Le Bristol Beirut

... online I found an absolutely awesome price for a hotel that billed itself as newly renovated. Hostels don't exist in Lebanon so a cheap hotel was going to have to do. I know to take "renovated" with a grain of salt from previous travels in this region and I am so glad I did. A shrine to the late 70s greeted me but soon enough I was checked in and making my way upstairs. At the same a loudly honking Mercedes pulled in and out popped a newlywed couple ...

... people have probably suffered more in recent history than any other nation on earth- owing to Israeli and Syrian occupation and a brutal, bloody civil war. Politics revolve around the past, with the current regime, led by the Hariri family, running on the tragic assassination of Rafiq Hariri a few years ago and the opposition, Hezbollah, reinforcing the continued mistreatment of Lebanon by Israel and the international community in many of their ad campaigns and hot ...

... and a culture of going out on the **** and generally having a good time. I got ripped off a bit and the accomodation i was in was wierd, i had a dorn with a lebanese guy that sat in his vest either smoking or eating spam cut from the tin with an army knife and a jordanian dude thathad about 20 selfhelp books that he showed me each and every one of as it had its english title translation on the back. It was all that Tony robbins stuff but good luck to him, he was a ...

... have driven by dozens of them. I never felt afraid though. There was no reason to be. The town was quite dead to tell you the truth. I hardly saw any people. We did stop at a small restaurant and had a few falafels. The locals there were really nice and asked some questions about us. I am not sure if they were Hezbollah supporters or not. I didn't dare to ask. While we drove around some of the small towns by the border, we did see 3 UN tanks. I thought that was ...

... the airport to the first checkpoint, change to a second taxi, get the the second checkpoint and so on. Rawda's uncle suggested that this might be a little difficult since 1. I didn't know where I was going and 2 - I didn't speak any Arabic! The checkpoint guy then suggested that a taxi coming OUT of Beirut probably wouldn't have too many problems, so the plan was set. So I'm now safely at Rawda's parent's place. With that kind of dramatic entry to Lebanon, I'm sure it'll be an interesting trip!

... plays a large part in these entries. Even more so this time as I've been drinking more heavily, and she made me cut down on the whining as well (I know, hard to believe but there was more originally). And she also gets to read them first and say things like, "What the hell is this supposed to mean?" and "Is this part supposed to be funny?". So I guess that makes her the editor-in-chief. Just wanted to mention that. But she also got victimized by bedbugs yet again (Aleppo) ..... so there.

I have just returned from a fun-filled weekend in Beirut and, wow, was it worth the wait! Personal finances, lack of travel companions, political assassinations and the odd war had conspired to delay or cancel previous attempts to go there, but this time it all finally came good. Accompanying me on the trip were my good friends Orphee, Nancy and Lindsay, and also Orphee's housemate Duure. Having hired a taxi to take us, the three hour (ish) journey from Damascus to Beirut ...

... ill and they can't figure out what is wrong with him. This is his website if you'd like to check it out. It shows the shop where I bought my paintings. Andre Kalfayan From there, we went to Dakweneh (sp) for Rock Solid with the 13-15 year olds. Crazy but fun, just like any youth group. The theme was the creative gifts that God has given you. Or so I was told. The big group sessions were all in Arabic! My small group won the paper ...

... lives: pottery shards, votive offerings, bills of lading, beads, lamps, tools, seeds. They buried their dead here and raised their children, they went to war when they needed to, worshipped and paid tribute when it was required. But, at the end of millenia, the momentous events in their lives, as ours, were the births of children and grandchildren and the deaths of loved ones. They fished, farmed, milled grain and pressed oil. They were just regular folks with ...

... far, and these people are definitely enhancing my experience. In particular, one coworker and his wife have been extremely kind and generous with their time, inviting me to their house for dinner, letting me do my laundry at their place, and showing me around the region. Every weekend we've gone on a daytrip: first was just a drive around Beirut and some of the surrounding communities; weekend #2 featured a trip to Sidon and Tyr in the south; weekend #3 saw us visiting ...