Wall walking

Back to Yerushalaim for our guided tour of the Rampart Walls around the Old City. We started at Jaffa Gate. We arrived just as it opened at 9 am (at this hour it is easy to park at Mamila Mall, later you have to play Traffic Jam in real life to avoid cars haphazardly parked in the lot).  Entrance fees for the walls was 14NIS for adults and 7NIS for kids. We brought a soft back pack carrier for Bailey, though she walked most of the way herself. The stairs are steep, but the railing is secure. Our tour guide (you don't necessarily need one, but she gave us a lot of insight into the history of the area and what we were looking at today and what the areas were in history, so it was a much richer experience for everyone) lead us around, stopping in select areas to explain things and tell the kids stories. At one point she gave Bailey bubbles to occupy her as she was leading the kids in a discussion about what we care for most in the world (real answer: our children) just then Bailey shouted out "Bubbles" which is a close second!

As it was Friday and not the best time to get anywhere near the Muslim quarter, we left the walls at Zion Gate and crossed the Old City stopping at David's Tomb for a bit of apropos Tehillim reading and some stray cat feeding. The kids were getting low on fuel, so ice cream was in order. We sat at an Old City play ground while the tour guide filled us in on King Chizkiyahu's Broad wall history. Bailey and Meir made some friends with the local children at play.  Bailey was a bit afraid of the little boys climbing everywhere, but one sweet 3 year old Yerushalmi boy noticed and helped her to navigate the ladders and slides. We wrote our names in Ancient Hebrew name tags, checked out the Ramban Shul, saw the newly rebuilt Hurva shul and wrapped things up.

Lunch on the fly in the Mamila mall consisting of Waffles, more ice cream and smoothies before heading back to RBS to get ready for Shabbos.

Uncle Raphy was coming to spend Shabbos with us and the Bermans. Four floors had to be swept, the fridge light had to be figured out, the shabbos timers deciphered and we were ready for our first Shabbos in Israel.