Once again, we packed so much adventuring into Jerusalem and the local area, I need to be brief with some of it.

Vicky was sick the day our travel group went to the Old City. Noa, our guide, took us back one morning at 5:30am. You can see Vicky in the first photo at the Western Wall with her note to put inside the wall. Men and women have separate sections to approach the wall. Knowing that, I took two quick photos of Vicky before the split. Right afterwards, our guide told me that no photos were allowed there on the sabbath. Lucky for Vicky, I’m pretty quick with my camera.

One morning, we went to a Palestinian neighborhood to the home of a Palestinian woman, Reem Salame. She is on the right in the photo below. She started out preaching a lesson of love and understanding. She seemed open and honest and did not air any grievances. She just explained the difficulties of life for Palestinians in Israel. At one point, I asked her point blank: did she favor a one-state or a two-state solution. Reem said that she doesn’t care; she just wants to live in peace. She said that most Jews and Palestinians feel that way but the political leaders on both sides are the problems.

One afternoon, we went to the Pantry Packers, part of Israel’s social services network. We spent an hour packing and labeling food for needy families. You can see Vicky packaging oatmeal in the 3rd photo. It was a great experience.

OAT, our travel company, arranges for home-hosted meals on their trips. This night, we had a dinner in the heart of Jerusalem with a modern Orthodox family. The living room and our dining table are in the 4th photo.

Raffi and Ronit, the couple standing in the last photo, were our hosts. They were a fascinating couple with three kids, all from prior marriages. Dinner was multiple salads, bread, “Jesus fish,” rice, green beans, and chocolate cake.