or a restaurant. Maybe it was less about what you ate and more about the context in which you ate. Today, write about what comes to mind when you put “food” and “adventure” in the same memory.
When I was given the "adventure" prompt, I immediately thought of my trip to Israel from Birthright in early 2002. It was my first (and so far, only) time going to Israel. It was also the last trip before my life changed in a huge (and amazing) way.
Since I was there 14 years ago, I can't really tell you how food smelled or tasted. There were so many different meals and dining experiences wrapped up into a 10 day trip. I will share a few food-related thoughts and memories though.
*Most of the hotels we stayed at would serve these little cakes for breakfast. They were very soft and flavorful. It was hard not to grab a bunch of them! I usually would pair my cake with a cup of chocolate pudding.
*On our second night there, we went to a Druze village and had a meal in one of the homes. I remember someone taking a picture of me while I was eating and then sharing it on the Birthright website. Next thing I knew, I had a message from my mom saying "You look happy, except when eating pita." It wasn't that I was not happy. It was that I was caught by the camera mid-chew. The food at the Druze village was actually good, if I could even remember what I ate. I think rice was served.
*When we got to Tel Aviv, we were on our own for lunch. I went into this fast food place with a few friends and got chicken shwarma in a pita. It was delicious, from what I remember.
*There was also a dairy restaurant in Tel Aviv called Yotvata. They had amazing gelato (my first time trying this form of ice cream). The best was their tiramisu flavor. We ate at Yotvata for dinner before boarding the plane back to the US. We didn't get to choose our gelato that time, so we only got vanilla, but it was still good.
*My friend "Will" was in Israel while I was there, so we got to have lunch together in the Old City a couple of times. The first time, I got pizza, but I was so overwhelmed by the sights and sounds (along with the beggar cats), that I can't even remember how it tasted. The second time, Will made me try falafel. It was okay, as I'm not a big fan of chickpeas unless they're in hummus. I tried it again a couple times while back home, but it still has yet to impress me. However, I have photographic proof of myself eating falafel in Israel.
*There are Kosher McDonald's and Burger King all over the place, but since I wasn't keeping Kosher at the time and could get the same food at home anyway, I didn't bother. I usually got pizza during our lunches out.
*I remember the chicken being good wherever we had dinner, whether it was at a hotel or on a Kibbutz. I also remember going to this little buffet restaurant for one of the lunches. They had mostly meat dishes and those were good too.
Sorry my descriptions of food are so vague. I could tell you about the smells I associate with Israel, such as the dead sea or Ahava lotion (which comes from dead sea salts and has a very distinct scent). I could even share some songs that I always associate with that trip. However, I hope this will give you some idea of what kind of eating I did on my adventure!
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