March 13, 2019
Day 8: On our way out of Nazareth this morning we stopped at Mt Precipice to take in a panoramic view of the city and valleys below. It was such a beautiful morning and everything seemed so clear and calm. Of course, what really started our morning off to a good start was seeing a random guy walking the sidewalk with the most impressive handlebar mustache that ever was. It's the little things...well, that and our Arab Christian bus driver who listened to country western music all the way to Haifa. Because nothing says cruisin' the Israeli countryside like John Michael Montgomery, right?
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| Mary's Well |
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| They think they know what we crazy Americans like...and they're right! |
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| View from View from Mt Precipice |
Haifa is also home to the Baha'i Gardens, arguably the most recognizable landmark in the city. The Baha'i religion is kind of a hodgepodge of multiple religions that teaches unity and equality of all people. The gardens run lengthwise down the mountain down the center of the city and are meticulously maintained throughout the year, every manicured detail perfect and precise.
After a leisurely stroll through the gardens and a cringe-worthy bathroom experience we set forth toward Acre, aka Akko, a fishing village on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
When we first arrived in Akko my expectations were not super high. In fact, even when we first walked around I wasn't impressed and I wasn't sure how we were supposed to wile away the two hours that we were given. But since the weather was stunningly perfect we decided to head toward the water. We made our way out to the fishing port and were found a covered boat that took us out on the water for 10 shekels (like $2). That was awesome! Yes, we had goofy teenage girls who talked the teenage boy captain into blasting the loud Arabic music, and nobody on the entire boat seemed to speak a word of English, but it was still a lot of fun and so refreshing to be out on the open water taking in the sunshine!
Once we were back on dry land, we decided to find something to eat. We wandered around a bit, looking for something that would miraculously make us all happy. Joanie and I are adventurous eaters and love to try new things so it's easy for us to just look at something and give it a go. However, my mom can't seem to wrap her head around a society that doesn't value mayonnaise or ketchup. We eventually settled upon a restaurant named Turkiz. We could not believe how good that food was! The place was empty when we got there but once we started eating and learned how delicious the food was we kept motioning for other tourists to come inside and by the time we left the place was packed!! In the photos we're going to play 'Whose lunch is it?' We feel fairly certain that you guys can figure this one out...
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| This place will be famous some day |
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| Whose lunch is this?? It's sweet potato raviolis in a creamy garlic sauce. |
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| Whose lunch is this? It's a chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, onions, and mayonnaise that apparently wasn't REALLY mayonnaise....yeah this one is a real brain cooker. |
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| Whose lunch is this? It's a grilled panini with feta, eggplant, roasted peppers, tomatoes, pickles, pesto, and olives. |
Even though we were thoroughly stuffed we passed by a dessert shop and peeked in. We were told by our tour guide yesterday, Liran, that there is a traditional Nazareth dessert called Knaffe. It looks like an intimidating orange hairy dessert that we might have normally walked past, but since we were told that it's what the locals eat we decided to give it a try. I admit that I was a bit skeptical when the shop owner served a large portion and then poured hot water over it but it has a rich sweet taste and is actually pretty good!
We drove up the coast as far as Israel goes and stopped at Rosh Hanikra, which is a series of grottoes where the Mediterranean Sea pours into and is accessible only by cable car. It was 2:45 and we were told to be back at the bus at 3:30 but we got stuck behind a very large group of noisy school children and didn't even get onto the cable car until 3:15 which meant that we had to practically sprint through the grottoes, which was very disappointing. We did get a short opportunity to run up to the border of Lebanon and snap a few quick pictures. It's such a far cry from the plain, seemingly unprotected border between Syria and Israel that we witnessed yesterday!
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| Rosh Hanikra |
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| Lebanon border |
On the way back to Nazareth we stopped by an olive press. During this trip we were serenaded by none other than Johnny Cash on the radio telling us about a boy named Sue. Definitely messed with our brains!
I can't honestly say that I was super excited about the idea of going to the olive press. But once we pulled into the tiny town of Tzippori I was intrigued. Right away I saw green fields of cows, sheep, goats, and two young men racing on Arabian horses with their tails raised high (the horses...not the young men). We pulled into a place with huge flower gardens and groves of olive trees. The owner, a little old Welsh woman, gave us a tour of her family's olive press and I felt embarrassed that I buy my olive oil in huge clear double containers from Costco. Hahaha
Before heading back to the hostel, we decided to stop in the spice cellar to pick up some Israeli spices. I may or may not have gone a little crazy...it certainly is going to weigh down my suitcase!
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| Spices!!!! |
I'm so sad that this will be our last night in Nazareth, and unfortunately the weather is taking a turn for the worse again, especially in Jerusalem, which is where we will be again starting tomorrow evening.
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