Two options were given to me last week: a morning breakfast to a nice restaurant and a visit to Kika, an Austrian furniture chain in Israel. Regrettably, I chose the latter. It was supposedly a day of fun (shopping is fun and therapeutic...i believe) for me and my husband but to my dismay, we were left disappointed with the trip.

After Ikea, the competitor store of Kika, got burned some two years ago, this was the first time we visited again Natanya. I differ the notion that it's close to home (home now for me is Kiryat Ono) so it really has been a planned trip. The night before we set forth to this foray,  I did make some random lists to buy, mostly were stuff for the new house. We've just moved in to Kiryat Ono last July (2011) and the excitement to furnish the house with new gadgets is emminent. I have a goal and I succumbed to that buying crave.

The store, was undeniably huge, but not as spacious as Ikea. The building had four floors with departments for kitchen and living room furniture, bedrooms and bathrooms, baby rooms and toys, as well as household appliances, mattresses, home textile, cooking appliances and wallpaper. It has a children's playground and a coffee shop. The best part was the children's department. Compared to Ikea this is haven for children, and parents, as well as grandparents.  The variety to choose for newborns (with baby carriages) and tots were considerably big. I got frantic attack to grab many items but got shaken up after seeing the prices of the items. I may say they're overpriced and that was a huge turn off.



The store does have really nice stuff but not really extraordinary special. These are gadgets/stuff you could buy anywhere (except for the rectangular molders for baking and room cabinets) and for affordable prices. I remember the first time we visited Ikea, we got into panic buying mode. The prices were incredibly cheap, considering their imported from Europe, and the quality was commendable. I am proud to say that after eight years, all goods I bought in Ikea were still functional and routinely used at home.

Prices in Kika were a huge disappointment. We could have at least been compensated afterwards if they did have a good restaurant at the entrance. The people could at least treat themselves for a nice meal after a letdown but their breakfast was unsatisfactorily unappetizing. It's not only you have to wait 20 min for the meal but it was costly also.  For the price of the food, me and my husband have eaten, I could have fed my whole tribe (5 children) lavishly in Ikea with a hot meal and unlimited drinks.

At the exit door of Kika, I did only find empty trolleys and disheartened faces. Definitely, this is our first and last with Kika.