June 5: Jerusalem to Rosh Pina

Today we traveled from Jerusalem up to Rosh Pina, in the Galilee. We didn't see everything I would have liked to in Jerusalem. But the full day of walking around the Old City had people tired, so it's good we rested. Today was also a relaxing day, with a nice long rest at Gan HaShlosha (sneak peak at right).  

Sam and I walked around near the hotel for a bit, looking for breakfast food for him (the rest of us ate at the hotel -- by the way, the breakfast here at the Harmony isn't that good. But I still plan to stay here again because everything else was really nice, and the location is perfect,) I was tempted to buy something at Kakadu, the little artsy store that just opened next to the hotel. But the thing I wanted was one of their painted wooden "rugs", and I wasn't ready to explain to Ted that now we are also carrying this heavy object :)

We checked out of the Harmony Hotel in a leisurely manner, and were on the road by 11:30. 

Ted and I were wondering what this sign over the door to our room means... 

sign above our door at Harmony Hotel

We think it means Reinforced Room -- that would go with the two doors (one of which was steel) and the metal safe embedded in the floor. 

We decided to drive on route 6, inside Israel proper, rather than take the slightly faster route up the Jordan Valley through the West Bank. 

We were planning on going to Beit She'an, the Roman showcase city in the east, with a stop at Gan HaShlosha along the way. 

Gan HaShlosha is very beautiful. It sits at the foot Mount Gilboa. A cave pours slightly salt water into a spring - the water is warm. The Israeli's built a series of dams, and put in lovely landscaping, and created a wonderful park around these pools. 

Josh at Gan HaShlosha

Ted and Sam paddleball at Gan HaShlosha

on the banks of the pools

the first of the pools - before the waterfalls

Then we drove to Beit She'an, and stopped for some food along the way. 

tripadvisor.com had some good reviews of a place called Shipudei Hakikar, so we stopped in there. 

OMG, it was good!

They immediately covered our table with small plates of an assortment of delicious "salads". Sam's favorite was the rice dish. But really, all the little salads were extremely good - the best we've had. By the time the main dishes of kebab and felafel arrived, we were all pretty full (except Josh, who appears to have a passage to another dimension in his stomach - he can eat forever!). But we ate anyway, because it was so good. 

And by then it was 5:00, which is closing time for Beit She'an - so that visit will have to wait for next time. 

We drove up to the Galilee, and up around the east side of the "sea" and then north onwards to Rosh Pina.

We are staying in a beautiful family cottage that belongs to Pina BaRosh. It's a little house with a swimming pool. It's quite beautiful. And it has great wifi.

room upstairs where Ted, Josh and I are staying

living room with windows overlooking the little pool

It took us a while to find the place. Ted, Cris and I walked up to the market and got some bread and cheese, and food for breakfast. Then Ted and I walked up (and up and up) to find the main part of the hotel, so we know where to go to meet our guide tomorrow morning at 9. 

In answer to Carol's question -- we don't have a travel agent. I've been enjoying looking at the internet to figure out our itinerary and plan where to stay. We found the waffle place because it showed up on google maps, and then I asked the people in the lobby about it. 

We found the pool at Shoresh by asking the internet if there are pools we could use for the day (the internet said we could pay to visit the pool at the fancy hotels, and it also talked about several kibbutz pools.)

We found the excellent food in Beit She'an by asking the internet "Beit She'an food' and reading a review on tripadvisor.com.

We have found other great places just by wandering into whatever looks interesting. 

And I have a map and a guidebook. 

Also, I've been here a lot - this is my 9th trip to Israel!  I led a teen tour here in 1987, my parents hired a private guide when Jon got married here in 1986. I took Ted here in 1994 and we drove around the country with friends. I went to a semester of university here in 1983, and we did trips as a group. One of my favorites was a hiking trip in the Golan, so I am really looking forward to that.