Tassie Tales: Arriving In Israel

We have finally arrived in Israel. We landed at Tel Aviv at 11.30 Sunday night and were met by our transport provider and driven to our motel. It was a late check in and after an eleven hour flight from Bangkok we were looking forward to crashing into bed.

Next morning we awoke to a magnificent view from the window of our room. The beach looked so inviting I couldn’t resist. I threw on some clothes and headed down for a walk along the beach.

After a good breakfast we set out on foot to find the local market. Markets are always bright and colorful and full of all sorts of wonderful treasures.

I found a statue of Sampson that I would loved to have bought. The price was OK, but it was so heavy and we are already near maximum on our weight for luggage. I settled for a picture of him.

Tel Aviv is a very modern city with very little room to grow, so the only option is up. It’s a city full of cranes and construction sights.

We took a ride to the observation deck of a tower and enjoyed a panoramic view of the city.

We met up with Clinton and Trish as we left Bangkok and enjoyed a day with them. Clinton and I took a swim at the beach. The water was a warm 30 degrees.

We finished our first day here with a delightful meal at a beach side restaurant and walked along the beach at sunset.

Early the next morning our leisurely pace was all about to change. The Americans had arrived and we were loaded onto buses and let the tour begin. I really felt for the Americans. They had flown for 10 hours or more and then loaded straight onto buses for a full day of touring – and all in 38 degree heat.

This is Danny - the tour guide for our bus. He's a delightful guy.

Our first stop was the ancient port of Joppa. It was here I snapped a bird enjoying some dates with my telephoto lens. Not sure what bird it was. I will leave that to my bird watching family members to work out.