Hello Israel

Oct. 29

A couple appear to be admiring the reflections of colorful umbrellas on the store front wall. The sky above the streel is full of beautiful colorful umbrellas. — Take a Look

A couple appear to be admiring the reflections of the colorful umbrellas floating above the street. Or, maybe they weren’t, however, I sure was.

Hello Israel, First stop Jerusalem

We arrived in Tel Aviv around 2:30 am. Feeling a little jet lagged it was nice to have a driver waiting to pick us up and take us to Jerusalem. It was a 45 minute drive to the hotel with one check stop along the way where the police were looking for drunk drivers.

We went to sleep, had breakfast and then ventured to the old town.

While traveling we have a tendency to forget what day of the week it is. When we arrived to the old town, we saw that 98% of the shops and restaurants were closed and many of the locals on the street were wearing customary shabbat clothing. It must be Saturday.

Shabbat begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday when the new week begins. Observant Jews don't work during Shabbat. Norm felt this made for the perfect day to go shopping.

a few people relax on a colorful and quiet street decorated with colorful umbrellas — Sunday Calm

A young couple appear to be enjoying a quiet Saturday in old city Jerusalem.

Walk Wander and Wonder

This fellow passed us 3 times on different streets. Maybe some who wander really are lost.

a stop light is beautiful as it is covered by lovely bright flowers on a bush. — STOP and smell the Flowers

I would have to say this is the most beautiful stop light I have ever seen.

We did find a nice patio restaurant that was open and had a drink and appetizers for lunch.

While eating I googled where to go in Jerusalem on a Saturday and discovered the Arabic souq was open, so we walked over there.

Arabic souq

This Arab market located in the Christian and Muslim Quarters of the Old City took me back to the Old Medinas in Morocco.
This old city is a Mediterranean market that provides items from Turkish, Lebanon, Iran, Moroccan, and more Middle Eastern countries.

Stroll through the market

It's at times very crowded in the tight streets, and fills the senses with colors, smells, sights and flavors. The vendors here are all very friendly, curious, conversational, and not at all pushy.

YUM! Let’s satisfy that sugar craving.

We of course had to buy baklava and freshly squeezed pomegranate juice while here. It was fun walking up and down the streets turning here and there and never knowing where the next street was going to take you.

Hebrew is the official language in Israel, and Arabic is spoken by Israel's Arab minority. However, so far English is very prominent as a second language so it's been amazingly easy to chat with many locals.

We eventually walked back to our hotel for a power nap and then back out for supper around 830 pm. The streets were quiet, and unfortunately, the restaurant we wanted to try was closed. We found another one on the rooftop of the International hotel close by where the food was very good.

We strolled back to the hotel to wrap up a great first day in Israel and a wonderful wedding anniversary.