That'll be 3, I mean 20, Shekels

Mom got up early to explore the hotel's beach and take pictures of the sun rising over the Jordanian hills. I slept a bit later and when I woke up we both got into our swimsuits and headed down to the sea. The beach was much nicer than the one I had been to last year and we had a great time getting in the water (which was a very comfortable temperature) and doing the famous Dead Sea float. It felt wonderful! I didn't want to get out, but it is recommended that one not stay in for more than 15 minutes at a time.

We checked out of the hotel and drove to Jerusalem, making a few wrong turns in our attempt to find our hotel. We did eventually find it and dropped off our bags, had a huge feast of mezzes at the restaurant, and then headed into the Old City, which was a 5-minute walk away.

This was my first time staying in east Jerusalem -- the Arab part of the city. It was definitely a different experience and very interesting to me. Generally, I find the Arabs to be very friendly and helpful, though their shopkeepers are just as quick to try to make a tourist buck as any of the others.

For example: We were on our way back to our through the Arab market in the Old City.  I was extremely thirsty and I saw a shop selling juices.  All of them were listed as costing Three shekels (about 75 cents).  Sounded good to me.  So, I ordered a carrot juice.  The shopkeeper made it and served it to me in a GINORMOUS glass.  It was bigger than a Biggee Coke or whatever obscenely large drinks they have in the typical US fast food joints.  I was thinking, wow, all this for 3 shekels?!  Then, some other customers came in and they spoke Arabic.  Then it became apparent to me that there were about 4 different sizes and clearly I was given the size large enough to satisfy a small army.  Was I ever given options?  Nope.  

So, at this point, I know that I've been taken advantage of and that my drink is going to cost about $5.  And that's exactly what it cost.  The shopkeeper seemed almost every-so-slightly apologetic when he told me the cost.  But, any guilt he might have felt clearly didn't stop him from taking advantage.

The Dead Sea

After Masada, Mom and I drove about 10 minutes further south along the Dead Sea to Ein Bokek and the Lot Hotel. My expectations were fairly low as no one has ever really given rave reviews of any of the hotels down at Ein Bokek. I chose the Lot Hotel because of favorable reviews on tripadvisor.com.

The hotel was actually pretty decent. The room was not fancy by any means (old flat carpet, dated bedspread), but it was clean and we had a great view of the Dead Sea. The buffet dinner satisfied my vegetarian tooth and Mom seemed to fare well also.

The hotel clientele was mostly Europeans and Russians. Lots of Norwegians on a tour. And Israelis (one of whom rammed Mom and me into the tiny elevator with a stroller -- completely ignoring us and refusing to let us get out. I was furious and we both had to literally crawl over the stroller).

The next morning, we made our way down to the beach. The water was still surprisingly warm (considering it's mid-November) and I thought the beach was much nicer than what I experienced at Ein Gedi last year (further north along the Dead Sea). The beach was sandy and there weren't any rocks, so it was all rather pleasant. Mom and I did our little floating tricks (Mom also did the "I've rolled-over-and-I-can't-get-up-trick" but luckily I was there to intervene) and I actually did not want to get out after the recommended 15-minute limit.

But, I did get out, and we checked out and drove north to Jerusalem.

Driving in Nazareth

Driving in Nazareth is an exercise in chaos theory.  Last time Sweetie and I went to Nazareth, it was on a Saturday, and we vowed never to do that again.  Everybody and their brother are out driving in Nazareth on Saturday.  Well, guess what, we found ourselves in Nazareth yet again on a Saturday.  And there I was, driving my pristine luxury sedan through mass chaos.  Cars shooting out with no warning, people opening car doors on the side of the street without even glancing to see if a car is coming, bumper to bumper traffic and cars darting out of side streets while cars are attempting to cross past them from the main road.  Pure chaos.  And then add me -- darting back into traffic on the main road after realizing I had started to make an incorrect right turn (among other things).  It was a miracle we didn't have an accident.  Well, it was Nazareth after all, I suppose!

Some Peace and Quiet

My mother is visiting from the US and over the weekend we spent one night in Amirim -- a vegetarian village near the Sea of Galilee (aka Lake Kinneret).  It was really lovely, peaceful (hooray!) and relaxing.  We stayed at the Campbell's -- they have two units with a double bed, kitchen table, kitchenette, bathroom with jacuzzi, and patio with views of the hills of the Galilee.

We had dinner at Dalia's -- a vegetarian restaurant with a set menu -- more food than you can possibly eat and all sorts of delicious, inventive vegetarian food for $25/person.  Dalia served us dessert on their veranda with amazing views of the Galilee.  As night fell, we could see all the lights of various towns and villages twinkling in the distance.  Very relaxing.

For breakfast, we wandered down to a healthy bread shop and got an assortment of goodies that all were scrumptious.  We ate on the patio and Alit, the owner of the zimmer (the word for B&B-type places in Israel), brought us a plate of banana in soft squishy persimmon.  Delicious!

The next day, we ventured into Nazareth, aiming to show Mom the Church of the Annunciation and St. Joseph's.  Proved a bit of a driving adventure....stay tuned for more...