Riviera Hotel Beirut

... dinner at the fabulous and extremely popular Abdel Wahab el-Inglizi restaurant in Achrafeye. We are fortunate to sit upstairs on the buzzing terrace, packed with ritzy Lebanese locals (and a sprinkling of foreigners). We spent the evening sampling the delicacies from the extensive menu and left very happy with our bellies full. We wandered home past chi-chi bars and clubs, through the streets around Rue Monet. Beirut is renowned for it's around the clock night life. Once ...

... candy party so we got in the car to try to find it. One and a half hours of driving later we didn't find anything. 3:15am comes around and at this point I'm ready to go to bed but on the way back to the hotel we stop by a place called Taboo. They wanted 50 bucks from each of us at the door and this did not include cover... ummm, no thanks. So we went back to the hotel, I took a shower, and am ready for tomorrow.

... unfortunately the bus had to wait until everyone went through the formalities of gaining entrance into Lebanon. We didn't get too many smiles when we all entered the bus again. It wasn't our fault but I could see how they were upset. As soon as we crossed into the Lebanese side, I knew almost immediately that I was going to like the country. It was just beautiful driving up and down the mountains passing by several small villages. I really needed to ...

... Rap groups, dancers, musicians, and all were there so it gave the area a very young, energetic feel. We decided to go to "Down Town" for dinner where I had a delicious pasta dish and then we left for Sky Bar. Sky Bar is a really nice club, but definitely poshy. It's located on the top of some building and fits I believe around 2-4,000 people. We met up with some friends who had a table there and danced the night away again. During the night there were ...

... up at high speed. Cue genuine astonishment, and much shaking of heads. My hotel was in the Hamra area of Beirut, which was a very fashionable area before the civil war. I enjoyed my stay there very much, and had an excellent night out which included watching the Spain/Russia match in a bar near the hotel. The following day I went visiting! Long time Axbridge resident, and top bloke, Jim Ramadan lives in the mountains above Beirut ...

... have been the largest stone ever moved - well over 100 tons and measuring 16' x 14' x 67'. Aanjar - best preserved Islamic archeological site in Lebanon and the Middle East's only Umayyad fortified city. Actually, a little disappointing - not much left. The walled and fortified city was built along symmetrical Roman lines in 4 equal quarters separated by 2 20m-wide avenues, the cardo maximus and decumanus maximus. There are ruins ...

... chatting. Then suddenly from near the airport we saw something being launched and then a few seconds latter we saw a massive explosion on the horizon. It was the Israeli gunship and it had been hit. From near the airport we saw bullets being fired into the air and fireworks although we didnt know exactly what had happened. Suddenly from no where a whole lot of Hezbollah ...

... lounge down the hall with the door open, restaurant, dorm room, etc. We were challenged to a game of backgammon, then Kassis Mikael asked a small man with dark shaggy hair to sing us a song and he did! This little concert was one of the highlights of the day. Didn't understand a word of it, but it was enjoyable! Back to NEST for a quick e-mail check, then dinner at a seafood place literally right on the Mediterranean ...

... be buillt. To conclude our time in Beirut, Naji treated us to yet another great meal in the city before whisking us off to the airport. By this time we felt as though we knew our way around a Lebanese table. When the mezza arrived we quickly identified the dishes that were familiar to us and used what little we knew of Lebanese fare to deduce some of the ingredient in the less familiar dished. After so many training session and so much practice we surely should have performed ...

... it' across six lanes as vehicles hurtle past you. The only way to cross with any degree of safety is to wait for a local to come along and (in the hope that they know the score) follow in their shadow as they 'go for it' as vehicles hurtle past, in much the same fashion as you would have done in the first place. This is a town for drivers, mind you only local drivers. It is not recommended that tourists rent cars in this mad-house. Secondly, don't ...