Binyamin and Avi had invited me back to Jerusalem for their monthly 'Sushi Shabbat' and that sounded to me wortht he trip. Unfortunately this time it wasn't convenient for me to stay with them so I checked into the Jerusalem Hostel and Guesthouse with Tara, by far the worst hostel I've stayed in in Israel so far.
After dropping our bags we went for a yummy lunch (hummus again!) at a place highly recommended by an Israeli friend. We were the only tourists there in an otherwise very touristy part of town, which we took as a good sign. Then to the souq to buy food for the next couple of days - a somewhat manic experience just before Shabbat came in.
I had arranged to meet Binyamin and Avi at synagogue and although I didn't enjoy the service quite as much as last time, I'm still glad I went. Sushi Shabbat consisted of making a tonne of sushi then eating it, which was as fun and delicious as it sounds.
The next day, Saturday, was slow. Jerusalem totally shuts down, a fact which I hadn't fully appreciated when hanging out at Binyamin and Avi's place a couple of weeks ago. Neither Tara nor I were particularly keen on heading into the Old City, so we went to the only other place we knew to be open, the Islamic Museum, which is totally worth a visit on any day of the week. The museum lays out its collection chronologically, the beautiful art and artefacts supplemented by plenty of information on the history and culture.
When the museum shut at 2pm, we were somewhat at a loss. We'd both booked in and paid for two nights at the hostel but neither of us could bear the thought of another night there. We couldn't leave, however, until the desk re-opened at 6:30, after Shabbat, and we could claim a refund on the extra night. Since the museum was not far from the lovely Yemin Moshe neighbourhood (see earlier 'Tel Aviv and Jerusalem' post), we walked round there for a while but this time it felt a little drab (amazing the differnce the sun, or lack thereof, can make). Then, at last, we found an open cafe and whiled away the last couple of hours playing chinese checkers, backgammon and drinking Baileys.
We were at last able to check out, but we breathed a sigh of relief too soon, for the journey into Tel Aviv turned into something of a nightmare. But, by the time we'd arrived, dropped of our bags at our respective accommodation (back to Bucky's for me, a hostel for Tara) and had some dinner, the sluggishness of the day wore off and by 11pm we were just getting going. It wasn't until 2:30am, after meeting friends of Tara's for a late-night mint lemonade, that I finally crashed into bed, very happy to be back here.
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