Can't get away from those Golden Arches!!!

Dear friends, a different post this time as we thought we might give you a photographic view of some things that are very familiar around Haifa and some that, well, we still are wondering about. Take for example this restaurant frontage - maybe not for vegetarians??

Allan went exploring when is saw this kangaroo symbol – only to be baffled. All he found was a group of children having a party with balloons and face painting!!!!

Of course there are the obvious and expected things, like Coca Cola, McDonalds and Toyota,

but who would have thought that Speedo swimwear had a factory here in Israel,

or that Guinness can be found in an Irish looking pub.

A visit to the supermarket finds lots of familiar things – well at least the pictures are familiar even if the writing is something that makes it impossible to know what the ingredients are:

So many Israelis have dogs, even though few have gardens and most live in small flats; few have cats for pets but there is certainly no shortage of stray cats in Haifa and they do not live on Friskies or Whiskas!

Of course we have sales, take-away places and Asian food, as well as places to park – easy to find if you read Hebrew or Arabic! By the way, both are written from right to left, and in Hebrew, the numbers are written the European way and have masculine and feminine forms from 1-10 (after that only one form).

The Gelato place is easy to find and lots of flavours to choose from—will get popular with the fast approaching summer. Obviously the teenage mutant ninga turtles are making a come back – I see the movie listed in the local guide and wonder whether it is as big in europe and the rest of Asia?
And spring is certainly here with the blossoms abounding and the window boxes full of colour.

The tulips we showed in our last blog update all finished in March to be replaced by the most interesting orange plastic mushrooms – even the locals were a bit perplexed! We were relieved to see on our return from holidays in Os that they have been removed and we have now a lovely display of pink and red petunias—which we understand.

The Baha’i gardens and terraces are a major tourist attraction and there is a zoo here for children as well - it is very low on our list of things to see in Haifa.
Public transport (taxis, buses and sherutes) is very accessible, and there are simply way too many cars in Haifa – yes we added one more! The sherute (10 passengers) is the most common type of transport – for a dollar fifty you can go a block or all the way home – they stop and pick up and let down anywhere on the designated routes, which are the same as bus routes in Haifa. You can use it for inter-city travel as well—the young staff members use them extensively.

Money is available everywhere (only one’s own!)– ATMs are a great saviour when you see that bargain you just have to get! And lotto seems to be universal as well….

We went with a group of friends to see the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra under the conductorship of Zubin Mehta (we wouldn’t want our friends to think we are philistines!!!); world renowned violinist, Sarah Chang, played the Sibelius: Violin Concerto—a bit of culture enjoyed by all.
Of course there are lots of signs that are instinctive, here are two common ones:

Yes, despite living primarily in flats, Israelis love their dogs, and walking is often an exercise in careful foot placement, despite the signs!

Next time, we will share with you some photos of our quick trip back to Australia and a lovely day out in the Gamla National Park in Golan Heights northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Till then, keep smiling!