Tourists were back in Jerusalem, Israel, in large numbers for the holiday weekend.
The colourful umbrellas were back too, casting shadows over Yoel Salomon Street.
New decorations were near Ben Yehuda Street for the holiday season.
Oh, how I wish I had a camera for Shabbat and Jewish holidays.
The crowds at the Kotel, Western Wall, were huge as tens of thousands walked to the early morning services on Shavuot. The night before, the learning programs were too many to mention.
A map of sites was even available, with a list of speakers and their locations on the other side.
My week began on Monday morning at the Jerusalem Waldorf Hotel.
The lobby and flowers are worth a visit.
However, the Waldorf, with its Cheesecake Collection, was the first stop of the day.
With five kinds of cheesecake, it was hard to find a favorite.
Milk chocolate with sauce was good, as was the chocolate leaf I grabbed as we left.
On the Cheesecake Crawl, we had 7 stops ending at the Machane Yehuda Market.
The skyline has changed there in the past few years, drastically; it goes up and up.
One “Cheese cake – New York” – not quite as I remembered.
The Marzipan Bakery cheesecake looked like the one I had seconds of at the shul kiddush. Much better soft than frozen from the display case.
Before Shavuot, it was an honor and so much fun to join Jamie Geller, who led the Cheesecake Crawl.
One of the stops had been at the Moulin Dore, a new dairy restaurant.
The cheesecake there was good enough to want to come back on Wednesday evening for the restaurant opening and tasting – and wine.
The food was good. But the lines for the wine were too long as the garden filled.
We walked home to prepare for the Shavuot holiday, followed by Shabbat.
Israelis prepared for Shavuot with cheesecake and dairy meals.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy had a delivery of new shelters.
In Jerusalem, we do not know what will happen next.
But I am sure the Waldorf and the other Jerusalem hotels that were booked solid for the holiday were happy.
Hope to see you next year in Jerusalem!
Too much cheesecake should be our biggest problem.
