I arrived in Israel last night. We made a stop in Toronto on the way and had a little walk around the city, with a friend of the Ku's named Victoria. She took us through some neighborhoods (Little Italy and Little Portugal) and we got to see an unusual early summer downpour - while we were sitting inside having lunch - and then a series of rainbows when it mostly cleared up.
Maria's aunt met us at the airport and rode the train with us to Haifa. It was already dark and I wasn't looking forward to getting off the train at night. But Haifa unlike many cities, greets travelers at the train station with its most spectacular view. The first thing you see is the Baha'i gardens, which are set up on a steep hill with each successive terrace having its own little string of lights, and the gold dome, also illuminated, at the top. It's actually better at night.
The youth hostel has a pleasant little garden and an aquarium with a 10-inch fish, an oscar named Ben. My room has sheets with squares that remind me of sherbet, raspberry, lemon, lime, orange.
Haifa is built on hills near the sea. I had a map but it was only useful sometimes - at other times you might find that streets which look close together are actually separated by a drop down a cliff, and then you have to explore and find the connecting paths. But it was hard to get too lost (in this case, just keep the sea on your left and you're home.)
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