At our cabin overlooking the Sea of Galilee
We headed out with our guest Cathy late morning on Saturday and drove up though the Golan Heights and down into the Galilee. Unlike our last trip, we only had a little bit of rain, and we were able to really appreciate the stunning views. The roads are steep and winding, with a lot of switchbacks.
We made a great discovery Saturday afternoon. We found a family olive oil business, located on a kibbutz. They showed us their operation and how they pressed the olives into oil. They also make tahini, which is like peanut butter but made of sesame seeds. We walked out loaded with goodies, including handmade olive oil soap.
We were rewarded at the end of the day with a pretty sunset and nice glass of wine on the deck of our cabin at Vered Hagalil, overlooking the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).
Sunday morning we went back to Galil Mountain Winery where we were treated to a tasting by their winemaker Micha. Micha is very laid-back and we really enjoyed his take on the various wines.
After that, we went to Dalton Winery where we wanted to buy some dessert liqueurs they sell, as well as some of their wine. Edna, who helped us the last time we were there, caused us to drop our jaws when she casually said, “You know, I used to teach Hebrew at the Foreign Service Institute back in the 70s.” Small world, hmm?
It was our second week in a row for winery tours. Last Sunday, Cathy and I went with Wendy and Colin, along with our co-workers Steph, Abram and Jason, to the Judean Hills. We had a wonderful tasting at Clos de Gat, one of the more picturesque of the wineries, and also stops at Tzora and Flam. We had a picnic together at a little spot on the side of the road filled with wildflowers.
Thursday night was book club at our house. Like he did in Juarez, John has started a book club here, focusing on diplomacy. We had a nice group to discuss Kai Bird’s “Crossing Mandelbaum’s Gate.”
Friday we had another in-house happy hour at the office, with Cathy as our guest. Afterwards, Cathy treated me, John, Wendy and Colin to dinner at Whitehall. (I have fallen in love with their pork ribs!)
We had another special treat this week when Dave E. from our A-100 class, who is posted in Jerusalem, came over Sunday night. We had a great dinner at Manta Ray on the beach, then Dave took Cathy to Jerusalem for a couple of days.
As we were walking home in the dark and rain, we saw a man fall on the sidewalk in front of us. He was a businessman from Baltimore and had a terrible bloody nose from the fall. I ended up taking him in a taxi to the nearest ER and stayed with him for a few hours until I felt he was stable enough to leave (he ended up with a nose broken in five places and 14 stitches!). It was a good experience for me to get familiar with the ER system in Tel Aviv, and the U.S. traveler was happy to have some help navigating the ER.
With Cathy and Dave at Manta Ray
Picnic in the Judean Hills