HAIFA

Today we didn’t have a tour booked for Haifa and it is their Sabbath – so no shopping near the port today. Four of us hired a cab to take us to the Druze Village and a driving tour around Haifa. This is the 3rd time I have tried such an impromptu experience in a foreign country and I have yet to be disappointed. I get an idea from books, websites or cruise staff about doing this and if I feel safe and confident to do so, I just go ahead. I would never go alone, but these shared adventures have really been wonderful! Our cab driver proved to be an excellent tour guide and expert bargainer in changing quickly from Shekels to US$ and even Euro. Plus he would sometimes get us $1 or $2 less than we might have paid ordinarily.

Our first stop was the village where shopped around for “stuff” for about 2 hours and we even stopped for lunch at a small local restaurant. Grandma was making these rather large dough sheets and then there was a choice of humus or goat cheese that was spread over it – then lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes and start munching. That and a local Israeli beer and it was all good! Nope – it was delicious! One of the ladies that was with us had never eaten off the ship before. She was afraid with all the warnings – but I think she was pleasantly surprised and it is always good to try something different. And really, the flat dough would be fine, the goat cheese – fine, the bottled beer – fine – the fresh veggies – maybe a problem, but still worth trying!

Our next stop was a panorama view of the city of Haifa – it was absolutely glorious and the highlight was looking down on the B’hai temple and the beautiful gardens there. We only looked down at it, but it was a lovely sight indeed. This was a terrific opportunity for us to take some photos and just enjoy.
Next we drove around and had a good look at the city and for the last stop, we went to a beach on the Mediterranean Sea. Now – here is the test for today – all those who knew there was good surfing on the Mediterranean Sea put your hands up. Well, I sure didn’t know.

Too soon our time had ended – and when we got back to the ship – 4.5 hours had passed by! It was a great way to spend a day in port with no real plans!