Last evening Philip and I walked to the nearby Tel Aviv beach cafe from our hotel. A crowded beach after a hot day. Lots of people in swimming, even though it’s very shallow calm water. The beach a mosaic patchwork of beach umbrellas, patio chairs and plastic chairs provided by the cafes along the beach. Blaringly loud music being played over loudspeakers – Israeli pop music.

The thing that appals and scandalises me – and I know this thought is very judgemental and self-righteous – is the way they treat their beaches. Rubbish strewn everywhere. No-one seems to put anything in a bin. They just leave it all lying around. For someone else to pick up.

We had a very ordinary meal as we watched the sun set slowly into the calm smooth Mediterranean Sea. There was no sunset colour at all. In the sky or the sea. Just the pale yellow sun slowly sinking beneath the horizon. And then everything turning to shades of grey.

This morning we packed up and walked a few kilometres to pick up our next bus. To take us to Nazareth, back into Galilee. We want to spend most of our last week in Galilee.

One thing that makes Philip and I very smug is the small amount of luggage we carry. We have just three changes of clothes each. Washing out our clothes every night. Sometimes it takes a bit of ingenuity to get it dry in time. We have even resorted to using hotel hair-dryers. We have a small backpack each and a small carry-on bag each. When we travel about and look at other people bowed down with the weight of their huge suitcases – and usually many of them – we have cause to be very smug indeed!

Just before we left on this trip, my sister reminded me that our grandmother used to say “Travelling mercies” as anyone set out on a long journey. Today was a day when we were very grateful for Travelling Mercies.

The bus was a small shuttle-size bus. To take passengers to Caesarea (north from Tel Aviv) on the coast and to a kibbutz near Caesarea, then north-east on to Nazareth in Galilee.

There were three German ladies on the bus and our driver could speak German, so he spent most of the journey of several hours chatting away to these ladies. We left late. The driver seemed to get very muddled about where to go. Several times he back-tracked and went off in different directions. Even I could tell we were sometimes travelling in the wrong direction. And I am definitely not known for my strong sense of direction!

He went very fast on the freeways, passing everybody else and leaving them for dust. So I’m making up that he was way over the speed limit. Even so, we arrived half an hour late in Nazareth. On some of the smaller roads, he hit every bump as fast as he could. Several times Philip and I were launched out of our seats. Just as well the bus had a high roof so our heads didn’t hit it.

After the kibbutz people were dropped off, we went on a long detour. I went up and asked him why we weren’t going to Nazareth. He waved his hands airily and told me, “I’m taking you all to drive past Mediggo. It’s not far away. And then I’ll take you to Nazareth. This is such a lovely nice road.” It was all rather bizarre really! Funny, in a surreal sort of way. Except that we were both very hungry as we hadn’t had any breakfast and it was now way past lunch.

And then he dropped us off in a street in Nazareth. He was supposed to take us to our hotel. But he said he didn’t know where it was. By this stage, I just wanted to get out. I would rather find the hotel for ourselves than trust it to him.

But first, lunch. Where he dropped us off was a nearby cafe. As we sat down to eat I saw the cafe was called:

It was meant to be!

And after a really nice lunch there, we didn’t have far to walk to find our hotel. It’s in the Old City part of Nazareth, completely renovated from once being a school.  Nazareth is an Arab town of about 80,000 people, renowned for its tolerance with Christians, Muslims and Jews living together.

We needed to go for a walk this afternoon. So just went aimlessly for a walk around the neighbourhood. Being Sunday and there being a lot of Arab Christians in this town, most shops and attractions were shut. I wondered in a town with Christians, Arabs and Jews, if the Christians shut up for Sunday, the Jews for Saturday and the Arabs for Friday, when does anything get done around here?

Nearby is a site for Mary’s Well which is reputed to be at the site where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and  announced she would bear Jesus. It was a little unclear just where it was. Nearby was a Greek Orthodox church that had several trees hanging with big decorated Easter eggs.

We wandered a bit further and came across the huge Basilica of the Annunciation. Like a massive cathedral. This is said to be over Mary’s home in Nazareth. It’s a modern basilica – stunningly beautiful and architecturally amazing.

The soaring roof is made of concrete & looks more amazing than this photo!

Several floors with beautiful artwork from all around the world. It also has some remains from Crusader and Byzantine churches on the site. And underneath some caves and grottoes which are reputed to be original Nazareth homes.

Bits of old Nazareth found in excavations under the church.

You could only glimpse those through wire grilles or  perspex panels. Pilgrims have thrown money or prayers written on scraps of paper at them.

Next door was a church called St Joseph’s church which houses an underground cavern that’s supposed to be Joseph’s carpentry shop where Jesus worked with Joseph. This church was built on the top of the remains of a Crusader church.

A carving I found in the grounds of the church of Joseph with Jesus.