Initial Thoughts: I was rather excited to see the brand-new Roladin cafe while searching for a place to grab a sandwich and/or salad for lunch. Not for any special reason, however, other than my desire to not only eat Kosher, but eat at places that have a certification from the Rabbis.

What I Bought: A small green salad that came with dressing. The dressing destroyed the simple salad that consisted of cherry tomatoes and iceberg lettuce. I also picked up a salmon sandwich, choosing it over the Bulgarian cheese sandwich only because that one contained mushrooms (icky). It is utterly fishy and lacking on any real taste besides the salmon. Maybe with the right seasonings it could have worked. To finish it off I bought a Kinley Soda Water.

Final Thoughts: Perhaps I should've bought a cake or some sort of pastries. This bakery should stick just to that and avoid anything else, besides coffee (which I didn't try yet). The service was rather efficient, although nothing particularly spectacular. The atmosphere inside is nice, but the food was a major let-down.

Arcaffe - ארקפה

Initial Thoughts: I've always been rather intimidated when considering going into any Arcaffe. It gives off an "upper-class gal"s dress down spot,' which really means it's stuck up and you expect to see a gold-digger housewife (who does no housework) sitting with her girlfriends sipping bottles of Voss water and picking at a frisee salad. I didn't allow myself to go in until I knew I was looking 100% and had my new, shiny credit card on me.

What I Bought: A mozzarella/pesto/basil/tomato sandwich (carbs!), which was rather good because they toasted it. I had to grab their small cup of chocolate mousse (more carbs!) that I saw sitting in the case with the sandwiches. It was alright, rather rich. I was going to buy mineral water, but I saw the free filtered water tank and decided to go with that, instead.

Final Thoughts: It is a nice place for a business lunch, blind date (I did meet one up there), and yes, even for some stuck-up gals to get together and drink iced tea. The set-up is a non-chalant sort of luxury, and you feel odd if you go in just to take something to go, so sit! Expect the servers to be stuck-up, though, and the only real help you'll find is with the busboys (who are usually foreigners). The sandwiches and coffee are good, but I'd stay away from the sweets and their salads.

Aroma - ארומה

Initial Thoughts: Cool, a coffee shop. Thought of it as the main and one of the only Israeli coffee shops when I first came here. They're spread out all over and seem to be acceptable for all income levels to be seen at.

What I Bought: I usually pick up the chicken salad (comes in 3 sizes) with 1000 Island lite dressing. It's good, nothing amazing, but very edible and a good default choice if I'm not in a risky mood. In the winter, I loved the warm roast beef sandwich and tomato soup, but never get the bean soup (it really looks disgusting and is bland). The iced coffee my friend likes from here, but I find it lacking enough flavor and don't like that it's sitting in one of those little machines (I'm a former Starbucks type of gal).

Final Thoughts: The food is good, but not gourmet. I usually prefer to take away what I order, but sitting down is also doable. The servers/cashiers at most Aromas can be rude, so it's important to be firm with them when ordering and ask to make sure they gave you all of your dressings and plasticware. I don't recommend buying coffee from here, however, just lunch.

Coffee Bean

Initial Thoughts: Awesome, American style coffee! (This is when I still thought American coffee was good...) Well, screw the hot coffee, I'm going for the Ice Blend because Starbucks made me an addict of Frappy-type drinks. Added benefit? They for sure have to speak English, since the owners are Americans from Los Angeles.

What I Bought: I've had nearly every flavor of the Ice Blend they have to offer here in Israel. Most are pretty good, what you like will depend solely upon your preferences, but you usually can't go wrong if you like fresh blended drinks. The food isn't so bad, though I don't prefer their salads, since there's always those terrible dried tomatoes. Mini sandwiches are a perfect choice with a drink. Get desserts (overpriced) only if you're going to split them with someone else, they are extremely rich (this is from the owner of the ultimate sweettooth).

Final Thoughts: If you go here, you will be tossed into one of two categories: American, or a wannabe American. Neither are good in my opinion, but I don't really care because I get my favorite drinks (most iced drinks in Israel taste terrible and are sitting in those rotating machines for the entire day, sometimes for days at a time, even). The sandwiches are a good bet, and the service is usually up to basic American standards.

All she gave me was $200 she was saving for a pair of Manolo Blahniks , what ever that is, and she says she will talk to Dad. Next day is Saturday, and I hopefully go out to the garage where Dad is working on his project, cabinets for the den. Dad, did mom get a chance to talk to you? Yes, she says you want to go on vacation to Israel.. Yes, and I hope you can get enough money to go. Well, can you be of any help? Yes I decided to give you $200, I believe thats the amount your mother gave you. Yes, but I was hoping I would get more from you. No, you want to go, you figure it out. You're an adult now.

Being an adult sucks at times. and this is definably one of those times. So being a journalist major, I wondered if I could write an ad that would get people to hire me for well paying jobs. After all I have three months, if I work two months I might get enough to pay for the trip. So I wrote my most heartfelt plea in the jobs wanted section. and it worked! One lady called me. She needed a dog walker, I love dogs, ok then. She had a pit bull with attitude,"Pugsley". He was huge, he was strong too.

.Luckily, he liked me. I had several close calls, but managed to keep him off any people, or other dogs. She paid me well, but that was still not going to get me to Israel. Then a guy called. His elevator operator was going on vacation, would I like to fill in for a month? Sure. So there I was, up and down, up and down, down and up. I ran the two blocks to Mrs. Meyers house, to walk Pugsley. It took up my whole break time, and half of my lunch.The elevator operators job, you would think was easy, and it was. It was also frustrating.

Why is it, people get in an elevator, and don't know where they want to go? What floor, I'd say, and they would start to search for the letter, or the little piece of paper that the office number is written on. Why don't they do that before they got into the elevator? I' ve never worked in a restaurant, but they get good tips, don't they? I applied for a part time job waiting tables. I went for the interview, while on my lunch hour. I didn't want to wear my uniform, so I brought a nice outfit in my backpack with my lunch.

So , he said he would give me a try. Come tomorrow at 6:00pm. So then, I get off the elevator job at 5:00 pm, I will go get Pugsley and walk him, and come straight from work to the restaurant. Mrs, Meyers suggested I could take a shower and change at her house, and I did. So this was my life for a month. The elevator operator came back from vacation, but the other guy left, so I continued for another month. When it was time to leave the elevator operators job, they gave me a cake, and were sorry to see me go. I found Jeff, he is a veterinary student, and he will walk Pugsley.

I found a replacement for my waitress job too. Mom! Turns out she used to waitress, and was feeling like she needed to get out of the house. Dad was all for it, and she can make some of her own spending money, he said. I had a month left, before I started my permanent job, so I went down to the travel agent with Mom and Dad, when we got there the agent shook their hands like he knew them . Turns out he did. My mother, and my father had purchased a ticket for me over a month ago. I was so proud of you Dad said, how you were really determined to realize your dream .I couldn't say anything, I just cried. Everyone should have parents like you two. No, every one should have a daughter like you , Dad said. It's really happening,

I'm on my way to Israel!