Rolling hills, dry and spotted with bushes, surrounded me as the heat came up to greet me in Tel Aviv. We stepped off the plane into a lovely airport, filled with a mix of Hassidic, Orthodox, and reformed Jews, along with Arabs and tourists. Signs lined the walls advertising rentable cell phones, atms, and information – first in Hebrew, in Arabic, and then, in English. We made it to a train from the airport to the bus station – the trains were fantastic!! We enjoyed our smooth ride in the new trains with electronic displays and spotless interiors. When we exited the train, I was so engrossed in looking at all the wonderful trinkets for sale, I didn’t notice that Jess had gotten her bag stuck in the revolving exit stall and couldn’t get out of the train station! Ha! Once we got her humongous bag unstuck, we stopped for a delicious ice cream cone for our lunch – I had a scoop of “pecan, date, and rum” and cheesecake crumbles – delicious! And we couldn’t have been more thrilled to see real bagels outside the station! Man, how we’ve missed bagels!
It took asking about five different people to find out how to get to our bus to Nazareth, but we managed to make it on the bus – along with four Israeli soldiers with semi-automatic rifles strapped across their backs. Both women and men in Israel are required to spend at least two years in the army – so we figure that in the next 50 years, every citizen of Israel will know how to shoot a semi-automatic well! Anyway, we napped on our bus, which the traffic delayed, for a little over two hours. The kind bus driver called the convent where we’re staying and then honked until a taxi met us at the bus stop. The driver got off the bus and explained to the taxi driver where we were headed – he was amazing! But the taxi driver – puh! He drove all around town and was “unable to find” our convent for at least 20 minutes – we were way over charged! The nuns yelled at him! They said he was a Arab liar!
The nuns turned from angry to gentle as they led us into our room at the convent. It is nice! We asked around about where we might find some dinner and they suggested bringing back food from a general store – but Jess and I wanted real food! We went on a search – were almost run over by the crazy Israeli drivers (or Arab? We’re on the Arab side of Nazareth..who knew there are two sides?) – but entered this store where the owner was eating this delicious looking tabouli. I asked “where can we get that!” And he shared it with us!! And then, he offered to take us to a nearby restaurant that his friend owned. The friend really set us up! We had all kinds of Middle Eastern food – tabouli, bābā ġanūj, khubz, hummus, and some mixed veggies and thick dips! It was absolutely divine – better than we ever have in the states! We took it to-go and had a picnic in the convent. We’ll meet the store owner, Saleem, again tomorrow night when we celebrate Jessie’s 22nd birthday. We’ll go out to another Israeli restaurant and celebrate in the Holy Land!
It took asking about five different people to find out how to get to our bus to Nazareth, but we managed to make it on the bus – along with four Israeli soldiers with semi-automatic rifles strapped across their backs. Both women and men in Israel are required to spend at least two years in the army – so we figure that in the next 50 years, every citizen of Israel will know how to shoot a semi-automatic well! Anyway, we napped on our bus, which the traffic delayed, for a little over two hours. The kind bus driver called the convent where we’re staying and then honked until a taxi met us at the bus stop. The driver got off the bus and explained to the taxi driver where we were headed – he was amazing! But the taxi driver – puh! He drove all around town and was “unable to find” our convent for at least 20 minutes – we were way over charged! The nuns yelled at him! They said he was a Arab liar!
The nuns turned from angry to gentle as they led us into our room at the convent. It is nice! We asked around about where we might find some dinner and they suggested bringing back food from a general store – but Jess and I wanted real food! We went on a search – were almost run over by the crazy Israeli drivers (or Arab? We’re on the Arab side of Nazareth..who knew there are two sides?) – but entered this store where the owner was eating this delicious looking tabouli. I asked “where can we get that!” And he shared it with us!! And then, he offered to take us to a nearby restaurant that his friend owned. The friend really set us up! We had all kinds of Middle Eastern food – tabouli, bābā ġanūj, khubz, hummus, and some mixed veggies and thick dips! It was absolutely divine – better than we ever have in the states! We took it to-go and had a picnic in the convent. We’ll meet the store owner, Saleem, again tomorrow night when we celebrate Jessie’s 22nd birthday. We’ll go out to another Israeli restaurant and celebrate in the Holy Land!
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