Day One: Depart the USA

The Tour Itinerary:
Our spiritual pilgrimage begins as we depart on our Transatlantic overnight flight to Tel Aviv via Istanbul.

This was originally supposed to happen on November 8, but eleven days before the trip was to begin, Turkish Airlines cancelled our flight out from San Francisco. Thanks to Steve Gureghian, the fellow who heads the US side of the agency that handles the tours for the Franciscans, our flight was moved to today which will allow us to have an extra day in Jerusalem. The time we will spend in Jerusalem on the tour is highly focused on Christian sites so now we will be able to spend time exploring other parts of the city. We will connect with the rest of the tour group when it arrives in Bethlehem on November 9.

I got to the San Francisco airport today around 3:30. After getting my

boarding pass (couldn't do it online) and getting through security, I arrived at the boarding area where I met the Hacheys (Rene, Linda and Matt). They had gotten there a half hour earlier. The flight left at 6:50 (40 minutes late). The seats are very closely spaced so getting comfortable was harder than usual. I had a glass of Turkish Cabernet Sauvignon and a cannelloni dinner both of which were pretty good. I read, watched the first five minutes of two movies, then tried to get some sleep.