Hotel Armon Hayarkon Tel Aviv

... br>The ambulance arrived pretty quickly and the 2 paramedics established that the guy was cogent but totally exhausted. Apparently a high wave had caught him by surprised and he'd swallowed a lot of water, and his friends, closer to shore, took a bit to reach him. We each grabbed a corner of the stretcher and carried him the short distance across the sand to the ambulance. Only one friend was allowed in the ambulance; I don't remember if ...

... br>I didnt even think of it but after worrying about it a bit when we all ahd to get off the bus and walk like convicted criminals (the Palastions have to do this every day) through turnstile gates in which you see no faces and people talk to you through speakers on the walls. The girl wouldnt let me through, (all the people working on all the borders etc are very young, doing their national service, it is hard to respect the ...

... conflict would seem a long way off. Instead of the feeling of tension that shot through every street of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv buzzed with music fans, partiers, and artists. It was less the Middle East than Williamsburg, with sand. <br><br>Or maybe, as I kept telling everyone I met, it's like LA. Except that you can walk it and, (and this might be, in the grand scale of things, the bigger difference) instead of, say, Redondo Beach, there's the 5,000 ...

... It is literally walled off on three sides, including into the water some distance. Men can go on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; women on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays (it's either closed on Saturdays (Shabbat) or no one goes then). Metzitzim beach is named for the now-cult movie from 1972 by the same name that was filmed there. Kevin and I saw it just before leaving Seattle. It's changed quite some since then, and now ...

... of olive trees, which are protected under international law<br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br ><br>__________________________________ _______________________________________ _______<br><br>The next day we visited An-Najah University in Nablus. We were met by one of the directors of the school and a bunch of students from the university. They gave us a tour of their state-of-the-art university (seriously, it was nicer than most of the buildings on the ...

... have had enough time to do it properly, and that seeing Tel Aviv in itself was a bonus. I was however not going to miss visiting the Dead Sea. The bus to the Dead Sea (Ein Bokek) passed through Jerusalem, Ein Gedi and Massada so I got a small taste of these places out of the window. By this point, I had already made the decision to come back to Israel one day and see it properly so I wasn't too disappointed. Ein Bokek was a bit of a spa ...

... anymore dumb thoughts the doors opened and we went through security. In Israel you have to go through security to get into almost every building. In no time I was standing in a busy Tel Aviv bus station that was teeming with more Israeli soldiers and I thought maybe it was a long weekend. I caught a cab to my hotel and the cab driver said the soldiers were probably going to the Gaza strip. It ...

... female security officer took me to the front of the queue and checked each piece. She even offered to help me repack. Then each bag gets tagged with special clearance so it can be checked-in. They are very thorough, and I must admit professional about it. The woman checking my bags was actually chatty through the process. I think it was because they continue to probe and check out the story ...

... day. The hostel we chose has a street-level bar so there's no shortage of a good time here. Drinking - beach time - drinking - beach time - repeat. It has been a good "rest" after the recent events and I'll probably stay at least a few more days before heading to Galilee? No plans yet. <br><br>Sorry for the short one - wanted everyone to know I was alive and clothed.