My mother left last week after a too-short 2-week visit before which she insisted that all she really wanted to do was “take the grandchildren to school.” Fair enough. It can’t have been easy coming back to Israel after the vacation of a lifetime she spent here with my father 9 years ago. Basically, she didn’t want to do anything touristy… so we didn’t.
Instead, here are five of the activities I enjoyed most during her visit:
1. Haifa – why not?
I think this was the first full day my mother was here, and it was basically a “Why not?” inspiration.
My mother had spent about a week in Haifa on her trip with my father, so she was already familiar with the city, unlike 95% of tourists, and actually liked it… unlike me. Okay, yes, I technically live in Haifa, but I’m kind of ambivalent about the city. But we were sitting home one morning, it was a sunny day, and the shuk is literally one bus ride away.
So there was practically nothing to lose.
Oh, the other reason was that I’m crocheting a blanket and I needed a ball of yarn to match one I already had because otherwise I would have run out mid-project. And there’s a yarn store I go to quite close to the shuk. So off we went, hopping on the bus and paying our 10 shekels or so for the pleasure.
The yarn store was actually a minor hit – nothing like the fancy stuff my mother buys, but it was mundanely familiar and she bought a little stitch-counter accessory for another 10 shekels. Down the street was a store selling socks that actually go over the knee, which I desperately needed, and we each picked up a couple of pairs.
(Though I confused my mother by asking the shop lady for “tights,” and she said they didn’t have “tights,” and my mother kept insisting they had tights right over there, until eventually I had to explain that “tights” in Hebrew isn’t the same as tights in English. In Hebrew, it means leggings or bicycle shorts, depending on the length.)
While downtown, I also introduced her to Cofix and the pleasure of 5-shekel coffee, which we took with us to the shuk.
And the shuk, as it turned out, was more charming than I’d remembered.
I hadn’t been in over a year because I avoided it during shemittah – most of the vendors are Arab and I wasn’t sure about the produce there. Also, all the citrus stuff was in season and every single vendor was offering samples. I think my mother managed to eat the equivalent of about 5 oranges, just from samples. I bought some small stuff, including local garlic, because more and more stores are just carrying the stuff in nets that comes from China, for no good reason that I can tell.
The best part was that with a short walk out of the shuk, we were back on the same bus, headed home, and inside of 25 minutes, we were here lounging on the sofa.
Or, perhaps the best part for you reading this, is that there are NO pictures. I brought my phone, but it remained a phone for the entire time. In Haifa, I guess, I’m not really a tourist at all.
2. Get your mother lost in Akko
This one was another “why not?”
Definitely not for everybody, but it’s super-close to here, so I figured it would be nice for a sunny-day wander through the Old City. Unlike Jerusalem’s Old City, it’s easy to get to and on a weekday morning, there was plenty of parking (don’t try that on Shabbat, as I understand that Israelis from all over the country travel up there for hummus and more).
