An international incident

 Step one -- wake up. Check

Step two -- check work emails and texts and get frustrated. Return some, tag others for later ignoring. Check

Step three -- morning rituals of davenings, washing up, getting dressed, and attacking the day. Check.

I walked to Ben Yehuda (10 minutes). Buy a pen and paper because I forgot mine. Check.

I also forgot a mask. I feel like my body is not jet lagged but my brain is. Things just seem fuzzy and fuzzy things seem even fuzzier. Which is nice. I never could get the hang of Wednesdays.

Note to everyone -- my right foot hurts. I have new inserts and walking in them is an adjustment.

The second place I stopped in had decaf. First place didn't and the guy had trouble understanding the concept. Jerk and I don't mean soda. The second place had but I was skeptical. It was Cofix and I wanted to believe that they are honest, so I took the chance. NIS 8 is ok, but when I got the coffee I saw that it was topped with frothed milk. Gross. It wasn't sweetened but that made the milky froth even worse. I just wanted to get to the chwewy center of bitterness. If that's good, I'll call it a win. Eventually, I found the coffee. Let's hold off on that "win." It was really not good and in the process of trying to get to it and avoid the froth I spilled coffee on myself and now my phone is dairy. Thank you brain fog!

I saw a family I recognized. No names and just a apssing "hi" so that's cool. Just note, though that my not knowing their names is not a brain fog issue, but just a regular expression of my inability to remember names. 10 minutes and I was at the bottom of Ben Yehuda (including 2 stops for coffee in which the getting was worse than the not getting. Really bad coffee.)

15 minutes and I was at the bottom of Yaffo and a first view of the walls of the old city. Nice. 7 minutes to the Yaffo gate, 9:15 and I'm in.

5 minutes to the makeshift memorial where Eli Kay was killed this week. Just saying.

5 minutes to the security checkpoint to get into the Kotel area. I tore my shirt, intentionally.

I have taken the same picture of the approach to the kotel every time I have visited and I never tire of that moment so I never tire of taking that picture. It is new each time. I saw a sign into the tunnels so I branched off and headed towards a security gate because I figured that the security must be guarding something good. I put my stuff on the table for inspection and the guy told me that I didn't have to unless I was walking IN. Turns out I was leaving the kotel area and entering the Arab area. I walked a few paces, saw nothing that compelled me to stay and turned around. I put my stuff back on the conveyor belt and went back into the kotel area. I did then find a stair case that went down and seemed to be tunnel related but the door at the bottom was closed and the sign told me to enter around the corner. Who argues with a sign? I headed to the main tunnel entry and I'm glad I had my Tav Yarok with me because this was the first time after the airport that anyone asked for it. I actually felt good that he did. It meant that someone cared. Huzzah.

Of course, without a reservation, I couldn't do anything anyway so I immediately left, Tav Yarok in hand.

At the wall I came across the Steinharts (hi Steinharts!) and we caught up a bit. We chose to chat in a spot which is apprently named "sure we'll take your picture for you" point because that's what we did. A lot.

I made it to the wall and just marveled at it. It makes a lot of things very real, tangible, and powerful. The wall is, ultimately, just a wall and yet, at the same time, not "just" not "a" and not "wall."

I listened as the minyanim for shacharit kept finishing while others were just starting. It seemed to be the Jewish equivalent of "breakfast served all day."

I made a donation to a kolel -- a guy from the 5 towns chatted me up and seemed very nice and I thought if I could get this guy to give a bracha to my family and friends then that's worth a couple of bucks. Maybe I'm a sucker. Maybe. Maybe his kolel needed something and I was there and my little donation will help. Maybe one person can learn a little longer today because I helped a bit. Maybe. Maybe I was right there, at that exact moment for a reason.

I left the kotel (reluctantly) and walked back through the Jewish quarter. I had arrived via the Arab shuk, unintentionally. The signs pointed that way so I went. It was closed but I knew I was out of my element. I have gone that way before and not felt as scared as I did this morning. The return trip, through the Jewish and Armenian quarters was relaxing. Seeing tourist groups (including Israeli school students) at or approaching the wall was incredible. Seeing non-religious Jews having bar mitzvahs at the wall, choosing to celebrate a ritual in accordance with "Orthodox" practice regardless of their otherwise limited observance was heartening. They stoof next to clearly learned men and shared something very essential, neither judging, both just celebrating a moment together.

The walk back was substantially uphill.

Back on Ben Yehudah, I got myself a very large pomegranate juice. Just plain ol' pomegranates squished into a cup. Exquisite. This time I got it at the Etrog Man shop and it was more than 4 and a half of them (also, they didn't use a hand press, but a machine instead. Same effect.) NIS 34 and they gave me a little lotion to rub under my nose (there was some confusion...she kept saying "l'shafshef" which I knew meant "rub" but I kept sayinig "really?" because I couldn't believe that she wanted me not to just smell it but actually rub it on my face, so she thought I was correcting her Hebrew and that the English waord for l'shafshef was "really." Fun times). It was a mix of camphor, mint and other stuff. Quite bracing.

I had gotten the biggest size of pomegranate juice because, you know, go big or go home and I wasn't going home yet so, by law, I had to go big. It was delicious especially because with every breath in, I smelled a mix of camphor, mint and stuff.

At this point, while I wasn't going home, I really did want to go big, and needed a bathroom.

Hi to the Aranoff family.

I have to go back to that area as an actual consumer with time to kill so I can buy head accouterments for the ladies in my life and also Moshiko but today was not that day.

Note -- Jerusalem free wifi is not very good.

Steve picked me up at the top of Ben Yehudah and we headed over to the Malcha mall. To memorialize the event (mostly, the event was that he found a parking space) I took pictures. A guard came over and asked me why I was taking pictures. He said it in Hebrew though. So I answered in English "because I'm a tourist. I take pictures of everything!" He was befuddled so I walked away.

At the door, a guard asked me what I was taking pictures of (I had used a camera and not my phone) and I said "of the building so my family can see where I went." Now, you and I know that my family does not need to see pictures of the mall, but he didn't know that! Another police officer came over, machine gun at the ready because I'm a heckuva threat. She asked whom I took the pictures of. I explained "no one" just of the building and showed her the pictures. She seemed both unconvinced and disinterested at the same time. It was weird. So she warned me against taking pictures inside the mall. I said "sure thing" and Steve and I walked away. I had yet to cause an international incident but not for lack of trying.

We made our way to the food court. A kosher food court is and always will be an incredible sight so, yay. Too many choices so I went with "Meat Couture" because it has "meat" right in the name. I got the "chef's pieces" on a plate with some salads, and a pita. Plus I asked for a soda. For just 5 NIS more, the guy explained, I could also have a baked potato. Who am I to say no to a baked potato? So I said yes. I then took out my phone and took  a picture of my food as I am a rebel. Suck it security.

A note about kosher food courts. No matter what you order, you will look longingly at every other person's tray. Fact.

We walked out of the food court and I started to shop for headbands for Julie. I tried to explain what I wanted to a woman at a store. That didn't work out so well, but she let me take a video of the things she was selling for me to send to Julie. A VIDEO. Hey security (sing it with me everyone) SUCK IT.

We returned to the car and Steve pulled out of the spot while I waited to get in. While I waited I took a picture of the guard who gave me a hard time initially. We quickly left and he has no idea. So there.

Drove back and he dropped me off and here we are. After a short break, the evening activity will take place.

More pictures when I transfer from the phone and the camera to the computer.