The Beautiful North

Hmm, how can I change our plane tickets so we can stay just a little bit longer, say a few more months?

We are in the North right now, and it's been so wonderful. We were guests at one of the most thriving and quite successful kibbutzim in the Israel - Kibbutz Geva in the Jezreel Valley, near Beit She'an and Gan Ha'shlosha (the Sahne) National Park. The children had so much fun horseback riding, watching the cows being milked, meeting a newly born calf and petting not only the other calfs but getting up close and personal to their very small herd of buffalo. They got to visit the sheep and finally get to play with the cats that live among the horses. We got to go swimming in the natural pools of the Sahne, explore the ruins of Beit She'an, and take a scenic drive up Mt. Gilboa. Back at the kibbutz, we ate in the communal dining hall for breakfast and lunch (something rare these days on kibbutzim, I hear) and we were totally spoiled by their most delicious dairy products made on the kibbutz but is unfortunately, not sold to the public (per an agreement with the Dairy association and Tnuva Dairy.)

Up until a week ago, I had foregone eating all dairy and wheat but gave in to the temptation when I was in the Jewish Quarter of the old city in Jerusalem. Though the old arab man with his stone oven hidden away off the alley, has been replaced by new ovens and a staff of workers AND is now a thriving old city business, this tucked away treasure still beckons the passerbyer with it's tempting smells of hot fresh pita and bagela and za'arta spices. So how could I resist?

When visiting Kibbutz Geva, I decided that I just can't be in Israel and NOT eat dairy, especially the yogurts and cheeses, and the fresh pita and pastries. Who knows when I will be able to have this chance again, so I reason. Let me tell you, I was in Heaven. We had the best hummus, I ever tasted in my life, the goat cheese and yogurt was out of this world, and the vegetables - wow. The cucumbers here are different than at home and you can eat them whole. What a meal our host threw together for us - so very simple, yet, delicious.

When we said goodbye this morning for our next adventure in the Golan Heights, we headed for Kfar Tabor and the children had a blast learning the story behind the origins of Marzepan, creating their own chocolate candy and using their imaginations to create their own marzepan edible artwork. From there we were headed to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) where were planning to go hiking at Nachal Daliyot, but got sidetracked with a visit at Kibbutz Degania Aleph, Israel's oldest kibbutz. Though the kibbutz is no longer it's former socialist self, it's still quite impressive, beautiful and an educational experience for the kids. Again, the weather was gorgeous and the landscape and views just stunning, especailly as we headed into the Golan towards a moshav just North of Katzrin. Boy did we not expect this little gem. The moshav is like paradise and our hosts and their children (who made a special trip to come home to meet us ... one daughter is a student at Hebrew University and the other is a Madricha for the Israeli Scouts pre-army - not sure the name of the program) are one of the nicest families that we have met. The children love this place and this family.

It's late and I need to get up early for our very busy day exploring. I can't wait to share all of our pictures and videos.

Lilah tov.

-J