Here is a synopsis of day one. 

First, landing in Israel was amazing...and interestingly enough almost bittersweet.  Mixed emotions and hoping that I wouldn't be disappointed...these are just some of the thoughts I had.  Listening to the plane land with a majority Jewish occupancy of the jet....and hearing them clap at the landing...was very nice..and quite a contrast from the other flight...see most of them were returning home.

When we got to the airport we cleared customs pretty quickly.  Our visa is good for 3 months...Shawn and I got our luggage and by 5 am we got our car rental.  Shawn and I were both beat..but he wanted us to go to the hotel...check in..and then go back to David Ben Gurion Airport to pick up Chris...no problem..

So, we head out on Highway 1 west to Tel Aviv.  That was no problem...my first impression..was the similarity of Israel to Southern California.  Palm trees, lots of foilege and construction LOL

After an adventure in trying to learn how to navigate in Tel Aviv, we find our hotel and well to be honest, we were not impressed...and there was no freaking parking near the hotel.  We did not even try to check in...we wanted to find a place to eat..but (and you will hear this alot) driving and parking in Tel Aviv sucks!

After an hour of drivoing around we decide to head back to the airport...we get there and we end up getting a bite to eat at the commissary and wait for Chris.  After another hour we met up with Chris.  The we go to the car and wouldnt you know it...the car is dead.  It has a dead battery.  After about 30 min that got fixed and we were on our way.

The drive to Tel Aviv around 11:30 am was smooth...less traffic until we got in the city.  Since we had two hours to kill before we could check in...we ended up getting some lunch...and then we hiked up to the hotel......

At this point was our first deviation.  I wanted to rest..hell I needed to rest...I have basically been going non-stop since I got here.  I wanted to just take a shower and sleep since I knew Lital was working until 7pm.  No reason to call her before that.  The guys headed out their own way...they went to a local pub and then they took a dip in the Mediterranean Sea..and then Shawn rested whereas Chris explored a bit up the beaches.

While this was going on I was having minor issues with the hotel...a leak in the bathroom..and issues trying to charge up my PC and such...once those got worked out...I took a shower and ended up crashing until about 6:30 when Chris woke me up.

I called Lital and got her voice mail..waited a few minutes and then called again and reached her.  We were solid on the plans, but did not know where to go...and really what to do...or if she was going to be alone or with Tom.  (she was alone).  We ended up going to this pub in Allenby Avenue and you will see some of the pics of chris talking to her on my blackberry while we were indulging in some Goldstar.  Around 9 pm, we headed to Mikes Pub...this is where Lital was going to met us between 9 and 9:30.  We got there....and Chris was starving so we ordered appitizers and more goldstar LOL (can you see the running theme) LOL. 

About 9:30 Lital shows up..and immediately hugs us all.  It was GREAT to finally met the lovely and talented Lital.  She is just as friendly in person as she is on the phone and via email.  I know some of us were concerned about awkwardness and general nerves but I have to say...not for a minute.  It was a great experience from the start to the finish.  She said she did not even have to pay for parking, it was like the omens were all with us! (execpt for her car not working).

After being in the pub for over an hour, we decide to pile into Lital's well actually Tom's car and head to the restaurant.  I can't beleive I cant remeber the name of it..but it was still damn good and hehe the menu did not have English..it was French and Hebrew.  Luckily we had Lital to help translate. We just talked and talked and ate.  Shawn basically asked questions about the clips and such, which she answered.  The restaurant was excellent, when we did not enjoy the shrimp cocktail they gave beef tartar - Lital ate that.  And they gave us a complimentary desert as well which we all split. 

(Yes we have food porn pics, but that's on Shawn's camera).

Around 12:30 am, we started winding down.  We walked Lital to her car got my stuff from it and then we caught a cab back.  At this point we have our second diversion.  The guys wanted to go continue drinking and I was just too exhausted, so I came back and started typing this.

Anyway, this is the first day.  Minor issues...and dreams fulfilled.  If this is the way the trip is going to be...I dont want to go home.

Pics are coming, Yair is going to help fix some of the photos since they are dark since taken in a pub.  However, the next post will have some pics!

Posted by: Robert Woolwine at 06:12 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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