Isrotel Tower Tel-Aviv, All Suite Hotel Tel Aviv

After lazing about Gezer the entirety of Wed (I had hoped to take a TKD class with Arynn, but it was her dad's birthday) I went up to Tel Aviv on Thurs for a reunion with Cath and Reuben, who had taken a detour to Lebanon after we parted ways in Damascus.<br><br>By coincidence, they were at the same Sky hostel I had initially booked in Tel Aviv so it was an easy rendezvous. They had rented bicycles for the day, which was an inspired idea save that the last two ...

After a dreadful struggle getting tickets from Air Sinai to Tel Aviv, we arrive in Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion airport, and caught a sherut to Jerusalem. It was so nice to get to a country where they actually pick up the trash. Driving to Jerusalem we went thru those places that I had just read about; Latrun, the Burma Road,<br>

... br>I struggle to explain Israeli culture to her. She asks me questions about the the war and I try to explain the best way I can. She was in Bethlehem and showed me pictures of the barrier wall that I've never seen. We're on the beach and helicopters are flying by every hour or so, I explain that they are doing the rounds, making sure we are o.k. She notices a security guard in front of a restaurant with a gun. She asks why he needs a gun, I tell for ...

... the country and our legitimacy in doing so. This wasn't of particular inconvenience, and if anything, heightened our sense of security. <br><br>We were now in Eilat, the exquisite resort town at the very southern tip of Israel. When we were there 30 years ago this was a sleepy town on the road to the Israeli-occupied Sinai. Since that time, however, the Sinai returned to Egyptian hands, while the city has seen explosive growth, and we didn't recognize it. New posh hotels and ...

... a bit faster for us. <br><br>Honking: much more common here (than Seattle at least). But often useful--cabs honk if they think you're looking for a ride. (Use your index finger, not the thumb, to hitchhike or hail a cab -- much more polite!)<br><br>We're encountering a great new way to parallel-park, maybe... Instead of just pulling to the side of traffic and waiting for someone to stop and let you back up, Israelis actually pull ...

... We got done just in time to make our hot rock massage appointments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I seriously considered proposing to the masseuse ... I loves me a good massage!<br><br><br>We relaxed a bit more, before it was time to rejoin the group in Tel Aviv. It was a pretty low key night back at the hostel. We sat around in the lobby and absorbed all the (fast) Internet we could take in. The Israel basketball finals were on TV, and it turns out ...

... field together during this Infantry Week as a battalion of 97, the commanders had me as the leader for everybody. It was hard and crazy, but amazing. Then in the final two days of the week, when we returned to our individual teams and companies of 30, a diarrhea epidemic put the other tzatans out of action, so I had to take over there as well. Definitely a different type of leadership experience. By the way, that diarrhea epidemic knocked out about 40-50 soldiers out of the 97 ...

... as all of Israel was once palestine until after the holocaust the UN chose to rob them of their land (The Muslim worlds View) or replace the jews that had been exiled during Hitlers little rampage to their rightful homeland (The Jewish worlds view) and make them both share the land. Its a pretty controversial subject, so my opinion is rather vague in the actual facts but from wat i made out the Israelis started to get somewhat greedy and started to use their ...

So, from the airport I planned on going south by bus and then hike towards Jerusalem. So far for the plan, I got on the wrong bus (not exactly the wrong bus, they do have numbers for that, but the wrong direction...) I noticed a little north of Tel Aviv, so I got off and decided to walk from there. It was nice weather, so why not! I stopped in Kibbutz along the way and talked to a guy there. He was fascinated by the idea of me just hiking around, he recommended some ...

... off. For the rest of the flight, all went smoothly. First we were given food after a while, then everyone slept or watched t.v. Even the kids slept &amp; we didn't have too many issues with them. Of course, it was a night flight, so I guess that's to be expected. I thought I'd get some reading on Israel done, but I never had a chance. I slept or dozed a bit too. Then we landed in Madrid, Spain. Since we had 1 hour 45 min connection, we were nervous. We had to walk across ...