Israel-- Day One--Tel Aviv

It took a number of years to have the desire to travel to Israel, but here we are!
Our group of 24 people landed in Tel Aviv,  the second largest city in Israel, and home of the first skyscraper in the middle east.  "Tel" is a mound made up of layers of civilization--this signifies the old. "Aviv" is the month of spring, and signifies new beginnings.   This word is even mentioned in the book of Ezekial, where God talks about dry bones taking on new life (Ezekial 3:15).
In the Old Testament, Jonah ran from God in Joppa, the old word for Jaffa, which the old part of the town is now called. In the New Testament, the good news of Jesus Christ was opened to gentiles in this place, as Peter obeyed God and went to the house of Cornelius. 

We strolled through charming old streets, and saw the spot where Simon the Tanner's house was said to have been.  I wonder what the current resident thought of all the foot traffic past their place, but it doesn't look as if he could see much; perhaps the windows are on the other side of the wall.

Simon the Tanner's house

Palm trees are not native to Israel, but someone once brought in some seeds.

Pastor Paul took every opportunity to link the location to incidents in the Bible.

Our hotel had a wonderful view of the Mediterranean Sea.  So far the weather was good; sunny but with a brisk wind.  It was to deteriorate in the coming week to rain, rain, and more rain.  Terry immediately began to photograph birds as we took our own walk after settling into the Carleton Hotel, and found nine species this first day.

The first night's dinner was very impressive; just a sample of what we would be having every single night. On the left is Shmulik, our knowledgeable Israeli tour guide.

I was in seventh heaven with the array of salads, yogurt and cheese products at breakfast, hummus, and halvah, and the dessert bar, which of course I had to sample every single night.  It took a few days to get our days and nights in the right order.
We looked forward to what the next few days would bring.