Eilat

Over this last weekend we went to Eilat. Eilat is a beach resort place that is on the very southern tip of Israel. Eilat is also on the glorious Red Sea. We were in Eilat for four nights, and we stayed at the Dan Panorama. It was a pretty nice hotel and the Club Room that we got to go to was amazing! The Club Room always had food, but really good food and it wasn't ever crowded because we went during a week when the hotel wouldn't be overly crowded. My mom's and my goal while we were in Eilat was to get somewhat tan so we knew that we were going to sit by the beach and or pool for at least a few hours everyday. We achieved our goal and are now somewhat tan, though I hope the tan lasts until we get back to Portland...... On our first full day in Eilat we went to the Underwater Observatory. It was a little crowded but the fish and other stuff we saw there was really cool! We saw a shark feeding which was okay but my favorite part of going to the observatory was when we went underground (under sea level, but we were in a building) and got to see fish and coral. It was really amazing how they just swam right up to the windows. Though most of our pictures didn't come out because our cameras aren't really made to shoot stuff through glass underwater. We also went and saw the rare fish exhibit. Those fish were really funny looking. After we got back from the Underwater Observatory and had lunch in the Club Room, we went down to the pool and sun bathed for most of the afternoon. But of course, I went swimming a little bit too. :) For dinner that night, we went to Giraffe Noodle Bar. The food was really good! I had pad Thai with shrimp!! Shrimp has never tasted so good, shrimp isn't kosher so most restaurants don't have it. The pad Thai wasn't the best I've ever had, though because it had shrimp it was really good. My dad had the Afghan dish, which was chicken, bacon and rice in a soy caramel sauce. I liked that dish better than my pad Thai so when we went back to Giraffe the next night and our last night I ordered it. We went back to Giraffe three out of our four nights in Eilat. :) On our second full day we took a walk around the non-touristy part of town as well as the touristy sections during the morning and then went back to the pool in the afternoon. For dinner that night we went to a Tapas Bar. The tapas was so good! I loved all of the different types of tapas that we ordered. Though my favorites were grilled goat cheese with red peppers, calamari, and shrimp in a creamy garlic pesto sauce. I haven't had calamari in a while and this was definitely some of the better calamari that I've had. Also, it was such a treat to be able to have shrimp two nights in a row in Israel. And because I love goat cheese caramelized goat cheese was a special treat as well. I really enjoyed tapas and would gladly eat it again! During our last full day in Eilat we went snorkeling. When we were in Mexico I loved snorkeling, but my snorkeling experience in Eilat wasn't the greatest. When I got in the water and was going out to be able to see the fish, I accidentally kicked a piece of coral and cut my foot in multiple places. When you get a cut and put it in salt water it really stings. Then my goggles started leaking so I got salt water in my eyes which also really stings. Luckily before all this happened I put my head under the water and saw a ton of beautiful fish. The fish basically swim right up to shore so you don't have to go very far out to see the fish. After snorkeling we went out and walked the board walk before going to dinner. It was our last night and my parents asked me where I wanted to go and I wanted to go back to Giraffe for the third time. So we went. And like the second time we went I got the Afghan dish. It was just as good! :) Eilat was really fun and I wish we could have stayed for longer!