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Up in Mount Lebanon

On my last day in Lebanon we went on a hike/picnic up the mountain. We brought meat, bread, beer, arak, veggies, and all the material necessary for a bbq, set up next to a spring, and had a wonderful picnic. Ramzi and I hiked all the way up to where the spring starts and found fossils of sea creatures in the mountain! Huge shells stuck in the mountain!

I brought some fossils with me to my nephews and we talked about how shells can have ended up on the top of a mountain. I really love little T's response: "Oh, it's simple! A giant wave such as a Tsunami must have washed them up." So cute!!!

The wedding reception

Finally pics from the main event! The wedding reception for Ramzi's cousin was extraordinary. 350 guests among roman ruins, amazing food, and lots of dancing. The bride and groom got carried on the shoulders of some relatives, and so did we, because we're engaged! 

Ha ha, didn't plan on spilling the news like this, but we got engaged already in June, and now that everyone in Lebanon knows I can finally write about it. This blog will eventually turn into Bridezilla's blog... ;)

Eddé Sands

More beach at Eddé Sands, another wonderful beach resort on the Mediterranean. It was so hot that day, about 40C, so I had to be either submerged in water or in the shade.

Fresh figs and popping plant

On a tour to the man-made lake in the Bekaa valley we stopped along the road and picked figs. They were sooooooooo good. Also interesting, was a plant whose fruit pops out and explodes if you touch it! Hot-tempered plants... so Lebanese.... ;)

Jeita Grotto

Visiting, Jeita Grottos, one of the candidates for the new 7 world wonders was amazing. It's hard to fathom that something so grand and wondrous is created naturally. I also included a pic of the "rules" for entering... my favorites are 1 and 11! Ha ha, the sign could also be a candidate, but for Engrish or Fail Blog! Anyways, go vote for Jeita!!!

White

White is the third roof-top club we visited, and like the other ones it was packed with people, drinks, and played loud club music. One of the funny things with this particular club is that there is no room on the floor for dancing, you can hardly walk around the club. Dancing on chairs and tables is thus not only allowed , but encouraged!

Downtown Beirut

Downtown Beirut! It was hot and humid and restored into a lively city kernel. Hookah bars everywhere, Arabic Starbucks :), people philandering , and the gorgeous $100 million Mosque. 

Beach party at Pierre and Friends

One of the best features of being at the Mediterranean is that the evenings are warm and the sea is like a bathtub and the beach bars are plenty! We partied it up at Pierre and Friends, and even took a swim at 1 am!

Wine tasting at Ksara

I'm a big fan of wine tasting and got the chance to do so twice in Lebanon. The first place we went to was KSARA. We got a nice tour of the caves in which they store all their barrels as well a wonderful complementary tasting of 4 wines. Visiting the wine shop on the way out ended with four bottles. One, a Rosé, which we enjoyed on the balcony while watching the sun set over Beirut and the Mediterranean. 

Baalbek - Roman ruins

I'm going to continue on blogging about my Lebanon trip for a while, since I took more than 600 pics in two weeks! And... because it was so amazing there.

This set of pics is from Balbek, which is the largest and most noble Roman temples ever build and also among the best preserved. We took a guided tour and it was just amazing to walk around those huge ruins of ancient buildings. The effort to build these without machines! And everywhere on the buildings there are beautiful intricate carvings.

Las pic is Ramzi and I standing on the world's largest rock!

Relaxing at Oceana

Going to the beach in Lebanon is not like going to the beach anywhere else. Instead of just a beach, it's the beach, several different pools, bars built in the pools, club music, bottle service, and comfortable sun beds. 

Sky Bar, Beirut

We visited one of the best night clubs in the world... lol, I'm starting to sound Lebanese! But this is apparently a more objective statement, than most I've heard, Sky Bar in Beirut has been voted one of the best night clubs in the world, and it really was fantastic. 

It's a roof top, packed with people, club music, champagne bottles with sparkles, fire in the ceiling, light shows, truly spectacular! People book tables there months in advance. You can even book a bar stool! That's how busy it is!

Pinelands

We spent an afternoon at a country club called Pinelands, where we went horseback riding in the hills and swimming. There was also basketball, golf, tennis, atv's, and other activities, all of course with a beautiful view of the mountains around.

Out in Gemmayze, Beirut

First night out, we went to an area called Gemmayze in Beirut. It's a busy area with narrow streets and little bars and restaurants everywhere. Beirut at night is hot and humid and the nightlife is booming. All these places were filled with people drinking, talking, and having fun. 

The first place we went to was very crowded, but we managed to get seats around a table around a tree on the patio. After a few more people made it to the table, it didn't fit us anymore, so we went to another bar that was fairly empty, but which we managed to fill almost half-way with our group. That bar played good old Bon Jovi songs and other sing-along tunes.

Cedars & Camel

Day 1 included going to the woods to see some thousand year old cedars. Magnificent! 

Then we had a wonderful Lebanese lunch, amazing hommus, stuffed grape leaves, kafta, mmmm.... and there were some guys working there who made music while grinding coffee beans and later came to sing at our table. Our whole table, excluding me, sang with them! 

Finally, we stopped by an old village, in which I had to take a picture of the poor camel on display. Lebanon is a mountainous country with woods, not exactly ideal for a desert animal, but at least there was one on my first day!

Welcome to Lebanon

This is my first time in Lebanon. I'm visiting my fiancé's home, family, and friends. The trip over was long but overall good. I spent 12 hours in Stockholm and got to see my sister and her kids, and my pregnant friend Michaela. Then it was off to the airport again. The flight to Budapest was almost an hour late, and I only had an hour to change in Budapest to the Beirut flight. I was obviously nervous to miss the flight, but the flight was nice enough to wait for me. 

Landing in Beirut came culture chock no 1. The plane touches down and the whole cabin bursts out in spontaneous applause and hurrays. Wow! Does it usually not go this well?! Then during taxiing to the gate, everyone unbuckles and stands up, gets their stuff from the overhead bins, while the poor flight attendants try in vain to make the unruly passengers sit down again. Ok, I've learned that Lebanese in general do not like to follow rules and that there is always a competition to get places first. Somehow, even though everyone has seats, it's best to get on the plane first (explaining why instead of a line to get on there is just a mass of people pushing to get onboard), and obviously also best to get off the plane first. 

Immigration and customs were extremely nice. No visa necessary, no long forms of questions, nothing, it was just welcome to Lebanon!

I made it out of the airport close to 5am and didn't get to bed until 6am, actually around the same time the roosters around us signaled the start of a new day. 

From start to finish

This day started at 6 am by the fire alarm. I quickly put on sweatpants a sweater, got my key, my purse, my cell phone, and then I go to the bathroom counter and get my wrist watch and walk 6 flights of stairs, out in the pouring rain, and in to a garage to wait. There, I realize I'm holding my watch in my hand, and laugh to myself how my mind works in the morning. Hmmmm, what to bring in case of a fire.... aha wrist watch! Apparently I wasn't the only one bringing odd things, one person carried his suit, two persons without shoes (in the rain!), and some forgot their keys inside.

Anyways, after 30 minutes, we were allowed back in, and the perpetrator... very well toasted bread.  

Right now, I'm touching up my roots. I don't have a hairdresser here, so I figured I've seen it done enough to do it myself. Hah, needless to say I'm only working on parts I can see. Hope it doesn't turn out disastrous! 

5 Star dinner

I followed up the 5 star weekend with a real 5 star dinner at the Castle on the Hudson.

I enjoyed Pinot Noir from Russian River, and Monkfish with Lobster, and it was super yummy, as expected from a Zagat-rated restaurant!