Israel - Day 8

Pre-dawn wake up and a sip of the sweet Bedouin tea. A dark buzz ride to Masada. As day broke, a 20-minute walk took us to the top of the plateau where we watched the sunrise from across the Dead Sea. Aside from food, I also love history, so the UNESCO World Heritage Site captured my imagination. The ancient ruins are a witness to might, bravery, and countless lives. To avoid rambling, I'll have to limit myself to recommending a visit there. We descended via the Snake Trail, a 40ish minute walk down the serpentine route. Breakfast had been prepackaged and eaten on the bus during the move to the beach at the Dead Sea.

There, the density of the water made it as easy to float as people said it would. The seabed is covered with salt crystals. Out of curiosity, I picked one up and licked it, but in addition to the saltiness, there was a rather unpleasant taste. The water also had that unpleasant taste. Would not recommend either. The Dead Sea Mall has a nice cafe where I ordered a falafel shakshuka for lunch. This is a traditional Middle Eastern dish of eggs poached in tomato sauce, which in this case came with a few falafel balls and a chopped salad of tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. It also came with a choice of dark or white bread. I chose the former and was pleased with the decision.

The next stop on the trip was TelAviv, but we are starting in nearby Netanya. A long bus ride ensued but was made shorter with a nap to compensate for the early wake up. In the middle, a bathroom stop at a cafe let me try a popular local drink which I had seen in many places, but never got around to trying. It is called frozen coffee and is probably best described as a blended sweetened iced coffee, making it into a slushy blend. I wouldn't consider this a replacement to a nice black coffee, but as a tasty snack on a hot day, it definitely hits the spot.

Arrival at the next hotel was welcome- we were all sticky and disgusting from the Dead Sea, even though we rinsed with the beach showers. Those just don't work as well as a proper shower with shampoo. Anyways, after freshening up and getting settled in, we went into town for dinner and a night out in Jaffa. The meal at Dr. Shakshuka was delicious and I'm not afraid to admit that I ate way more than I intended to. Fresh pita, amazing hummus, great vegetables... All my favorites. I was told that Dr. Shakshuka is a local celebrity chef in a way and is well known in Israel. Welp, I'm here to report that the food holds up.

Afterwards, as I strolled around Jaffa's bustling nighttime flea market (which contrary to its name is a lively restaurant and cafe area in the evenings) in search of a place to sit down and polish off the night with some tea, I stepped into a nice ice cream shop. There, I was offered tastes of the best flavors according to the vendor’s opinion. Two were pretty good, but the richness of the creme brulee flavored one blew me away. I hadn't planned on dessert but couldn't resist buying a combination of the creme brulee and the ever-great Belgian chocolate. The best way to describe the ice cream would be almost gummy. It was thick, pliable, and delicious without being overwhelmingly rich or saccharine - it struck the perfect balance.