haifa

Wednesday March 4 - Arrival in Tel Aviv. Warm and sunny (70F) but it really cools down at night. We’ve arrived as coronavirus fears grip Israel. They had already closed their borders to several Asian countries. Today people from 5 European countries - France, Germany, Austria, Spain, and...

Mint tea and coffee.

Falafel in Carmel Center.

A busy central area.

Cafe on side street in Carmel Center.

View looking east to the Haifa outskirts.

Just off the main street with no signs in English.

Sabich - roasted eggplant, chickpeas, baked potato squares, tahina, egg and lemon preserve - on hummus. Served with pita and pickles.

Menu of this restaurant in Carmel Center.

Menu of this restaurant in Carmel Center.

Built at the turn of the 20th century to be the country's first academic institution, The Technion, Israel's Institute of Technology.

We saw three very old olive trees growing between the buildings in the neighborhood.

I loved this old house on the main street, where you can sit on the balcony and watch all the action.

The Baruch Shpinoza Stairs (that is how the sign spells it).

Some stairs are wide and well maintained, some narrow and a bit rough.

Gadera Stairs at Carmel Center start the downhill walk.

The start of the stairs - straight up that hill, getting more overgrown the higher you get, until they stop and you are left with no trail.

Looking back up to where we started.

Looking down towards the sea.

Looking back up where we walked from.