March 7 - Tel Aviv

I did not get to breakfast early enough this morning to take pictures of the beautiful buffet but I did take some pictures of last night’s dessert.  Some of us found it so hard to choose we needed to take a little taste of everything!

Our first stop today was the Ayalon Institute.  Three years before the foundation of the State of Israel, a top secret clandestine operation was taking place at the Ayalon Institute to produce in excess of two million bullets for the use of the Haganah. After the end of the British Mandate of Palestine in 1948 the Haganah became the core of the Israel Defense Force (IDF).  The photo below shows the machines used to make the bullets.  

We then went to the Weizmann Institute of Science, one of the world's leading research institutions. Hundreds of scientists and students work on this campus. We had the opportunity to visited the Clore Garden of Science which is a unique, entirely outdoor science museum - the only one of its kind in the world.  John had a chance to feel what it would be like to walk on the moon. I think he might be planning to build one of these in his back yard when we get home.

Today John & Arlene went easy on us. Last time we were in Israel I don’t remember having a ‘free’ day until our last day in Jerusalem.  Today, we had the whole afternoon to enjoy the beautiful weather, walk the market, and relax.  The many different foods at the market were a feast for the eyes.  Here’s just a few shots I took along our walk.

Our guest speaker this evening was Shmuel, the Associate Pastor at Dugit Messianic Outreach Center. Dugit is an evangelistic outreach centre located in the heart of Tel Aviv.  The word 'Dugit' means little fishing boat, like the ones used by the disciples on the Sea of Galilee.  Today, they are 'fishers of men' in the heart of Tel Aviv. I would encourage you to go to http://www.dugit.org/ for more information.

Tomorrow we leave Tel Aviv and head up the coast to Haifa ...