Yesterday was a gorgeous spring-like day. No clouds, warm in the sun, cool in the shade. It was my favorite kind of day, where you only need a thin coat to stay warm.

A friend from the uplan had suggested we meet up at the shuk to do some grocery shopping; we had a blast. And I think the whole city was out with us. Ben and I battled crowds everywhere: on the street, in the cafes, in the stores. I watched more people seeing and being seen than I thought possible in a city of this size. Spring is definitely in the air.



But back to the shuk. Jackie and I didn't exactly hang out as we had planned. There were too many people for that. The crush of people was too great to do anything but futilely crane your neck around, looking for someone you know to float down the stream of people moving through the narrow walkway between stalls. And anyway, Jackie and I had different missions: Jackie and Noam wanted to do serious grocery shopping (since they live so close by, they get all their produce at the shuk -- they even came armed with a grocery list!) whereas Ben and I wanted to get non-staples -- fresh dates, olives, fresh pita -- of a quality you can't get in our neck of the woods. So we just played tag from stall to stall and caught up with each other at the end, which, of course, is where all the candy and fresh pastries are sold. We all found each other there, noshing on hot chocolate-filled croissants and mushroom bourekas.



It's always so great to go down there. Now that Ben and I know our numbers, we can fake like we're locals and do all our transactions in Hebrew. We probably betray our foreignness by the fact that we don't try to haggle our way into any bargains, but on Friday afternoons, just before the stalls close, everything is so cheap that it's silly to bargain as it is. I mean, we bought a kilo of high-quality olives for $7, and a pound of fresh dates for $1. How can you complain about that?

Ben and I promised each other we would go more often. It's such a thrill to battle your way through the crowds and get the freshest, cheapest stuff in town. Next time, when we go by ourselves, we plan to thoroughly explore the handful of Asian markets along the side alleys. I can't wait to finally feed my addiction to Vietnamese spring rolls and Thai curry again!