I started by walking to the wall because I was a bit early for the parade. As I was sitting to rest my legs from the long walk (appx 5 km) I bumped into someone that I went to Israel with in December. I had no idea she was still in Israel! - expect the unexpected! I later went back to the city center to find this parade, which I could not find. After walking and waiting aimlessly I decided to go back to the wall and wait there. After more waiting I finally met up with my friend as more people started to fill the Western Wall Plaza. Eventually (almost 8PM) the band started playing and people started to dance. As more and more people started to show up we decided it would be best to leave before it became too crowded to move. We had our taste of the atmosphere, and we didn't want to get stuck there all night. As we were leaving the Old City we passed by the massive parade thankful that we decided to leave when we did. We then headed to dinner and out to a bar, and ended up missing the fireworks.
In lieu of always bumping into random people I know in Israel, I figure I should keep count. I will break it down into 2 categories. First will be people that I know, but had no idea they are in Israel. The second group will be people that I know are in Israel, but I unexpectedly bump into them having not made prearranged plans to see them.
To start the countoff, in only one day in Jerusalem the tally is:
People I did not know were in Israel: 2
Unexpected encounters: 3
The day was fun but exhausting. I had hoped to see more of the festivities, but it was okay. It was a hot day I ended up walking about 15km with a backpack packed for 4 days of travelling clothes. I packed as light as possible knowing that I would be wearing it, but it was still really heavy.
Dancing at the Wall
The sea of people at the Wall as we were leaving. The party just started, and there were thousands more people still on their way!
Just like when we were there a year ago!
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