We are here!! Arrived in Israel after 5:30PM Israel time. Our plane ride of 10 1/2 hrs in knee- crunching seats in economy seemed to "fly" by rather quickly. Good movies to watch on touch- screen monitors at our seats provided adequate distractions when not napping.I met a patient of mine as we were about to go thru customs at Ben Gurion airport. He was on our flight and was going to be at a conference in Tel Aviv this week.. As we were picking up our luggage, we met several Torontonians who had been on the Alyn bike ride with us two years ago. They were going to do the Beit Halochem charity ride starting in Tel Aviv going to Eilat.
I sort of anticipated a problem with our rental van being too small. The van will be ok with bikes assembled, but we needed to get a taxi to transport John, Ann, and the rest of our luggage to the hotel while Naomi and I squeezed in all 4 bike boxes into the van. It was fortuitous though, as we could follow the taxi directly to the hotel rather than navigate by map ourselves. As it was, the hotel, being small and inconspicuous, would have been difficult to locate with a tiny entrance and signage.
It was no small challenge to maneuver the van in the underground parking garage with space for about 12 small vehicles. The hotel is close to the boardwalk but just off the hotel strip with all the big luxury hotels. Our hotel is more than satisfactory. Modest European 2 star style with a single phone-booth size elevator that reminded me of our hotel in Rome , the rooms are clean, small but adequate with good bathroom shower, little fridge in bedroom and more importantly, air-conditioning. The double bed is firm and comfortable.
We had a late supper on the boardwalk overlooking the ocean at an outdoor restaurant last night. The food was delicious and more than enough for even "Big" John. We hit the sack late but slept well and today we begin our adventures.
