Road Trip --Again

Word of the day... JOY( still having trouble translating the hebrew word).
Today we started at our hotel in Tiberias by the Sea of Galilee  and made our way to the Golan Heights.
We stopped along the way in the old city of Safed or Zevat. It is a Kabbalah community and one of the 4 holiest communities in Israel. We went into one of the synagogues there and most of the people are ultra orthordox, do not work and are supported by relatives outside of the community and by the government.

Sunset on the bus ride home

 Jon in his hat in Safed

Mt. Hermon

It is filled with streets and alleys and has a huge artists quarter which was beautiful. We went to to one artist, Leon Azoulay, who specializes in mircrocalligraphy.  We each bought a piece of artwork for our homes. He has shops in NYC and does beautiful work. We stopped at a roadside 'cafe' on the way to Golan Heights and were so happy to eat our salads, paninis, and sandwiches.  When we got to the top of the Golan Heights, we could see Mount Hermon which was straight across from us and is covered with snow. The temperature on the top of the Golan Heights was in the high 30's and we were bundled up. Jon had to buy a hat at a second hand store as he left his jacket at the Dan Panorama with the rest of our luggage that they are holding. At the top we were on the border of Syria, Jordan and Lebanon and had the amazing view of these places and learned about their tumultuous relationship.  We went into an inactive bunker here and learned how the soldiers lived when in battle. The bus ride is always interesting though we haven't had to actually stop the bus for a bathroom break. The flatulence is beyond words, but everyone usually takes credit and admits their damage. Shirts cover the nose and then a big exaggeration about how rancid the smell is.  Adi and Isaac are in on all of our schtick and continue to laugh our way through Israel.
Cats run freely in Israel. They are all over the place- it is a little weird.
We ate at Pagoda tonight- a Chinese restaurant back in Tiberias.
As I write this, I can look out our balcony at the Sea of Galilee, which is really a lake, and hear the waves crashing.  Life is good:)