Hello everyone,

I have an apology to make.

Recently, I put a number on my website that said it was a “Toll-Free” number when in reality it charged the call to Israel as a local call.

I have rectified the situation and the Toll-Free number is indeed Toll-Free as all 1-800 numbers are.

To those who took umbrage at this I sincerely apologize.

To change the subject a bit, I recently had the chance to guide the Defense Minister of Belgium, Mr. Pierter de Crem, the Belgium Chief of the General Staff, General A. van Daele, and the Belgian Ambassador to Israel, Her Excellency Bénédicte Frankinet.

It was a pleasure guiding the group.  We toured Nazareth and environs.  Considering it was about 102 F. in the shade, we had a great time.

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Sometimes, just sometimes you get a good feeling about what you do for a living.
As a tour guide, I often wonder about how other countries stack up with Israel in tourism.
Well, folks, Greece gets a big D-.
Quite frankly, it’s a beautiful country that seems to do its best not to give service.

Let’s start with the hotel. No air-conditioning in the lobby. Rooms that are in need of repair and doors that don’t open. Charging guests for water in the dining room. That’s right. If you don’t buy bottled water, they take the glass off your table!
No driver-guides. We had a tour guide for Lindos in Rhodes and she didn’t go up to the Acropolis there with us because “it was too hot.”
Trails not marked.
Almost no signs anywhere in the old city of Rhodes.
In short, you really don’t appreciate something ’till you see another place.
I’m not surprised that their economy is on the ropes and causing great concern to all of Europe. A strong work ethic doesn’t seem to shine here.
Since I’ve seen little of other countries on the Mediterranean, I really think we do a great job in Israel.
I’ll give you the hotels are pricey, but remember-when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys to do the work.

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Hi everybody,
The heat today in Israel is brutal. In the nineties in Jerusalem, less in Tel Aviv but there the humidity gets you.
How can you beat the heat?
I have a few suggestions:
1. Don’t do Masada later in the day. If you can, start your tour EARLY! That means leaving your hotel in Jerusalem at 3:30 am and walking up the mountain for a fantastic sunrise. Better yet, book a hotel on the Dead Sea and after taking the cable-car down, enjoy a late breakfast and then a dip in the pool!
2-Don’t go to the Western Wall between the hours of 9 and 5. Too hot. That heat just reflects off the limestone and melts you away. Try after 7pm.
3-Don’t bother with a visit to the Negev. Come back again in the winter, fall or early spring.
4-Enjoy the truly great museums has to offer. In Jerusalem, make sure to visit the Herzl Museum and the Menachem Begin Heritage Center Museum. I’ll bet the Begin Heritage Center is less than a 5-minute walk from your hotel.
5-Finally, take advantage of water sites: go down the Jordan River in a raft and take a swim in the Sachne (Gan Hashlosha) National Park.
Enjoy and keep cool!

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