Just another day in Jerusalem...

(a park on the way to the old city)

As we're settling into some sort of 'normal' routine out here, I continue to discover little things that are....different....than what I'm used to.

We went to the movies in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, and experienced something I am going to refer to as PARKING CHAOS. Apparently there aren't any rules to parking your car. Sidewalks and speedbumps are just suggestions, really. Paolo (one of Lee's co-workers) drove us to Tel Aviv, and when we arrived (late) to the cinema, the parking lot was a MESS. Like I've never seen before. We circled once, slowly, and noticing that EVERYONE else was doing it, I suggested to Paolo that he jump the curb and park up on the sidewalk area. So he did. Well, when in Rome....


(Sandu and Paolo showing off the awesome parking job)

Let's discuss coffee, shall we? Lee and I are on a mission to find ground coffee. We don't have a grinder, so whole bean is no good to us, and so far all the ground coffee we've found is espresso ground - so no drip or french press can be used to get a nice cup of REAL coffee. All other coffee is instant. Mmmmm Nescafe! Or, my personal new favorite for an afternoon decaf not-pick-me-up: Cafe Hag.


(it was good, not haggish at all!)

There are loads of cafes, which all serve very good espresso drinks - lattes, machiattos, cappuccino...the coffee really is very good. Add a little croissant, and you've got a perfect snack when wandering around city center on a lovely afternoon. That obviously does not solve the problem of making coffee at home for breakfast. This warrants another wander down to the Old City to see what I can dig up.....or carting back some coffee from England when we're there later this week.


(perfect way to spend an hour or two filling out postcards)

Since we're not 'tourists' and we are staying in an equipped apartment, we do most of the cooking at home, which has proven interesting in trying to figure out just what the hell I'm making. Last night we had mystery meat. It might have been beef, or lamb, or goat......it was salted, and LOOKED like steaks, but tasted a bit like pork (which we all know isn't what it was). Lee noted that we haven't seen any stray dogs running around....


(it could be anything! anything but pig. and I hope not dog)

And I finally found a good running route- one that doesn't take me all through the city on main roads, and up and down brutal hills. About 1/4 mile from our current apartment, there is something called "The Promenade", which is a really pretty collection of trails that create a series of long switchbacks on a hillside. From this location, you have an unobstructed view of the Old City, and into Palestine. The switchbacks are well graded, so it winds up not being too difficult of a hill to come back to the top and head home. Today while running, I saw a group of Israeli soldiers (in itself not unusual at all), riding Segways (definitely more unusual), completely unarmed (very unusual). It was like a soldier outing, and they stopped at the top for a meeting or picnic or something boy-scouty. Israeli soldier team building, anyone?

Lee's work offers Hebrew lessons, and today is to be our 'first' lesson- even though technically it's week 6 of a ten week course. We've had homework to study for the past week.....I made it to week three, where you can ask what something is (ma zeh?) and my brain is full. I'm not sure this will be a successful mission, this Hebrew class :)

After that, I may head to the Israel Museum- it is where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed. I think checking out the oldest written bible may be worth the price of admission, no?