Geography by Geocache, Round 1

On Sunday, Jeff went to work and I went to play.  I had my tourist brochure (in French), and my guidebook (in English), and my GPS with all 540+ Israeli caches downloaded....but alas no map of Haifa.  I was taking the bus and had vague instructions of where to get off, but was really relying on the nearby geocache.  Long story short, the bus never got closer than .35 miles from the cache, so I didn't get off at that point.  By the time I was sure we weren't going to get any closer we were a ways away and in a place where it didn't look like there would be options.  I didn't panic, at least not much, and eventually got myself on a bus that got me within spitting distance of my sightseeing target.  I ended up doing plan B, or C or D or....and having a lovely day.  No, I never did find that geocache, though I found one other.

I also rode part of the Carmelit, which is a 6-stop subterranean funicular.  There are 2 cars on 1 track (except where they pass).  The cars change angle...some stops differ by about 1-2 stairs per entrance (which are about 10 feet apart), some differ by 6+ steps per entrance.  An interesting concept and exceedingly practical in this hilly city.  After dinner Jeff and I rode all the way down from the top and had fun discussing the physics (since it only stops at actual stops, the distance between stops 1 &2 must match the distance between 5 & 6; likewise 2-3 matches 4-5). 

It was after this ride that I used the old trick of "visit a hotel" to ask tourist questions and acquired a map of Haifa.  Yes, the map was used quite a bit the rest of the afternoon.

Haifa seems to be an interesting mix of Los Angeles (the flora), San Francisco (the hills), and Europe (elements of the culture).  All buildings seem to be beige, tan, off-white, or something like that.  It's a bit disconcerting to see lots of military on buses carrying impressive weapons, and having bags checked or being wanded before entering certain locations -- the bus station, stores, tourist sites....

And my Hebrew is now sufficient that I can say thank you, excuse me, and (my only full sentence) "I don't speak Hebrew."  I tried teaching the latter to one of Jeff's colleagues at breakfast today (Monday).

Yes, there is a "round 2" but it probably won't be written tonight.