June 27 - Galilee

June 27

car sleep

(Rob) Today we woke up with plans of renting a car and touring northern Israel. After showering we quickly went around the corner to a small laundry to wash our clothes in a machine for the first time since we have been on the trip. Up until now, we have hand washed our clothes each night we are in a hostel or hotel. Rob was able to get online for a while at the laundry then moved to an internet café to hold a video conference with his office staff meeting. Krystal and Audrye quickly picked up and checked out of the room while Rob finished up with the office and Val finished the laundry. At about 11:00 Krystal and Val went to the beach with our luggage as Audrye and Rob went to rent a car from Hertz. While at the beach, Val and Krystal watched a mini-air show involving ships, airplanes, and paratroopers. Finally, at about 1:00 we all got back together in a rented car and started to head north out of Tel Aviv. We stopped at a great falafel shop and had two falafel sandwiches. At falafels shops in Israel they give you the pita and you fill it up with what you want. This includes, falafel balls, pickled veggies, olives, tahini, various sauces, shredded cabbage, and other things. They were wonderful to say the least. Each one costs about US$2.50.

Ceasarea

We then headed north toward Nazareth. We had hoped to have a GPS system but were convinced by the rental agency that one was not needed in Israel as it is such a small country. The maps here are quite comprehensive and we haven't gotten too lost at this point. We traveled through Megeddo (Armageddon). This is actually a large valley to the east o the Megeddo hill. We then ascended to Nazareth. Originally, we thought Nazareth would be a good place to spend the night. It is actually in a more hilly area. We soon discovered however, that there was really not much to see there and decided to move on to the Sea of Galilee. We arrived in Tiberius about 4:30 and signed into a local motel. We all walked to the shore of the lake and the girls all put their feet in the Sea of Galilee, I say lake, because it was really much smaller than any of us had envisioned. We walked back to the hotel area and had supper. A falafel, toasted bagel, and pocket pizza made our dinner. We plan to leave tomorrow morning and head for Haifa.

food

Galilee

Galilee2

Jordan River

Map

Megiddo - The end of the world as we know it?

Rob at airport

Sign 1

Sign 2