The Weekend

The Israeli work week is Sunday through Thursday.  So in a sense it's almost like being 34 hours ahead of home rather than 10 hours.

Jeff worked Thursday while I was decadent: spent the day alternating between the beach, the hotel lounge, and the hotel's business center.  Did lots of reading which was luxuriously delightful, and managed not to get burnt -- a rather impressive feat considering the intensity of the sun and the proximity of the water.  Then we took the train to Tel Aviv and a taxi to our hotel.  Same chain as in Haifa, but a more upscale version so naturally the internet was pricey.

Woke up at oh-dark-thirty on Friday for our tour of Jerusalem.  There are things in life and travel that one "should" do and this was certainly one of those.  And some of the "should dos" are good to check off the bucket list but not as meaningful or as memorable as they are "supposed" to be.  Sure, the view from the Mt of Olives was nice.  And seeing the Western Wall (aka Wailing Wall) was a good thing to do.... but while many have impressively spiritual experiences there, my biggest impression was the disparity between the men's and women's sides in what this liberal feminist interprets as being a blatant display of Orthodox sexism.  Care to guess which was about 3 times larger and had more seating?  It was kind of fun to look over the barrier between the two sides which was about chin-height (more fun to watch the number of women stand on chairs to look over), though I'm sure that's officially frowned upon.  For the record, Jeff's baseball cap was sufficient head covering and no yarmulke was required.

We also walked, walked, walked and walked some more....saw a whole bunch of other stuff I didn't understand such as stations of the cross, various synagogues and mosques, tombs, etc. But at least I'm ecumenical in my ignorance -- it applied to parts of the Jewish, Arabic, Christian and Armenian quarters, each of which we traversed.  I suspect if we'd had a more inspired tour guide it might have been a bit better, but lacking both the religious and historical context -- not to mention the interest in acquiring it either before or after the tour -- it was mostly just lots of walking around old buildings built upon other really old buildings followed by an excessively long stop at a gouge-the-tourist store and an overpriced lunch.  Then again, it's something I'm glad I've done, and don't need to repeat. On the way back to the hotel it was nice to drive by the Knesset (Israel's Parliament).

In contrast, Saturday's tour of Massada and the Dead Sea was great fun!  The guide was wonderful, which always helps.  We descended to about 300 meters below sea level, then drove to Masada.  Took the 3-minute cable car rather than the 1+ hour hike up the mountain (which is all of 33 meters above sea level, but still about 300 meters above the surrounding area).  Impressive fortress....water cisterns and a plumbing system of sorts, sauna with water recycling,  lots of food storage, etc. 

The Dead Sea was my favorite.  Of course it's the only "natural phenomenon" among all of the historical sites, so take that with a grain of salt (pun intended).  There was a sign by the water saying -422 meters....certainly the lowest place on earth.  Changed into my swimsuit and went down to the water.  Jeff decided not to risk sunburn so stayed up by the pool.  There's a black mud (clay) that people cover their bodies with before going into the water. Decided this would be interesting and indeed it was, though I didn't cover my face.  The water was quite warm.  The recommendation is to wade in until you can squat, then just raise your feet.  Floating is never easier!  Indeed the physics are such that getting one's feet back underneath oneself is an interesting challenge.  The mud comes off easily, and skin very soft.  I was smart enough not to swallow any water per se, but couldn't resist licking a finger....extremely salty....makes soy sauce taste un-salty.  Now that's one bucket list item that I wouldn't mind repeating....

After the long drive back to the (first) Tel Aviv hotel we took a taxi to my hotel near the beach, moved in, had dinner, and then Jeff headed back to Haifa.  The bad news is that the trains don't start up again on Saturdays until after Shabbat, and he didn't make the first train so he didn't get to Haifa until almost midnight.  The good news is that he made it to the hotel and received an upgrade to a "nice suite."  And after almost 48 hours apart, we will reconnect en route to or at the airport Monday night.