After our two exciting days in Tel Aviv, it was time to make our transition to the Galilee. The original plan was for some beach time, but it quickly became apparent that the air quality was going to be against us. A dust storm decided to roll in from Libya and the resulting dust made things very icky indeed.
So we scrapped the idea of the beach, and decided instead to get some advanced provisions from Haifa while picking up the rest of Branson's things on our way north.
This proved to be a spectacular plan. We got to nose around Branson's local supermarket for meat & dairy and his very excellent vegetable store, picking up green garlic (OMG green garlic), eggplant/aubergines, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms, cilantro, plus a bag of unexpected groceries (long story).
From there, we dropped the groceries off at this place then headed up the street and around the corner to Shwarma Hazan, one of Stephen's must-do's, which turned out to be very tasty indeed - lamb wrap with all the tasty additions (hummus, chilli, salads, tahini) plus a bowl each of pickles & fries/chips. As a surprise, we were joined by Branson's roommate, Ben, who kindly kept us company despite the shwarma being not only not kosher, but most definitely not passover kosher.
After parting company with Ben, it was time to head into the Arab quarter to pick up normal bread, some spices and to make the all important baklava pilgrimage. This turned out to be wildly successful. The spice store was amazing. We managed to get both the zatar and the sumac as well as impromptu purchases of dried papaya and mango.
The bread store ("really good pita on Khouri") was life changing. Not only was it proper bread (passover, remember?), but they had the most amazing pita machine that was spitting fresh, hot pita breads out as quickly as the customers could buy it. The smells were stunning. And I managed to grab Stephen's camera (after picking my jaw up off the street) just in time to take a picture. Look forward to that!
From there it was probably my favourite baklava store on the planet. Did I mention last time that they sell it by the kilo? They sell it by the kilo. Super yummy. Beyond yummy. And have some we did. As much as we could fit into the medium sized box.
Then, suitably provisioned, it was time to pack up the car and drive north. The drive was pretty uneventful, but through some lovely countryside. We got to Kibbutz Moran around 5, in time to check in before everything closed for the final passover celebration and for us to make dinner.
It's a lovely location, smack dab in the middle of the Galil. Remote enough to be very relaxing, but an easy driving distance from just about everywhere. This is our base for the next four days while we explore the north of Israel. The people here are incredibly nice and have gone out of their way to help us with forgotten items (cork screws & matches) and also just to chat and be sociable. A very nice spot indeed.
After cooking the first round of provisions out on the grill, it was time for bed before our first day of real sightseeing.
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