We slept coma-like, but the strong smell of cigarette smoke permeated the room and woke us up at 7am. Supposedly we are on a no-smoking floor. I threw open the window to let in some fresh air.

It is sunny and warm today. The skies are filled with the whirring of helicopter rotors. Sirens wail constantly in the streets below, reminders of the presence of George Bush.

Dear Shlomo picked us up at the hotel close to 10am. Our wonderful friends Meira and Shlomo have gone so far out of their way to make sure that our visit to Israel is special. We are so very blessed to have them as friends.

Near Beit Shemesh we stopped to tour Soreq cave, a beautiful, pristine cave full of enormous, colorful stalagtites and stalagmites. Being a spelunker from way back, I much enjoyed the wonders of the cave.

Next, Shlomo drove us to Mini-Israel, a fun walk-through of miniature reproductions of the major sites around the country, from the Golan to Eilat. We spent a fun couple of hours walking the length and width of Israel in miniature.

Back in Tel Aviv, Shlomo dropped us off at familiar Hotel Miguel where we checked in for the last time. We have three more nights in the Land of Milk and Honey, then home by way of Paris.

We showered and rested until 6:30pm when Shlomo and his beautiful wife Sara once again picked us up. We drove north on Ben Yahuda street to Shtsupak, a fish restaurant, where we sat outside and enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner with wonderful mezze starters. After dinner we drove to the Neve Tzedek neighborhood where the four of us sat through a performance of “Max” by the BatSheva dance troupe. Not being familiar with modern dance, we all laughed when we left the auditorium and found out that not one of us “got it.” Shlomo’s opinion that it was “about movement” made sense to me but I still don’t “get it.”

We had a wonderful day with Shlomo, who is truly a warm, loving, generous and beautiful human being, and a fun evening when he and his beautiful bride Sara joined us for dinner and culture. We are going to miss them terribly when we must leave to go home.

Next Day