I traveled to Israel in a group of 24 people from Alabama, Arizona, Tennessee, and North Carolina. We flew from Atlanta to Newark, Newark to Tel Aviv. Luckily, I was able to sleep most of the flight, so I was well rested and ready to explore! 

Because we arrived in Tel Aviv early Tuesday morning we could not check into our hotel right away.   This allowed us time to tour Jaffa, the Mediterranean seaport of ancient Israel.

Yuval Harat  was our tour guide and a sweet gentleman we called "Bambi" was our bus driver.

Our first and only stop in Jaffa offered us views of the old port and the place considered to be Simon the Tanner's house where Peter received his vision. 



Before getting back on the bus to head to our hotel, we walked the lovely, narrow alleys through the artists colony where I met some of the beautiful, healthy resident cats of Israel.
Tel Aviv is a modern metropolis, Israel's most cosmopolitan city and center of culture and entertainment.  Our first night was spent at the Grand Beach Hotel, only a few blocks from the Mediterranean Sea.




We enjoyed a colorful buffet dinner in the hotel restaurant that evening before turning in for the night. Early the following morning we would depart Tel Aviv and head north to Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, and Cana.