Tel Aviv to Tiberias
Descending from Mount Carmel, we stopped for lunch at a roadside stand run by a group from the sect known as the Druze.It was fried pita bread with a variety of toppings includingolive oil, hyssop and parsley and yogurt cheese and hummus. Whats hyssopyou might ask, yeah well we didn’t know either, it is from the oregano family and taste remarkably like… Oregano.
Nazareth
The next stop was the incredibly overcrowded and run down city of Nazareth. It is the hometown of Jesus and it is the location of the church of the annunciation where Mary was supposed to of heard the message from the angel. There is a spectacular church on the site and a few spots purported to be Mary‘s kitchen and Joseph‘s workshop. I’m a little skeptical, OK a lot skeptical but it was 
interesting to be reminded that in the first century Joseph’s carpentry was more likely that of a stonemason then working with wood.
Tiberias
Leaving Nazareth we finish the short drive to Tiberiasand found our way to our amazing top floor apartment with a view of the sea of Galilee. Airbnb pick the winner on this one. We summoned energy and headed out to dinner and had yup you guessed it Saint peters fish which turned out to be a simple white fish grilled. The more interesting part of the meal was a amazing array of salads and condiments that is typical of Arab dinners in Israel. There was something called turkish salad that was an amazing tomato-based spicy almost like a sauce that went great on fresh pita bread.
Gelato in Israel?
I absolutely couldn’t resist the gelato stands that we walked past. I fully expected to be disappointed and declare that gelato did not exist in many places. But I was completely wrong, there is a legitimate creamy gelato to be had in Israel, or at least in a Tiberias
Another first day lesson was know your prices. Jim bought wine for 100 shekels. We thought it was expensive ($28 or so) but figured it was Israel. we walked down the street and got the identical wine for 50 shekels. We later learned from Leah that it was 33 shekels in the supermarket. In hind sight I sensed that the first guy sized us up before pulling his price out of thin air. Welcome to Israel.
That is the blog for today. The only thing I should add is that throughout the entire day there were dozens and dozens of little historical tidbits and interesting facts and cultural insights provided by our guide. We could never blog them all. This was the first day, Tel Aviv to Tiberias.
Here is our veiw in Galilee.
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