Ice Cream

• The Italian Ice Cream man sets up his machine at fairs and festivals (http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/art-and-pasta.html ). He opens the mechanism, takes a small cup from the freezer, affixes it inside and clicks the nozzle back in place. A press of the button produces true-tasting chocolate and vanilla soft serve. This sign offers melon, rum, and whiskey flavors, but I have not tasted these.
• On Tuesday he was in schoolyard on Emek Refaim along with seven sellers of costume jewelry; a potter; a maker of glass plates and pitchers; two used-book stalls; sellers of Indian silk skirts, blouses and tunics (http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/daughter-of-salwar-kameez.html ); racks of cloth handbags and t-shirts; a table with limoncello, mulberry jam, and hand-cured olives; a fresh fruitshake stand and another selling South American derserts; more stalls; and a bandstand for a jazz combo.
• Outside the traffic was bumper to bumper along Emek Refaim (http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/emek-refaim.html ), but moving. Cars stopped their crawl for pedestrians who stepped into any of the crosswalks ( http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/not-jaywalking.html ). And there were crowds of pedestrians. When the sun set, sidewalk tables filled at restaurant after restaurant, café after café. Bookstore,natural foods store, and ice cream and chocolate shop stay open till 11. The restaurants (which stay open later than I've been up) continue past Rahel Imenu, and the first block of that street continue the restaurants.
• The fair happens every summer Tuesday afternoon and evening. The strollers and restaurant crowds ebb and flow throughout the week and year.
• If you are staying at the King David, the Inbal (formerly the LaRomme), or anywhere in between, walk down the hill on King David St, past the Bell Park, and bear right on Emek Refaim. Three more short blocks gets you into the feel of things. David’s Citadel (walk up King David Street and continue down the hill); the Windmill (http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/windmills_19.html now the Prima Royal); Dan Panorama (formerly Moriah); and other hotels, B&Bs, self-catering apartments, and zimmerim (http://www.bnb.co.il/ and flathunting.com) are all in easy walking distance of a true Jerusalem experience.
• The 4, 4 alef (on older digital displays, alef looks like H), 14 and 18 all run along Emek Refaim. Tell a taxi driver "Emek Refa'eem" or "Ha-Moshava" (http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/taxis.html ).There are always empty taxis cruising on Emek Refaim to take you back.

Copyright 2006 Jane S. Fox