So we woke up later in the morning on Tuesday to get some much-needed rest and head up north for my favorite city--HAIFA!!! I tried to describe the beauty to my mom and Jeni, and they were slightly skeptical of my descriptions. I mean, "really pretty gardens" doesn't quite encompass the stunning view of--
and--
Jeni and my mom fell in love with Haifa and the Baha'i Gardens just like I did! The peace, beauty, and warmth of the gardens and the religion enamored us and we fell in love. It was the perfect start to our day.
Me!
The archives at the Baha'i Gardens. Unbelievably enough, this is actually the seventh story of the building--the rest is underground!!!
We drove on to Nazareth, worming our ways through the tiny streets with angry honking Israelis. My poor mother was navigating these headache-worthy streets, and the speeders zipping around us had us like--
Finally, though, we found a mini parking garage and made friends with the owner--he was a sweet guy. Then, we headed to lunch at a little falafel place up the street. My mother and I had falafel, while Jeni ate a delicious steak hummus dish. But of course, no excursion is complete without Jeni getting ripped off, and her dish was four times the price of my own dish. When we told the Morrises the price, they were like--
However, our frustration at the driving and the prices melted away as we entered the Church of the Annunciation, where Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would soon be pregnant with Jesus.
Me and Mary
My mom and me in the church with Mass taking place in the background!
From Nazareth, we drove to Tiberias, a city on the Sea of Galilee, where we planned on staying in our hotel. Oh my god. From the moment we drove up to the hotel, we got wrapped up in controversy. The guard asked if we liked Obama, and we were like--
Very subtly, because while I knew the right answer was--
My mom and Jeni were a little less enlightened and kind of reacted like--
The guard started laughing and waving his hands shouting "No, no, no Obama!!!!!" And we just giggled a little nervously until he let us through.
But that was just the beginning.
We then walked into the lobby with all of our bags and immediately the cocky checking-in guy was like, "Um why did you say you have only two people when you clearly have three? You only purchased a double room. You need a triple."
We attempted to explain that I was intending to sleep on the pullout bed that came in the room but he was all sassy like--
"I hate you"
And was just completely rude. Jeni got super fired up and insisted that we talk to his manager. So we walk into this side room, and the manager was clearly prepped by his minion. He called us liars, insulted us and our country (like who the eff could insult America, come on), and forced us to pay an extra ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR ME TO SLEEP ON A BED THAT WAS ALREADY IN THE ROOM. Literally unbelievable. What it came down to was, I ordered a double bed room with a pull-out couch based on the number of beds, while this hotel accepts reservations based on the number of people. It was an easy problem to solve, but we have never experienced ruder customer service people--EVER. Hence, don't say at this freaking hotel (we promised we'd give them a bad review, so here ya go, Rimonim).
We were literally escorted to our room by our security guard, because we scream danger (well Jeni had steam coming out of her ears at this point, so maybe they thought she was a fire hazard), and we finally get into our dingy little triple/double. The pull-out bed has no mattress, and our room is of course right next to a freaking amusement park that plays crazy club music until 11. Like of course.
We escaped from the hotel, because we were probs being watched, and we ordered a yummy dinner up the street. We got to sleep super early, because we needed a ton of rest and we had to wake up early enough to stuff ourselves full of $100 worth of free buffet breakfast to make up for my expenses.
Well, we stormed downstairs right as the buffet was opening--and oh my goodness, it was the most delicious spread we'd ever seen. Rugalach, so many fruits, fresh fish, different hunks of cheese, overflowing baskets of bread... I couldn't believe my eyes.
So we stuffed our faces, and then we drove on to Capernaum, the town where Jesus evangelized right on the Sea of Galilee.
The sign
The church
The sea
The Peter statue
I absolutely loved Capernaum this time around, because it was much earlier in the day, which meant cooler air and less people. It was peaceful, humbling, and spiritual.
We then drove on the Safed (pronounced sfaht), a mystical Jewish city that has existed for over a thousand years. It had an art colony, galleries, and ancient synaogues. You guys--it was absolutely stunning. Even ties with Haifa!!! It's a lot of pictures, but definitely look through them!!
So stunning. WOW. We even went to this incredible Yemenite restaurant and made friends with the cook/owner. Loooove. It was a specialty!
It was our favorite place! From Safed, we drove over three hours to get to Jerusalem and visit the Israel Museum. It was actually pretty amazing and fun. We saw the Dead Sea scrolls, an ancient skull, and lots of historical items relating to ancient civilizations. We spent as much time there as we could--which honestly wasn't long; we were exhausted--then we drove back home to Raanana for dinner. We had a yummy French dinner and some ice cream. Then, we drove home to reunite with the family!
It's been an amazing two days. I have loved hanging out with my mom and Jeni, and I have one more day to enjoy Israel. One more day!!! It's actually pretty hard to believe.
Now, it's almost one in the morning and I feel like I'm falling asleep sitting up. Aghhhh. Good night dearies--one more day!!
<3,
Aubrey
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