p Three days up north: that's all you need to disconnect from routine.
p We went to make memories for the kids up north.
p Come hear all the details, because why should we enjoy alone? All the highlights are here.
p Let's keep it short and go straight to the schedule:
p The area: Avivim in the north, right near Ramot Naftali and the Lebanese border. We even saw a (burnt) Hezbollah flag from the entrance to the village.
p The schedule in short:
p Day 1:
p Arrival at Jordan Park. A picnic. A short walk in the park. The kids play in the water and the parents chat.
p Kayaks: Abu Kayak at Jordan Park (same complex; I don't know if it was chance or not, but the park was empty!)
p A late lunch at Abu Salah restaurant (slogan: no court can help you, we're cousins): a great restaurant with a gorgeous animal corner and a playground, where the kids play and get excited, and guess what? Right. The parents chat.
p Only this time they also eat knafeh and baklava! (We're learning to upgrade; what can you do...)
p Arrival at the cabin.
p Day 2:
p Breakfast at the cabin (we stayed in Avivim): (on the menu: shakshuka with eggs from the cabin's farm, cheeses, bread, tahini, spreads and salad)
p Horseback riding at Kibbutz Malkiya. Perfect! For all ages, from the little one, who's five, to the oldest, who's 14; everyone enjoyed it. Cost: 120 shekels for half an hour.
p Rest at the cabin: the kids play in the pool. And the parents... you can fill that in yourselves.
p Dinner: a drive to a Druze cooking workshop! in Hurfeish. Three hours of wow! Details shortly.
p Back to the cabin to pass out from all the food. The kids, for some reason, were wide awake.
p Day 3:
p Breakfast from yesterday's leftovers (they'll manage).
p A soccer game in the village.
p Packing up and driving to Hurfeish to taste the famous (and great!) Cedar Sambusak. You need something to nibble on the way to the Druze restaurant the Mulberry Tree in the village of Peki'in. A must. Details in a moment.
p If you have time, go to Grandma Jamila: cosmetics known for nature's anti-aging. We didn't go, but we heard it's great.
q A favorite line from a song by Micha Shitrit: a toast to the people who live their lives truthfully, and know a love that doesn't fade.
q Micha Shitrit
p The food. Without a doubt, this trip focused on Druze culture.
p Abu Salah restaurant: you can sit inside in the AC or on the terrace by the petting corner and the playground. The service was excellent, and the kids really didn't want to leave.
p A Druze cooking workshop! This activity will definitely be etched in our memory for a long, long time. Ibtisam, the mama who hosted us, made us part of her household right away. It started with her shouting at us (with humor, of course) that we hadn't come to rest, so come on, come on, let's get to work. We made so many things I can hardly remember, but I'll try. When we arrived we got coffee, tea and sweets. We cooked grape leaves and zucchini stuffed with rice, maqluba, meatballs, salads and what not. Ibtisam said she'd only stop bringing us food if we asked her to stop... In the end she brought us containers to pack up what was left to take home! So we wouldn't go short... During the workshop she explained how to make everything and told us about the village, the religion and the traditions of the Druze, and we all loved it. She takes bookings every day of the week, arranged ahead, for groups of 5 to 120 people. She's completely kosher, so she also suits workplaces looking for team-building or a stop on a trip! Cost: about 200 per adult and 150 per child.
h3 Recommended, recommended, recommended!
p The Druze restaurant the Mulberry Tree in the village of Peki'in. We got there by chance. The friend we traveled with recommended it, but none of us knew how much fun we'd have there. We arrived through picturesque alleys that for a moment reminded us of being abroad. Nabil from the restaurant asked us to sit by the spring and the mulberry tree, and with no warning he started telling us about Peki'in, about the mulberry tree, the spring, and how all of these are connected to Israel's 100-shekel bill! I won't spoil it for you. Just go. 180 shekels for the family, and we were stuffed to bursting.
p The famous Cedar Sambusak in Hurfeish: eat in or take away. Delicious!
p The Druze cooking workshop in Hurfeish
h3 The Mulberry Tree restaurant
h3 Abu Salah restaurant
p The parents sit (and eat baklava). And the kids? Play!
h3 Horseback riding at Kibbutz Malkiya
p In short, it was really special, and I don't think we'd ever been to this area together.
p Personally, it closed a circle for us. Before we got married, my husband Roni was in the reserves during the Second Lebanon War and slept out in the field in Avivim. Exactly 15 years had passed, and now we came to vacation there with good friends. Even in a place with so much pain, blood and war, a mulberry tree can blossom.
p Only happy occasions from now on!
h3 The beautiful north
h3 Jordan Park and Abu Kayak
p And come visit my new Instagram and my Facebook group, where you can share your own good times too, because why should you enjoy alone?
