FUN-travel: Holy Land – Sea of Galilee to Haifa, Israel – Day 15

May 10, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Sea of Galilee to Haifa, Israel – Day 15 

The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

2 El Jazar Mosque, Israel

El-Jazzar Mosque

Trip Day 69 – Monday, April 8 – Galilee to Haifa, Israel – hazy sun – high, 70’s – National Holocaust Day

2 Safed, Israel

Safed Mosque

  • B – wake-up 3:30 – 5:30 – 6:30 (ready for my own bed & pillow)
  • 7:00 – machine cappuccino
  • 8:00 – pack up to check out
  • 9:00 – pick up – drive to …
  • 1st stop – 9:30 – Safed – highest town in Israel – one of the Four Holy Cities according to tradition and Kabalistic studies (birthplace of Kabbalah) – see oldest synagogue
  • 10:00 – 11:00 – walk around artist colony – narrow streets & alleys filled w/sculptures, paintings, jewelry
  • B – another sand storm coming in
  • 2nd stop – 11:45 – Beit Jann for Druze Hospitality w/local residents
  • A – top of hill can see Lebanon (on a clear day) & huge flocks of migrating storks
  • 12:30 – lunch – huge spread of food – 10 different salads/dips/olives w/pita – 3 hot dishes – lentils w/bulgur, chicken, liver & onions – VG! – couldn’t possibly eat it all!
  • 1:15 – drive to east coast of Israel
  • 3rd stop – 2:00 to 3:00 – Rosh Hanikra – grottos are cavernous tunnels formed by sea action on soft chalk rock – total length 200 meters – branching off in various directions w/some interconnecting segments – tiny cable car takes us down – in past only access was from sea by experienced divers
4 Rosh Hanikra Grotto

Rosh Hanikra Grotto

  • 4th stop – 3:30 to 4:45 – Akko (historic Acre) – most complete, charming, old walled, port city in Holy Land – Ottomans, Crusaders, Romans, Phoenicians all ruled here – get to go in Mosque of El-Jazzar – Turkish style w/recycled columns from Roman ruins

    4 Acre, Israel

    Crusader City in Akko

  • 5:30 – arrive Haifa – Colony Hotel – cute little boutique right in center of town w/view of Baha’I Temple & gardens
  • A – happy hour – nice cold beer in lobby fridge
  • A – lots of trees & clean streets
  • 8:00 – dinner across street – huge salad is enough for  us – service just so-so
  • A – good wine from winery tour yesterday

FF – (FUN-fact) – The Ottoman’s rebuilt on top of the ruins of the Crusader city. The original streets lie 25 ft below and include a network of underground passageways along with many well-preserved buildings.
More FF – We are really impressed with how good Israeli wine is. Our favorite so far is the Yarden Syrah and they have a distributor in New York.

 

FUN-travel: Holy Land – Sea of Galilee, Israel – Day 14

May 6, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Sea of Galilee, Israel – Day 14 

The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Trip Day 68 – Sunday, April 7 – Sea of Galilee, Israel –sunny, not – high, 80’s

2 Hula Valley Nature Reserve

African Catfish

  • 7:00 – machine cappuccino – not bad
  • 9:00 – start tour
  • 1st stop – 9:15  Tabgha – one of most important Jesus sites in Galilee – where he fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread & 2 fish – up hill to Mount of Beatitudes – location of Sermon on the Mount
  • 2nd stop – 10:00 – Hula Valley Nature Reserve – 800 acres – home to 1000’s of birds & animals – planked walkways over wetlands – see African Catfish – turtles – Nutria – home to 500,000 migrating birds as well – flocks of storks flying overhead
  • 3rd stop – 11:30 – Gamla National Park – center of Golan Heights – features include 150 ft waterfall – highest in Israel – ancient walled city built on slope of very steep hill surrounded by cliffs – raptor observatory is home to largest nesting colony
1 Mount of Beatitudes

Mount of Beatitudes

  • 4th stop – 1:15 – Talmudic Village of Qatzerin – ancient village replica
  • 5th stop – 1:30 – lunch – Falafel sandwich w/the works – VG!
  • 6th stop – 2:00 – Olive Press Mill – tour w/talk on how it’s made & store to get you to buy stuff

    2 Gamla National Park

    Gamla National Park

  • 7th stop – 3:00 – Golan Heights Winery – 8 different owners – 5.5 million bottles per year – taste 3 types
  • 4:45 – cold beer @ Kibbutz overlooking gardens & Sea of Galilee
  • A – good thing we got here when we did – tomorrow is National Holocaust Day – so no alcohol after 5 pm until tomorrow night
  • 7:30 – dinner again just so-so – typical buffet
  • 8:00 – wine on the balcony!

1 Golan Heights Winery

FF – (FUN-fact) – The Sea of Galilee is actually a fresh water lake.
More FF – A Kibbutz is basically a co-op, where everyone works for the common good. They are socialists but need to be capitalists to make it work.

3 Talmudic Village

Talmudic Village

 

FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem to Sea of Galilee, Israel – Day 13

April 23, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Jerusalem to Sea of Galilee, Israel – Day 13 

The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Trip Day 67 – Saturday, April 6 – Jerusalem to Sea of Galilee, Israel – sunny, much warmer – high, 70’s

7 Nazareth, Israel

Annunciation Church Mosaic

  • BB – no cappuccino or hot milk (the Sabbath)
  • 8:30 – packed & ready to go
  • BB – no golf cart to take bags to van (the Sabbath) we have to schlep them 2 blocks (on pedestrian only street)
  • 9:00 – depart for Nazareth
  • 1st stop –10:30 – cappuccino break
  • 2nd stop – 11:30 – Annunciation church – where according to tradition Jesus grew up
  • 3rd stop – 12:30 – Cana (where Jesus performed His first miracle by turning water into wine)
  • 4th stop – 1:30 – Arbel Mountain – sheer cliff rising from Sea of Galilee includes ancient community w/synagogue remains
  • 5th stop – 2:30 – Tiberius – largest city on the shore – lunch – chicken salad comes w/8 sides of dips & vegetables – got enough left over for lunch tomorrow!
  • 3:30 – nice walk along waterfront promenade
  • 4:15 – check in to Nof Ginnosar Kibbutz Hotel
  • A – 4:30 – go to museum next door – have 2000 yr old boat found submerged in mud 10 yrs ago – took that long to restore – pretty amazing!
2 Nof Ginnosar Kibbutz

2000 Year Old Boat

  • 5:00 – nap
  • 7:30 – dinner @ hotel – buffet just so-so – fortunately bought nice bottle of wine in Jerusalem – no corkage fee!

FF – (FUN-fact) – It is so nice to be here with grass and trees; hearing the sounds of frogs, crickets and birds.
More FF – I have never been so kosher!

1 Cana, Israel

Cana