Our buddies, consummate travelers Sandy and Alan, invited us to join them on a Gate1 Signature tour of Israel and Jordan. We hit the road with them as often as possible because a) their brilliant travel choices are always well researched and b) they are fun, easy traveling companions. This is the first time Alan and I have been to Israel and Jordan and the second time for Dan and Sandy.

To get ahead of the jet lag the four of us decided to leave a couple days ahead of the rest of the group. How timely that United Airlines started a non-stop flight to Tel Aviv just a couple months ago. Dan and I enjoyed the luxury of Polaris class with lie flat beds, pillow choices, slippers, blankets, comforters, and the upon-request supplements of jammies and a mattress pad. Dan ate every bite of the five-course meal, but I decided to limit myself to the cheese course and a glass of port before going to sleep.

Our Israel-bound flight required a secondary security check at the gate when we left the U.S., and much to our surprise all passengers were required to be seated for the last hour of our approach to Tel Aviv. Fourteen hours after leaving the house we touched down in Israel. When we arrived it was 9:30 a.m. Virginia time, 4:30 p.m. here. 83 degrees with clear skies. Immigration was a snap and our luggage was waiting for us by the time we got to the carrousel.

Sandy selected a lovely two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath Airbnb for our extra two nights. Luggage in hand, our first order of business was to find an ATM and then grab a cab and head to our home away from home. We used a code to get in both the front door and the apartment, figured out how to turn on the hot water and air conditioner, logged in to WiFi, and then we went in search of a light dinner. We settled on an ultra-casual corner cafe across the street from our apartment and enjoyed the easy, casual conversation with the waiter as much as our simple meal.

A small 24/7 grocery store was next door to our apartment, so we took advantage and popped in to buy breakfast items. Certain things were easy enough to figure out, but most of the food had only Arabic and Hebrew labeling, so we took a few wild guesses and headed to the register.

We’ve had a fantastic start to this exciting trip!

… Trivia …

Israel is in western Asia.

Israel has two official languages: Hebrew and Arabic.

Native sons and daughters of Israel include the following: Itzhak Perlman, Judas, Chaim Topol (Fiddler on the Roof), Saint George, Gene Simmons (Kiss),
Natalie Portman, Gal Gadot, and Saint Joseph.

$1.00 = 3.52 Israeli Shekels (ILS) / 1 ILS = $0.28