Arrive in Tel Aviv

I arrived in Tel Aviv at about 4 pm local time. The guy I sat beside on the plane was from brooklyn and said he was gonig to smuggle cell phones into Israel under his jacket. I wished him luck, and as we disembarked I tried to stay close, so I could see him get arrested. I lost sight of him, so whatever Israeli jail you're getting out of dude, I remember you! After I got through passport security I waited for my bags which took about 3.5 hours because the baggage handlers were on strike. My hotel was in Jerusalem so I decided to get a cab. I can't remember the cabbies' name but he was mad chill, so I sat in the front seat. I offered him one of my smokes, and we were best friends after that. Remember when in arab culture unsolicited gifts/ and or conversation are great ice-breakers. After that he wouldn't stop giving me smokes and told me he'd hook me up with his cousin in Jerusalem who could get me some good deals on souvenirs. I didn't really want souvenirs, but I let him talk anyway. It took about 1.5 hours to get to Jerusalem, and my hotel, which was the Notre Dame, which was run by the catholic church, but I think it's closed now. It was right outside the old city, and pretty close to the armenian and christian quarters if I remember correctly. It was an awesome place to stay, cheap and well kept, but like I said, I think it's now closed. At this point it was about 10 pm local time, and the jet lag was killing me, so I hit the rack. More tales to follow soon.