Today is a day we have waited for and planned for a long, long time. We are going to spend time with Meira and Carmi and meet their family, as well as Carol’s long-time friend, Shlomo, and his family. We are more than a little excited.

Cleared the intense security at the El Al terminal, then cleared security again at the gate, then sat, rested and prepared for the 5-hour flight to Tel Aviv. The flight aboard the El Al 777 was an hour late departing, but was smooth sailing southeast across France, Switzerland (with a terrific view of the Alps), Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, the Aegean Sea and Turkey.

We landed at Ben Gurion airport at 5pm, collected our bags, and had an emotional reunion with Meira and Carol’s friend Shlomo, who I had never met. Words cannot describe how wonderful it was to see our friends and tears flowed.

We visited with Shlomo on the way to the parking garage and had to say goodbye to him at the airport, but we have plans to spend time with him later this week.

Meira drove us into Tel Aviv, a bustling, modern, young, “happening” city on the west coast of Israel, where the Mediterranean sea laps up against sandy beaches.

Our hotel, the Hotel & Bistro Miguel, overlooks the Mediterranean and we quickly checked in, left our bags, and drove with Meira to her house where we reunited with Carmi, her wonderfully significant other (and Master mechanic,) and met the rest of the family. Meira and Carmi had prepared what we could only describe as a true feast of salad, olives, garlic potatoes, sweet potatoes, baba ganoush, hummus, several different kinds of incredible bread, fruits, fish, steak, several different desserts and a delicious Israeli wine.

We thoroughly enjoyed the feast and the conversation. Prior to dinner, we watched the World Cup Basketball Semi-finals, and Israel-Maccabi defeated Italian Sienna, which pleased everyone.

Thoroughly stuffed, we stayed at the table and schmoozed for hours, then we realized that it was close to midnight, so Carmi and Meira drove us back to our hotel along the sea. Tel Aviv is abuzz with excitement and electricity, and apparently the night’s revelry continues until the early hours of the morn.

We said shalom to Carmi and Meira, crawled up the stairs and fell into bed after a wonderful evening with some very, very special friends.

Next Day