To Haifa We Go

Saturday afternoon involved much bumming around and not much else. By the time Max and I finally decided to face the cold, it was nearing dinner time. We headed out to Aroma Cafe on Hillel St. where I ran into Elliot Greenwald (friend from UNC) and his cousin. They graciously made room for Max and I at their table (Aroma was hopping) where we waited for Max's family (Mom and sister) to arrive.

When they did, we headed over to Tmol Shilshom (a personal favorite) for dinner. Their sweet potato soup is not as good as the Village Green (another Jerusalem favorite) but definitely a winner.

Sunday, the Socols and I took a stroll around the shuk and then ventured into the Old City. We made our way very slowly (lots of shopping) to the Kotel, so Max's mom could put her congregations letters in the Western Wall. After finding the Old City surprisingly normal, considering the current political situation in Israel, we decided it was safe to eat lunch in the Muslim Quarter at Max's favorite hummus joint. The hummus was, as usual, stellar, and we rounded out the meal with some sahlab (Arab puddingly-drink).

On Monday, after my Hebrew lesson with Sharon, Max's family invited me to join them on their trip to Haifa. They were originally planning on going to Eilat and then to Petra, but they later decided Haifa was the safer choice.

By the time we arrived in Haifa it was after dark. We checked in at a hostel on the outskirts of the city, wandered aimlessly downtown for a bit, and finally settled on a nice restaurant for dinner. When we arrived back at the hostel, we were befriended by a motherless kitten who was our source of entertainment for the night.

We woke at an unusually early hour this morning to get an early start on our adventure to the Bahai Gardens, which are (accurately I think) described by many to be the 8th wonder of the world. The dome in the middle of the 19 terraces of gardens houses the remains of the Bab, the teacher of the founder of the Bahai faith. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD_Faith) The gardens are absolutely stunning!

After our tour of the Gardens and an informational video, we meandered over to the cave of Elijah the Prophet which was, to be honest, pretty disappointing. After wandering aimlessly (again), we finally found a cute restaurant with a beautiful view of the Bahai Gardens where we had a late lunch.

Robin (Max's sister) is studying Arabic at Tufts, and so we decided to head to Wadi Nisnas (an area of Haifa more populated with Arabs) to find her a book of poetry. We found not only that but the most delicious smelling spice store where I bought a mix to make my very own sahlab at home.

We took the bus to the beach, where we wandered along the rocky shore as the sun set over the Mediterranean. A little intoxicated with the beauty of Haifa, we decided to take the funicular (yes! another one!) from the beach (bottom of the mountain) to the Stella Maris monastery (very top of the mountain). It was an absolutely terrifying - but exhilarating - ride!

After a quick stop into the monastery, and an even quicker one to buy some rugelach, we headed back to the hostel where I grabbed my bags and caught a bus back to Jerualem, leaving Max and his family behind in Haifa until tomorrow.