First day in Israel

After a long journey Diego and I arrived in Tel Aviv last night. He was really good on the plane-- I don't think he's meowed even once since we left the house. Michael met us at the airport with flowers and brought us back to temporary quarters that we both hope will become permanent. It could definitely use an update, but the space and location are hard to beat. There's a huge balcony that the kitties love, an outdoor pool and (cold) jacuzzi, and a park right next door. It's just a few blocks from an area of town with a lot of cafes, shops, and restaurants.

We had dinner at this place on the beach with low tables and chairs where you can stick your feet in the sand while you eat. We had some traditional mediterranean food--hummus, lamb kebab, and grilled chicken. It was tasty and relaxing after a long flight to sit and eat watching the waves crash.

The weather is gorgeous...warm and only very slightly humid. And just on Monday I was scraping ice off of my car back home. My first impressions of Tel Aviv is that it kind of reminds me of a cross between Sendai, Japan and Rio de Janeiro. Lots of tall, aging, utilitarian buildings in a semi-tropical environment. Expenses are spared on building exteriors, but not so for the interiors. Though this is not the desert, most buildings are desert hues of sand beige, tan, dirty white, and occasionally that slightly pinkish cream color you might see there. There are tons of tiny shops lining the streets, and I was amazed to see how many people were shopping, sitting in cafes, or otherwise out and about this afternoon. I was thinking, 'don't these people work?' and then I remembered it was Friday. Shabat starts at sundown and people are cramming in what shopping they can before the stores close. Tel Aviv is a modern city, so it will be interesting to see just how much actually does shut down, and, since they've already 'fallen back' here, it gets dark around 5 so I'm about to find out.

The hour I spent studying and learning about half the Hebrew alphabet last Saturday has already paid off. After a little prompting from Michael I was able to distinguish between a Merlot/Cabernet blend and a Merlot/Shiraz blend at the AMPM. We went with the Merlot/Shiraz.

I also had a fairly unique experience in a beauty shop earlier today. I wanted to buy some Ahava lotion. You can get it at home but it's expensive. It's made with Dead Sea minerals and it's light but nice. Charlotte from Sex and the City is their spokesperson. Anyway, I went into this store and this woman was trying to get me to buy this other Dead Sea lotion because you got 50 mL more for 5 shekels less (about 3.75 shekels to the dollar). I prefer the Ahava due to its pleasant fragrance and the other lotion was fragrance free. But I really think that was the first time I've had someone in a shop push hard for me to buy something cheaper.

I feel really safe here too. Time will tell if that's warranted, but I actually feel a LOT safer walking around here than I do in DC. I don't have pictures yet because my batteries have been charging today but I plan to post some soon.

Hugs and kisses to all!