Since the first time I swam in the mediterrean I've loved it. The water is so salty that floating is effortless. We finally made it to the beach on Wed near Trabajar. Most of the sandy beaches are north of Beirut but this one had some small rocks prior to getting into the water. It was an idyllic place as witnessed by these pictures (although there's something wrong with the camera because it wasn't quite that blue!) [View Full Entry]

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Today we went to see the ruins at Byblos (Jbeil). "Its considered one of the oldest cities in the world mainly due to the superposition of archaeological levels on one spot over 8000 years of history" (according to the entry sign) Here are some pictures from there [View Full Entry]

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Since this is my 3rd time being in Lebanon, I don't necessarily see all of the things that I might have observed the first time I was here. So I'm trying to see things as if it were my first time! *Half finished buildings; no matter where you are, in Beirut, one of the suburbs or the villages there are always half finished buildings. I'm assuming that the owner ran out of money but it could also be that they moved out of the country before it was completed. Its unfortunate because it can be such an eyesore on the countryside. [View Full Entry]

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Even though Sophie loves Lebanese food she still is a die hard fan of McDonald's as witnessed in these pictures of her at lunch. We were at the newest mall in Beirut shopping for an outfit for Sophie to wear to another wedding this week and we came across McDonald's. She couldn't have been happier! Also when we were in one of the department stores we came across Piglet. There was definitely a Disney presence wherever we went in Beiurt [View Full Entry]

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Since Sophie stayed over night with her cousin Samo I was free to go with Sami and Louisa to their friend Paul's villa by the sea for the day. Paul is one of Sami's partners in a project called El Rancho (www.elrancholebanon.com) and has a beautiful villa/condo by the sea. There were 3 large swimming pools and one kiddy pool beside the sea. However the red flags were out since it was so windy that day that we couldn't go swimming in the sea. It was a large gathering (approx 20) but we could have called a meeting of the UN. [View Full Entry]

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Sophie and I were invited to a cousins wedding on Sat the 5th. Weddings around here are very elaborate both for the bridal party as well as the guests. Sophie and I went to a hair salon close to the village of Kharhoura to get our hair done. How wonderful to have one person shampoo your hair, another blow dry it until almost dry and the head stylist uses the round brushes to style it while the other girl holds the blow dryer for him! All this for $5 American dollars! Afterwards we went back to the village to get ready. [View Full Entry]

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On Friday the 4th, Sophie and I traveled to the village of Kharfoura which is north of Beirut but south of Tripoli. The neighbors of Jemal had a luncheon for us outside (Eddie's sister in law who is widowed due to her husband being killed in the '82 war) Here are photos from that. [View Full Entry]

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We had arranged for a taxi driver to pick us up from our hotel on Wed morning to take us to the airport but I wasn't sure if he would show up or not so I ended up asking the hotel to call for one. That's when the fun began. Because my taxi driver showed up the concierge didn't want me to take it because as I found out later they get paid $15 euros for each driver they call. They practically got into a fist fight in front of us before I finally just told my driver that we should [View Full Entry]

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Sophie and I left Minneapolis on Sat afternoon at 3:30 and after having a flight delay due to someone throwing luggage into the cargo door and denting it, we were on our way. We had tail winds that helped us arriving on time in Paris at 7 am. Since we had a crying baby a few rows back from us neither one of us slept much on the plane. I had grand thoughts of taking the train into the city after we landed but by the time we both lugged around our 2 pcs of luggage and found the place to [View Full Entry]

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So, here I am again, looking forward to another adventure. Sophie and I leave in 2 days to travel first to Paris for 3 days and then onto Beirut for 10 days. I'm hoping to have internet connection to keep you loyal call me crazy followers up to date on what's happening to me. I'm apprehensive at this point probably because I don't have a thing packed yet for either Sophie or I but it will all have to come together by Sat afternoon. I'm looking forward to this adventure! [View Full Entry]

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