May 8-9, On our way to Jerusalem

I was so excited about getting the trip going that I couldn't sleep the night before. I knew there would be time enough for sleeping on the plane. Our first flight, from Detroit to Newark was so bumpy that I was ready to march to the front of the plane and tell them n'mind, take me home. I really had to work hard to keep myself from havng a panic attack. I just knew I wouldn't settle down until I had my arms around my wonderful aunt and uncle who were joining us on the plane from Newark to Tel Aviv.

Newark had its own built in everyday delays...so after an extra hour on the ground we were able to lift off. As we were flying, I kept having an odd feeling about seeing the sun on the 'wrong' side of the plane. Turns out that because of the previous volcanic ash spew, we had to fly north over Greenland and then over to Norway before we could head back south to Tel Aviv...another hour added to the flight. The landing in Tel Aviv was very smooth, followed by the experience of a large taxi weaving in and out of narrow streets.

We checked into the Harmony Hotel, right in the heart of Jerusalem. At check-in, my uncle and I had a unique bonding experience at seeing the price of our first 2 nights stay. We agreed, if I didn't tell my aunt how much the room was, he wouldn't tell Tom. Worked for me. While my aunt (82) and my uncle (85) stayed behind to take a little nap, Tom and I walked over to Ben Yehuda street where I was able to spend a little time shopping. In typical Israeli fashion, one of the shop owners told me he had the best prices in Israel...I told him, "No one has ever told me that that before!" Ha!

These first two pictures were taken as Tom and I walked along Ben Yehuda St. The second one is a mural painted on the side of the building.

These next two pictures were taken at a gelato store...it was very tempting. While I was trying to decide some young soldiers came in and as is typical here, they bring their rifles with them. It was a little unnerving for Tom to see it displayed so openly, but I have gotten used to it. I let them go ahead of me so that I could take their picture.




We had dinner with David and his roommate, Steven, and then headed back to the hotel for some long needed sleep.