Random-osity: Around Jerusalem

Happy Thanksgiving from Jerusalem!! It's our last day here -- it's been a magical trip; I am so grateful to be here and sharing this beautiful country with you all!

We spent 90% of our time here in Jerusalem. It is a truly gorgeous city, filled with stone buildings, narrow alleys, and a lot of hills. We spent time in the Old City and some other neighborhoods as well.

There is so much amazing street art every where too. It really adds a pop of color to the Jerusalem stone that stretches on in every direction!

There are also signs and banners everywhere in honor of those who remain as hostages in Gaza and in memory of those who were lost on October 7th. There is especially a lot centered around Hersch - many of his "missing" posters now have the word "selicha" which means "i am sorry" in Hebrew. Every house's gate also has a yellow ribbon tied on it and many people even have them on their car door handles or wear them on their wrists.

The Montefiore Windmill and King David Hotel are two famous buildings that date back to even before Israel was an official country!

Of course, you cannot come to Jerusalem and not go into the Old City to the Kotel - the Western Wall. This is one of the holiest sites in Judaism. Long, long ago the Holy Temple stood on top of this wall and the holiest section of the temple was closest to this wall. We believe our prayers are more powerful here and people leave notes in the wall and come to pray here. We came to the Kotel 3x during our trip and it is always so beautiful and powerful to be there!

Israel is also known for its produce and pastries. Jerusalem has a shuk (literally market) that is famous for it's open-air stalls overflowing with every kind of fruit, nut, and pastry you can imagine. It is a feast for the eyes and smells amazing!

Israel is also home to loads and loads of wild cats. They are everywhere and just live amongst the Israelis. Some are not afraid of people, others are and they love you if you give them some food to nibble on!

It's truly been wonderful to be back in Jerusalem reconnecting with the city! Being here as an adult has just been perfection and we can't wait to be back in a few years!