By Layla
Next morning we awoke and mused that though not certainly not yet well, we were on the mend. We celebrated was tasty breakfast in our lovely hotel and then a walk down to the Old City of Jerusalem where we bought another ticket to walk the city walls but this time did the south circuit which gave different, fab views. The route eventually ended at the Western Wall. Since Google Maps was keen for us to walk in a certain direction, we soon found ourselves at the praying part of the Western Wall. Luckily we spotted a toilet and headed there instead, before weaving our way through men with large black hats and out into a little market. After we had our fill of the Old City, we walked back to the hotel via a bagel shop to stock up for lunch, and a cafe for a cup of tea, before picking up our bags and returning to Central Bus Station. This time, our destination was Haifa!
About two hours from Jerusalem, Haifa is a hilly city perched on the Mediterranean coast, north of Tel Aviv. It's most famous for its Bah'ai Gardens. Which we amusimgly failed to properly visit during our entire trip. We stayed downtown, in a serviced apartment surrounded by charming little restaurants and bars. We started out by walking to the German Colony, which is mostly a street with quaint old houses and views on the famous gardens. Not much to do though so we retreated to our own neighbourhood and a suitably hipster craft beer bar. Alas I didn't feel well enough for beer. But I did feel well enough for chips. Also popcorn an hour later when we took the bus to the cinema.
We hadn't started out with a plan to see the new Star Wars film in 4D but it was on at the right time, and soon we found ourselves stepping into special seats and making decisions about whether to turn water on or off with our armrest control pads. Luckily we ate our popcorn speedily because it was a bit like being on a rollercoaster. As the spaceships zoomed, it felt like we were moving with them, the wind in our hair... Frankly it made the whole movie ten times as fun/exciting/terrifying. The film was good and afterwards we headed to an outdoor restaurant for a quick pasta to share, then back to our apartment feeling pleased with ourselves for having had our most exciting Israel evening so far...
The next day I was up early, frantically googling. Roz had expressed interest in going to Roman ruins, so we'd planned a side trip from Haifa. But now she'd gone off the ruins and wanted to hike. We were near the Carmel Mountains, a hiking wonderland, though not a straightforward one. Eventually I found a link to a 4-hour hike from Haifa University and we took the bus up the mountain to get there. Then found the trail and started descending down down down to the valley (wadi) at the bottom of a cliff. As we clambered over rocks and slid down slopes, we mused that Israeli hikers were more hardcore than us... At one point Roz impaled her stomach on a branch. But we made it largely unscathed to the valley floor, and wound our way around a beautifully scenic part of the Carmel National Park. We halted for a picnic. Finally what comes down must go up, and we were presented with two sheer cliff faces, with little metal handholds attached. Time to ascend.
At this moment we would have been terrified/dazzled by our own intrepidness, were it not for the sudden appearance of six young children and their parents. After watching several 4-year olds zooming up the cliff face, we felt obliged to get on with it, exuding more suave confidence than the shrieks that were in our hearts...
We lost the trail at the very end and walked along the road back to a bus stop which conveyed us to a cake shop and we spent the rest of the afternoon refuelling with tea and apple pie and books. Then we took a cab back to our hotel (then a second cab after jumping out of the first one which took us in the wrong direction), and finished off our evening with a tasty Lebanese meal, and a viewing of The Crown on Netflix before bed.
Our last day in Haifa and we felt keen to hike again. So I found an urban hike, from Gan Ha'em Park to the sea, via Wadi Lotem. This was another great hike through nature and it was beautiful. We were sorry to pop out at the bottom, but after a little walking by a beachside park, Roz figured out how to tunnel under the train tracks, onto a lovely beachy walking path. But soon enough we had to catch the bus home. We proceeded to have lunch outside at one of the charming street restaurants, grabbing our bags, and heading to the railway station to grab one of the last trains that run to Tel Aviv before the Sabbath! As I write this, the countryside is flashing past and we are excited for the last (but not least) leg of our Israel adventure.
Next morning we awoke and mused that though not certainly not yet well, we were on the mend. We celebrated was tasty breakfast in our lovely hotel and then a walk down to the Old City of Jerusalem where we bought another ticket to walk the city walls but this time did the south circuit which gave different, fab views. The route eventually ended at the Western Wall. Since Google Maps was keen for us to walk in a certain direction, we soon found ourselves at the praying part of the Western Wall. Luckily we spotted a toilet and headed there instead, before weaving our way through men with large black hats and out into a little market. After we had our fill of the Old City, we walked back to the hotel via a bagel shop to stock up for lunch, and a cafe for a cup of tea, before picking up our bags and returning to Central Bus Station. This time, our destination was Haifa!
About two hours from Jerusalem, Haifa is a hilly city perched on the Mediterranean coast, north of Tel Aviv. It's most famous for its Bah'ai Gardens. Which we amusimgly failed to properly visit during our entire trip. We stayed downtown, in a serviced apartment surrounded by charming little restaurants and bars. We started out by walking to the German Colony, which is mostly a street with quaint old houses and views on the famous gardens. Not much to do though so we retreated to our own neighbourhood and a suitably hipster craft beer bar. Alas I didn't feel well enough for beer. But I did feel well enough for chips. Also popcorn an hour later when we took the bus to the cinema.
We hadn't started out with a plan to see the new Star Wars film in 4D but it was on at the right time, and soon we found ourselves stepping into special seats and making decisions about whether to turn water on or off with our armrest control pads. Luckily we ate our popcorn speedily because it was a bit like being on a rollercoaster. As the spaceships zoomed, it felt like we were moving with them, the wind in our hair... Frankly it made the whole movie ten times as fun/exciting/terrifying. The film was good and afterwards we headed to an outdoor restaurant for a quick pasta to share, then back to our apartment feeling pleased with ourselves for having had our most exciting Israel evening so far...
The next day I was up early, frantically googling. Roz had expressed interest in going to Roman ruins, so we'd planned a side trip from Haifa. But now she'd gone off the ruins and wanted to hike. We were near the Carmel Mountains, a hiking wonderland, though not a straightforward one. Eventually I found a link to a 4-hour hike from Haifa University and we took the bus up the mountain to get there. Then found the trail and started descending down down down to the valley (wadi) at the bottom of a cliff. As we clambered over rocks and slid down slopes, we mused that Israeli hikers were more hardcore than us... At one point Roz impaled her stomach on a branch. But we made it largely unscathed to the valley floor, and wound our way around a beautifully scenic part of the Carmel National Park. We halted for a picnic. Finally what comes down must go up, and we were presented with two sheer cliff faces, with little metal handholds attached. Time to ascend.
At this moment we would have been terrified/dazzled by our own intrepidness, were it not for the sudden appearance of six young children and their parents. After watching several 4-year olds zooming up the cliff face, we felt obliged to get on with it, exuding more suave confidence than the shrieks that were in our hearts...
We lost the trail at the very end and walked along the road back to a bus stop which conveyed us to a cake shop and we spent the rest of the afternoon refuelling with tea and apple pie and books. Then we took a cab back to our hotel (then a second cab after jumping out of the first one which took us in the wrong direction), and finished off our evening with a tasty Lebanese meal, and a viewing of The Crown on Netflix before bed.
Our last day in Haifa and we felt keen to hike again. So I found an urban hike, from Gan Ha'em Park to the sea, via Wadi Lotem. This was another great hike through nature and it was beautiful. We were sorry to pop out at the bottom, but after a little walking by a beachside park, Roz figured out how to tunnel under the train tracks, onto a lovely beachy walking path. But soon enough we had to catch the bus home. We proceeded to have lunch outside at one of the charming street restaurants, grabbing our bags, and heading to the railway station to grab one of the last trains that run to Tel Aviv before the Sabbath! As I write this, the countryside is flashing past and we are excited for the last (but not least) leg of our Israel adventure.
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