There must be a million little boutiques in this town, most extremely small. Some are crammed to the rafters with stock, which makes it difficult to assess if anything is worth trying; and some are artfully laid out with so little merchandise that it is only too easy to pass them by with just a quick glance. I often wonder how most of them survive.
It is not unusual for me to have trouble deciding where to put my efforts on the shopping front, (especially after my experience with boots and halvah), but over this last few months, I have established at least one rule of thumb; if there is a sentimental reason to go into a store and look around, I’ll give it a go. This has worked out pretty well.
For example, just down Frishman Street on the way to the beach is a little store with this sign:
So the name of store is “Lili” in Hebrew. It was established in 1954, as you can see on the right side of the sign. And as you might guess from the display, it sells lingerie. So I ask you…Is my name Lili? Was I also established in 1954 (so to speak)? Do I like lingerie? Yes, Yes and Yes! How could I not buy something there.
Also on Frishman, is a store called of all things, “Gertrud”. You have to admit this is an unlikely name for an Israeli store, especially one that sells fashion forward clothing. But there it is.
And since Gertrude was the name of my beloved mother-in law, who also had a keen eye for a bargain, (as many a Mexican beach vendor can ruefully attest)…naturally I had to go in. And did some very successful shopping. She would have been proud.
The next little shop is called “Lili and Tom”. Well my brother’s name is Tom, so on principle I had to check it out. It is a lovely boutique full of children’s clothes, and since fortunately we now have two grandsons, this was perfect…in I went. The light was not very good for the picture of the store window below, but you can see…if you look to the bottom…there it is in English.
And for those interested in the Hebrew version, here is the shopping bag…with my purchase in it of course.
There is also a restaurant called “Lili 24”, (my birthday), and a place to stay called Casa Lili Luxury Suite (luxury…my middle name according to Mike); but I think that is the extent of the “Lili” theme, you’ll be happy to know.
The rest of the family is covered in the hospitality industry: Mike’s Place…a well known bar with a number of locations in Israel, Jessica Resto-Bar near the beach (well reviewed), and the Benjamin Business Hotel which, like our son himself, is located in Herziliya. I am not making any of this up.
I suppose I should be glad that I have not found any family-named establishments that sell, say, plumbing fixtures. That could be a bit awkward.