Besides Sid, only one other person knows what kind of pre-trip meltdown I had for 2 days prior to departing. I postponed organizing and packing till the day we left, which should have been OK since our flight didn't leave until 945PM. I already did all the shopping I had to do and mentally prepared a packing list; all I had to do was throw everything in the suitcase. Somehow it didn't quite unfold that way. I had a last minute office emergency that had to be taken care of immediately. I kept remembering something else that needed to be taken care of or brought with. Every time I remembered something I started freaking out about what else I had forgotten or neglected to do. Not a pretty sight, by any means.
The worst of it was that we didn't get upgraded on the flight to London, and I was furious. 24 hours before we departed there were 12 empty seats in business class; the morning we departed there were none. To make matters worse, we were cancelled off the upgrade list, but supposedly put on a list for airport upgrades. When we checked in for the flight the agent said we weren't even on that list, so she put our names back on. In the end we were upgraded (1 hour before the flight took off) at the gate, which was great, but what really infuriated me was that there were 5 empty seats in business class. And I want the $100 it cost me to check an additional bag refunded, since business class passengers are allowed 2 checked bags per person. American Airlines customer service is going to get an ear full about this.
The flight was smooth and we even landed 1/2 an hour early. It's a good thing, because security at Heathrow was more than thorough and took forever. I barely had time at the duty free to pick up a couple bottles of single malt to tide us over for the next 2-1/2 months.
The EL Al flight from London to Tel Aviv was about 95% full, and in coach it makes a big difference in comfort. We sat 4 rows from the back, with about 5 inches of legroom. The good news was by the time we got off the plane our luggage was on the carousel, and there was no line at immigration. Israel is so ahead of the game when it comes to electronic border control. There are kiosks in several locations for biometric passport holders, which apparently everyone but me has.
We got to the apartment around 1130PM. The key was hidden in the garden outside the building (this is why we always bring flashlights). And we only had to shlep the bags up 16 steps. The apartment is very large by Israeli standards (about 800 sq ft, 3 bedrooms and a bath and a half) and nicely rehabbed. And it's for sale ... for the shekel equivalent of $800,000. The owner stocked the fridge with cheese, milk and a box of cookies. We had a cup of tea and unpacked almost everything before crashing and going to sleep at 1AM.
We slept till 8 this morning. The weather is glorious - sunny and quite warm (high 50's). We finished unpacking, went out for breakfast and a bit of shopping at the local supermarket.
As often as we've come to Israel, each time I see the coast line from the air it's still a thrill. From the moment we landed things felt right. All the reisefeber (pre-travel anxiety) went by the wayside. It feels like a missing limb has spontaneously regenerated. More to the point, it feels like a missing piece of my soul has been revived.
Shabbat shalom,
Peggy and Sid
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