LAST DAY

There is always a “last day” to travels....where we look forward to going home and look backwards on all the fun, frustrations, and new experiences we had. Lebanon was a trip to learn and experience the reason we are all here...our grandparents exodus from the land of THEIR birth to the new land of America.  But first..... we had to go back to the jewlery store in the Armenian part of town. We had a leisurely breakfast, made by Cindy, trying to use up all the leftovers....then we took off to see the Sursock Museum in downtown Beirut.  We ended up having a nice lunch in the Museum cafe before we toured the art. I really liked the museum and picking some last minute gifts in the Museum store. Then Uber to the rescue once again and a journey to the Jewelry store where the cousins had custom made pieces to pick up.  Oh so fun!
Back to the apt and a bit of packing up and then a short walk and shop for the last time.....we ended up at our favorite happy hour bar for the usual drinks and popcorn.   And finally a last dinner, but none of us were very hungry, so it wasn’t a big deal...and we were anxious to finish packing.
The morning came early, as Ali was picking up at 5:30 am!
A lot happened on this trip, and as usual, will be digested by each in their own way. For me, I really felt Lebanese and the presence of our ancestry. Many things started making sense......but even tho we had some questions answered....there is still more to explore. I would definitely enjoy coming back and maybe doing a bit more searching for relative information. Lebanon is a complicated country, but filled with beautiful, educated, hard working people. The food is on a plane all it’s own, and the friendliness of the people is wonderful.  We never had a bad personal experience....”you’re welcome”. That phrase, which we Americans say AFTER someone thanks us...is offered FIRST in Lebanon....as in “Hi, nice to meet you, you’re welcome”...... as You ARE welcome! Always.  I take that home with me!

SHOPPING AND EATING

Well, I am NOT much of a shopper...but the cousins havent had a real day to shop til ya drop.   We are very near the Armenian section of Beirut, and they offer the endless jewelry stores......primarily gold. Julie and Cindy had already ventured there while Su and I were finding relatives. They even knew which store would be the best. So off we went and looked at various  stores until we came to the  one they had liked. And I agree...it was great... we all bought gold! Oh yeah. They do custom work, and that was great as we will go back today to pick orders. Some very nice purchases. They even brought us coffee. Lebanese coffee is very strong.....
I bought a solid gold “tree of Lebanon” which is on their flag and a symbol of the country. I love it!
We did spend a lot of time there and became very hungry......
We were all tired of Lebanese food...even tho it is so healthy and delicious.....we just wanted a burger and fries! We were practically next door to the best burger place in the area..... so.... we ordered and indulged and it was worth every cent of the 3.00 $. Yep.cheap eats, but yummy.
Had an interesting Uber ride back to our apt, as the driver had left Leb during the war years and lived for 30 years in Sweden. He very much wanted to go back to that Nordic country.
After a bit of R&R, we hit the streets again window shopping and exploring.....oh and it was happy hour..... so we went to our favorite outside tables, where the waiter remembers us and what we like to drink. It’s fun.
After a nice relaxing time, we sauntered down the way to an Italian place and ordered pizza! Guess we ARE done with Lebanese food for awhile.

BYLBOS

Today we took off for BYLBOS, supposedly the oldest inhabited city in the world. We met a man named Yzeed who lived in the town all his life and was  former history professor. He really knew his stuff, and he enjoyed showing us all the treasures of this old old city. It was founded by the Phoenicians, and had been conquered at least 16 times by other civilizations thru thousands of years. It was really a treat to walk on such ancient ground.  We ended up at a fabulous restaurant for lunch, where the food kept coming and coming.  I drank Arak again while my travel partners had beer.
Then we left and traveled toward Beirut and went to see the famous Grottos of Jeita. They were quite large and interesting, but they made us “lockup” our cell phones and cameras as we toured the grottos. We walked, we rode in an enclosed gondola, a small train, and finally a boat. And each way we saw the grottos in a different way.  The stalactites and stalagmites were gigantic and convoluted and impressive.
When we returned we noticed the bar below our apt was having happy hour.... 3.00$ for a glass of wine! And popcorn!  That was a fun way to end a busy day. I got back to the apt and jumped in the shower and my cousins decided they were tired of Arabic food, so they ordered Take out Chinese! In Lebanon!  Crazy. But it tasted pretty good. One can order anything and a scooter drives up and delivers it. Just like ‘merika!

ROOTS

Finally, today...we were going to try and find some links to our genetic past. We drove to Hadath, or Hadat, as it is now called, going back to very ancient times. It is rather close to Beirut...only 15 min....IF THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC! Still, traffic was light today by Beirut standards, so Suzy and I went with Francois Yeghi, to see Mansour Yeghi at his home. Julie was coming down with a cold, and Cindy stayed with her. I was surprised how hilly Hadath was!  Very steep terrain . Very. We arrived at Mansour’s and decided right away to see if we could find family.  We could have never negotiated this without Mansour. Everything would have been so difficult. But Mansour knew the family and just took us to places and we popped in, so to speak, unannounced.  After the shock wore off, we were welcomed with open arms...literally. And always invited to lunch or dinner or both!  My mom had been in these same homes in the 70’s and everyone remembered her, and my aunt Alice’s visit also.  Beirut area has changed a lot, and also, Hadat...but some things never change. We met second cousins...we shared our grandparents, and tried to piece more of the puzzle and did get some new information.  We saw a home, which long ago was the typical home of the Lebanese in this area. One story , stone buildings on dirt hills, so cars...lots of Palms...and I suspect, very “biblical” looking.  First we popped in on cousin George in his tiny all goods store...so typical  of Beirut and old school environment. We was so very sweet and almost tearing up. Then we popped in on 3 Murr cousins, just a street away. Again....open arms and surprises and shock...then offers for food, drink, lunch...etc. we met cousins Badia,  Marcelle, and Maroun. They spoke enoughEnglish to tell us stories, and we exchanged pictures and hugs! Over and over.  As we left, we ran into cousin Elie on the street. He is the brother of the Murrs we just saw.

Mansour showed us where things “used to be” and we could imagine a little bit. Finally we went to Mansour’s home where Rita (his wife) fixed a wonderful typical Lebanese meal..sheesh Barack....which is time consuming to make...of course...Little meat pillows baked and put into a yogurt sauce with a bit of rice and mint. Of course we had Fattoush, and chicken and potatoes, also. And a custard for dessert.

I am so thankful I ran into this family...on Facebook! We could never have gotten so much out of our trip if we had not connected.

We returned to see the “girls” had rallied and walked to the Armenian district for some shopping!

THE SUITCASE

After 8 days after Su’s Luggage went for a ride on a Holland America cruise ship...by accident.....it arrived in Beirut. But NOT the end of our story. Su called many times...how to retrieve....each time she got a call center in India, and a different solution. Most of the time she was put on hold...for an hour, or until she hung up.  We gathered all the info, and reference numbers and handed it over to our cousin Mansour. He finally got the straight story. Yes, the suitcase was at  Beirut, and Su had to show up in person, and prove identity and retrieve herself. Sounds easy enough. Noting is straightforward or easy in Lebanon. But UBER!  So we grabbed Mohamed and his sparking clean Uber car, and off Su and I went to retrieve said suitcase.  I would love to be loyal to Middle East airline,  because they are Lebanese...but they are NOT efficiency  or easy to deal with. We were shuffled back and forth to this office and that, and get an authorization, and many security checks.....for Su get 10,000 steps on her fit bit! All the while Mohammed was cooling his heels in the Uber car.  Finally! We had the bag, and we were hungry, tired, hot, and it was so anti climatic as Su was making do just fine after a week.
Arriving back at Taxi rates, not Uber rates...Mohammed made out...Su was so relieved she just shoved$$$ at him. The others had gone out for breakfast and after a brief rest we all hoofed it into town to pay for a Byblos tour coming up.... then we tried to find the hop on hope off big red bus that had just been introduced to Beirut. It was confusing and we had climbed stairs and walked all over...so we hailed a new cab and went to the check stand where we Knew they sold the tickets. We met a Chinese man from Toronto, and we all bought tickets and thought we would just hop on in about 5 min. What were we even thinking! This downtown  Beirut! An hour later....we saw the bus...it was already afternoon, and we were hungry and tired.
I can’t say it was a pleasant experience. We were basically STUCK in heavy traffic, and what’s the point. Snail crawl thru a noisy smoggy city watching people dodge cars and honk. Not my good time. We decided to get off after an hour and walk the waterfront and look for a restaurant that Julie saw in a guide book. Al Falamaki directly across from PigeonRock....classic and fun and bring on the wine! We really enjoyed the rest and replenishment of Lebanese food. After wine and yummy mezzanine and salads......we once again grabbed a taxi and went “home” where we sit on our little deck and watch Lebanese life in the party district. Always interesting.

MT. RETREAT IN FEYOUM

 Before our trip, I found a 2nd cousin on FB. He sent a driver to our b&b yesterday am, and we took off to the Yaghi Family retreat in FEYOUM. It is much high elevation than Beirut and we wound ourselves up the roads with the help of Francois...who was also a cousin...no lie.  We were treated like family, with home cooked meals and a hookah! Yes, Francois had a hookhah, or sheesha, or water pipe or whatever. Anyway...I went first! Duh! I liked it ! A Lot! It was just tobacco flavored with apple or whatever flavor a person wants. Very big in Lebanon...most restaurants offer them on the menu...and they are used a lot.  We all did it!

Well when in Lebanon........

 

So cousin Mansour yelled at us to get in his car and off we went for a drive in the Mts. He showed us where he fought in the cilvil war, and he got shot, and he still had his guns, grenades, and machine gun...and not afraid to use them if needed.  We saw the ski areas and we saw snow...and then...we ran into Syrian  Bedouin camps...... we got out and they asked to come into their tents and smoke the hookah! I mean that is a social norm.  Instead, we went to pet their goats...then we found out they had fresh goat milk Lebneh....which is basically yogurt that is strained until the whey is out and then it is firmer and a bit more pungent. We bought a kilo, and brought it back to b&b. I had it for breakfast with homemade kibbeh.

After the mountain adventure..we came

TAWLET BIOMASS AND TRAFFIC JAM

Well, I guess I could post “traffic jam” everyday.Ha! But today was super bad. We had reservations for brunch at Tawlet Biomass, an organic farm perched high about the town of Jrebta. Everything is grown or raised on the farm, and on weekends, they open their doors for all day brunch. Lots of old Lebanese favorites, and new one too. It was great to try so many offerings...and of course we were excited to see a huge pitcher of Ice cold Arak! Perfect for a warm day.

But getting there was a challenge. Abdullah picked us up in a tiny but nice car. We were packed in as tight as the freeway traffic jam. He spoke NO English, and our cell phones didn’t work. The main roads were jammed. No where to go, can’t turn around...although, by god, a big truck did! Which included hand signals (not the nice kind) from many drivers and the truck driver too. It was a hand signal war, which was fine because we couldn’t understand the words anyway.  Finally, Abdullah decided to do that too..... I was in the front seat, so I got a clear vue of some a amazing maneuvers . This isnt like in the states, where people back up and such to give others room....this was full on.....good luck buddy..hahahahah! But he did it...and after another 1/2wait on another road...he took the high road...literally. We saw a lot of  Beirut we probably never would have seen! Up and down and down and up thru neighborhoods in the hills. Did I ever say how hilly this country is?

Finally we arrived over an hour late...but it was a beautiful place and we sat down to relax and eat. After a really great meal.....we wandered the property and came to big giant oversized cushions and hammocks in the woods...all the better to lie down and take an afternoon, full belly nap.
We had a wonderful time, and the road back had less traffic, so we made it back much faster.

Th 

BAALBEK and KSARA

Today we hit the road running....with yet another driver. He picked us up early and we traveled thru the Bekaa Valley, to the ancient ruins of Baalbek. It was a long winding road...literally...about 2 hrs from Beirut. We were met by a wonderful guide....Olga, who was really from Belarus, but had married a Lebanese man and moved to Baalbek, and was fluent in Arabic. It was a very WARM morning, but we tromped all over the ruins and learned so much, and took too many pics! Everything was a photo op, so now I have to cull many pictures.

We traveled thru many “checkpoints” in the picturesque Bekaa Valley, seeing Syrian refugees working in the fields....some reports state that Lebanon has taken in over 2,000,000 million of these neighboring people into their very small country, so there are refugee camps many places along the way.
After a long morning learning so much history we were fried...intellectually and physically, and needed a cool respite. Our driver took us to a beautiful Lebanese hotel, overlooking the whole valley, where we enjoyed a most fabulous lunch, along with refreshing Arak. We rested and ate and relaxed and were waited on like VIPs.  When we left ,we traveled a short distance to a winery called Ksara. Lots of people and a popular place. It was using old Roman caves for wine storage, and we toured, tasted, and bought some of their wonderful wines. On the way home, we stopped at local fruit stands and loaded up. The drive back .....because of the Lebanese style of driving.....was just as exciting as the ride to Baalbek. I think I will have to do a separate blog just on Lebanese Drivers, to get full picture...but yes....I don’t know how they do it!
Day 7, still no luggage for Suzy.
One note. We are using “Living Lebanon “ trips and travel to plan some of our excursions and get drivers and guides. They have been awesome so far, and quite a bargain, we feel. I just want to give them a shout out!

DUELING BROTHERS

We had a walking tour scheduled for this afternoon, but before that, we had to find a most famous Falafel shop...really 2 shops side by side.....in Lebanon. Short version is a father owned a wonderful falafel shop and when he died his sons fought over it, so the son who didn’t get the shop opened his own right next to the “original shop”, and there they have been for 40 years, not speaking and dueling falafel shops. So we grabbed an Uber and got to the “shops”. We went into the original one and it was a wonderful falafel sandwich, so simply made but so fresh and lite....we just stood out on the side walk and enjoyed every bite!

Cabs are readily available in the city, and so we hopped in one and headed for the waterfront Cornish’s. It was pretty warm, but a nice breeze kept us comfortable as we walked and walked along the beautiful coastline. The only spoiler was the amount of “modern garbage”....ie. plastic water bottles, lots of plastic, littering this once clean rock beach. It was hard to see. We finally turned and walked back to the more upscale area of Zaitunay Bay, where the Marina and nice restaurants line the bay.  We had another snack and decided to go early to our meet up point and have a glass of wine before the actual tour. This next cab turned out to be quite the ride! A VERY friendly outgoing driver who was rocking out to his favorite Arabic rap tunes....all the time dodging traffic, sneaking thru red light, taking his hands off the wheel to better dance with the tunes. I forgot about the craziness and just “went along for the ride”...laughing all the way!

Man! We needed a drink after than!

We moseyed up to the walking tour, expecting a few people and saw there were around 40 fellow travelers from all over the world waiting for the same tour. But, the guide was an excellent young knowledgeable woman who walked us all, over for 2 1/2hours explaining the history of Lebanon and the complicated political history of the last 100 years. Things were finally starting to line up and make sense to me. The old AND the new and the hopes for the future of such a strong country.

Sue had gone back early expecting to see her long lost luggage, and NO...it still was not delivered. Even with a few new clothes, she was missing everything. It really has put a damper on the trip for her. As were were winding down and complaining about the luggage....Julie got stung by a bee.  So the adventure continues.

MAR MIKHAEL

We are staying and a fun and rather larger airB&B right in the middle of the Mar Mikhael region of Beirut.  I would compare it to being on Capitol Hill in Seattle....kind of a laid back funky area with lots of little mom and pop stores, art galleries, small bars and restaurants. It’s also a bit noisy, especially at night when the young crowd comes to party. So far this has been a nightly occurrence, but we are all enjoying the liveliness of the street and people watching.  Earplugs when we go to bed. Yesterday after a late rise, the newly arrived cousins decided to walk to a place and have breakfast and mosey around. I joined them later and we explored some art galleries, and great places for photo. After a short rest, we hoofed it to downtown Beirut and went on a shopping spree. Downtown Beirut is beautiful with old and new, and lots of banks, and upscale stores. We walked to the souks, which is a mall, to us. Since Suzy still hasn’t made contact with her luggage...she was needing some new duds. We all bought clothes at ZARA, and the wandered around some more. Somehow I got separated and could not find the others. After about 45min of waiting and missing them, I grabbed a cab and came back to our place. Enjoyed wine time and people watching on our deck, and pretty soon the other three arrived.
Later we walked to ENAB, a Lebanese restaurant, and enjoyed a selection of mezze sitting outside under the trees.  The trees also had a naughty bird who dropped his load on Suzy’s nice linen top....TWICE! Julie said that was supposed to be good luck.....but twice? IDK! Walking back we had dodge an ever growing crowd of evening partiers.....but it was a fun evening and I am so glad they are all here...and tomorrow we finally going to take our walking tour of BEIRUT that we had to postpone because of the late arrivals.

TRAVEL UPDATE

WELL, they made it! My 3 traveling cousins made it to Beirut....but even then the adventure didn’t end...because of me! My cousin( yes, everyone is a cousin in Lebanon) called spontaneously and said he was going to take me to the waterfront for a look see. I grabbed the ONLY key to the apt . So when these very weary, frustrated, exhausted ladies arrived  at the doorstep...there was no way for them to get in...a warm muggy evening.....and you know,I was in VERY big doodoo. When I realized my error, we called and connected and I knew the scene was going to be bad. We rushed back...more about driving in LEB later..... and I really took the rath. I deserved it...but, still......... as they said...they COULD NOT BELIEVE THIS TRAVEL JOURNEY was still going bad. Liquor seems to help the situation, so we sat down and caught up...and I kept apologizing profusely....like that would help. Here I was all chipper and rested and excited to see them...but they didn’t feel the same.
So the luggage is still not here! We washed cousins SU’s only dress, she had worn for over 3 days....and even tho Holland America said they would send it........the suitcase is still not here. When it was “delivered” to some cruisers room, the lady was smart enough to Call Suzy, because she had her phone on the tag. Otherwise she may never have known where this bag disappeared.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed a Balmy evening at the waterfront, which was heavily bombed in the attempt of the Israelis to destroy Lebanon. The waterfront has been rebuilt in a beautiful inviting manner with   lots of parking, and wide walk ways and apts that go for millions of dollars! But then the government left quite a few bombed out building standing, maybe so people don’t forget..IDK...I took a picture of one of the most famous hotels on earth....standing darkly in this new design of the new Lebanon...with the flag flying in front of it. I thought it was quite sobering. Many families, both Christian and Muslim enjoying the end of Ramadan at this beautiful setting.

RECOVERY

After the 2 travel days from hell, I woke feeling better and alone! My cousins still have not made it, but hopefully tonight they will arrive.  When my cousin Suzy heard her luggage was on a cruise ship to Alaska, she threw a wonderful wing ding, and now Holland America is going to fly it to Beirut. Stay tuned to see how that pans out!
So today I am making a lazy day, a recovery day, and am about to go out and wander the streets...mainly looking for food! And water. One cannot drink the water here, so big bottles of  water are important.  Our airB&B is quite large with 4 separate bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It is in the Armenian district and fairly close to the water.yesterday Ali gave me a crash course inLebanese pounds vs. US dollar, so this am I went to the little shop below our apt.and bought more water, juice and bread...but man cannot live on bread alone...even if it is greatLebanese bread....so I need to get grub.
Traffics here is a formula. Lebanon is a small country and in Beirut, everyplace is 20min away..unless there’s traffic...then it’s 2 hours! It’s always traffic, ...so when they say 20 min away...they mean 2 hrs! That’s the formula. The weather is warm now, and a bit humid, but we have A C and a small deck, which I am using to dry a load of sheets and towels, that I found whirling around in the washer when I arrived. No one uses dryers here, and the electricity goes off for a couple hours everyday which messes with the wiFi and I have to reset the router. Otherwise, it’s just a noisy, gritty, bustling city with Christians and Muslims living together and making it work. Yesterday was the end of Ramadan, and my driver explained today would be party time, eating, feasting, with all state run agencies closed.
Before I left home I decided to see if I had any relatives living in the area.I had old pictures with names written on the back, because my mother had come here over 40 years ago and someone painstakingly identified all the people in the pictures she took.  I used those names to search on FB, and voila! I hit pay dirt with the first person I found. A cousin! So I contacted him, and he is excited to show us around and he lives in the town my grandma other was from. So am looking forward to meeting him and his family.  But for now...I am just lying low and resting the cold so I can hit the ground running tomorrow.

TRAVEL HELL

Our trip started out very badly. Our whole flt to Canada was canceled the night before we left. AirCanada put us all on Different times and flts, which was NOT going to work, so we scrambled to get the next flt, so we could hook with our AirFrance to Paris. It would be cutting closer, but we felt we could do it. NOT!.our small flt from SeaTac was instructed to sit out on the tarmac for 45 min, while the big jets were taking off. Already we were worried a bit. I had packed only a carry on, but my 3 cousins went full on big suitcase style. Finally getting to Vancouver, discovered about 3000 people jamming the passport room, and it was pretty disconcerting. I ran around asking agents if there was an expedited line for people who had to catch connecting flights.  Our plane to Paris was leaving at 1:30 and it was already almost noon! We got in the snaking line...and were nervous. Most of the people in line were going on cruise ships the next day, so they weren’t in any hurry. After an hour in line, we still weren’t close to the automated passport section. What a joke. Most people could not figure out how to work the machines, or the machines didn’t work anyway, so people, including me...were waiting for help, and there were not enough helpers...so it was a slow process...Finally, when I got my passport slip..THEY FUNNELED US INTO YET  ANOTHER LONG LINE. I had inched ahead of my cousins and saw it was already 1 pm, and boarding had started at 12:30 pm!  Finally was thru about 1:00pm and I grabbed my bag and started running, except I had no idea where the AIRFrance desks were located. After a couple of wrong turns and escalators, I reached the AF desks except they were closed! There was one woman gabbing on a phone and I implored her to help me make the flt. First she said it was too late..duh! Then she said I could reschedule. I held on and begged and pulled the pity card...and finally she called the gate. First they said no, then they said if I could get thru security quickly, I might make it. But once they shut the door, I would be SOL. Then the woman finally got activated in my favor and printed out a boarding pass, and escorted me to security where she begged people to let me go ahead of them. some don’t get it, I know, but swearing helped. I was literally running to the gate, which was like doing a 5k. I got to gate D80 as they were shutting the door....and squeezed my little ass thru it. In all the rushing, I lost my travel companions, because now it was Everyman for himself! They ended missing the flight, and some of their luggage was missing. They had to reschedule, spend the night in a hotel, and pay big bucks for reschedule fee. And my cousins luggage had been grabbed y the cruise ship crew and was on Holland America sailing to Alaska!

As of now, they still are not in Beirut, but I am, and nursing a terrible cold that sprang in me as I was leaving home. It was a very stressful day, and I guess things can only get better. I was picked up by a wonderful driver, named Ali...and I just want to say that everything I  have read about Beruit traffic is completely true! I took some meds, climbed into bed about 7 pm, and slept 12 hours!  Now, I am waiting for the cuzes to hear the rest of their adventures.