Last year, Dave started a new job at a tech start-up called Outbrain. The company’s engineers are in Israel and Dave’s position as Product Manager requires him to travel to their Netanya office several times a year. For his third trip there last November, Dave suggested that I visit too. I was trying to avoid it (such a long flight!), but he was really insistent.

The day before I flew out to join him, I got sick, but I made the flight and Dave happily welcomed me to the Holy Land. The unfortunate luck continued as rain poured (in nearly biblical fashion) during most of our trip, which is very uncommon in Israel.  Our third day involved a trip north to Tiberias and Haifa, followed by a stop at the airport to drop off Dave’s coworker.  By the end of the long day, were ready for a simple, quiet dinner near our apartment in Tel Aviv.

As fate would have it, the driver of our cab was playing Barry White and chatting about the importance of setting a romantic mood.

The restaurant that Dave picked is called Abraxas North, owned by one of Israel’s top “celebrity” chefs, featuring a modern menu that changes twice a day based on the ingredients chosen at the market. Dave & I are giant foodies and I was really excited about this one!

We arrived at the restaurant only to find out that our reservation wasn’t in their computer. Dave showed them his call history to prove he made one, and that got us seats at the bar instead of a table. Turns out, Dave tried to reserve seats at the bar but they were first-come-first-served. The lost reservation worked in our favor (some bad luck finally turned around!) and we sat down to a theater-style view of the kitchen to watch the chefs in action.

We had amazing food and a good deal of drink. I was so absorbed in the artfully-prepared dishes (that didn’t use any actual plates!) and the communal mid-dinner shots provided by the bartender. After dessert, Dave took out his iPhone and asked me if I wanted to see the photos he’d been taking during our trip. Uh, ok!

Dave flicked through various photos that I recognized until he reached one that seemed very out of place. It was a piece of art, and I asked where it was- in the rented apartment? He asked if I wanted a closer look at it- that was odd- and I waited as he pulled a small box from behind his back. It took me a second, but then I realized what the box was, and a second later, what it was for.

The wooden box had a delicate diorama of Gustav Klimt’s famous “The Kiss” painting under its glass top. I remembered that my mom had pulled Dave aside months ago to give him “something” that was intended “for me,” and here it all came together. No one at the bar seemed to notice (or I didn’t seem to notice anything around me) as I opened the box and saw the ring inside. “Oh my God.. OH.. MY.. GOD..!” The next few moments were a blur as Dave asked me to marry him. Literally a blur, because I asked him to repeat his proposal a few times and each time the words promptly flew out of my head in all the excitement. With the ring on my finger, we turned to the bartender, held out my hand, and asked for sparkling wine to celebrate. We were poured some cava as the bar and nearby tables erupted with cheers of “Mazel Tov!”

For our last two days in Israel, it was nothing but clear skies!

Here’s the box my mother brought from Austria, before Dave even planned the engagement, to hold my ring someday.

~~~

View more photos from our very short but very memorable trip to Israel together. Also check out our June engagement session with our wedding photographers!