On Top of the YMCA

A few Fridays ago it was one of those perfect Jerusalem days. Sunny, warm, but not too warm and it felt like spring was somehow around the corner. We had brunch in the outdoor section of  one of the cafes at Mamilla mall overlooking the Old City walls. It was magical.

And, considering the weather this week, feels like ages ago. I am SURE it hasn't rained every day in the last week, but it really feels that way. And yes, rain is fabulous for the country, as I've mentioned before, but when we thought about coming here to the DESERT, I certainly wasn't expecting this. 

So after a few (very) long, rainy days, and looking at a forecast with rain through Sunday, it's always good to remember the magical days. Also good to remind myself that I've only worn my winter coat a handful of times since we arrived in November, and it's not even my hard core sleeping bag in a coat, but a wool jacket. And last Monday, well, was gloriously sunny and warm. Okay, feeling better already.

But back to that magical Friday. Ami read somewhere that one of the best views of Jerusalem is from the top of the tower at our local YMCA, and as we walked from Mamilla home, we decided to have a mini adventure and get up top. For 5 Shekels a person, you can take the stairs up there, and for 10, the elevator. Don't think too long about how we ascended...

And the view was phenomenal. Since it's a tower there are views all 360 degrees around (duh) and they're all amazing- of the Old City, the hills, downtown, even as far as the desert.

So these photos don't do the view justice, but it's proof we were there! The tight space was hard to get a shot, and that little boy was happy just to run around in those narrow slices of the outside even though the view was of stone.

After a not-so-fun last couple days of being stuck indoors, Eitan getting some random allergic reaction and waking up with red blotches all over his body (he's fine now...and we have a lovely (American) pediatrician who squeezed us in same day) and other bits of drama, it's good to remember the sunshine.

So here's to remembering the nice days!


PS- Does the title of this post remind you of both the song that grade school kids "on top of spaghetti"? Because it's in my head now, big time, and for some reason, not the YMCA song.