If you have ever binge-watched a show, you know that the most exciting things always happen during the next-to-last episode of the season. That leaves exactly one episode to sort through the fallout and make sense of that penultimate one. Last week was our next-to-last week in Haifa.
We had a great time with Aviva’s friend Itamar and his parents last weekend. I made potato latkes (see photo below) and the kids played and played. Loudly. So loudly that I wondered if the downstairs neighbors would complain.
Adena already described our family adventure to Tel Aviv on the train in a previous post. On Monday Aviva went back to gan, but Millie was still out of school for Chanukah. She and Adena went out for breakfast at Cafe Cafe while I got in some work in the morning.
When it was time for Adena to start working, Millie read for a bit. That afternoon she and I went for a hike down Wadi Lotem, which starts near the Haifa Zoo. Because Haifa is mountainous, there are steep ravines on both sides of the ridge where it is impossible to build or develop. They have lots of trees and shrubs, and since 2015 have been officially maintained as recreation trails. During the rainy season, they become (intermittent) streams and when it is really dry, they can burn and bring wildfires into the heart of the city.
About halfway in I noticed that the ground was torn up. At first I thought maybe it was the rain, but then I realized it was wild boars. I didn’t want to scare her, so I picked up a really thick “walking stick” and we pushed forward. We walked along for about one mile and were having a great time. When we stopped to have a little snack Millie thanked me for bringing her out there and said it was “amazing”. A few minutes later, we saw the first wild boar. It grunted and ran up the slope, but Millie freaked out. She wanted to go back even though we were closer to the end than the start of the trail. So, we backtracked and I was able to calm her down. That is until we saw the second wild boar. This one was closer and not as hidden by shrubs as the first. It was big and you could see its tusks, but it just stood there. We kept walking and eventually made it back to the trailhead. We were able to talk about it then and now in retrospect, she’s able to laugh about having seen wild boars.
The next day everyone went to school and Adena and I headed down to the Azrieli Mall and eventually found Arik Tires (אריק צמיגים) underneath the parking area. We needed to get the leaky tire fixed ourselves because the car rental company is basically useless.
These guys were incredible. They were very nice and responsive. I took a picture of this religious-themed poster near their office. One of them even gave me and other customers who were waiting small cups of flavored coffee from his own private thermos. They were playing 80s music like ABBA and Toto, which made it more surreal. The tire could not be repaired, but they gave us a used tired for 100 shekels and we were on our way.
This week I gave my keys back and said goodbye to folks at the Technion (I’m still finishing up a few things from home). The first photo above is of Haifa Bay as you approach Aviva’s gan. She and I talked about how we will only be in Haifa for another week, so we should enjoy seeing the ships out on the water.
On Wednesday night we met Adena’s cousin Zehavit for dinner. Zehavit is vegan so we wanted to find a vegan restaurant. We took the Carmelit for two stops to get to Masada street.
The restaurant, called the Rabbit Hole, was definitely a hole-in-the wall place and I am pretty sure they are not used to having young kids as customers. We ordered and it took a looooong time for the food to arrive (about an hour). There is basically one guy who functioned as waiter and cook. Everyone in the restaurant had dreadlocks and at one point there was a funky smell that wafted in from the outside seating (the restaurant used to be called Doobie’s). We had no idea what to expect. As it turned out, the food was delicious and I really liked the music they were playing. Home made hummus, fried mashed potato balls, and a truly amazing black lentil salad were the highlights. Zehavit lent Adena her coat (until we are back in Jerusalem) and gave Millie one of the rings she was wearing. I also learned a new word: satlan (סטלן) vinaigrette, which was one of the salad dressing options on their menu.
We moved out of our apartment (in the above slideshow) into an Airbnb for a week. The move is almost complete and seems to have gone well, but has taken up the better part of a day for me. The new apartment is a little less than one mile south of the old one. The girls are sharing a bed, it is dry (did I mention that our former apartment became quite damp once the weather changed?), and the heat works well.
This apartment is not as shiny and new as the other one, but it has way more character and charm. I just hope the girls don’t break any of the delicate things on the walls and shelves. It also has a huge window with a view of the Azrieli Mall, Student Beach, and the Mediterranean Sea.
Keeping It Israel 