Unfortunately I have passed on my cold to my husband. We were both feeling the effects this morning. We have spent days wondering what effect today's big bike race will have on transportation. Alexis and Rob used the same taxi driver we used to get from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for their return trip to the Tel Aviv airport this morning. The driver was very nervous about which roads would be closed off and at what time. So they ended up leaving an hour early and spending 4 hours at the airport. Family time is over until we see them in Amsterdam at the very end of the trip.
The race starts at the Jaffa Gate in front of the old city. The trams around the area close down around noon. Our first plan was to see the Muslim Quarter and the Damascus Gate. We would not have enough time we decided and the area would be too crowded. The local paper reported 10,000 spectators would attend. This is one of the most prestigious road cycling races in the world. Racers complained that that was far fewer then show up when the race is in Europe where crowds of 1.5 million are common. "Israelis don't understand the enormous impact of this race." And we have a view from the balcony of our 4th floor apartment. True, it is at a distance. I will start with those photos and then go back to this morning. This is the view from our balcony - the lens I am using is a 14-150. It is pretty much between 100-150 in the close ups and highly cropped.
Back to this morning. After the kids left, we walked to the market to pick up a few things we needed. We have one more full day here on Saturday. But, since it is the Sabbath, the trams will not be running. We will have to do something local - and do laundry. The flag below is in our neighbor belows balcony. Lot's of private homes have flags.
A random building with art.
This picture at the bottom of the building is of a modern day bakery. Interesting to note - they are all male - and no skull caps.
A musician at the beginning of the market. The gentleman with the groceries was singing along with him. How interesting - almost every one, except the women in the background is male. I noticed all the differed head coverings and lots of action.
Heading off to shop.
Yum, pastries. And yes we bought some to sample tonight.
The cheese shop - expensive but good.
Having just been to Japan this sign caught my eye. Not sure if I ever saw anything like it there.
Waiting patiently for customers.
Where are the grand kids - look at all the candy!
The man on the right dressed in conservative clothes was actually hitting up people for money. I saw him holding out his hand to several tourists.
The flower lady, she saw me as I took this photo and put the bouquet in front of her face.
In this next group of photos I was trying to capture the different dress of all the people we saw everywhere in Jerusalem. We saw a lot of fathers pushing strollers or holding a toddler without their spouse.
A group of conservatively dressed Jewish women. It was over 90 F out.
A more modern take.
A conservative family.
Remember Smurfs? This is at the mall near us where we went for lunch.
Since we are in a Jewish neighborhood, most all restaurants are kosher - even McDonald's.
I would love to understand more about the male/female roles in orthodox jewish families. it also struck me that a lot of fathers were on the streets with their kids on solo duty
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