We have arrived!

Well, we made it! We are in Israel - Jerusalem - Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, to be exact.

After a more or less sleepless night for Shara and me (Daphne slept most of the way!), we arrived at Ben Gurion Airport right on time, just after 4 pm local time. We got off the plane, walked through passport control, picked up our luggage, cruised through customs, and we were warmly greeted by Cornel, Cornelia, and Amit Romano. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful it was to see them. Even though we felt disgusting and totally exhausted after being on a plane for 11 hours, the Romanos greeted us with warm smiles, hugs, and kisses, and a balloon for Daphne!

The ride to Jerusalem was quick. Cornel drove us through the city, rather than taking one of the newer roads around the perimeter, so that Shara and Daphne could get a glimpse of what's to come. We would have stopped at the Tayellet, the Promenade that overlooks Jerusalem from the south, but Daphne was complaining that she had to use the potty, so we continued on to Ramat Rachel.

We unloaded our bags into our host's home, but not before we were greeted by Ma'ayan, and later Alex and his wife Moran and their 7 month old daughter, and Marc. We quickly freshened up a bit, and then Cornelia had all of us sit down for a lovely home cooked dinner. Did I mention that Cornelia is an amazing cook?! We schmoozed over a delicious meal before the adult children excused themselves. Today was Alex's 28th birthday, and they were heading into town to celebrate. Amit would later go over to Alex and Moran's home to babysit. This left Shara, Daphne and me to continue to schmooze with Cornel and Cornelia. We enjoyed a relaxing evening in their home, catching up on each other's lives, sharing pictures and videos (we each had our computers out), before it was finally ready to get ready for sleep.

We all know how great that shower/bath feels after a long trip, and this one was no exception for all three of us. And now, Shara and Daphne are sound asleep while I finish this blog. It's time for me to crash. We have a big day...couple of weeks ahead of us. I plan to enjoy every bit our time here, and being well rested will help.

Laila tov!