August 27, 2005
Castel and Jerusalem
We had District conference at the BYU Jerusalem Center, so we decided to go a day earlier to visit Jerusalem. On our way, we saw a sign for a national park, so we stopped. We have a national park pass so it was free. The site is called Castel, and it was a key strategic site in the Israeli War of Independence. It is high on a hill overlooking the main road into Jerusalem from the west. We hiked up the hill behind an ambulance which was very interesting for Tyler. The ambulance was there to rescue a lady who had slipped and fallen and was a little dizzy. As a result, Tyler was very careful not to fall and he held our hands the whole time.
CastelThe view from Castel is beautiful. You can see the hills surrounding Jerusalem.
Looking towards JerusalemHere are some of the trenches used in the defense of Castel.
In the trenchesAfter we visited Castel we went to a nearby mall for lunch and some shopping. We ate at a KFC! It was great; there isn't one in Haifa. Tiffany got lots of fun clothes and Scott got some new shirts.
We had planned to visit the Tower of David museum which had a special railroad exhibition; however, the museum was closed. Instead we went swimming on the roof of our hotel. Brooke and Tyler loved it. We splurged and bought ice cream bars and popsicles at the poolside bar.
Swimming in JerusalemAfter dinner we ate at Cafe Paradiso (no relation to Cinema Paradiso). It was wonderful. We had goat cheese stuffed ravioli, bruschetta and then creme brulee for dessert.
On the Sabbath, we checked out of our hotel and went to the BYU Jerusalem Center. There we met all our friends from the Galilee branch and Jerusalem-Tel Aviv branch. There were a couple of new families one of which had children about Tyler's age. They had fun playing together.
Our meetings were in the concert hall which has a beautiful view of the old city. This allowed us to enjoy the beautiful organ music while we sang the hymns.
View from the Jerusalem Center
After our meetings we had lunch: fried chicken and hummus. We sat near the new family whose children Tyler was playing with. We had fun getting to know them.
After lunch we talked with the Jerusalem Center missionaries and our friends. We then took pictures on the terraces behind the Jerusalem Center.
Brooke with a view of Jerusalem
Here is a picture of the Dome of the Rock. Tyler thinks that the Dome of the Rock is Jerusalem. He also calls Jerusalem "Yerushalim," the Hebrew pronunciation.
Dome of the RockThe gardens around the Jerusalem Center are beautiful. We enjoyed walking around outside. Here is Tyler on the stairs back up to the Jerusalem Center from the terraces.
Climbing the stairsWe had a wonderful trip to Jerusalem. Tyler had so much fun that he started to cry on our drive home. He kept repeating over and over, "I don't want to leave Jerusalem."
Tyler-isms:
"Slowing" - The opposite of fasting (from food).
"Adult cookies" - Tyler asked for these; the good cookies that we don't normally share with our children.
Brooke-isms:
"Window" - She loves to look out windows.
"Cokor" - Color. Brooke loves to color with pens, pencils, crayons, with anything on anything.