How to walk around Jerusalem in 16856 steps (and it's only 11am!)

After an 'exciting' entry into Israel, we arrived at our hotel inside the walled city of Old Jerusalem at 10pm.

We managed drag three bags each down the steps to the Damascus Gate, until a very helpful elderly gentleman asked why we didn't use the ramp -- just next to the stairs.

Lesson one -- even in the dark, it is helpful to look around for alternatives when confronted by steep, ancient steps!

Lesson two -- research where you're staying, so you can tell the cab driver offering you a ride for 50 shekels that you KNOW he can't get his car in there!! (we may be naive, but we didn't come down in the last shower!)

Lesson three -- beware of little boys offering to help you find your hotel. There is always money involved. We were lucky that the elderly 'ramp man' told the child to bugger off, and that we could find it on our own!

Which brings us to today.

Up at 5, out of hotel by about 6, and we've just come back at 11 to change rooms. Our original room wasn't ready when we got here last night -- they weren't expecting us until today, despite the booking. So.. we had an 'interesting' room last night and have been promised a 'beautiful' room with a view for the remaining nights.

Helpful tips for suriviving a day in the Middle East -- even if it's not in the heat of the day:

Tip one: Always carry water. A 1.5 litre bottle is preferable. And yes, it will be heavy, but trust us, you will need it!

Tip two: Forget pretzels, 'these bagels are making me thirsty!' They like salt here. Which just reiterates the need for your 1.5 litre water bottle!!

So... what did we actually do this morning? We walked to the Russian compound. The church was closed (that's what we get for getting up and out at an ungodly hour!). We then went to the ultra Orthodox area, Mea Sherim, which was basically full of little children on the way to school. At 7.30 in the morning. And kids at home complain about getting to school...

Once we'd got that area out of our system, we did the Ramparts Walk. Word of advice: wear good shoes!!! It is very slippery. And the steps are steep. Thongs? Bad. Hiking shoes? Good.

We had a fun time trying to find our way back to our hotel. The market is a maze of stalls and people, selling everything from religious items to scarves, food to Armenian pottery.

We ended up in the meat area. What the hell? Seriously. The vegan goes on a tour of the death alley of Old Jerusalem. However after many stops to ask for directions, there it was, right in front of us! Our hotel!

The area was so different at 11 this morning compared with 10 last night.

Our walk to the hotel in the dark through the laneways was a little daunting. There was just us and a couple of men and boys, packing up stalls. Today, we had hundreds of tourists and locals keeping us company on our trek through the city.

Oh, we were also asked directions in Hebrew. Hilarious. Do we look like locals? I don't know about that. I think we're a little conspicuous in our attempts to dress 'modestly' in long skirts and the like. The backpacks and water bottles are also a bit of a give-away.

Anyway, that's it for now. We are off to find a good falafel. Though if you ask the stall holders, theirs is always better than the last one you saw, so it could be an interesting task.

We will post pictures when we can.

Hope everyone's making the most of winter while we're sweltering under the Middle Eastern sun!