Exploring the Edges of Yemin Moshe

Yemin Moshe is the neighborhood that's right outside of the Old City walls, the first place people moved in Jerusalem outside of the Old City at the way end of the 1800's. It's really a beautiful beautiful area, the views of the Old City walls are unreal, but it's also very stairs-y, so not so so stroller friendly, especially without Ami around to either carry the stroller or make sure Eitan doesn't run off while i carry the stroller up or down the stairs.

Sunday morning we had a bit of a late start to the day, cleaning up from Shabbat, doing laundry, really fun stuff people, so I figured taking a walk over there (it's about 10 minutes from our house) would be a fun activity before naptime. Especially as the high temperature in Jerusalem was only in the mid 80's. Perfect!

The neighborhood is best represented by a giant windmill which has been under renovation all summer, it's looked like a very sad mill less (is that what those blades are called? Probably not...)windmill. It's actually a very cool project the city is undertaking it- restoring it back to a working windmill producing actual flour. It was supposed to be completed last Sunday (maybe in time for Romney's speech over there?), but alas, still this today when we went to check it  out the area was still gated off, and although the mill  is back on it's not in motion yet. Eitan didn't care that it wasn't spinning and just kept calling it a BIG FAN. He's really into fans nowadays...like obsessed, he points them out everywhere we go.

Beautifully restored, but not in motion yet.

Big Fan. Little Boy. On tiptoes.

On the edge of Yemin Moshe there's also a big beautiful fountain. In the summer this fountain becomes a very unofficial swimming pool for kids. I figured it would be fun for a little splashing around, but when we got there it was like whoa legit swimming pool with kids in inner tubes, bathing suits and parents ready with swim diapers and towels. See?

I am certainly not  Israeli enough to have Eitan swim in random fountains with water that I have no idea is sanitary, and definitely filled with kid pee without chlorine, but we did have fun splashing around a little bit. He didn't seem interested in going in- I guess from all our time at the pool this summer he gets that pools are for swimming and fountains for checking out? 

And, a video:


Splashing in the Fountain from mimi rozmaryn on Vimeo.



Either way, it was a great couple hour activity, and if you want to read more about the neighborhood, you can read this page.

Also, don't think it doesn't KILL me what a big boy Eitan looks like in these pictures. Seriously. I know I see him everyday, but am in shock. And maybe almost cried. And thanks to Uncle Gadi, Tia, Liat and Itai for the awesome hat, that is sized Infant, and for some reason still fits, somehow.

Also, Also, This is my 100th post! If I would have realized it before writing it up, maybe I would have done something more clever? Whatever, maybe for 101? Not sure if I'm clever enough to think about it.