Our trip continues to unfold

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Over the past few days, we have visited the Old Port of Jaffa/Tel Aviv, done some swimming in the warm, clean waters of the Mediterranean Sea and learned the pitfalls of asking for directions on the streets of Israel's major cities. We also visited with some friends in Nes Ziona, the Himmelhoch's. They welcomed us with a grand feast of meat, vegetables and fruit. David really liked the cake. The children and grandchildren were there as well and got to speak the "universal language" of video games with Micah, Jonah and David.

Today, would took a very informative driving tour around western Jerusalem. We went to Yad Vashem and got some very moving description of the sculptures and some of the accessible exhibits. David is too young to go into the historical section with the more graphic exhibits, but I think we all came away with a clear message about the Halocaust. We then took an amazing trip through the "fringe" areas of Jerusalem and got a detailed explanation about the wall that has been built to separate Jewish and Palestinian areas. Our guide, Eitan, has a fantastic understanding of the complex issues (used to work for the local police department and is a Sabra). He showed us some of the tragic results of poor decisions by leaders on both sides of the conflict--we drove right through some Palestinian settlements and saw differences in housing structure, plumbing, road construction and local schools. Quite an eye opener. He showed us how Israeli's had to set up protective barriers around apartment buildings to keep out sniper fire. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail. Currently, the situation is quite calm in this area, allowing a trip like the one we took today (of course this would never be printed in the U.S. newspapers).

We have great plans ahead in the upcoming days. We'll keep you posted.

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Photos

Walking tour of the Old City
Asher, our guide, gave us a fantastic tour. We started on the rooftops and descended into the ruins at the base of the Temple Mount.

Walking tour of the Old City
Scaling up to the rooftops

Walking tour of the Old City
Looking down on the marketplace from the rooftops

Walking tour of the Old City
View of the Kotel (Western Wall) from the Jewish Quarter

Walking tour of the Old City
Exploring a cistern near the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount (new excavations)

Walking tour of the Old City
Massive stones along the Southern Wall (Micah walks alongside, showing the scale)

Meeting with the Himmelhoch's
A great night with lots of food and stories