Well, folks our entourage has had quite a BUSY start. Most of us gathered at St Paul's, Norfolk on sunday afternoon, leaving on the tour bus at 4pm. (4 persons were to join us along the way) Our trip to Dulles was uneventful, IF you don't count the bus engine light and alarm going off! Thankfully, it was a false alarm, and we got to Dulles safely.
Our flight on Turkish Air took off at 11:30pm (Va. time). it was a new experience to hear so many foreign languages being spoken around us. I thought of the Tower of Babel.
We were treated to great food on the trip (gourmet cheese & crackers, salmon fillet, etc) with free drinks, including beer and wine. And, no our group was very well behaved and "sober". Of course it all began with a hot, wet cloth to wipe our hands! And we were coach class!
At about 2am (Va. time) the sun started to come up over the horizon, and I dozed off. Talk about early, I don't think our local farmers (Bev, Eddie, ...) get up THAT early with the sun. After a number of restless dozings, I woke at 7:45am Monday in Va. time, which is 2:45pm in Israeli time. Gets a little confusing, doesn't it?
At 9:40pm (Is. time) we had finally all gotten through customs, and were greeted by our tour guide , Mike, and boarded our bus to the hotel (met our driver Adi, pronounceed A-dee). Upon arrival we had a light late evening meal (meatless, lots of fresh veggies, fruits, cheeses, onion soup). After a brief welcome speech, we all headed to our rooms totally exausted (it was only 11pm)!
Of note, my first sighting of garden plants as we left the airport ... was petunias!
Our first hotel stay is at City Hotel, Tel Aviv. The rooms are quite small, but serviceable, and considering wake-up call is 7am, we don't really care for the most part!
That was our first adventure day, just getting here. In the morning (tuesday), my roommate Gayle and I awoke to see the Mediterranean sea out our window, only a block away. Most of us slept like logs, and we awoke to a great breakfast buffet. By the way, if you like hummus, it is "to die for" here, I am told.
As of right now it is 4pm in Virginia, but 11pm here in Israel, and we have had an exhausting but wonderful day in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area. As the 3G internet here is working at the pace of dial-up, and as it took 2 hours just to gain access, I do hereby sign off for the evening!
Tomorrow's blog will include details of our stay in Tev Aviv - Jaffa, and our departure for Nazareth, with stops along the way at Caesarea and Megiddo.
God bless and good night to all!
Pastor Claire+
It all sounds so exciting! Thinking of you each day and wishing you well....Robin
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