Our journey began with hauling our bags towards Budget Rent-A-Car, just down the street from our hotel, when who did we see but Jusuf! He convinced us to let him drive us from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and do a short tour of Jaffa Old City before heading to our Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Jaffa is up on a lovely hill looking out over the Mediterranean. One of the pictures shows the ruins of the original harbor, barely discernible now, as a quay of mostly submerged rocks.
Just to walk around for a while, we meandered through the mall, which is located in a tower of levels (3 or 4), attached, more or less, to a four-tower complex of businesses, hotels, bank, and train service (which opens directly into the mall! Imagine taking the train to the Annapolis Mall and getting out right next to Lord and Taylor's!).
The hotel has an indoor pool, jacuzzi, and spa on level 10 (Dave took a swim), and a chic - chic restaurant on level 11 with an amazing view.
We decided to feast on sushi and salad for our last meal in Israel, before catching a three hour nap.
Up at 12:45 a.m., taxi to Ben Gurion International Airport, and going through a series of very carefully processed checkpoints (I had to haul out my diver's license with a more recent haircut to assure the officer I am who my passport says I am).
Bags checked, boarding passes issued, and now begins the long flight home, with a stopover in Frankfurt--where yes, we have every intention of eating frankfurters and documenting the event for posterity!
No comments:
Post a Comment