Israel - Holy Cultures Day 2

Day 02 - Saturday, October 16, 2010 - Atlanta, GA to Tel Aviv, Israel

Our flight from Atlanta to Tel Aviv was twelve hours but with comfortable accommodations and wonderful service from our Delta Flight staff the time seemed to go quickly. Again, because of the last minute rerouting at DIA through Atlanta, our seats were not together but a young woman was kind enough to change with us so we were able to sit together.

We found that our new Kindle e-readers worked very well and as we are both reading the same book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, Gennie does not have to carry 5 paperbacks to sustain her reading habit on these trips.

We had a very delicious dinner and actually slept amazingly well. The flight attendants served a meal about 2 hours out of Tel Aviv. When we reached Israeli air space 30 minutes from the coast, the purser announced very strict security regulations and everyone had to remain seated for the final half hour of the flight.

Our Boeing 777 landed at 3:58PM as Israel is 8 hours ahead of Colorado time. We walked through Passport Control and Immigration where we were asked a few questions about the purpose of our trip.

Just inside the baggage area we met Annette, our greeter from OAT who had her traditional bright yellow sign. She directed us to carousel #6 and while Gennie took a few photos, I waited for our luggage with my fingers crossed.

My bag came out right away and my hopes began to sink as Gennie’s did not show up at all. Annette showed us where to go to file the claim for lost and found and Gennie started the paper work to track her bag.

The attendant at the desk gave her a voucher to buy a few things until the bag arrived and we cashed it in receiving a few Israeli shekels as we left the airport. Our driver took us directly to our hotel in the sea side of the city.

We met our Tour Director, Ran Tzabar who welcomed us and said he would continue to contact Annette and the airlines in hope to locate Gennie’s bag. He gave us our keys and we found our room on the 5th floor.

We had 45 minutes to shower and get settled in. Thank goodness we each travel with another set of clothes in our carry-on so we could be refreshed and ready to meet our traveling companions for the next 15 days.

At 6:45 we met everyone in the lobby and then walked about a mile along the famous Tel Aviv Promenade to our restaurant, The Gordo Beachfront Café. Our server, Sheri described the special selections for our group. We enjoyed our meal watching the young people still enjoying the Sabbath on the beach and the families eating out in the balmy 82 degree evening. I was able to take a few night shots of the beach and restaurant.

After our leisurely stroll back to the hotel, we caught up on a few e-mails, updated the journal, and organized the few photos from the first day of our journey to Israel.

Accommodations: The Art + Hotel, Tel Aviv, Israel - - - Meal: B, L, D

Another interesting and inspiring trip. I hope Gennie gets her luggage. This is why Ulla always insists on spreading everyones clothes over all the suitecases. Hope you will have a great trip.

Looking forward to the story; hope Gennie has gotten her luggage.

Day 10: Mediterranean Navigation

Antonio, Our Guide

Gardens at the Alcazaba

Roman Theater

Visiting with Picasso

Gennie & Vic, Malaga 2004

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Day 10 - Tuesday, March 11, 2025 –Ship Docked in Málaga, Spain; Costa del Sol; Andalusia

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