Day Nine-January First

saying goodbye

Happy New Year’s.  Rather uneventful.  Given that it was shabbat, it was quieter than usual.  I went down to have my last breakfast at Dizengoff Suites.  I’ve enjoyed having my lattes and cappuccinos every morning as well as other good food.  All the food here has very generous portions.

I went back upstairs to prepare my bags, as I was flying to Eilat at 4:30 p.m.  When I returned to the room, the girls had awoken and didn’t feel too bad for having been up most of the night.  They ate the remaining pasta from the night before for their breakfast.  

We were going to go to the art market and Hacarmel but as it was now raining we decided not to.  We didn’t know what to do so we just found a place to eat on Dizengoff Street.

Emily and I said our goodbyes and I took a taxi to the smaller airport in Tel Aviv, Sde Dov which was very close to the hotel.  


Upon checking in I was questioned thoroughly, but eventually let through.  The security guard asked me why I was in Israel and why I was going to Eilat.  She also wanted to know if I was involved with organizations at my home, like a temple and when did I go there.  I found this quite odd.  She asked if I was going to cross the border to go to Jordan as well.  After all this questioning I was let through and able to get on an earlier flight.  

Due to the cloudy sky, I was unable to get any photos from the sky.

I arrived in Eilat and took a taxi to the Ceasar Premier Hotel.  The location was good but the hotel wasn’t too exciting.  The rug in the hallway of my floor was falling apart but the room was nice with two double beds.  However, the room was so hot and I found out that the air doesn’t work in the evening.  Are you kidding me?  What do you do in the summer when it’s 35+ degrees Celsius about 95 - 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

I walked around the boardwalk and found a place to have a wrapped sandwich with hummos, eggplant and a few other salads.  It was o.k. not great.  The boardwalk was kindof a funky place.  Part carnival, part beach slock.  

The hotel had free wireless internet but only in the lobby.  I took my computer and sat in the lobby for several hours (catching up on my blog).  I met an 18 year old Russian boy who was using his IPad to communicate on Facebook.  He was on vacation with his mother from St. Petersburg.  There is always someone to talk to if you want.

After writing for several hours I’d had enough so I went upstairs to my room, got in bed, read a bit and went to sleep.