Today was indeed a day of rest, at lease until after sundown. I slept in to about 8am and had a leisurely breakfast. I spent some time with Vlad, one of our soldiers and my roommate, and David, my other roommate, just hanging out and waiting for the day’s trip to the park via the government buildings. The trip itself wound through the Supreme Court building, past the Kinnesset (Israeli Parliament), and around the rose gardens to the park. We snacked, chatted and a few played soccer for a couple of hours. After that we headed back to the hotel for supper and to prep for an evening out for the West Jerusalem nightlife on Ben-Yehuda Street.
The evening out was good for me. I went to a jazz club where an open mic night was on and an improv group was grooving. It was a much more relaxing evening than some of the others had in the more lively clubs and bistros. We returned to the hotel and most of us stayed up and partied on. I’ve been refusing to drink with everyone and I’m not regretting it. It’s like everyone just got into college, despite the fact that most are graduated or just about to. Ah well, the music was fair and the air happy when I left for bed. Tomorrow will be interestingly somber as we visit Yad Vashem and Mt. Hertzel. It’ll be a big day.
