After a late takeoff from JFK (about 2 hours) we had a nice flight to Ben Gurion. The timing for us was perfect allowing dinner, a movie (I watched the A-Team, better off watching old reruns of the real deal, and Jeri watched a chick flick), and then a solid 5-6 hours sleep. Our fellow travelers, Dave and Molly were not so lucky. They left Miami late, missed their connection in Rome, and did not get a flight until this evening. They should arrive around 1:30 AM.
After arrival, we were driven to our hotel in Jerusalem, the Mt Zion. right on the edge of the Old Walled City. Our room wasn’t ready because no cleaning is done on Shabbat, so we had to wait until sundown to see the accommodations. We had about an hour before my friend Arie was planning on picking us up, so we decided to take a walk over to the Old City to get oriented. We walked about ten minutes along the old wall to the Jaffa Gate. As we walked through, we were transported into a bustling bazaar with a cacophony of sounds, vendors selling fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, falafel, and pita, and brightly colored belly dancer outfits. The Christian Quarter that we were in was a warren of narrow alleys lined by shops, and crammed with people wearing all sorts of strange garb.
We meandered back to the hotel passing an old man in an olive tree shaking the olives to the ground to later press into oil. Arie then met us and took us on a quick tour of Hebrew University and the Knesset (just a peak fro the outside) and the to his home for a fantastic dinner lovingly prepared by his wife of almost 50 years, Carmella. After a lovely evening of catching up, we returned to the hotel for a well earned rest.
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