Blogs from Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv District, Israel, Middle East - page 13

The day began with breakfast. We passed on the pickled fish and salad, but had excellent eggs, potatoes, fruit, pastry, and coffee. We met our guide, Anat, who met us exactly on time. Following a brief driving tour of Tel Aviv ("new hill") we toured our first historic site. The Ayalon underground munitions factory was a secret ammunition factory which operated during the British Mandate. During a three year period, about 2.25 million shells were manufactured here and which were used during the early days of Israel. The factory existed under a laundry and bakery which were both used by the British. It was totally illegal, and one of the best kept secrets of this period. It was even secret from the Jews who were not specifically involved. All of those not privy to this knowledge ... read more

I left you last time as I was about to try to cross the prince hussein bridge, Hmm that one didnt work, the bridge was closed for the day and whats more the guy in charge, very nice fellow in an air conditioned office, said only vehicles could pass with prior consent of both Governments as it went straight into the west bank.He advised I go North and cross at the only other available place which was In the Jordan valley. Typical of the region, the Jordanians were miffed because you wanted to leave to go to Israel, and the Israeli guys were miffed because you had been to Syria, they asked how I survived and was not robbed or beaten as if they were savages...they ought to look in the mirror.They were all 18-20 year ... read more

Sunday, 9/13 Up early to finish packing and clean the apt. Our taxi came at 7:30 and the trip to the airport in a pre-arranged taxi is well worth the 65 euros. Peace of mind and convenience is worth a lot when you need to be somewhere on time and you have a lot of luggage. So here we are at Charles de Gaulle waiting for our flight to Tel Aviv. Sunday mornings are a good time to fly - Paris is very quiet and the airport is not crowded, check in and security are much much easier because you don't wait in line forever. Highly recommend it! Wow, wow - we are in Israel - in the Middle East! Ben Gurion Airport is very modern and beautiful, and today it was not crowded at all. ... read more

Three years in DC, a most strange yet wonderful place in many ways, are over. The house is packed and the trash is piled on the curb. Well it was Friday night anyway. This morning most of it is gone! Gotta love the wandering scavengers who love those trashed pieces of furniture. Too bad much of it was spoken for on Freecycle. Pesky thieves! Regardless tomorrow we fly to Tel Aviv where I'm sure we will find the people as wonderful and frustrating as everywhere else. So will begin a three year adventure in that fascinating, yet sad land. All the usual questions come crowding back into my head, Will the kids like the new school? Will our stuff arrive in a timely manner? How quickly will we feel at home? Where did we pack the ... read more

June 6th Today was a gloriously free day. I had breakfast and went straight to the beach, but I forgot my bathing suit, so I waded around a bit, bought a delicious iced coffee for the use of a beach chair, and went back for lunch. And then returned to the beach. Of course. This time I remembered my suit and dove out into the waves. So much fun, though very salty. Had another iced coffee, took a ton of photos, including one of a dude with an Elvis hairstyle who was playing a guitar and singing Johnny Cash. It was awesome. We went back to meet at the hostel for an evening walking tour of Tel Aviv, which was pretty sweet. The guy who took us knew a lot about the history, from a secular ... read more