After the jam packed day yesterday, we slept in a bit today. The weather forecast was once again hot (it was 80 by 10 AM!) but it was overcast and felt like rain. We finally got going and we were off to the Israel Museum - about a 35 minute walk from our hotel. Did we mention Jerusalem isn't flat? Well it sure wasn't flat on the way to the museums today either!

The city was so quiet today. It was very different than the first two days. Very few businesses open near our hotel so the streets were empty. Our walk took us through many of the modern neighborhoods and families were out playing in the park, walking home from synagogue or just out enjoying the day. It felt very peaceful and was neat to see normal everyday life of an Israeli.

The Israel Museum campus is a beautiful property where several different exhibits are held. We started in the archeological wing that took us through the very first humans up to the time of the crusaders. There were artifacts, artwork and tools displayed from each time period. The displays were in both English and Hebrew but we also had audio guides with us that gave us additional information about various exhibits.

We next went through some interesting exhibits on Jewish life and culture, synagogues from around the world and different ancient texts and art. However, by the time we got to the modern art section, we were getting pretty tired. The "art" of a watermelon spinning around on the floor was when we knew we had seen enough. Artists!

We headed outside to see a 1:50 model of the ancient city of Jerusalem during King Herod's time. It was vast and impressive and really helped understand how big the Temple Mount was in relation to the rest of the city. It started to rain so we headed in to the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Aleppo Codex are displayed. The scrolls are rotated due to their fragile nature but it was still interesting to see the copies and learn the history.

After 4 hours at the museum we were tired and hungry so we took a cab back to the Old City. We went back to Lina's for some more hummus and pita bread. It's just so delicious! Then we did a bit of shopping in the Christian Quarter visiting many of the shopkeepers we met on our tour yesterday. We had a nice cup of tea with Zak, a Palestinian who owns a store that sells olive wood carvings depicting different biblical and Christian scenes. We talked about the different countries he has been to, where he wants to go next and life in Israel. It was a lot of fun to get a local's perspective! We found a few souvenirs and looked at several more stores on our way back out of the Old City.

We then left the Old City and headed to the cheese and wine restaurant of Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center - a rooftop restaurant with incredible views of the Old City - to watch the sunset. We enjoyed a cheese plate and were so full, we opted not to get entrees! It was delicious and had spectacular views.

Tomorrow will be an early morning so we're off to bed!

Kevin