Unfortunately, my Cairo cough turned into bronchitis, and after several days of coughing up a lung, Sweetie and I visited the doctor (he was also coughing by then). Antibiotics and cough syrup with codeine. Oh happy days.
Two days later, Sweetie's daughter Sweedle came for a two-week visit, so we were sort of forced into recuperation. I spent the first half of her visit at home, awaiting the delivery and installation of our new dishwasher. Such is my exciting life. The dishwasher that came with the house was complete crap and we had suffered with it for 8 months. Pulling the first load out of our new dishwasher was close to a religious experience for me. I couldn't believe that glasses can actually have the lip marks removed by a dishwasher.
We did manage a long weekend to the Galilee to see the sites with Sweedle. I did all the driving in the luxury sedan. We began with a visit to Akko (or Acre), which is about 80 minutes north of here. We walked through the bustling market. I restocked on Jordan almonds. We strolled along the seaside. Then, had lunch at the very famous Uri Buri fish restaurant. It was a bit of a sacrifice for me, as I had to settle for the vegetarian options (though I was pleased that at least they had some!), but I really thought Sweetie and Sweedle should eat there because it is so renowned. Sweedle especially loved her St. Peter's fish. And my dessert - baked pear with marzipan, served with cinnamon ice cream, was heavenly.
After that, we drove east and found our lodging for the next two nights -- Pilgerhaus. Both Sweetie and I had heard about it from our predecessors and this was our first visit there. We had reserved a suite with two bedrooms -- it had a balcony with gorgeous views of the Sea of Galilee. The only problem was that we couldn't get the heat working. Usually, that wouldn't be a problem in Israel, but it was unusually cold (frost predicted in some parts) and we were all huddled in our coats around a small space heater that was having no impact. We finally asked to be moved. We ended up in adjacent rooms in the newer wing of Pilgerhaus -- rooms that had functioning heat. We found out when we checked in that we would have to venture off the premises for dinner, because their cafeteria was under renovation and meals at their restaurant had to be booked in advance. One of the staff referred us to a nearby Lebanese restaurant.
When we arrived at the restaurant, the Arab waiter suggested a selection of mezzes (salads) to us to start with. This is pretty common practice. He did say that they were not included in the price of the meal (as they usually are). That was fine, because usually it's a very minimal charge. Well, when he brought out the salads, there were at least 12 small plates of salads. It took up our entire table. And I felt like something strange might be going on. So, I asked how much they cost. He said 35 shekels each. !!!!!!! So, for the salads alone, we were going to be paying over $100!!!!!!!!!!!! We all said: "No. No. No. No way. Take some back." He said, "I told you they weren't included." Ummm....yeah...that is true. But we didn't know he was going to try to rip us off in an epic fashion! He wouldn't give in and then ultimately, another waiter came over and managed to spill a huge class of water all over Sweetie and that was it. We all stood up and walked out and drove off.
So....with that very bad taste in our mouths, we drove down the road to a Chinese restaurant Sweetie and I ate at once. It was delicious and our entire meal for 3 people cost less than 4 of those stupid salads would have. I had never experienced someone so brazenly trying to take advantage of my foreignness in Israel before.
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