I’m glad Rotem and I had to leave first thing in the
morning. Saying goodbye is not my thing, and the longer it gets prolonged the
worse it is. Even so, the morning was not without its issues. Rotem and I
needed to get to the bus stop, but the car wouldn’t start. Rotem made an
emergency call to her friend Mia, who was going on the same bus. We’d decided
not to try to ride together to the bus because of the amount of luggage we all
had, especially me. Now there was no alternative. Luckily Mia’s mom was able to
pick us and our suitcases up and got us to the bus with minutes to spare.
The ride took about two and a half hours with a brief pit
stop around the Bet She’an area. Rotem and I didn’t talk, not even with Google
Translate. Both of us were tired, I guess, and I was feeling a little sad and maybe
a little apprehensive, too.
We took the Jericho to Jerusalem Highway, entering Jerusalem
from the southeast (I think).
The first view of Jerusalem is simply amazing. Of course the
place that immediately catches your eye is the Dome of the Rock, surrounded by
the walls of the Old City. At this point, I recognized those features but would
come to know other landmarks quite well by the time we departed the city.
Traffic started well before we entered the city-proper. It
was bumper-to-bumper all the way to the central bus station. I hadn’t expected
that. The population of Jerusalem is around 800,000. Fresno is 500,000 strong—and
the traffic is far more sane and organized than Jerusalem. In fact, Fresno seems
like a cow-town compared to the Israeli city.
When we reached the bus station, Rotem pulled me off the
bus, took me over to a cab driver, spoke a few words to him then turned to me. “You
go with him. He will take you to the hotel. You pay him 40 shekels.” With that
she gave me a hug and walked away with Mia. I found out later than she had been
thoroughly prepped by her mother as to what to do.
It was a rather hair-raising ride to the Prima Kings, what
with the cabbie going full-bore, using his horn to move other vehicles out of
the way, but we made it unscathed.
When I was brave enough to open my eyes, I marveled at the
beauty that is Jerusalem. The city is built on hills, at about 2,500 feet in
elevation, and festooned with flowers. There is color everywhere. The city, and
the rest of Israel, is amazingly clean. This fact would really hit home later
in the week when we crossed into Jordan, where the highways are strewn with
trash.
The Prima Kings hotel, in the area of the
city known as Rehavia,
would be our home base for the next several days. We’d discover that Rehavia is
a lovely, upscale area situated in a very popular part of the city, only a few
blocks from the walls of the Old City.
 |
| Our home in Jerusalem - the Prima Kings Hotel |
I’d arrived very early for the start of the Road Scholar
program, so dropping my luggage at the hotel, I decided to make sure I got my
10,000 steps for the day.
Rehavia’s streets are lined with apartment
buildings, each one with patios and courtyards filled with colorful flowers. I
spent several hours walking the streets, enjoying the sights and scents. In
reviewing my photos of the afternoon, I can’t believe the only flower I
captured was a holly hock in the plaza across from the hotel.
While walking, I texted Betty to let her know I’d arrived
safely and to send her the photo of a cat who was far friendlier to me than
Blanco. I resisted the urge to pet and was glad I did when I mentioned to Gila,
our Road Scholar group leader, about all the cats I saw.
“Don’t pet them,” she admonished. “They’re mostly feral,
despite their friendliness, and they haven’t been vaccinated.” She said that a
number of Jerusalem citizens take it upon themselves to feed the strays, and
there are attempts underway to get them spayed/neutered and vaccinated, but it
will take a very long time.
Back at the hotel after my walk, I checked in and spent some
time organizing my gear before going downstairs to meet Gila and our group
before dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment