What’s So Special About that Bar?

This past Thursday, on the 26th of 2006, I officially turned 26 years old. It was a beautiful sunny day and I spent it at the gym, eating lunch with a friend and even doing some shopping. (Yes, this is a rare occurrence that only happens about as often as my birthday comes around). Then in the evening I had a birthday party.

Unlike my days in elementary school, this party did not include party hats or favors, but it did include good friends and alcohol. I was never the kind of person that made a big deal about birthdays and made sure that everyone knew when it was, but I do see it as an opportunity to bring people together. As it turns out, some other friends where also born around the same date so we decided to join up and have a 4 person party together.

We reserved the top floor of a bar and invited everyone we knew. Bars, like cafes, in Tel Aviv, go in and out with the setting sun. A bar that is popular one week is out of business the next. Fortunately the bar we chose was still in business on the day of the party; unfortunately, it was crowded beyond belief. My friend who reserved the space for us was told that we would have it to ourselves until 9:30 that night. What the manager did not tell us, was that he then promised the space to another group starting at 10:00 pm. While he didn’t kick us out, our private party became much larger in a matter of moments. I guess this should go on the list of “questions that you never thought to ask, but actually prove to be pretty important.”

The bar is called Rosa Parks and I am not exactly sure why. There was no picture, plaque or drawing of any bus or civil rights movement that I could see, and when asked who Rosa Parks was, Israelis had no idea. Furthermore, Israelis know the bar as “Rosa” because they just can’t be bothered to remember another name.

When we left the bar around 2 am there was a line, well more like a huddle of people, standing outside, waiting no so patiently to enter. I had a good time and bar was nice, but I couldn’t figure out what was so special about this bar beyond the fact that everyone else was there. So, something about the place must be amazing, right?