![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Finally! In Israel!
Jan. 21st, 2011 04:07 pmI slept with a nice Israeli lady; that is, I slept in seat 36B, and she slept in seat 36A. Due to the crowded conditions, I'm sure we must have come into contact at some point. Ten hour flight, across seven time zones, so we had breakfast after local noon (but more than six hours after the previous meal, so there'd be no blending of meat and milk).
Unlike previous attempts to get here, this went smoothly. Or as smoothly as a massive operation like this can go. My bag arrived with me, there was no hassle in retrieving it, the lines for Passport Control were stupid-long, but my officer spoke halting English, so we made it thru.
Renting the car involved much insurance, which I bought because my company's coverage only extends within the U.S. itself. Renting a GPS also seemed expensive, and listening to the representative's explanations as to how it works seemed perfunctory (given that I have the same model Garmin at home), except that she showed me how to get it to exclude things like toll roads, which my unit can probably also do. Huh.
The Garmin proved its usefulness right away, as getting out of the labyrinthine roads by the airport was taxing enough, and getting into the labyrinth of Haifa's roads was equally challenging. "Recalculating..."
By the time I got here, it was already dark, which means Shabbat had started, so most everything was closed (except, of course, the hotel, because DUH). I have eaten only the nice Belgian chocolates that they had for their esteemed guest (me), but for some reason, I don't have much of an appetite anyway. I will test it on tomorrow's breakfast (which better include a cucumber and tomato salad, unless those are out of season).
And, as I noted back in 2009 when I was last here, Israelis still don't understand shower curtains. Good thing they never get mold.
Unlike previous attempts to get here, this went smoothly. Or as smoothly as a massive operation like this can go. My bag arrived with me, there was no hassle in retrieving it, the lines for Passport Control were stupid-long, but my officer spoke halting English, so we made it thru.
Renting the car involved much insurance, which I bought because my company's coverage only extends within the U.S. itself. Renting a GPS also seemed expensive, and listening to the representative's explanations as to how it works seemed perfunctory (given that I have the same model Garmin at home), except that she showed me how to get it to exclude things like toll roads, which my unit can probably also do. Huh.
The Garmin proved its usefulness right away, as getting out of the labyrinthine roads by the airport was taxing enough, and getting into the labyrinth of Haifa's roads was equally challenging. "Recalculating..."
By the time I got here, it was already dark, which means Shabbat had started, so most everything was closed (except, of course, the hotel, because DUH). I have eaten only the nice Belgian chocolates that they had for their esteemed guest (me), but for some reason, I don't have much of an appetite anyway. I will test it on tomorrow's breakfast (which better include a cucumber and tomato salad, unless those are out of season).
And, as I noted back in 2009 when I was last here, Israelis still don't understand shower curtains. Good thing they never get mold.
