A Day in Tzfat

Tzfat is in the Northern Galilee region.  It’s hard to believe how dense Israel is with places to visit sometimes, and yet, simultaneously it’s still remarkably small.  I was shocked by how much colder it was up there compared to Haifa and Eilat. I started my day in Tzfat by walking from the hostel up to the Citadel, which overlooks the town.  It’s an amazing landscape in the hills (I swear, all of Israel is hill, sxcept Tel Aiv and Herzliya (thank goodness)).  I walked towards the hill up to Tzfat, had a few false starts on figuring out where I was and eventually ended up at the Citadel, which gave great views overlooking the town as well as tidbits of history about the area.  From there, I walked around the cemetery for a while.

Afterwards, I walked up the steps until I found the Old City and wandered around for a while.  

  

          I was blown away by all the artwork and jewelry for sale in the shops.  I wandered through slowly, having conversations with the people working in the shops.  There were a surprising number of Americans around.  One teased me about being there in the wrong time of year when I inquired over the price of a dreidel.  Another shopkeeper taught me how to blow a shofar.  Another one used to live in New York but has lived in Israel for years now.  She helped me choose a gift for my mom.

            At the visitors center, you can watch a movie about Kaballah, a mystical school of thought that originated in Judaism. 

            Overall, Tzfat is a cool place to spend a day (or part of one) if you’re just looking for somewhere to relax and enjoy. 

I also ran into a friend during my week of travels.  I stumbled across  Nick, the forest ranger from Canada I had gotten to know in Jerusalem a few weeks before.  Together, we randomly decided to head up to Tiberias.   I hadn’t really gotten to see the Galilee much (I had seen it briefly when driving through at the beginning of my stay), so it was cool to just drive along the edge of the sea/lake.

            At the end of the day, we wandered into a grocery store near my hostel and I grabbed some salami, hummus, Challah, and you guessed it, bamba.  Nick and I chatted a little more over our dinner and he experienced chocolate with pop rocks for the first time (and bamba for that matter--> I'm assuming I mentioned that, but it's basically peanut butter puffs (Cheetos texture, with a peanut butter flavor, and in many cases a chocolate center).  

            Early the next morning, it was time to head back to Tel Aviv to meet up with the WPI grad school trip.