Albergo Beirut

... bar and great<br>restaurant we saw or enjoyed, there were constant reminders in the<br>streets and the faces of the people who walked them of what has gone<br>before, and how hard it will be to recover from it. <br><br><br><br><br>Without<br>wanting to make a crass comparison, consider the long lasting impact<br>that Thatcherism has had on the UK. The Iron Lady's reign lasted<br>from 1979 to 1991 and its effects are still evident in Britain's ...

... mosque that contains assassinated President Hariri&#8217;s tomb now rises from the Green Line. New hotels have sprung up besides the Holiday Inn, including a new Grand Hyatt. In downtown, The Place de L&#8217;Etoile square transports you to a French world of cafés and boutique restaurants, complete with clock tower and cooing pigeons. But the most inspiring reincarnation story concerns the national museum. During the war, the curator had little choice but to hide innumerable ...

... depending on how your bowels are, was that the toilet was in their kitchen, i tried to hold on for havin a **** but i just couldnt and had to go in just knowin they were thinkin 'right, hes been in there longer than 90 seconds, hes definately havin a ****', and then to walk out without looking like youv not commited some ungodly sin, which is pretty difficult when they are whippin up a spot of lunch and youv added you little bit of spice to it. Buen appetito... Sight wise ...

... me well in Beirut. If I didn't come to Beirut, I would have hit a serious wall. I decided not to go out tonight since I had an early start tomorrow. I went to the bus station to see what time the bus to Damascus was leaving at and it was going to be 730 am. The only thing I did before I went to bed was go to an ATM machine and take out what I thought was just enough money to get me out of Lebanon. Hopefully there will be no surprise expenses tomorrow. Dino Vagabond

... One kid wandered by to stare at us, carring a giant sheesha (or hookah or nargieleh depending on where you're from, another kid carrying a drum and another about 5 minutes later with the coals for the sheesha, which all struck me as being very random for a protest rally. We reached what I remember as a mid 1980's Nissan bluebird (car purists can keep their opinions to themselves, I was not paying attention to the details at this point) and loaded in all of the luggage of the ...

... of Amman), especially if you consider construction sites and giant cranes modern, which I do, of course. Interesting city with a lot of beautiful areas like the corniche, the new downtown, and the university campus, all of which contrasted sharply with the heavy military presence. A number of tanks, fences of razorwire, and every now and then a fortified bunker manned by a soldier on top lounging in a chair with one hand smugly fondling the huge automatic weapon protruding from ...

... and for the excellent diving/jumping spots off the surrounding cliffs. As we made our way down to the shore, we stumbled upon a bunch of people jumping and diving from great heights off the cliffs and decided we'd come back again the next morning to have a go for ourselves. The sunset when it came was wonderful, seducing us into a captivated silence as it painted Pigeon Rocks in early evening light then surrendered itself to the sea. That night, with our budget ...

... to the 9's, are still super seeded by us when it come to getting into bars because we're "Authentic European". Ultra Rich and fashionable people where turned away as I wallsed in with my dirty T-shirt and 3 days old underwear!) I don't want to come over to nasty though, the food is soooooooooooooo good, the buildings sooooooooooooooo cool. I'd love to come back some time

... It has the peace of a cathedral and the life of a forest. In the thundering silence you can hear the gentle rain of it growing. It's Dali meets Gaudi meets Henry Moore executed by a demented gnome with a piping bag. In case you hadn't guessed, we were impressed. When we're next put on the spot and asked for trip "highlights" don't let us get away without this on the list

... a surprise appearance. Now I had to walk down an isle with crowds and crowds of people on either side of me, looking for Mike's parents. Never having met them, and only seeing photos, I went slowly looking from face to face. Finally, at the very end of the isle stood five smiling faces. I waved and made my way on over. Mike's Mom, Dad, little brother and sister, and Nadine were waiting, with flowers. And here I am. Made it!