Chapter 2 Flight to Israel and drive to hotel

El Al plane ride - UGH! Uncomfortable seats, NO legroom, full plane so I can't get bulkhead or Exit door and we're way in the back so we get to hear the praying every few hours which was interesting. They serve dinner at 1 AM and my stomach is asking WTF? The chicken sandwich was delicious though. Slept 4 hrs sporadically and then was woken for breakfast at 3 PM Israel time (8 AM NY time). That was good and coffee was delicious.

Luggage arrived with us but some suitcases were damaged including Andi's and Shelley's.

Ronit (our tour guide) meets the plane and once everyone gets there luggage, it's off to the bus and the drive from Ben Gurion Airport to the hotel in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv looks like most large cities with drab buildings and kind of gray. Herrod's hotel on the Mediterranean is lovely and beds are comfy.

So much for the relaxing part of the trip. We get about an hour to unpack, relax and change for dinner and a night out -  well we knew we weren't going to be laying on a beach for 2 weeks.