Barcelona to Tel Aviv

Friday, June 27: A 6:00am flight from Barcelona to Tel Aviv, made us leave the Hotel Espanya at 3:30am. As we got in the taxi that the hotel had arranged for us, we established the fact that the driver didn't speak much English, nor I much Spanish - not withstanding my 2 years in Junior High School, 2 years in High School, and 2 years in college. Turning a corner we came upon some ladies of the evening, soliciting for their trade. I said to the taxi driver "¿Putas?" He said, "Si, putas." Joani was shocked that I knew the word, but I explained that since I first learned Spanish in Junior High School, of course I knew all of "those" words!

If you've traveling, you know that there are an incredible number of black suitcases - all looking alike. For years we have used Kyrene luggage tags and tied multi-colored ribbons on ours. Not so we could find them, but so no one else would take them by mistake. This year, in honor of our granddaughters we added some special ribbons.

The Turkish Air flight from Barcelona to Istanbul was uneventful and comfortable - we each got in some sleep. We had a two-hour layover in Istanbul so we found some floor space to sit. Of all airlines in the world, Turkish Airlines serves the most destinations, and the Istanbul Airport seemed like every plane must stop here. The people watching was amazing. There were so many people, and many of the men were in traditional garb with full length robes of varied colors and the women wore a variety of burkas. It actually reminded me of the crowd scenes in Star Trek or Star Wars - although these weren't aliens, but just a variety of cultures and religions all coming together in one place. I thought about taking pictures but thought that would be rude and I certainly didn't want a confrontation!

Once they posted our gate we walked through the terminal and were told that the security people had to sweep the area before we could check in at the gate. I don't know if that is reassuring or disconcerting. Additionally, I noticed that the Turkish Air plane did not say Turkish Air, but rather Star Alliance. I guess they are keeping it a secret that Turkish Air is flying to Israel. Shhh - don't tell anyone!

Security in the Tel Aviv airport is very comforting - that is because you don't see it, but you know that it's there! It was much easier and faster to get through the immigration area than it is in Houston or Dallas when arriving from Belize. And they didn't even look at us going through Customs. A taxi ride to the very modern ArtPlus Hotel in Tel Aviv was very quick and our cab driver was sure to tell us about how the Arabs want his country back, etc. I don't know why he had a gun on his hip and I didn't want to find out. After happy hour at the hotel - wine and fruit - the long day caught up to us, and we conked out for the night. Tomorrow we get to explore beautiful Tel Aviv.