The Walls of the Old City,
a view of Jerusalem, Israel that you do not see often,
from the roof of the St. Louis Hospital.
Much more on that later, but for now,
Shabbat Shalom!
Israel
Waldorf – Astoria in Jerusalem
While most media attention was focused on Holyland this week,
I would like to share some photos from a different major building project.
The new Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem, Israel, has opened its doors.
Since Passover time, a doorman in a top hat has been on duty.
I have been fascinated by the progress of its construction,
from a shell in November 2010,
February 2011,
and April 2011.
Not only by day, but when it was lit up at night,
as in September 2010,
January 2011,
and as recently as in January 2014, I had to stop.
For years one had to walk in the street as in April 2011,
on or on the other side of Agron Street.
Once they built a cement wall, but then quickly removed it.
So much work and so many workers,
on scaffolding and in windows.
Sometimes I’d wonder what they were thinking,
and what they were doing.
Since the summer of 2010, the residential apartment building
and the adjacent hotel structure,
have slowly risen (September 2011)
and slowly progressed (May 2012).
The decades-old original facade was cleaned up and remains,
while the inside of the atrium and other details have been upgraded to the max.
Twice I have gone inside and have had a hard time
just getting past the beautiful flowers displayed near the entrance.
People are wandering in to look, to sit and have a drink.
Weddings are scheduled,
and conferences are being held in the Waldorf-Astoria luxury hotel.
Other Jerusalem, Israel, hotels have started upgrading their facilities,
as everyone has to go up a notch now.
FYI, Top hats and wonderful service yes,
but NO buses allowed in front of hotel.
If you have a few spare million dollars lying around,
there are still flats for sale in the building next door,
just across from the Mamila Mall and minutes from the Old City.
19 Favorite Scenes this Week in Jerusalem
Raining, pouring weather in Israel in May
is most unusual, but it started last night.
Too bad that I missed getting a photo of lightning over the Knesset,
or little children splashing in puddles this afternoon.
But this was such a colorful, event-filled week it was hard to keep up,
so I decided to share just a few favorites scenes.
The weather had been warm and summer-like last week,
perfect for the many groups of children on school trips to see Jerusalem.
The planes for flyover air shows are such a favorite that I did a whole blog post on them.
What a spot for a show, in the Jaffa Gate plaza of the Old City,
with the King David Hotel as backdrop
The flags inside of Tower of David Museum fly all year.
But this week there were lots more flags to be seen,
my favorite decorated car was this one.
The Jewish Agency Building was one of many draped with long flags.
However, I hate to see so much water being used for cleaning
when getting ready for holiday ceremonies.
Back to Israeli flags,
these Arab women walked under rows of them.
It was nice to see one hanging in a new Jerusalem yeshiva.
While down the street,
I met these two Kurdish women.
They are in Israel with their children who are receiving life saving medical care.
It is always a favorite to share that kind of under radar story.
By day there were various flags flying,
by night for Yom Ha’aztmaut, Independence Day
this sign warns of street closings.
The all night parties and fireworks were really something else.
Not just Israeli flags,
but Jerusalem flags are also lining major streets.
I loved this warning in hotel lobby,
that things will be closed on Yom HaZikaron, Memorial Day
On our first time in Israel for Yom Ha’atzmaut our tour bus drove
for hours looking for somewhere to get food.
I never understood how that could have been so poorly scheduled,
everyone in Israel should know about these closing times.
Blue and white flags and cars fill on the streets,
and people and smoke filled Gan Sacher, Sacher Park and other green areas.
Some people know how to stake their claim to a picnic spot.
The blue and white plastic hammers keep getting bigger.
This dog was dressed in red, white and blue.
It felt like US July 4th Independence Day, hot and muggy,
so no idea why he needed to wear anything.
Grilling meat went on all day,
at just this one mangal BBQ over 250 pounds of meat were consumed.
The photo of a girl in Gan Sacher in a “GO VEG” tee-shirt
came out good, but not many were paying attention to her advice
and this is getting too long.
It has cooled off and I had better get going,
after the violent weather, the sun is starting to come out.