We spent our second and third days in Jerusalem trying to beat both the heat and our jet lag. Sunday morning we took a drive to the Mount of Olives, just to the east of the Old City, where we saw our first camel and some excellent views over the Old City. Then we took a drive to the Jerusalem Zoo where we met Stu’s old work friend Philippe and his children Michael (9) and Aya (6). After a couple hours walking around in the heat, we were about to melt so we planned to meet later at the pool at the famous King David Hotel, near our apartment. A couple of hours swimming in a luxury pool was enough to recharge our weary sleep-deprived selves for the rest of the evening.

Monday was another early morning thanks to jetlag, so we decided to get in the car and take a driving tour of the Judean Mountains west of Jerusalem. Our stops included a hike in a lovely forested valley, though with the temp at least 85 in full sun we only made it a couple of minutes down the trail. It was enough to get the girls awake and out of the car though. After long afternoon naps, we made a brief stop to the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall in the double stroller (what would we do without this thing!) and then on to dinner with Philippe and family at a traditional Israeli restaurant, where we ate lots of kebabs, hummus, steak and chicken schnitzel (aka chicken nuggets) for the kids. At dinner, Aya gave the girls tatoos on their arms, and Claire and Ela (3) shared a moment with the international language of ‘Dora’ on Stu’s iPhone.