Tuesday March 5, 2019
Getting There
The Israel Egypt trip organized by Pilgrim Tours was amazing and a trip of a life time. My flight from the US was multi-leg, from Pittsburgh to New York to Barcelona and finally to Tel Aviv. The afternoon flight from New York to Barcelona turned into an overnighter because of the time difference. It was a pleasant flight, but I couldn’t fall asleep. Instead I watched the movie “The Green Book” twice. It was a very “moving” film and brought tears to my eyes both times that I watched.
When I got to Barcelona it was early in the morning and still dark and the way the airport was set up I could only access a couple eateries. I had several hours before the next flight to Tel Aviv, so I was able to relax, reorganize my carryon, and have an interesting tuna breakfast sandwich.
When I proceeded to the gate area, I was surprised that my gate wasn’t yet set. El Al only announces the gate 30 minutes before boarding. As one would expect the security before boarding was intense with a baggage examination and a private interview.
After getting the stamp of approval I was able to line up for boarding.
While waiting to board, I met a group of great Israeli millennials going home from a vacation and a conference in Barcelona. They became extremely excited and animated when I told them that I was going to Israel and for the first. They were energized when they told me about all the great places to visit, all the things to do, and food to eat.
The trip from Barcelona to Tel Aviv was relatively short, but I was totally confused when I landed in Israel as to the time of day and the day of the week. All that I knew was that it was getting dark (it was only 4 PM) and it was raining. As I exited the plane, I was glad that I only had a carryon and could skip the baggage carousels. Fortunately, the group of Israeli millennials that I had met while waiting to board in Barcelona, helped me navigate the Tel Aviv airport.
Once through customs I didn’t know where to go next to find my transportation that was arranged by the tour company, Pilgrim Tours. I was suspicious that it wouldn’t be there since I was arriving a day earlier than the day the tour specified. Standing in the middle of the airport concourse in a daze, I decided to read the instructions that Pilgrim Tours sent me (I’m not known for reading instructions). The instructions were specific almost like a written GPS and I was able to quickly find the location where my transportation was designated to be waiting. And to my amazement, there was a guy standing with a sign with my name on it.
After walking for what seemed like a mile, we arrived at his vehicle. He spoke very little English but was very accommodating and attempted to explain the nature of the trip ahead from the Tel Aviv airport to the coastal city of Netanya where I would stay the next two nights. It was now rush hour with many making the commute home to the various towns between Tel Aviv and Netanya. With night approaching and the dreary, rainy weather, the traffic was stop and go the entire distance. The distance between the two cities is only 20 miles, and my driver told me that it typically takes less than 30 minutes. But that night, it took well over an hour.
It was past 6 PM on Tuesday when I got to my hotel, I hadn’t slept since Sunday night and was tired but I showered quickly and proceeded to explore the area around my hotel. It was a very dark night and with a steady drizzle. There were only a couple of cafes open and very few people were out and about. At that time I was unaware that the downtown area was a only few blocks away from the hotel, providing many great places for food.
After stumbling along in the dark and rain I was able to find my way back to the hotel. I was thinking that perhaps I could get something there. When I first checked in, I saw that there were tour groups of people also checking in others in the dining room having a dinner buffet and meeting. I therefore, not wanting to deal with the crowds and not sure that there was a way of ordering individually, I left to find a place outside.
Now back in the hotel I tried to find a bar and I found something similar in the hotel reception area. But it was extremely difficult communicating and ordering anything since the hotel was geared to group buffets. Finally, after a great deal of confusion I was able to get a cheese plate which was excellent. Trying to pay for it was another challenge since they didn’t know how to charge me.
I finally got back to my room and to sleep. It was a great decision arriving a day early. I had all day Wednesday to recoup and be ready for the intense touring of the sites that lay ahead.
The following journal articles are of my research for various design and painting projects planned. The intial posts are of Israel and Eygpt.