We flew on ElAl. The Israeli airline. And I was so excited to fly with them. And even smiled when I got lengthy strip search by a lady. I knew it would be like this and thought it was very cool. I thought the food on the flight was great!!! Richie got a fruit plate with super fresh figs and grapfruit and other sliced fruit and nuts which I had requested when ordering the tickets. I got some beef dish with noodles that was great. Probably the best airplane food I've had. Our first day there we met up with a guy that Richie met from work in Germany, but lives and is from Haifa. He gave us a tour of Haifa and it was great! We had dinner at a nearby restaurant from our hotel. We stayed at Templars Boutique and it was a nice place. They are making some renovations so I imagine it will be better once those are done! It came with free breakfast from the cafe next door and it must've been my favorite breakfast while we were there. Feta cheese slices with bread, an omelete, and cucumber tomato salad and hummus, yogurt with granola and cut up apples. They had some special sauces too that were great.
This was a LEED certified park.
This is a view of Haifa.
This is from Cesarea, a town on the water. A place recorded in the book of Acts in the New Testament. That was a cool place!
After we checked out, we went to draw money out and our account was frozen because our bank was updating their system. So we had to wait a little while before drawing money out so that we could travel to Capernaum.
We took a taxi to Capernaum from Haifa. It was okay. I seemed to get car sick every time I took taxi or bus. We got to see Peter's house, where he lived in Capernaum and the place where Jesus spent most of his ministry. It was a very neat to go there. I had to wrap my scarf around my waist as a sarong because my shorts were too short. I didn't mind though. We go to leave and we are stranded. Everyone there takes group tours so they have buses for the tours but there was absolutely no taxi. It was 150 sheckels (about 50 dollars) to get a taxi to come from Tiberias (about 15 minutes away) to take us to our hotel which was only 15 minutes away. But because we were in the middle of nowhere the price was higher. We tried hitchhiking before we had lunch, but after the hitchhiking didn't work we thought we'd get a bite to eat. Hitchhiking is legal in Israel, except for Israeli soldiers who are not allowed to do it. Richie talked with one of the waiters in Arabic and one said they would take us for 100 shekels. So we did that. I have to say that I was pretty scared. I don't know what we were thinking having someone besides a taxi take us to our hotel. Richie went to the bathroom and got his knife out of the bag and put it in his pocket. Something I didn't know until afterwards. Niiiice. They had one restaurant on the Sea of Galilee where we were at so of course we got some fish. It was a nice lunch. But very expensive and the only place to eat. While we were eating I was so upset that I started crying. I felt so disillusioned as to what I expected coming to Israel. The people just seemed so rude and everything was more expensive than I thought. But, we had several days yet and our trip just started. I was ready for more!
We got to our remote hotel which overlooks the Yom Hakineret (Sea of Galilee). It was called the Ramot Resort Hotel. This was my favorite place of our time in Israel because the people there were actually NICE! Again, dinner was 140 shekels per person (about 40 dollars) so we opted to eat at the bar and get some drinks. It was really nice and the food was actually amazing and half the price! We went running the next day and it was HOT! We went about 9:00 in the morning and it was already desert heat. On our way back we saw a snake! It was on the side of the road...it looked dead, but richie said they come out to the road. I didn't see it move, but it freaked me out!! Two cars come up by us and stopped and honked their horns and Richie ended up jumping over it because he ran up behind me (we was running circles around me) and didn't see what I stopped for. That was pretty freaky. One of the guys in the cars got out to see what we were looking at after we ran off. I think it was dead, otherwise we for sure would've been bitten. Scary!!
A view from the pool.
A view from the bar area where we ate dinner.
A view from our hotel room.
We left there and had to again take a taxi. We took that to Tiberias and from there we were able to take a Shirut to Tel Aviv (a mini van taxi and that was only 40 shekels each). Here we saw a Kosher McDonald's. I thought this was hilarious. So I had to take a picture. Hey, if it's Kosher, does that mean it's healthy too?
We spent the next two days in Tel Aviv. We were able to stay at the Intercontinental with Richie's platinum membership for only $40 a night. It was a nice hotel, but again, the people weren't so nice. It's not like the customer service you get in the United States. We were near the beach so it was great and we were able to get a Nargila and sit on the beach and have lunch. How awesome was that! The water so clear and warm too. We could see the little fish in the water. Beautiful.
The Shabbat elevator. They have these so that the religious Jews don't have to push a button on the Sabbath. It runs continuously stopping and opening at every floor. I think if I had to take that on the Shabbat, at that point, I'd ask for a room on the first or second floor and call it day. It might even be quicker to take the stairs. I don't know.
My lovely paprazzi picture of my man.
Tel Aviv had a great outdoor Market to buy produce. Man, they tried ripping us off so many times. It was good that I knew some Hebrew and got some tips from Richie's sister, Lizzie's friend Keren, who's from Israel. Even though I knew what to expect, I couldn't help but feel insulted when they tried charging more than what was written on their signs or not giving a full (kilo). Of course, we couldn't go to Tel Aviv without go to Rahov Disgengof (a street there with shopping and restaurants). It was late by the time we got there so we didn't do any shopping. We walked to a micro brewery, yes, about 5 km (3 miles) from our hotel called the Dancing Camel. There were no dancing camels there but the beer was good! It was a very small place and they had just done some renovations. It was a neat little place but had a bad location and no signs. It was good that we marked it on the map or else we would've missed it. We took a taxi back to the hotel for 30 shekels. Just under $10. Not a bad price to pay to get back to the hotel without having to walk. I was glad I could negotiate in Hebrew.
We left Tel Aviv and took a taxi to the train station, and from there a train to the airport to get our rental car that we had lined up. We went with Budget and ordered it from expedia I think. Expedia offered insurance online so we bought that. When we got to the car rental place they said we needed their insurance and we were pissed about that. They were rude when they tried to explain it to us. Again, not like the customer service in the States. So, we forked out some more money for their insurance. The GPS was another 70 shekels a day from a different company. But he was actually nice and gave us one day for free. I was thankful for him and told him. We get in the car and it was dirty and not cleaned. But at this point I was going back in to complain after I already asked to speak with the manager and talked with them and they were RUDE. The car's air conditioning worked so I was happy for that.
We drive to Jerusalem and had a difficult time finding parking. We finally found a spot and I had to use my Hebrew to try and negotiate an overnight price since it was by the hour. On the sign it said 117 shekels for all day (about 35 dollars) so I tried getting that price for 24 hours. He didn't like that idea but said we could pay on the way out. Jerusalem, Jerusalem......we made it. I was so excited. We checked into our hotel about noon and then went to the Old City for a free 3 hour tour of the city. This was the website of the free tour. They are currently offering them in 13 large cities. I had first seen one of these tours in Prague and thought it was a great idea. They rely on tips so you just tip at the end. I highly recommend this group!
http://www.neweuropetours.eu/
So we got a tour of the four quarters in Jerusalem. The Christian, Arminean, Jewish and Muslim. We also got to see some great sites like where Jesus' cross was found and the road he carried it down. We also saw the place where Mary Magdelen was met by the Angel and told that Jesus was risen. The most moving part for me was when I saw an Ethiopian Christian pouring this highly perfumed oil all over the burial site of Jesus and an Ethiopian lady put her scarf on it and prayed there. It made me think of Mary Magdelene pouring her perfume on Jesus' feet and wiping them with her tears. This definitely choked me up.
We got to see the Western Wall (HaKotel Hamaravi). It was very interesting to me but I didn't feel what I thought I would feel. Instead of feeling very spiritual, I felt like the wall was a huge golden calf, like the one Moses found when he walked down from the mountain and his people were worshiping the calf. I know for some it is a very spiritual and great experience and that's great. For me, it just was not there although I wanted it to be.
Men's and woman's sides are separate and partioned by a little wall. On the men's side there is a little cave with books and a desk.
I don't think I was 'supposed' to have my back to the wall. People walk from the wall all the way to where they entered walking backwards as to show respect to the wall I think.
This is the menorah that is already built to the exact specifications and to go into the new Holy Temple when the Dome of the Rock is destroyed. The Temple being rebuilt is is prophecy in the New Testament!!! Wow!
A group of Christian Indians singing a song in the Christian quarter.
The shopping in the Old City was cool. Prices were very negotiable although I saw a lot of Americans getting ripped off. It pissed me off. In Tel Aviv, a lady told Richie I was her worst customer and then told him I should be a business woman. Nice. But for some reason that gave me extra confidence to really low ball the people selling goods at steep prices. They wanted just too much for some of the things so we got several good deals. The city at on Thursday night was nuts! People partied until at least 3 in the morning. Our hotel was right downtown and we heard the base bumping....all night. We went walking around around 11pm that night and there were different groups of people sitting out and playing music, some people were breakdancing. It was interesting to see the Jewish girls with their sexy tank tops on and then a long shirt underneath.
We went to the Jewish Market on Friday morning. It was bustling with people getting their food to prepare for the Shabbat. When we left Jerusalem and went back to the parking area, the guy charged us less than what Richie thought. He thought for sure it would be over 150 shekels because we left it for 24 hours but when we came in, he said only 100 shekels which was great! Less than we thought and less than what was written down on the sign.
So we took off for the Dead Sea. We drove through some disputed territory and I just didn't feel safe. But we made it there okay. A friend, Rabi Harris, recommended going to Ein Gedi so we stopped there on the way to our hotel. It was an Oasis National Park. There were some waterfalls and it was amazing. So glad we went there. Very refreshing after 36 degree (celcius) heat (About 96 degrees F).
we got to our hotel The Leonardo Hotel. It was nice but the rooms needed renovations. There were only three rooms left and we had made reservations so we were upgraded to a suite. I was so thankful for that. The suite at this hotel was not nearly as nice as a regular room at the Intercontinental but it was nice to have a balcony over looking the sea! Floating in the Dead Sea was probably one of the coolest things I've ever done. It was so interesting! You really do float!! Shabbat, Shabbat, oh Shabbat. So we thought paying almost 300 dollars for a hotel room would ensure food even on the Shabbat. NO! There was no food at the hotel Saturday during the day. It was a good thing we had pringles. They did serve beer however. Which makes me wonder, why can they have people working at the hotel...and yet not make any food. I don't know the difference really. Also, their pool would close at 5pm! That was really early considering it's hot in the desert until very late! We stayed two nights there and left early in the morning on Sunday (about 4:30am to catch our flight). We get there and our flight was canceled and so we had to wait in a super long line to get new tickets. So we flew to London so that we could be home that night. Grandma was leaving the next day so we had to get home!! Plus, I missed the kids so bad and was ready to come home. We had a nice little layover in London with a good beer and excellent service. It made me think that London (or the States) will be the next place we take a trip to. I'm all about customer service.
We were floating in water that was as deep as our heads. Completely floating. Amazing.
Taken from our balcony at the Dead Sea.
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