Jerusalem - Day 1

Today, we had to be ready for the bus at 8. Breakfast started at 6:30. With the trouble we had with getting breakfast on time yesterday, we wanted to get there early, so we got there when it opened. After breakfast, I headed down to the mall area to see if the wireless worked even when the cafe was closed. It did, woo hoo! I had to stand on the stairs, and I didn't have time to do much, but I mainly just wanted to see if it worked.

We got on the bus when it was time, and we took off. Well, kind of. We had to go get the 4 and 5 star people. then, we had to come back to our hotel to get another family who had gotten in really late. It took us over an hour to pick everybody up. We finally got going. Today was modern Jerusalem day. The first thing we did was go to the village where John the Baptist was born. 

Where John the Baptist was born

We visited the church that's over his birthplace, and looked in the shops along the way. I saw a shirt I liked, and the guy said it was 40 shekels. I said it was too much. He said 30. I said 25. He said OK. I pulled out my cash, and he said he couldn't take cash, only cards. I said no. He asked if I had dollars, I said yes. He said 10 dollars cash. I said that was way more than 25 shekels (it's almost 40), and that I wouldn't pay it. I hate walking away, but I wasn't about to pay full price or give him my credit card number.

We hopped back on the bus and went a bit further on to the Hadassa Hospital, where we saw the famous Chagall windows.  They represent the 12 tribes of Israel. We had a presentation about what all of them meant, and then it was back on the bus. 

I know the dark blue one is the tribe of Dan, but I don't remember the rest

After Chagall, it was time for the holocaust museum. I hadn't been to the one in DC, because Em had been too young  to go before we left MD. We've been to a few Jewish ghettos around Europe and to Dachau now, so the museum really had an impact on us, especially Em. I was especially bothered by the parts where the kids got taken away from their families. The museum is really well done. Very moving. We had lunch in the museum cafe. The museum is free, but they get you in the cafe. $59 for lunch for 4 people. It was pretty cool, though. The cafe is kosher, so there's a meat side and a dairy side, and never the twain shall meet.

Next was the Israeli Museum, where we saw a model of Jerusalem in 66AD, I think it was. It was super cool. We also saw some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. That was nifty. Orna asked everybody if they would be interested in a night tour of Jerusalem. We could see some things we couldn't see during our regular tour, and we could see a lot of other things in a very different way. The kids didn't want to, but I did, and Mom really did, so we said yes.

We room a quick trip to the knesset (the Israeli parliament) building, where we saw the menorah out front that is the symbol of Israel. I learned that the menorah that's the Israel symbol only has 7 branches. I hadn't realized it was different than the 9 branched one for Hanukkah. speaking of Hanukkah, tonight was the first night! How totally awesome to spend it in Jerusalem.

Lots of families staying in our hotel brought their menorah down to the lobby.

We came back for some dinner before our night tour. We actually got dropped off before the other hotels this time, so that was nice. We had a couple of hours before we needed to be back on the bus. But, we had eaten lunch at like 2, and it was only a bit after 5, so we weren't hungry. We ended up just eating some of the yummy treats that Tali and Nira had gotten for us in Tel Aviv. Then, we went down to check a little email before getting back on the bus. As we were getting ready for the bus, they were setting up for a wedding reception in the ballroom off the lobby. Lots of nicely dressed people. I hoped the wedding would still be going when we got back.

The night tour only had like 18 people on it, so that was awesome. We got to see the night skyline of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. 

Jerusalem from the Mt of Olives. That's the Dome of the Rock to the center right

 At the overlook, Orna and our driver, Gaby, had some wine for us to do a toast. The kids got to taste their first kosher wine. They didn't like it. Nor did I, but I drank it anyway. We got out at several more stops to see Jerusalem by night. Most of it we'll see again tomorrow, so I don't need to describe it tonight. A lot of the places we just saw from the outside tonight, while we'll go in tomorrow. We went up to the Wailing Wall, too. The thing I thought was coolest though was when we drove through one of the ultra-orthodox neighborhoods. It looked rather slummish, honestly. It was so crowded with people all over the street, even at 11:30 at night. Teeny little kids walking with their families. The kids were all fascinated with our bus. One kid decided to race the bus with his little sister in a stroller. She thought it was great. We got some glares, and at least one person threw something at us, but mostly they just looked resigned that were there. We didn't get out there. I have to say, though, tonight I really wish I had an awesome camera that could take night shots, because Jerusalem at night was a lot more beautiful than my pictures show.

When we got back to the hotel, it was almost midnight. The wedding was still on! Woo! I got a little video of people dancing. I went down to check my mail (I had offered to pass on any prayers from friends and family on FB, and I needed to check and see if I had any) while Mom and the kids came up to get ready for bed. Now, it's almost 1, and I have to get up at 6, so I'm going to bed now. Shalom!

Emma says - The day was pretty successful, but the night tour hurt my brain. I was so tired. The Chagall Windows were really pretty. At the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, the guard was whistling and singing the whole time. It was funny.