MIXED EMOTIONS

We’re beginning our last week in Jaffa and I’m nostalgic already. Nostalgic for the comfort and peace we’ve enjoyed in the Condo and the people and places we’ve enjoyed in Jaffa. We finally feel at home here and have developed a routine. We have shopped at the local grocery stores and fruit markets. We feel comfortable cooking and doing the laundry and just sitting around, reading and making plans.

From our bedroom window, we’ve watched a pair of bright green ring-necked parakeets as they set up housekeeping. A laughing dove came and sat on that same window sill beside the open window and cooed softly. From the balcony, we watched the hooded crows and heard their raucous cry.

We’ve found a favorite coffee bar with our favorite waitress: Vicky at Café Rojet. We just sit at a table and say, “We’ll have our regular,” and she laughs and brings it. Our regular is Café Gelato, a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a glass with espresso poured over it. Neal has a thimbleful of Irish Whiskey added to his. She always points out the one with the Irish Whiskey in it.

We are regulars at Steimatzky’s book store where we bought maps, postcards and bookmarks, and get the Friday’s edition of The Jerusalem Post. Neal has a running joke there with one of the clerks about writing a guidebook to Jaffa.

We’ve thoroughly explored the Old City of Jaffa and enjoyed walking up to Kedumim Square and sitting in the sun to watch the tourists. They come from all over Israel and Europe. We’ve seen only a few people who speak American English.

We’ve taken side trips from here to Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Be’er Sheba, which before were only Biblical names to us. Now we can feel the desert heat, the dust, the dryness when we read about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Be’er Sheba and picture the beautiful Mediterranean when we read about Ashkelon and Ashdod.

This week we’ve driven to Jerusalem a couple of times: first, to locate the condo we’ll be moving into and second, to try to find parking. We had great success with the first; the Condo is in a perfect location, one block from the Old City. It’s directly behind the Municipal Buildings in Sabra Square. We followed the directions of the landlady, walking all the way up the 36 stairs to the landing at the front door. We’re going to be in a very interesting place. The building seems to be occupied by Orthodox Jews. The front porch goes across the entire front of the building and is full of baby carriages and bicycles.

We had no success finding suitable parking. Parking is a very complicated process in the city of Jerusalem. Though there is a municipal garage just across the street from the condo, it would cost about $40 a day to park there. They offer no weekly or monthly rates. Parking on the street can be done only with a pass and would be expensive, too. The curbs are marked with five different colors denoting who can park where.

So, we’ve decided to give up our trusty little Subaru: another reason for my nostalgia. I’ve gotten used to its eccentricities: the way it struggles and complains up the hills and mountains to Jerusalem, punching in the numbers before I can start the car, and backing it into the narrow parking space in the garage (always with Neal’s help). We’ll rent a car when we need it to drive to the Galilee. On the bright side, the Subaru is covered with dust now and every time we rent a new one, it’ll be shiny and clean.

Next week Israel will be celebrating Independence Day. There are flags and banners everywhere, even in the condo’s courtyard. We hope to take a walk on the Promenade to Tel Aviv and we still have the Jaffa Archaeological Museum to visit. We’re planning to enjoy every moment of our last week in Jaffa.

Then: UP TO JERUSALEM!