Hotel Mizpe Hayamim -- my favorite of the lovely places we stayed

Those of you who know me well will understand.  This in-the-country inn, organic farm and garden and beautiful grounds (and spa) was a place where I could have stayed for much longer than our three nights, with minimal time to enjoy the place.

We arrived after a late start from Jerusalem and stops at two Kibbutz and a too brief stop at Zippori National Park.  Kibbutz number one was a religious socialist-style kibbutz, one of few of this original type left in Israel.  Their specialty was bees.  They raise and sell a kind of bee that is purchased to pollinate gardens and farms and also raise bugs that can be used as pest control in organic gardens.  Our excellent guide was a woman who had grown up in the Unites States, one of several we me who had immigrated and become citizens of Israel.

Our second Kibbutz houses at-risk children and youth and developmentally disabled adults.  We had lunch in their gift shop, where many purchased items made there.  I have an art or writing tablet made of a special paper.

On to Zippori National Park, encompassing the ruins of a Talmudic city.  The first ruins found there date to the 2nd century BC (Hasmoneans), followed by Byzantine, Arab, and Crusader ruins.  The city of Sepphoris was under construction in Jesus time, and it is speculated that Joseph may have worked as a builder there. The focus of our tour was the well-preserved zodiac featuring Greek deities on the synagogue floor.  We were to possibly climb to see the Byzantine face called the "Mona Lisa of the Galilee," the most famous site there, but once again those few who didn't walk easily down the path to the synagogue and others who were ready for the hotel kept us from that effort.  Here are a couple of the Greek deities.

View from the porch outside the synagogue.

Here the "crown of thorns" bush was pointed out and Peter made certain that I saw it.












Denied a decent walk the entire day, upon arrival at the hotel I pulled my bags to our room and ran for the back door for a walk along the paths and to the garden.  During our three evenings there, I saw only one couple (from Houston) and a single doctor from Canada on the paths.

There were the early garden that supplied fresh greens for breakfast and dinner, and the goat whose milk we drank, cottage cheese and yogurt we ate, and even had ice cream made from goat's milk!

           The peacocks, one here, were merely for decoration.  There were chickens, missing from my photos.

The flowers were everywhere, including my loved hollyhocks!

The hotel had several buildings, and the one below was above the one where I stayed.  I also enjoyed a lovely gift massage in their spa.  I hoped to get to the hot tub, but it closed too early as I walked first.

The path on the right was front our back door to the hotel dining area.  In this hotel breakfast (an amazing meal in Israel!) and dinner were included in our tour so we had a chance to get acquainted with more participants.  And here I attended two presentations, the only ones I heard as we usually went somewhere not on the tour during the time allotted for talks.

Now for the food--more beautiful and bountiful than the photos!!!  These were taken at our last breakfast.



















Our last evening in the Galilee, I walked along the highway to the top of the hill for a stretching walk and took these photos from there.  The village was mostly likely Arab as is that area.

                    In the distance, the Sea of Galilee (really a large lake) and the hills beyond are in Jordan.

This is my last post for a few days as I need to let my computer, on safe mode as that's the only way I get internet, rest, which it won't do in this mode--and me too!