Our week in Jerusalem did not have a particularly good weather forecast but today was predicted to be the worst with rain, cold and wind.  Since it was Shabbat we could also expect little if any activity on the streets.  The actual weather conditions hit the predicted trifecta and we were happy to declare it a day of rest and planning.  Following breakfast and lunch consisting of pastries and such from yesterday's shopping, there was a break in the rain and we went for a walk.  We planned to go in a different direction than yesterday but, just to see what it was like, first walked through the shuk, now eerily emptied for Shabbat.  However, even though the rain held off, the other two components, wind and cold, did not and we soon headed back home after only a mile or so of aimless rambling.  As expected, few people were in evidence and, with little human activity to see, the highlight of the walk was watching two large birds torment a cat up in a tree.

Back home we decided that it was a good time to take a nap having finished the planning part of our day by booking a free walking tour of the Old City for tomorrow morning.  We have done these walking tours before in large cities, Santiago for example, and have found that while necessarily superficial, they provide a good orientation as a basis for later sightseeing.  We accomplished the second part of our agenda with a two-hour nap, an hour less than yesterday so perhaps we are getting more acclimated to the time zone.

In the evening we got a message from Orna warning that there might not be enough hot water due to the cold weather and the way it interacts with a somewhat complicated water heating system.  When she came by to adjust the controls we learned that indeed this weather is unusually cold and that last week it had been in the 70s.  Timing is everything.  The good news for the locals is that it is forecast to stop raining in Jerusalem the day we leave the city and warm up in general the day we leave the country.