In September of 2005, David and I had a rendezvous in Zurich and flew to Israel for a week. This was probably David's 8th trip there, but it was my first. What was I expecting? I don't really know. Pushy people on crowded streets, perhaps; hot, arid weather; and so many armed guards as to make one constantly nervous. Boy, was I wrong.
Yes, the security was heavy, but it was far more unintrusive than I was expecting. It was comforting more than alarming. I get he same sort of safe feeling in New York. The weather was surprisingly moderate. It was sunny and warm everyday and as long as I wore a hat and sunglasses outside, I was fine. And the people were not nearly as pushy as I thought. Well, I take that back. The merchants in Jerusalem were to a level of pushy that I had never seen before - but the average citizen merely maintained a reasonable level of frankness.
We had three nights in Tel Aviv (on the coast) and three nights in Jerusalem (in the desert). I had two days on my own in Tel Aviv. I arrived with almost no plans whatsoever. I only had two carry on bags and no coat when I left New York. The only thing that had prepared me for this trip was a dream that I had a couple of months ago about visiting Israel which ended up being oddly prophetic.