FUN-travel: Holy Land – Tel Aviv, Israel to San Diego – Day 18
May 20, 2013 by Susan Clarke
The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 72 – Thursday, April 11 – Tel Aviv, Israel to Vienna, Austria to Washington, DC to San Diego
Jerusalem
- B – have to get up @ 2 am
- B – no wakeup call – fly out of bed @ 2:30
- A – 3:00 – taxi to airport right on time
- C – 3:30 – arrive & have tour guide to help us get our tickets & check bags!
- A – breeze through screening – Dead Sea mud packs & steel toed boots cause suspicion but once confirmed by us, not a problem
- B – now it’s hurry up & wait
- B – biz class lounge pretty so-so (after Emirates everything will look so-so I suspect)
- C – 6:20 am – plane takes off on time!
- 1st time flying Austrian Air
- B – 22 hrs to go before we get home
- 1st flight 4 hrs – turn clock back 1 hr
- 9:15 – arrive
- B – have to back thru security rescreening – so stupid!
- 9:35 – arrive gate
- A – 10:00 – start boarding
- A – 10:30 – plane takes off
- 2nd flight – 9 hrs
- A – nice sleeper beds & wonderful crew!
- C – Duval-Leroy French Champagne & Australian Norwood Shiraz Cabernet
- 1st course – serving cart choices – Mediterranean crayfish salad – prosciutto/parmesan/asparagus – Austrian style sushi/fresh horse radish – creamy celeriac salad/caramelized pears – chicken breast/oriental couscous – crispy crab cakes/avocado mango salad
Lebanese Border at Rosh Hanikra Grotto
- 2nd course – creamy cauliflower soup
- 3rd course – traditional cheese dumplings
- 4th course – serving cart assorted cheese & exotic fruit
- 5th course – Viennese apple strudel
Jerusalem
- B – have seen most of the movies
- A – get some sleep
- 2:25 pm – arrive Washington Dulles
- A – breeze through customs
- C – God Bless America!
Wadi Rum Tented Camp
- B – United lounge just so-so
- 5:15 – board plane
- A – 5:45 take off – plane is on time
- C – 8:00 pm – arrive San Diego
- C – our bags are off first!
- 8:30 – arrive home!
Wadi Mojib Tea Stop, Jordan
FF – (FUN-fact) – The service and the food on Austrian Air were like flying in 1st class in the 90’s!
Yuval
- Holy Land Recap: We were really impressed with Jordan. The sights, experiences, and the people were great. Israel was very progressive and modern with wonderful food.
- Hotels were all over the board from Beresheet Isrotel being the best, closely followed by Movenpiick. Blue Hotel (more like a hostel with tiny rooms) & Isrotel Gamin (room not bad, just the service) being the worst. Boutique hotels included Arthur and the Rothschild.
- We had Ali as our driver (not a guide) the whole time in Jordan. While he did not speak fluent English he was very professional and competent. We felt very safe with him. We had Colin the first four days in Israel. Frankly, we could have shortened that to two days. The Dead Sea is a must but not during Passover! Yuval was one of the best guides we have ever had. He had a Master’s degree and was very knowledgeable on history and religion. He was also very objective.