The North, Jesus' Footsteps, and Don't Go to Rimonim Hotel

Oh my god. How am I going to even summarize the past two days? The past 48 hours have been an absolute whirlwind--probably the craziest days since I've been here in Israel!

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

From the Hills to the Office

Just realized that my title is actually composed of the titles of two (amazing) shows--probably because I'm writing this as I watch The OC. Classic.

Saturday was my last day in Haifa and in the Carmel National Park... Hilarious and confoundingly frustrating. We woke up and took a taxi to the hiking trail. We asked the (non-English-speaking) taxi driver to take us to Beit Oren Junction, which is where our trail began. Kajsa and I showed him a map with "Beit Oren Junction" stamped in bold letters right in the center. He was unbelievably confused, until we conceded that he could just drive us to the University, which was probably a two and a half hour walk from Beit Oren Junction.

"University???" He inquired with confusion.

"University," we insisted.

Our driver:

Finally--after minutes of conversing--our driver exclaimed, "OHHHHH. University!!"

Us:

Yeah. Sure. Not like we just said that.

We got to the University and by chance happened to run into some of the park rangers. We told them we were trying to get to Beit Oren Junction. 

"Where???" the rangers inquired.

"Beit. Oren. Junction."

Rangers:

Nope. Doesn't exist.

IT. WAS ON. OUR MAP.

Finally--after minutes of trying to convince them it existed--the ranger had an epiphany. "OHHH. BEIT OREN JUNCTION."

AHHH.

He directed us on our 1-hour walk to Beit Oren Junction. 

Walk walk walk walk walk walk walk.

We came upon this crazy fortress in the middle of nowhere with tons of wire and scary looking towers. I read a posted sign, and found out it was a prison. Obv took out my phone to take a cool picture. As soon as I snapped my camera, a bolted door to the fortress swung open. Three men in Kevlar rushed out and commanded that I delete the picture immediately. I've never felt more like a stupid American tourist.

I apologized profusely, turned away completely humiliated, then twisted back around and asked, "by the way... Do you know where Beit Oren Junction is?"

Worth a shot.

It had been hours since we'd set off to start our hike, and we still hadn't found the trail. We ended up at the same horse stable we'd passed the day before and asked for directions to Beit Oren Junction. They told us we'd pass some cows up the road then find it.

You may have guessed it.

No cows. Turned back around.

#done

We finally gave up on finding the actual trail and just made our way to Ein Hod, an incredible artist colony carved into the hill.

Ein Hod Artist Colony

Looking at life through rose-colored glasses

Cafe Ein Hod, where we had lunch

A beautiful mural

We spent about two hours in the beautiful town then made our way back to Haifa. We celebrated our successful trip then all but skipped to the train station excited to get home.

Lol, yeah right.

No lights. Shuttered up. Completely empty. Sabbath.

I inquired of a bus driver passing by when the first train would arrive at Haifa Station.

"Eight. Six." He shrugged. "I don't really know."

So done with this.

Another random Israeli person came over to give us more information. "Six and half. Eight. Four. Don't know." It seemed like a lost cause until the guy found out we were American.

"AMERICA!!??" He exclaimed. "I love America!!"

He started to list his favorite American things.

"New York! Pennsylvania! Michigan! NBA!"

It was like a scene out of Anchorman.

He followed us as we wandered to a bus station attempting to locate running transportation.

"California! Canada!

(That last one wasn't American but we decided to let it go.)

He finally left us alone as we jumped on a tram.

But then Ahmoudi (another Israeli friend) latched on. "America!!!!? I love America!!!!"

Me and Kajsa:

Our lack of interest prompted Ahmoudi to ask if we were lesbian (no, we aren't) and if we had Facebook (ohhh no, so sorry).

As a tram official hopped on the train to make sure riders had paid, our delinquent friend Ahmoudi slipped off. Thank God. The official checked my card to make sure I had paid the $2 fare (which, duh, I had) when he looked at me with a suspicious glance. "You didn't pay."

I swear, I went ballistic.

"I PAID. THE MACHINE BEEPED. I PUT IN MY CARD. I PUT IN FIVE SHEKELS THEN TWO SHEKELS."

"You mean seven shekels," the official smirked.

"I GO TO HARVARD. I KNOW WHAT FIVE PLUS TWO IS."

(K didn't say that last part, but I was thinking it)

I literally had tears in my eyes. 

"I CAN SHOW YOU THE TEN CENTS TO SHOW YOU I PAID. I SWEAR TO GOD. THE MACHINE BEEPED."

I don't think the official was very familiar with hysterical teenage girls so he kind of just sidled away and left me and Kajsa alone with our frustration and exhaustion. 

From the tram, we got to a running bus, and I finally-FINALLY-got home!!! Thank you, Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After ten and a half hours of sleep, I woke up to get to work. It was productive, and I'm about three day away from finishing my entire paper (!!!) 

This is my last full week with the family (so sad), and I can't wait to enjoy it with them. I'm over halfway through my summer... Crazy!!!

With love,

Happy-to-be-Home Aubs

Haifa, Horses, and Hiking

One of my favorite and most fulfilling days in Israel so far. Kajsa and I started the morning off early(ish) and hopped on the bus to the Baha'i Shrine and gardens... Where we were promptly admonished for our "revealing" clothing and we had to ride back to our hostel and change into something that covered our legs and shoulders. We walked away like,

I mean, I totally understand the respect for the religion, I do. But ugh, the hostel was SOOOO FARRRRR. It ended up being worth it for these beautiful views...

 It honestly felt like being in front of a backdrop. The entire place was aesthetic and peaceful; it exuded the feeling of 'paradise.' So stunning.

We got to go inside the shrine behind me in the above picture; it's the second holiest site for the Baha'i faith, which is the youngest religion in the world.

Exquisite statuary dotted the English-style, orderly, and colorful gardens. So stunning.

From the gardens, we went to the Carmel National Park for our unbelievable, stunning, and VERY long hike.

These pictures were all taken along the red trail, in a little patch called Little Switzerland.

I've never been to Switzerland, but if it's anything like this, count me in!!!

Because I crave/require animal companionship, I spent some time with horses from a random stable we encountered.

Yes I'm allergic to horses, and yes I got hives, but #worthit.

We crossed from the red trail to the black trail, and came across a memorial for the Carmel Fire victims from 2010.

We continued our hike to an ancient Roman quarry--

And bought some unbelievably delicious cheese crepe concoctions from a random stand on the side of the trail.

We hiked to the "year-round spring," which looked like this in July...

Classic.

We ended up getting really lost on this trail--it was supposed to be a 4 hour hike and it'd been a little over 5 hours. So... We hitch hiked.

Hitch hiking is SUPER common and acceptable in Israel, so it wasn't a crazy thing for us to do. Plus, Kajsa and I TOTALLY could've taken the guy.

We were dropped off at a gas station to get some money for a bus ticket, but plot twist, the gas station had no ATM, and DOUBLE PLOT TWIST, ITS FRIDAY AND THERE ARE NO BUSES.

So we trudged about another hour along the street, poor children with no money and sore feet. I only complained a little.... Lol ya right. For a straight hour, I was like--

And Kajsa had to deal with me until we got a taxi.

I took a shower, which was heavenly, but discovered I had a backpack and shorts tan... Not so heavenly.

We got iced coffee and dinner and chatted for about 2 hours, just relaxing after the long day. Tomorrow... Another hike!!

Can't wait to explore this stunning place a little more. I didn't realize until leaving home how necessary nature is to me and my well-being. Living on the edge of a state-protected canyon with abundant wildlife apparently isn't normal... I love how travelling forces you to evaluate what you need in life. And now I know that I will uncompromisingly need a little wild in my life, or at least a car to drive me to a place where I can shed my responsibilities and stress to get in touch with the sun, the air, the world, and God.

Wooo nature!

Lovin life,
Explorer/Tree-Hugger Aubrey