This was supposed to be a rest day, so we didn’t do too much. After a hearty breakfast at the hotel we decided we would walk down through the German Colony and on to downtown, then get a ride back up. Remember, Haifa is a city on a hill, or a series of hills to be more accurate.

Jodi wanted to walk down through the Ba’hai Gardens, which descend the hillside in a series of 11 (I think) terraces. Alas, they are open 6 days a week, and today, Wednesday, was the 7th day. We could still see the gardens from a couple of vantage points, then wended our way downhill on adjacent streets.

We strolled around for a while, then had lunch at a cafe on Ben Gurion St in the German Colony. I had the worst fish & chips ever. The menu declared it to be “the British Classic”. Well, I’ve had fish & chips in Britain, and this wasn’t it. Instead of a big, flaky fillet breaded and deep fried, I was served 8 or 10 little whole fish, no breading, fried, and as tasteless as could be. The chips were good.

Once we’d had enough exercise we headed to Paris Square to get on the Carmelit, Israel’s only subway system. It’s really an underground cable car system, with but six stations, that runs from Paris Square down at sea level uphill to Carmel Center. The stations and the trains are built terraced. The trains doors are angled, and the cars are a series of terraces so the passengers sit more or less level while the train moves up and down the hill. There ate only two trains, with one going up as the other comes down. The tunnel is but one track wide except for a short section in the middle where the two trains pass on each trip.

We spent a bit of time hanging out at the pool this afternoon, then this evening we had drinks at the bar, where I had to explain to the bartender how to make a Cosmopolitan for Jodi, then we went out and got a falafel for dinner at a store-front shop.