The Weekend

(Left--view of the Old City from the Mt of Olives)

Weekends in Israel are Thursday night through Saturday night, with Friday being the Muslim holy day, and Saturday the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat). We attended church at the "Mormon University" on the Mount of Olives on Saturday, and we must have scheduled our attendance just right, because they had a "linger longer" after church (a potluck luncheon) with all kinds of delicious foods. Since breakfast and lunch were taken care of by the potluck, we didn't venture out for food until after nightfall, as it was very warm and muggy (about 90F), and all the restaurants were closed until not only sunset, but until "three stars are visible in the night sky." I don't know what Israelis do on a cloudy Saturday night--wait an extra night to view the stars?

On Friday we went to the Mount of Olives for a beautiful view of Jerusalem, then the Garden of Gethsemane. There was a very spiritual feeling in the garden, as it was the only religious place we have been that hasn't been "improved" or commercialized. We then went to the King David Hotel, "the" place to stay while in Jerusalem, as evidenced by the long list of notables who have stayed there--from heads of state to actors and actresses. Their signatures are on a long scroll imbedded into the floor in the main lobby.

We have enjoyed our time at "Ariela's Place," the room we rented about a half mile from the Old City. We would highly recommend it for anyone wanting a reasonable rate for a convenient room in Jerusalem. Her phone number is (Country code 972) 052-380-7077. The rate we paid was about $68 per night, which we thought was great.

At right is one of the old olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane....we had such a peaceful feeling there in the garden...

We are now packing for the return to Tel Aviv today for a two day stay at the Renaissance, which is right on the beach --maybe we'll dip our toes in the Med....I will meet with my old IBM colleague, Moshe Abu, tonight, then another business associate on Monday night, before heading to the airport on Tuesday morning, heading back to Madrid. After that our plans are kind of fuzzy, which really means we don't know what we're going to do next.

Our trip to Jerusalem has been fantastic and memorable, truly a trip of a lifetime, and we feel very blessed to have been able to be here.

That's all for now--I'll post more in a day or two.

Goldenbear