Unbelieveable...

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. Had an absolutely fantastic day...which lasted till 10 last night. Saturday at breakfast (remember we were in Tel Aviv) we leisurely chatted over our second cup of tea/coffee debating what to do before heading back to Haifa. The customer service relations person approached us to get feedback on the hotel. We asked her what we should do. The sun was shining, the wind light...she said get outside and go to Old Jaffa. Old Jaffa is one of the most ancient port cities in the world. It starts at the Med Sea and climps way up high. If a pilgrim was coming to Jereuselem back in the days...they came through this port. It was a hike from the hotel but well worth it. The port is typical..touristy boat tours, fishing boats, people on the beach, fishermen casting lines off of the piers and bridges. We climbed up through the winding stairs to the top where Old Jaffa is. Im taking pictures like crazy!! There were little shops.....people selling their wares...wait till Shellie sees what I got her :) ...and the cutest little cafe.."Jappo". As I shopped, Scott chowed on the roasted mixed nuts he bought...we decided a lovely adult-type beverage was in order. We sat down at an outside table for two facing the square to "people watch". We both love to do this!! I ordered a glass of Israel wine from the Judean Hills winery called Yarden Chardonnay. Shellie??  Terry?? GET THIS!!! Scott enjoyed a red wine from an Israel winery which we both loved...yes, Shellie.. I said BOTH!! I'll get that name... We ordered Breads and Spreads, which is norm here. Not oils like we will probably see in Italy next month. The warm bread came with 2 spreads. A carmelized onion/red wine spread...and a unique carrot/lemon/garlic spread. The first was great...the second..well we kept eating it!!! But still couldn't say wether we loved it or not. We sat there for 1 1/2 hrs. Talking. Sipping our one glass..and eating bread. We purchased a bottle of the Chardonnay for the hotel room before leaving! . Oh yeah!! After that, we walked to a viewing point where the best view of Andromeda's Rock can be seen. Who is she??  Check your Greek mythology...she was chained to the rocks as a sacrifice to the sea monster for payment of her mother's bragging about her looks. Read the myth..fascinating!! I announced to Scott I was having so much fun...I could break into a Broadway song!!  Well ...ok.... I did. "What a day this has been, what a rare mood I'm in......" Sigh.  We walked back to the hotel.....we had been gone over 4 1/2 hours...and got packed to leave Tel Aviv. Sad face noted. The lobby bar is sooooo lovely that I wanted to sit and have a glass of wine before we left. Big high-backed chairs..that looked like my Mom's living room!! So..off we went. Bonus!!!  They had the Yarden!! We were served a salty cracker mix snack and nice briny olives to nibble on.Yum!! Got to come back here!!!

    We had asked the concierge about dinner options. I though we were going to the italian place..but after the concierege's words we  decided to make reservations at this place called "NG". It was only about 5 blocks or so from the hotel...but we decided to pack, up drive to NG, and leave from there. With a map from the nice hotel man who made the reservations, he assured us we would find it. Off we went in the car...me holding the map trying to pronounce these streest names. Fail. Also hindering our progress..street names are attached to the SIDE of the buildings..first in Hebrew..under that a smaller print of Arabic..then smaller still English. But with the way these people drive , who had time to slow down and see the names????  We drove around the area we knew was close for almost 30 minutes till we finally drove back to the hotel--frustrated, but laughing...paid to park... and flagged a taxi. Lesson learned. Answer to your question...No, we would NEVER have found this tiny, down the alley around the corner place. NG would hold about 30 people...and be packed out. BUT...the food..wow. We started with an appetizer. Carpaccio Flowers.  Very thin raw Kobe beef, stuffed with spinach and parm cheese and sliced amost sushi style...with a balsamic glaze. Interesting. Since the steak was reccommended...that's what we got. I had Kobe beef.....Scott got the filet and we shared. STUFFED!!! I had a cup of hot tea...he enjoyed a double espresso, short.....gotta learn the lingo....then the 1 hour drive back to Haifa. Day over. Weekend over. Back to the reality..........sigh.....