Israel: We're in Tel Aviv!

I'm afraid Internet access has been rather poor, so my apologies in not sending out a message earlier. We had a wonderful week in Britain. We viewed many of the well-known sights in London. The London Eye is a fantastic Ferris-wheel that towers over the Thames, taking passengers in a wide arc that lasts about thirty minutes. Lots of time for photos. Other sights included shopping in Harrods (definitely too expensive for us - I've never seen a cell phone that cost $60,000 before!), and Camden Market (beautifully within our budget - a quaint market set in an old industrial area of London).

But the best part of the trip, I believe, was a train trip from London to Crewe, where we were met by friends Brian and Claire Haylock and their two children, Owen and Laura. An hour and a half drive from the station took us up into towns bordering the beautiful countryside of Wales. After dinner, and before sunset, they took us on a hike to the top of a hill overlooking the villiage, where the ruins of an castle dating to the 12th century could be seen. We saw the sunset from among the ancient pillars. I look forward to posting photos here, when we get the chance.

The next day, we explored Chester, an ancient town that was originally settled by the Romans at the time of Christ. They built a stone wall about the city in 100 AD, elements of which can be seen, together with ruins of a dwelling where they lived, now set inside a quaint English town, with medieval buildings and cobblestone streets.

We returned to London for another day of sight-seeing before our departure for Israel. Unfortunately, by that time, I had managed to come down with a bad head cold. So far, everyone else has avoided it. However, we made the best of things... the girls went to see a live production of the Lion King, while I, handkerchief in hand, roamed the British Museum. Thankfully, by the time the plane left, I was feeling much better.

So, now we're in Tel Aviv! Our tour 'officially' started today with a walk-about through some of the turn-of the century buildings in Tel Aviv, a coastal city. The marketplace here reminded me of Granville Island, but more authentic, more ancient, and about twenty times the size. Tomorrow, we will be exploring the much older town of Jaffa, nearby. The air is warm and humid, but quite tolerable. Will look forward to writing more, as we can. Cheers, - Stan