After the group arrived yesterday we all headed off to get a bite to eat and ended up at a restaurant that was right on the beach. They set up tables for the 20 of us with candlelight and the whole bit! We could go choose our fish for dinner that night if we wanted to but I thought I've been close enough to the food chain before that I didn't need to meet the poor guy right before they killed him and grilled him up! Dinner was around $8 for the whole meal. It was fun dining out under the stars and very interesting to meet the cast of characters that are in my group....more to follow on that. Off to Ubud tomorrow to meetthe healer from Eat Pray Love!... read more

So here's the answer from yesterday's quiz. I ended up landing at 12:30 am on April 1st. Show of hands. How many of you got that right? So after enjoying being serennaded by the gamelan players (Sophie's school has these instruments) it was onto the pool and deciding that all important question, shade or sun? Umbrella or not? I settled into a chair that had an umbrella nearby. It was really interesting listening to the groups of people around me at the pool. There was a very boisterous group of Italian couples that were enjoying the day. Then there were all sorts of other languages that I didn't recognize. I walked the beach for a while and remembered how much I love the sound of the waves crashing onto the sand. There's nothing like it and ... read more

Hello fellow travelers, Its that time again where I open the suitcase, throw in some of my favorite summer things, pack a few books, sunscreen and hit the road. This time I'm heading to Bali, an island in Indonesia. Why Bali, you say? Well because it was on my bucket list and it was calling my name. I can almost hear the sound of the waves as I type this blog. I'm looking forward to being warm again after this past winter in MN as well as not wearing a coat when I go outside and lastly being able to lie down on the beach, feel the sand beneath me and the waves beckoning me. As usual there will be many adventures awaiting me and I will do my best to stay out of trouble and ... read more

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!)... read more

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. When we were at Paul's villa on Sunday there was a half finished apartment building that had been sitting that way for 20 years! *Driving; even though there are lines on the roads they aren't ... read more