Pater: International jet setter

Posted by Mater , Saturday, October 23, 2010 9:15 PM

How better to celebrate your first birthday, Avocado Jnr, than a holiday in not just one country but two! Your trip to England and Israel was jam packed from start to finish with family, friends and lots of travelling. Lots. There was a ton of food, oodles of sun and a hint of jet lag. And through it all you were as cute as a button. Actually, cuter.

Unfortunately you started the holiday feeling under the weather - notably when you were above the weather, but Pater's getting ahead of himself. Like any jet setter you were fully prepared for the flight from Toronto to London...

Correct apparel?
Check! Suitcase packed?Check! At the airport?
Check! Seatbelt buckled up and ready to fly?
Check!

After a wonderful seven hour where you fell asleep for the duration of the flight, leaving Mater and Pater to watch movies and laugh in a carefree manner, we arrived fresh and ready for London. And then Pater woke up from his sorely needed shut-eye, snatched after you finally succumbed to overtiredness, lullabies and enough drugs to put out a hippo. Did I mention that you slept for a total of twenty minutes over a long, overnight flight of seven hours? Twenty minutes. Overnight. Seven hours.
But enough about that. On with the trip.
London was a whirlwind event and in the course of forty hours you met Pater's English friends (no, we don't call them British friends; Britain means England and Scotland, and Pater has no Scottish friends), hung out at Grandma London's apartment...
...spent quality time with Grandpa London...
...flirted with some English dudes (Canadian toddlers watch out)...
...and ate out and shopped (or at least, waited with Grandma London while Mater shopped)...
And then it was back on the plane for a shorter flight (just) to Israel. Mater and Pater used every trick in the book to keep you distracted and amused...

Before you escaped, Mater plopped you onto Pater's knee and gave you a roll to eat. Who knew a roll was made up of so many breadcrumbs? And then God smiled down on the Hass Avocados. One minute you were chatting up a little boy in the seat next to you (who was not put off by the unladylike way you were demolishing the roll) and the next you had passed out. And slept for two hours. Finally, Mater and Pater could watch a movie (Get Him to The Greek).

And then at 4am local time, or 2am London time, or 10pm Toronto time (ah jet lag) we arrived in the Holy Land.We picked up a car, left Ben Gurion Airport and an hour later were relieved to see this...
After navigating the narrow roads of Jerusalem, we found the apartment we would be staying in for the next 12 days. There was a great view of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset)... ...but you had other things to distract you...

A relaxing holiday this wasn't. But that didn't stop you having fun. You cracked up at our favourite cafe... You swam with Pater and both your grandmas, enjoying yourself both in the pool...


...and out...

Your love of animals meant we had to take you to Jerusalem's amazing zoo, where your hairstyle put the cockatoos to shame...
You saw some great animals there and, dare Pater say it, seemed to like it better than Toronto Zoo (we apologise to all Torontonians for this obvious heresy).
You were exposed to a ton of culture both new, at the Israel Museum......
and old, at the Western Wall where one of your Cousin Torontos did a great job reading from the Torah...
And of course you met your Uncle and Aunty Tel Aviv and played with your Israelis cousins both in their home...

...and at the beach...

Truth is, the trip was taken for several reasons. To celebrate your cousin's Bar Mitzvah. To meet Grandpa London. To meet Uncle and Aunty Tel Aviv and your Israelis cousins. To spend time with Grandma Toronto and Grandma London. To meet Pater and Mater's friends in England and Israel. To show you where Pater came from and where Mater and Pater spent their first year of marriage. To feel real warmth before the harsh Canadian winter. To top up Pater's tan. So that Mater could shop. The list goes on. And you were so well behaved throughout despite being unwell, despite the jet lag, despite the heat wave, despite being shlepped from pillar to post. You smiled and laughed and clapped and showed your array of tricks to everyone you met. And now everyone who matters in England and Israel love you as much as we in Toronto do!
Finally, a big shout out to everyone who got you gifts. Thank you for: The stacking cups (you drink bath water out of them despite Pater's attempts to stop you). The knitted blanket (which may just protect you from the harsh Canadian winters). The uber cute clothes and doll (who you love karate throwing over your shoulder at every opportunity). The bubbles and bath toys (hard foam fish, everyone of which you chew and taste EVERY bathtime). And the toy radio (which Pater hopes will teach you an English accent). Cheers from Avocado Jnr!!!

Posted in , , , , , , , , | 1 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)