Israel offers some great tourist spots, and they’re all pretty easy to get to being that that country is the size of New Jersey. We have just five weeks left here and we’ve checked off most of the big ones: The desert in the south, the Red Sea, the Sea of Galilee, many jaunts to nearby […]
There are two Ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in the center of Jerusalem – Geula and Mea Shearim – and I’ve been too nervous to venture in to them during my nearly three years in Jerusalem. Every new arrival to the city hears horror stories about unknowing motorists driving into these neighborhood during Shabbat and being met with […]
On the first day of Passover, a group of friends and I went on a hike. Our plan was to start just outside of Jerusalem in an Israeli National Park and end up in the Palestinian town of Jericho. We figured it would take us about six hours, because some ultra-fit friends said they ran […]
Readers of this blog: You know I like wine. And at all three of our Foreign Service posts — Sana’a, Madrid, and now Jerusalem — wine has been something of an issue. First wine was an issue in Yemen because there was none. It’s a dry country where booze is haraam, but us crafty Americans […]
It’s practically summer in Jerusalem: The lavender and wild rosemary are going gangbusters, we had our first triple-digit day (that’s Fahrenheit), and the lush strawberries in the markets have been replaced by sweet cherries. (Still no limes, but, alas, that is my new reality). Jerusalem is starting to feel more like home. I’m moving past […]
…Jerusalem! Surprised? Remember back when I painstakingly outlined all the pros and cons of moving to seven different cities and asked ya’ll to vote? Well, the winner, Lima, Peru, and all the rest of the places for that matter — London and Papau New Guinea among them — didn’t pan out. We were without […]
The Next Dinner Party 