First Impressions

It is early Tuesday morning.  Traveling through different time zones often makes the first night of sleep challenging.  But being awake makes me think of my first impressions of yesterday.
   Tel Aviv is a big city with lots of construction giving on.  Skyscrapers going up everywhere with prime views overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  And the sea was beautiful.  Lots of waves with some brave souls out in the water.  We are staying at a hotel in an Arabic neighborhood.  As you go through different neighborhoods, you see signs in different languages.  Here they are in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.  Lots of wonderful little shops that you can see into from the bus.  Several of us commented on the shops selling teddy bears - bright red ones - for Valentine's Day.  I think all of us have been so focused on getting here that it didn't dawn on us that Valentine's is just around the corner.
   We've passed a Church of Scotland, headquarters of a Greek Patriarchate, and seen a mosque.  There is a lot of religious diversity here and you see it everywhere you look,
    And you see memories of history.  An old wall.  An Ottoman clock tower.  Buildings built on top of buildings. An unkempt cemetery.  Today when we visit Caesarea Maritima the memories of history will be even more visible.