Home, Sweet, Home

We went down the street to some kind of sports bar Sunday night for our last Tel Aviv meal. Wasn't so good. But dinner the night before was excellent - another Sea Bream, this time in a pistachio crust. Pistachios are real big here.  We weren't up for anything special since we had to get our stuff together and try to get some sleep before the alarm goes off.

We were up before the roosters and our driver was right on time if not a little early. Very nice car. Got to the airport in no time. The security was very intense. In fact, they moved the Turkish Airlines departure ticket counter down two floors. Totally segregated. I can't count how many check points we went through.The bus ride out to the plane was longer than the flight. It seems like they're keeping those Turkish planes as far away as possible. Geoff reminded me of the flight we took from Egypt to Israel - it was an unmarked plane - no name, no logos - just plain white. The Middle East has been quite an experience.

so long Tel Aviv

The flight from Israel to Istanbul was uneventful. More check points and security when we landed in Istanbul. I have to say that it all runs very efficiently. It was all very orderly. Nobody takes their shoes off and lines run smoothly.

We had a 4 hour layover here in Istanbul. No Premium Economy on this flight, so no lounge pass. Istanbul Airport is a very busy hub. We found a quiet restaurant with cushy seats and wifi, and settled in for a couple of hours.

We heard it was snowing at home. All winter nothing - the day we come home it snows - what's up with that?? The 10 hour flight to Boston passed in a daze of movies, food, naps, and lots of aches! Touched down at 7:23 and in good old USA fashion, took us about an hour to go through customs, passport control, and get the baggage.

Kenny from our car service was there and we got to the house around 9:30. We were happy to see that whatever snow there had been has melted.  Was not looking forward to a driveway full of snow. Our good friends who watched the house, were thoughtful enough to turn up the heat and I guess they did clear off the porch - right before the sun came out. Plus they bought milk and bananas so we have something for breakfast today. We cannot thank them enough. It is so good to know that everything is safe while we are away.

So that's it. The bucket list got a whole lot shorter. It was an amazing trip. I have to thank all our guides, Ashy, Nachum, Omar, Yuval, and our many many Mohammad drivers. They were all extremely educational, friendly, and always made us feel safe wherever we were. Nachum became part of the family for us. When we were traveling back through Israel on our own, it was comforting to know that we could call him anytime if we got into trouble - he'd send out the tanks!  We spoke Sunday night and said our good-byes. I sure hope he comes to visit.

Thanks to everyone who sent emails and comments. It really helps when we are gone for so long. A lot happened while we were gone. There is another Sullivan in the world, James Mitchell, born to Christie and Keith. My dear 99 year old aunt passed away. And we think this will be the last trip for Jerry B. His last site was the Dead Sea and that might be an appropriate end. And today is Grand-baby Tali's birthday!!  Happy Birthday sweetheart.

It is now about 5 am and I am sitting by the fire writing the last blog post. It will be a while before my body clock switches back. And then there's the unpacking, laundry, shopping, taxes, mail, etc.... It is still real good to be home.





Till next time.... Amalfi Coast, Bike & Sail, September, 2016