Another entry from Jerusalem

Day 46: Divide and conquer in the Shapiro family! With Avi under the weather, Monica spent the morning comforting Avi, while Scott, Rebeka and Esti headed to David’s Citadel for a tour. Scott returned from the tour with many compliments about the girls’ behavior and Rebeka’s knowledge of the information presented. In the afternoon, with Avi feeling a bit better, we all piled into the car and headed to Mount Scopus to see Chagall’s windows at Hadassah Hospital. It was only when we arrived at the information desk that we learned we were at the wrong Hadassah Hospital! With little time to spare, we quickly piled again into the car and in record time made it to the correct hospital. We listened to an explanatory audio tape as we gazed at each magnificent piece of art. We then spent a few minutes admiring the hospital and the many services offered. Once home, Scott made a quick dinner for the kids and Monica walked to a lecture at the OU center on the Parsha of the week (the week’s Torah portion). The lecture lasted about 1 ½ hours and was very interesting. Monica then arrived home late and spent a few minutes catching up with Scott. Laila Tov to another day in Israel.

Day 47. Divide and conquer again! With Avi feeling better, Monica, Avi and Esti headed to David’s Citadel for the tour. As promised by Scott, the tour was extremely informative, using a time-line to describe the development of Jerusalem and Israel over time. During this time, Rebeka and Scott headed for another trip to Makeneh Yehuda for some shopping and schmoozing. The afternoon continued with a little play at a local park and then the evening continued with dinner with Ruthie, the daughter of synagogue friends. Ruthie also babysat, allowing Monica and Scott the ability to go out for a quiet cup of coffee at a local highly-recommended restaurant. Monica enjoyed a nice cup of cappuccino while Scott sampled a glass of hot apple cider with a shot of red wine. While you may all be questioning Scott’s choice of drink, it actually was pretty tasty and may become a new favorite for the cold Sacramento evenings. The evening ended late, but of course the kids STILL weren’t asleep upon our return. Laila Tov to another day in Israel.

Day 48: Another day to rest. Today was truly a quiet and relaxing day for the Shapiro family. The day began with a little homework. We managed not to leave the apartment until 3:00, and then walked to a park where we spent three hours on the park equipment playing and laughing. We then stopped at the local market for a few items and headed home for a quiet evening. The kids are really learning their way around Jerusalem-providing proper directions to us on how to get home from the market. Scott made a nice fish dinner at home and the evening ended with many rounds of Boggle.

Day 49: Another divide and conquer. Today Monica and the kids hailed a taxi and headed back to the Jerusalem Zoo. The zoo was amazing and is truly the nicest zoo the Shapiro family has ever visited. Unlike some other zoos, this zoo has exhibits where you can actually enter the animal’s habitat. We spent at great deal of time in the Lemur habitat watching them interact and eat. The kids enjoyed watching two month old Lemurs running around. Other highlights included the petting zoo and play area, Noah’s Ark, and of course the many other animals. After seven hours we called a taxi and headed home for dinner and an early night. Meanwhile, Scott headed into the Old City for a day of Torah Study. He joined the classes at Aish Hatorah for some intellectual stimulation. Most were very good and one was simply great, leading to a long discussion afterwards. During lunch Scott had time to take another visit to the Shuk to buy a few more gifts. After a family dinner, we all had time to walk back over to Ben Yehuda to watch the bongo drummers and do some more people watching.