Thurs - June 30 - Rafting the Jordan River

[A]:  After such a full day yesterday we decided to take it easy today and go rafting on the Jordan River.  The Jordan is the Mississippi River of Israel.  Of course, everything is relative.  At its widest, the river was about 30 feet across ... and in some places only about three feet deep.  But it was a beautiful day and we had a relaxing and peaceful ride.  We did not bring our camera or phones on the river, as we did not want them to get wet ... but at the end of the trip someone from Kfar Blum snapped a picture of us.  We had packed a picnic, so after we were done on the river we found a shady spot for lunch.  And of course, for the Goldstein's, no day in Israel is complete without a cold, sweet ice cream treat.

We had dinner at a lovely restaurant in Rosh Pina (my new favorite city in Israel) called Shiri Bistro.  The food was good - and the views were amazing.  And after dinner we found the most beautiful park.

Tomorrow is our last morning in the North.  We are looking forward to one more delicious breakfast and then we are off to Kibbutz Lotan!

Wed - June 29 - Tel Dan - Rosh Hanikra - Akko

[A]:  We began our day with another delicious breakfast, made some lunches, packed up the car and headed even further north to a national park called Tel Dan.  The park has a number of beautiful hiking trails, as well as the ruins of the ancient city of Dan.  The trails run along the Dan stream, which is fed by the melting snows of Mt. Hermon.  In many places the water was flowing rapidly.  There were also more quiet places where we could bend down and dip our hands into the icy cold and perfectly clear water.  The hikes had a number of interesting stopping points (an old flour mill, an area they called "Pooh's Corner" with a tree that could have been Winnie the Pooh's home, and even a wading pool that Macey and Lila were brave enough to walk through).  There were lots of places to explore and lots of small animals (especially freshwater crabs) to see. Though we missed seeing the ruins at Dan, we had a great picnic lunch that gave us a bit of our energy back.   After lunch we made the drive all the way to the most northwest corner in Israel - Rosh Hanikra.  We drove through the mountains and the views were spectacular.  Rosh Hanikra is right on the border of Lebanon.  When you arrive, you take a cable car down some very steep cliffs until you reach the place where the "water meets the rock" - which is the name of the movie they show before you tour the grottoes that make up this stunning area.  Over thousands of years the water of the Mediterranean has carved a series of grottoes into the side of the mountain - and you can walk through and explore them all.  The Sea was pretty turbulent, and Lila was a little nervous because of the loud crashing of the waves as they came in to these small spaces.  But everyone agreed that this was definitely a highlight of our travels so far.  When we got back to our car, a young soldier approached us, asking us if we were heading down to Nahariya - and if we were could we give her a ride.  We had not planned on heading south, but the detour was such a short one and we wanted to help out Israel's soldiers, so we said "Sure."  Noi was so sweet.  Her English was great and she explained a lot about Israel's military to us.  After we dropped her off at the train station we realized that we were so close to Acco - so we drove down the coast to explore the ramparts and walls built by the Crusader's during the 1200's.

Today was a LONG day and we were so happy to finally make it back to the guest house.

Tues - June 28 - Safed - Rosh Pina

[B, E]

[B]: Our guest house stay includes a full Israeli breakfast each morning.  DELISH!  Definitely not an american breakfast.  We had eggs, yes, but this was almost a side dish to the 7-8 other plates that were waiting for us.  One plate of fresh veggies - cukes, tomatoes, lettuce, and awesome olives.  Fresh fruit of all kinds - today featuring watermelon.  A basket of different rolls.  A bowl of Yael's home-made peach jam (Andrea's and my favorite).  We also had cheese & herb filled pastries (similar to burekahs).  But the real star... 3 or 4 different home-made cheeses.  The cheeses are all seasoned - a cream cheese with a consistency bordering on yogurt is blended with dill and chives; and my favorite, a fresh cheese sprinkled with dry herbs and olive oil.  A roll with cheese and jam... SHAZAM!

We chatted at breakfast with Emannuel - a german backpaking his way across Israel.  After breakfast, we offered him a lift (took a quick pic w/him) and dropped him off at a bus stop a ways up the road before we turned off to Tzfat (usually spelled Safed in English - but here we'll spell it phonetically).

[E]:  We went to Tzfat and started in the "holy arts" section. We just wanted to go see the Tzfat candles but DAAADY(!) had to stop by and talk to a sofer (someone who writes the Torah or a megillah, or a mezzuzah).  His name was Gonen.  Only Daddy and Lila talked to him at first (the rest of us were down the street a bit), but Gonen said he didn't believe that there were three "gingies" (red-heads) in one family.  When we all got to the store he said, "Wow" and "Come here."  He asked all of our Hebrew names and wrote them down like he would if he was writing them in the Torah.  After that we looked around his shop because he was an artist too.  Mommy and Daddy bought something for each of us and we loved ours.

[B]:  All of Gonen's art includes various texts from the Bible.  He enjoyed speaking to the kids in Hebrew and relished in quizzing our children ("how many Psalm's?" - Macey knew; "what else does a sofer write?" - A Megillah Eli knew).  You can email him to find out about his work at HaLevi Fin Art Judaica.

[E]:We went to the candle factory and there were candles of all shapes and sizes it was amazing. Nothing,  though was in my money range. But it was beautiful.

[B:] The candle factory was next to the ARI Ashkenazi Synagogue.  Possibly the oldest active synagogue in Israel.  It is named after a rabbi known as the Ari (an acronym) who was the originator of the original idea of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).  The synagogue has a beautiful and intricate ark.

After a quick lunch we decided to find the Cheese Factory we had seen signs to.  It was burried deep amid the narrow streets of the old city part of Tzfat.  There were lots of signs pointing the way - although Andrea pointed out that the way it was worded in Hebrew, the sign seemed to read "Holy Cheeses of Zfat". We tasted several yummy cheeses, then kept moving.  We headed back to the Artist Colony area and stopped by a store and workshop where they weave gorgeous Judaica (tallitot, kippot, chuppas, etc).  They allow visitors to actually go in and watch the workers weaving on the looms. We spoke with a weaver, Yitzhak, for several minutes (and even took a pic w/Lila).

On our way out we stopped by a playground for a bit of rest and play.  Then back through the shops.  I saw some paintings earlier that I liked, and this time noticed that the artist himself was working on a piece.  Again, I couldn't help myself and went in.  The artist, Morris Dahan, got up and talked to us about several of the paintings that we liked.  He was really kind and talked to the kids telling them to always have and follow a dream... to do what they LOVE (as he is lucky enough to do).  We ended up getting a couple of prints and then I splurged and got Andrea a beautiful (filigree) silver hamsa necklace at a neighborring store (Doron Cohen).

Andi and the kids went ahead and Eli - with Macey's support and help - got something for himself.  A 20-sheckel memento was had for 15!  A great job for his first time haggling!

We went home, took a breather, then headed to Rosh Pina - a nearby town filled with restaurants.  We settled on a restaurant called Chocolat and ate a yummy dinner that ended with a giant bowl of fresh fruit to go with their home-made milk chocolate fondue.  Watermelon & chocolate = YUMMM!

What a super first day in the north!