Vacation from a Vacation

Although we haven't been working too hard here on the Kibbutz the last couple of weeks, the program still decided to give us a week off to do as we pelase with. Most people are getting ready to enlist into the army ether this week or next week so they wanted to give us time to travel a bit if we chose to do so before we signed off the next two years of our lives. We didn't have to work on the Kibbutz or even stay there for that matter but I decded to still go to daycare a couple days of the week since I really didnt have much else to do instead. Until last Wednesday all I did was relaxed, went to the daycare, ran, watched a lot of movies, and of course ate- all the necessary elements of a great vacation. On Wednesday, though, a couple of friends and I decded to take a short trip up to the north of Israel to visit some wineries, spend a night in a cabin, and just travel a bit. We rented a care which was awesome and took a road trip on up to what some would call the most beautiful part f the country. The North of Israel is ridiculously gorgeous and taking a visit reminded me just how true that statement is.

We started early Wednesday morning by driving up to the North which took a couple of hours. When we got there we stopped at a couple of look outs to really soak up the beauty of the Israel and it's surrounding countries in that area including Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. We then stopped in an area called Rosh Pina for lunch which is a beautiful residential area with restaurants and shops. After lunch we headed to some small wineries we had heard about. The first one was 3 person owned that had amini factory to tour followed by a wine tasting which was delicious. We bought a couple of bottles there adn then moved on to the next winery. We got the address to a winery that we had hearda bout from the first winery but as we drove up to the address we noticed that it was leading us to a house with a woman outside. We asked the woman if this was the winery and she respons with "you want wine?! No problem!". This winery was a small room next to a beautiful house overlooking the amazing north views of Israel. The wine was amazing and to knwo that this was a one man business made the experience that much more awesome. We also bought wine from this place and then moved ont o go to where we would be staying that night. My friend Ariel had found a deal on this place way up North called Sde Eliezer and thought it would be a good idea to try out. All we knew about this place was that it was a cabin and there was supposedly a jacuzzi. We got there and were amazed...the cabin was beautiful, clean, and new looking and the courtyard outside was peaceful and calm with a jacuzzi and sauna in the middle. We were so excited to drink our wine and relax in the "spa" after a long day of driving.

We decided to go back to Rosh Pina for dinner since one of my friends knew of a cool restaurant in that area. The ambiance of the restaurant was really awesome as it was made to look like you were eating in a cave. The food was delicious and we were the only ones there so it was a nice quiet couple of hours to just eat and chat. After dinner we headed back to the cabin and enjoyed the "spa" and wine we had bought earlier that day.

Thursday morning we woke up, packed up our things, and headed out of the cabins. Since we didn't have to be back at the Kibbutz at a specific time we decided to make random stops along the way home at places we thought looked or seemed worth our while. We made our first stop at a place called Ein Camonim which is a goat farm that produces goat cheese, milk, and yogurt and has a restaurant and store for people to enjoy the farms products. We decided to enjoy a nice breakfast there and were extremely happy with our decision. Cheese being my favorite food, I was in heaven. The goat cheeses were amazing and again, the atmosphere was really nice. The restaurant had an outdoor section overlooking the North which was a perfect place to start our day. We had heard about another goat cheese place that does some sort of performance about goat cheese and then presents the cheese to you to try but we unfortunately didn't call enough time in advance...so that's on the list for our next trip up north!

After breakfast we decided to take a drive to the Kinneret which is the body of water located in the North of Israel. We walked a bit along the border of the Kinneret in a town called Tiberius and visited a cemetary which is built along the Kinneret as well. Since we knew we had a long drive back we decided to make our way back but we went the scenic route so we can see Jordan along the way. Although it was short, it was an amazing trip and made me realize how much I really loved the North of Israel. I will definitely be making more trips there as much as I can.