Just getting on the bus after seeing one of the interment camps the British set up after WWII was over. It was extremely moving - we visited one of the bunks, the delousing center, and saw a movie about the camp. It's remarkable and depressing how much this place resembled a concentration camp and how demoralizing it must have been for the survivors to have to come to a place like this after what they had just been through.
This morning we went to Independence Hall and saw where Ben Gurion declared the state of Israel and signed its Declaration of Independence. The docent was great - very animated, interesting to listen to, and completely absorbing. She presented the material in a way that made it impossible not to be totally enthralled with what she was saying.
Afterwards we went to the Ayalon Institute, a clandestine munitions factory during the British Mandate. That was fascinating as well. The lengths those people went through to hide what they were doing was amazing. We got to crawl down a hole below the oven to the room where the ammo was manufactured. We went through the rooms, underground, to the laundry room, whose entrance was hidden by large washing machines.
We came back to the hotel, changed into swimsuits, and walked down the Promenade along the beach. Paul wanted to check out kiteboarding and I took Ilona and Aaron to go swim. Apparently the Israelis are wind snobs, deeming that the day was too still, so Paul joined us for lunch and a swim.
We returned to the hotel, showered, and then walked 3 miles to Old Jaffa. It was a beautiful (although hot) walk. I saw some pretty paintings, but thought they were likely too expensive to add one to my collection.
After the walk, we got on the bus and they took us to a Middle Eastern restaurant with tons and tons of food - 4 courses - all of which were fantastic! We ate tons and left absolutely stuffed.
We're heading now to Akko, on the way to Kibbutz Hagoshrim in the Upper Galilee.
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