A ditl meetup in the Holy Land!
Good morning! It's a bright and sunny day in the Holy Land :) My view from my bed in my cousins' study--lots of books, and a little courtyard in the back of the house.
Get up and go shower in my cousins' master bath. it's a really nice bathroom, and i never wanted to get out of the shower! I hate living out of my travel bag...sigh. new contacts time!
Since passover ended last night, there's not much to eat for breakfast. I settle on some meh granola until my cousin comes home with CHEERIOS!!!! :D i also have a clementine, which has a gajillion seeds.
Then my cousin drives me to hang out with my Great-Aunt. She's my grandpa's big sister, almost 91 years old, and she's been living in Israel for over 20 years, with many long visits before she made Aliyah officially (that is the term for becoming an Israeli citizen, it means "going up"). She is one tough old broad! She insists i have some bread and butter, then we sit and look at pictures and talk.
For her 90th birthday last year, her grandkids made her this awesome photo book. this lady has...let's see...four kids, i think 10 grandkids, and at least ten greats.
We look through some other pictures too, and i find this silly one of my mom (sitting down in blue) and an awesome pic of my grandpa (the middle boy).
After hanging with her for about two hours, i go and wait for the bus. and wait. and wait. i love the 10-shekel coin, it's so pretty! Finally the bus comes and i get my ticket, which also works as a transfer ticket for an hour.
I change buses at the old train station...onto a little bus that will take me right into the old city! It passes the YMCA where i worked when I was studying here :) finally the Jaffa Gate is in sight!
I get off so i can walk a bit, even though the bus would take me exactly where i was heading. I just absolutely adore this city, with the stone and the arches and the doors (can you imagine LIVING in the old city?!?), and then you turn a corner and BOOM, ruins! *dreamy sigh*
I buy a snack--hey, don't judge, it was just passover! and one has apples in it!--and then keep walking, stopping to drop a few shekels into a box and pick up a bracelet. i'll wear it until it falls off, to remind me of my trip every time i look at my wrist.
Going down down down, then BOOM! Hello, Kotel (Western/Wailing Wall) and Dome of the Rock! Hello gorgeous view!
Heading towards security...i see this giant line, and get in it without thinking. Durrrrr it's the line for the Temple Mount not the Kotel, but I don't realize that for a while and then i decide, hey why not! I'm already here!
There's a nifty bridge thing that leads up, and on one side you can see some ongoing archaeological work.
Once I'm up there, I'm kind of at a loss. It's really pretty, but without a guide, I don't really know what to do. So i grab a few pics of the Al-Aqsa mosque and this gorgeous pic of the Dome of the Rock. I've never been close enough to see the gorgeous mosaics before!
Then I go down and come around from another side to the Kotel. I go and pray and put a note in the wall. On my way out I read this sign, which i thought was pretty interesting.
All done, I head to get lunch. I had planned to get shwarma, but couldn't resist the lure of ice cream--it was HOT! Make my daily phone call to my mom, then go to walk around the shops a bit. I love this mosaic!
I go to the visitor's center to get a map and try and figure out the rest of my day. While i'm there I remember to text phoebebeast! Then I set out on a trek to meet her.
On the way i see a random graveyard, a dead sea products OUTLET where i buy some mud for only 10 shek (around $2.50) a bag, and my first glimpse of the new light rail! it's so quiet and awesome, although my Jerusalemite friends are split between loving it and despising it.
I'm early, so I sit outside an Aroma (the Starbucks of Israel) for a while to mooch off their wifi, until i get chilly and go inside to get tea. Then out of nowhere I hear, "Shaina?" and look! There's phoebebeast! :D
We go to T'mol Shilshom and I get some deeeeeelicious ricotta ravioli with saffron and chive cream sauce (i think) and we talk and talk and talk :) Then we both take the same picture of our tip in the dish :P
I misunderstood a text from a friend and thought he'd be back to hang out with me soonish, so my new friend is awesome and invites me to come over for a bit while I'm waiting. Her apartment is small and cute, and her hubby and boys are so sweet!
Once I realize how late he's really going to be back, I decide to leave and take a taxi back instead of trying to deal with a bus in the dark. I let her know I made it safe (also timecheck!) :)
My 14 year old cousin is watching Project Runway, so i get my Kindle and sit and watch too. They had to make stuff out of things they found in the pet store. it was quite strange.
The houshold goes to bed, but the wifi is being dumb. It's open, so when lots of people are using it it kind of sucks. However, the office computer works, so i get on and do some quick catching up.
Then I finally get tired and go to get ready for bed...it always astounds me how much STUFF i need just to wash up! Also of note is the funky faucet-extender, because apparently whoever built this bathroom thought it'd be cool to put the faucet a foot away from the bowl. Oy.
Good night DiTL!