Tel Aviv-Netanya
Wednesday, May 22

We made it.  We survived 10 hours in a cramped airplane, sleeping in small increments. Airplane coffee and a hot breakfast prepares us for landing in Tel Aviv at the Ben Gurion Airport.

A sun-tanned man with a straw hat and sign that reads "Pilgrim Tours" welcomes us.  We find our luggage, move through customs, get stamped “okay,” get on the bus. 

Our hotel is The Seasons at Netanya, 30 miles north of Tel Aviv. It claims to be the only 5-star hotel in Natanya.  We walk into a suite!  To the right is a sitting room, to the left a separate bedroom, and in between a spacious bathroom.  A front hall connects them. 

Shower-refreshed, we forget that we had breakfast before landing and prepare for our first dinner experience in Israel.  The buffet is daunting.  A salad extravaganza, some I cannot identify.  A separate entrée station also overwhelms.  A quick survey of desserts reminds me to save room.  If this is a precursor of what is to come, it is not going to be a low- calorie tour! 

 We are in Bible land Israel.  My sleep-deprived mind is having trouble assimilating this upscale hotel and its manicured beach promenade with visions of Abraham, Moses and Jesus’ three years.  I don’t know if I like enjoying this plush experience or if I would prefer something a bit more Spartan that connects me to my Sunday school stories.  I decide that comfort is worth a lot after my 10 hour-little-sleep plane ride. I'll take the hotel.

After dinner and our quick meeting to organize for the next day, Mark and I join others who walk the promenade.  We are trying to stay awake until a decent time to sleep.  However, the mild temperature, the gentle sweep of Mediterranean waves, the atmospheric lighting, the beautiful garden beds were just enough to make us more than ready to claim the biggest award of this long day--sleep!