Bhob Wanted Falafel For His Birthday

Day 1 Beirut

Arrived about seven p.m. and got picked up from the airport by Rafi, the driver that our Airbnb host arranged.

Our neighbors

It was dark when we arrived, so these photos of our immediate surroundings were taken the next day

After dropping our stuff off in our apartment , we went in search of a supermarket. We got a little turned around, and asked a couple of young women where it was. They directed us to a woman who was heading in that direction and she gave us a ride the 1 kilometre, and even went up and around so she could drop us right in front. We got our provisions, walked home, took showers, unpacked and went to bed (about 36 hours after waking up in St. Paul)

Day 2 Beirut

Bhob's birthday!! After a quick breakfast, we started the day with a walk to the nearby neighborhood of Bourj Hamoud.

After picking some pastries at Bar Tartine, went back home for some Coffee on the Terrace time

My phone plan coverage includes over 200 countries. Is Lebanon one of them? 

No. 

Did I bother to check this before leaving? 

Again, no. 

This meant that I couldn't use my phone for Uber, or anything else while we were away from wifi, so Bhob needed to buy a sim card. This gave us an objective for our morning. Went to the ABC mall, a 25-minute walk from our apartment. Stopped into the Lush store, bought a sim card, and noted the showtimes for the cinema, which might be a destination for one of the rainy days in the forecast.

We'd  gotten a recommendation for a good falafel place, so headed there for Bhob's birthday lunch. 

On the way, stopped by Martyrs' Square and talked to a friendly man named Saab.

Got to the falafel place, and it turns out that there are two next to each other with the same name. Apparently, when the founder died, his sons couldn't agree on how to run the business, so they split the space in half and each is running his own business. We randomly chose the one on the left. 

Crunch Patties and Flavor Sauce

Walked toward the seaside

Because of my phone weirdness, we weren't sure if the tour operator we'd been in touch with had gotten my WhatsApp message, so we walked to his office, which happened to be fairly close to the falafel place (s). Hussein was actually in the office, and indeed had not received my message, so we arranged and paid for our tours for the next two days.

Before leaving the US, we'd been in touch with Bhob's co-worker's cousin, who is from Switzerland, but lives in Beirut with her husband. After leaving the tour company

office, we asked if she would mind if we stopped by for a visit in the Mansourie neighborhood. Her husband sent a voice message with directions for us to play for a taxi driver. We were inexperienced enough to hail one from the absolutely most expensive company. He didn't really know the area, but we eventually got there, and the trip was worth every overpriced penny, because Lucie and Wissam are just about the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. They treated us to Birthday Falafel Meal #2.

This place was run by the feuding brother of the one we'd gone to earlier. It was better.

Lucie, Wissam and the ever good-natured Matthias

And then splurged for dessert from their favorite patisserie

After a much more reasonably priced Trust Taxi, got back home, picked up more provisions from the 24-hour Grab and Go, enjoyed a cognac on the terrace and aimed for a sensible bedtime.

These were right outside our apartment. They provided a convenient cardio workout.

Day 3 Sour/Tyre and Sidon

After an early morning walk and breakfast, our driver/guide, Anwar, picked us up and we drove to Sour (which is pronounced "Soor" with a rolled"R" at the end, and for some reason is called Tyre by non-Arabic speakers).
It was a nice drive along the coast, which has ideal growing conditions for bananas, now an important agricultural product for Lebanon.

Met up with a local guide, Jihad, and spent two hours walking and learning.

Next was Magdouche, where Mary used to wait in a cave for her son when he was preaching in the pagan towns.

Anwar provided a great soundtrack for all of the driving.

The track after this was Woman In Love.

Finished the day in Sidon (pronounced like a New Englander would pronounce "cider"). First stop, falafel lunch

then the castle and souk, which was interspersed with various museums

Tower Of Soap

Wrapped up our time in Sidon with lemonade in Serai Square.

Did some calculations, and apart from the tip we gave to Anwar, doing a private vs. group tour cost an additional $6 total!!

Got back to Beirut, recharged our batteries (literally and figuratively) and went to dinner at Zimi.

Espresso+cream+orange flower+gin=I'd like to drown in a bucket of these, thank you

Day 4 Anjar and Baalbek

Anwar picked us up at 8 and we headed to the mountains. First stop coffee

Second stop, Anjar!

Then to the quarry where the materials for Baalbek were cut.

On to Baalbek. There are not enough adjectives in English to describe how huge, beautiful and impressive it is. I can only say Wow! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

Only slightly less epic was our lunch at Lakkis Farm restaurant.

Last stop was Kasara winery, but we were pretty fried, there were a couple of large tour groups, and we still hadn't quite metabolized all of the wine we had drunk in Georgia last Fall, so we did a quick tasting and bailed.

The day's driving took us through the Bekaa  valley, which is the primary food producing area for Lebanon. We saw lots of temporary housing for the migrant workers.

After a brief lie-down and shower, we did some pre-dinner recon for tomorrow's guide-free outing to Byblos. We tried using the Google Maps to get us to the alleged bus stop.

The Google Maps is high.

It did, however, bring us to a nifty little oasis 

and we found some helpful people who pointed out the "station" and recommended taking an Uber rather than risk our lives on foot.

After a delicious dinner at Le Chef, did some meandering before heading home.

Day 5 Byblos and Hamra Neighborhood, Beirut

Our arms still sprained from patting ourselves on the back for our clever fact-finding of the night before, we aimed to catch the 7:30 bus to Byblos by strolling out of the apartment to catch an Uber on the street at about 7. Not only were we unable to type or pin our destination ("Under the Charles Helou Expressway"), but the Uber app couldn't locate where we were standing, so we had to just walk and look and ask and walk and look and ask....

The only way that was absolutely certain was down a litter-strewn path down a hill. We got there 6 minutes too late, so we bought tickets for the 8:10 and waited on the bus, which was less unpleasant than standing next to it. A 60-something Japanese man asked the driver and another passenger about getting off at Byblos, saving us the trouble. Because there was no actual stop, when disembarking, we asked where to catch the bus back to Beirut. 

That's our Japanese busmate with the backpack.

It required crossing under the expressway and waiting on the other side on the shoulder.

After a couple of wrong turns, we found the archaeological complex.

It was exceptionally windy.

We thought we'd get away from "Suckers' Row" and explore the town, 

but it seemed to be mainly based around Suckers' Row, so we scratched an itch to try a Lebanese breakfast staple called knefe. It's like a non-salty grilled cheese sandwich on a sesame bun with orange flower sugar syrup. It was good, but I'm glad we split it.

Ready to head back to Beirut, we walked up the stairs to wait on the side of the expressway, and as soon as we got there, a small white bus pulled up. It didn't have the logo of the bus that got us there, but whatever.

The driver went about 30 mph along the shoulder, trolling for additional passengers for miles. We asked where his "route" ended, and he told us "the Port". Our plan for the afternoon was to check out the Hamra neighborhood, so we figured on walking there from the Port.

Eventually, a couple of guys got on and told him "Bourj Hamoud" (the neighborhood to the east of ours that we'd explored on our first day). As we got closer to the city, traffic slowed to a crawl. The 30- minute drive was going on 60. We were so hot and miserable that we decided to get off the bus with those guys and walk back to our apartment.

It was a brilliant decision.

Not only did the breeze feel refreshing, the area was much more hopping on a Tuesday lunchtime than it was on a 7 o'clock Saturday morning. Got home, removed a couple of layers, drank some water and made some strong coffees  with a couple of shots of arak. Thus fortified, we ventured out towards Hamra.

OK, we're not in Hamra yet. Those photos were mostly on our street, but since we had only walked on it at night, this was our first chance to see it in daylight.

Took photos of some cool stuff on the way, but it was some kind of embassy and/ or monument, and some very friendly (really!) soldiers asked us to delete them.

Eventually made it to Hamra. 

It's a for-real Caribou!

By that time we were getting pretty hungry. At a certain point, we said that the next place we passed that sold food, we'd go in. Luckily for us the next place was probably the priciest place in town, but what the heck? We're on vacation!!

While eating, the rain that had been predicted started at just about the time that it had been predicted. We knew it was coming, but were hoping for a little more luck. When we left for home, it let up a bit. This time, the Google Maps did a pretty good job of pointing us in the right direction. There were a couple of brief periods of showers, but it was mostly just sprinkles. After a quick stop at Spinneys to replenish some staples, 

Before you judge me too harshly, it was the only size they had, and it was half price

got home relatively dry.

Day 6 Beirut

Today's itinerary was entirely dictated by the weather forecast: 100% chance of rain every single hour from 5 PM the night before until 7 PM the following day. We didn't set an alarm because thunderstorms were predicted from 5-9 AM , which indeed was the case. Had a leisurely morning and planned on going to the National Museum, taking a cab or Uber if necessary. When we left, not only was it not raining, it was clear and pleasant. 

We walked all the way to the museum, stopping in Sassine Square for another knefe.

The museum was unbelievable. There may have been an admission charge, but we walked in and no ticket office presented itself, so we just kept walking.

Not wanting to stray too far from shelter, we made our way to ABC Mall. Minutes after we arrived, it started pouring. Had lunch at Zaatar W Zeit 

and finished with plenty of time to catch the  first showing of The Lego Movie 2 in 3D. 

I was blown away and my face hurt from smiling the whole time. We had planned on getting facials at Lush, but I was too emotional from the movie.

The rain held off long enough for us to walk home, where we chilled for a bit before heading 50 meters to Enab Restaurant. 

                                                        

It was fantastic! It was also our gateway into the world of sheesha (called argileh or nargileh in Lebanon). 

  

                                                                      

Our tourmates in Iran were all into it, but we didn't partake on that trip. In Beirut, everywhere we went, we kept getting beguiling whiffs of it. After dinner, we decided to give it a try, and got the lemon mint.

We liked it.

                                                                     

It poured while we were eating, but stopped by the time we went home. It didn't dawn on me until the next morning that it was the first day since arriving that we didn't ride in any type of vehicle.

Day 7 Beirut

Another rainy stretch meant another morning with no alarm clock. I slept an unprecedented 8 hours. The hourly forecast showed a dip at 8 o'clock from 100% chance of rain to 80% so we attempted a brief walk over to Bourj Hamoud.

Caramel Macchiato River

Ethiopian grocery!

It was alternating light and heavy drizzle so we didn't get too far, but it felt good to get out. On our return, we did some recon for today's lunch and tomorrow's bus ride back to Hamra. When we got home it started to pour and thunder, so we felt less unlucky.

Lunch was at a place called Tawlet*. This was the only place on my "Must Do" list, as I had read about it in Saveur magazine and was intrigued. I had thought that it was located near the farmers market downtown, but it turned out to be a 12-minute walk from our apartment.

It was a sweet space with good food. It was pricey, but I tried to think of it more as a free gift with a donation to a good cause, like a World Wildlife Fund tote bag.

Walked home to regroup before heading to the Sursock Museum. It was great!!

Even the restroom was classy

Stopped by the Grab n Go for groceries on the way home, and got waylaid by one last downpour

Stayed close to home for dinner at The Smoking Bun. Great beef burger for me, and Bhob had one of the best vegetarian burgers ever!

It was too cold and raw for meandering, so we turned in early.



* Though Tawlet means "kitchen table" in Arabic, unfortunately it sounds like the place where someone from Alabama goes to tend to their dainty needs.

Day 8 Beirut- Hamra Neighborhood

A sunny day forecast amidst the rainy spell, so we hoped to spend it doing what we love to do best: walk around and look at stuff!

Looked for #2 bus to hamra but got random bus to Dora roundabout, then a #15 bus

(which was different from the  #15 on the unofficial bus map). It took us exactly where we wanted to go: Pigeon Rocks

Walked around

Got croissants and Lebanese coffee at Bagatelle

Got a hot tip about a place to find the one thing I really wanted to buy on this trip: tiny little espresso spoons. Success!

This place was like a cross between Hockenberg's, Bed Bath & Beyond and the housewares section of Ikea

Then Ka3Kayal for mango sheesha and coffees.

Took the scenic route to a souvenir store.

Then back to the center of the area for lunch at Tootbeirut, which played the same song (a woman singing to her habibi, with a similar chord progression to The Model) on a loop the entire time we were there.

Ready to head home, we found the#2 bus back to our neighborhood. The 4 km ride took over 90 minutes.

We considered it a sightseeing bargain at 66¢ each. That being said, we were all too happy to hop off almost literally at our doorstep.

For some reason, we hadn't previously been aware of buses on our street. After that, we saw them all day long.

Walked to Bourj Hamoud for dinner.

Our original choice, Onno Bistro (sung to the tune of Let's Go Crazy) was under construction.
When we got to our second choice, Velou, we were told that we "need reservations" despite the fact that the place was totally empty. This forced us to eat our best falafel yet

Bought Armenian treats at the shop across the street

This is malban.It isn't overly sweet, and tastes like black pepper and cardamom.

Day 9 Tripoli

Another rainy forecast for Beirut, but in Tripoli the rain was expected to end by 10, so we took our favorite litter-strewn drainage path to the "bus station"




                                                       

Get to Tripoli in about 80 minutes and headed straight to Taynal Mosque. It was closed, but a very kind groundskeeper unlocked the door and let us have a looky loo.

Walked a couple of blocks

went through the touristy souk, got the hard sell on some natural soap and body care producs , then escaped the crowds up some stairs.

And found a sheesha bar

where no one spoke English (and we don't speak Arabic), so it took about 10 minutes of our pantomiming and 40 minutes of their preparation to get two cappuccinos and a nargileh of unknown flavor (apple? anise??).

Was it worth it?

Oh yeah.

Whiled away a good couple of hours there, watching programming on TV that ranged from what looked like the Norwegian yule log channel, Arab Idol, and a singer who looked like the chubby Lebanese love child of Elijah Wood and Ricky Martin.

Let the Google map lead us to lunch at Yami Yami for falafel and kibbe.

Wound our way back to the bus station

Back at the Beirut "bus station", tried to reverse navigate a less garbage-y route back to actual streets. The third set of stairs was the charm,as they were intact and not blocked off.

Got back home, the power went out (not uncommon in Lebanon) so we drank cognac by candlelight before heading out in the rain to Mano Burger in Bourj Hamoud. Mano Burger for me (made with their specialty sausage) and veggie burger for Bhob. We found a he-man nargileh bar, had more sheesha and coffees and watched Bayern Munich vs Monchengladbach. My shoes got pretty wet on the walk home, so I stuffed them with that Highland Villager that I always insist on traveling with.

Day 10 Beirut

First World Problems Day.

Tried our first mannouche to start the day

Then headed east

The Bradt guide listed a Sunday flea market in Bourj Hamoud. We tried to find it and failed, so we went to the neighborhood to the South. After a bit, we needed coffee and pastries, so we walked and looked to no avail. It was Sunday morning, so it seemed like nothing was open.

At one point, I really needed to use the bathroom, so we stopped at a gas station and I got the restroom key. The door handle was broken, so I spent about 15-20 minutes stomping on the door. Bhob eventually came looking for me and opened it from the outside.

New travel resolution: when one is using a sketchy restroom, the other will stay vigilantly nearby.

When it became clear that this was not a neighborhood for sitting with coffee, pastries AND a restroom all in one place, we decided that we'd be better off returning home to make our own coffee and pick up some treats from Bakery Tartine. First, we needed to re-up our cognac. We went up and down our street, and found nothing that wasn't in an expensive gift set.

The shop closest to us, which was closed on the first round, was open as we returned home. They ended up having the cheapest, tastiest cognac ever! The proprietor had to use a ladder to get it from the shelf (in this case, "top shelf" means "The stuff that nobody buys"), and gave it a good dusting off.

That's just under $5 US!

Paired with our pastries, after 3 hours of walking,  it was absolutely heaven.

Paris-Brest Praline

Earlier in our meandering, Bhob had spotted an Armenian restaurant that looked promising. We had planned to go to the Fighting Falafel Brothers, but the Google said that they were closed Sundays. The Google also informed us that the Armenian restaurant was only open until 4, so we hightailed it over there. It was great!

Resto Ghazar!

After that, we wanted some nargileh. A guy at The Smoking Bun had told us about a good place to try called Cafe Em Nazih. We had no idea what bounty awaited us.

Kind of reminded me of Harvest House

Maybe under different circumstances, we would have hated it, but this was just the right place at just the right time.

Day 11 Beirut

Last day in town. Occasional rain forecast throughout the day, so kept our goals realistic: one more sandwich from the Fighting Falafel Brother that we didn't visit on the first day, and maybe an "I ♥️ Beirut" t-shirt for Bhob. 

Passed through the cutesy part of downtown.

Unintentionally went past the Roman baths. At first we were all "You've seen one set of Roman ruins, you've seen 'em all", but we peeked over anyway, and I'm glad we did.

Then through more cutesy stuff

And a couple of pleasant little parks.

Walked up these stairs

Got to the Fighting Falafel Brothers

As I think about it more, I'm convinced that the whole "feud" thing is a gimmick to draw people to their shops, and that every night, the brothers get together for dinner, laughs and to swap stories about their day.

It was across the street from a memorial of sorts; this road used to be the Green Line that separated West and East Beirut during the civil war.

Walked back toward our neighborhood

Back to Cafe Em Nazih for cappuccinos, sheesha and Nutella mannoushe

Out of nowhere, I felt dizzy and clammy. I have no idea what caused it. Extra strength sheesha??  Of all of the toilets in Beirut to have to possibly kneel in front of, I had the good fortune of hugging the cleanest. Extra bonus: Nutella tastes just as good coming up as it does going down.
Because it was the middle of the day, there were plenty of couchy areas for me to lie down. After awhile, I was able to rejoin Bhob, and we headed for home.

After another brief lie-down, we realized that it had stopped raining, so we went for a quick walk up in the area behind our apartment.

Wanted to return to the Armenian restaurant we had gone to the day before, but it was closed (for Ash Monday?? Lots of folks walking around with charcoal crosses on their forehead). We let the Google Maps lead us to Restaurant Ara. It was great! Good food and very friendly proprietor.

The weather allowed us to enjoy one last night of sipping cognac on the terrace.

Day 11 Departure

Got picked up at 5AM for a 7:15 flight.

Random Observations

Everyone in Lebanon has a relative in Michigan.

Beirut is like a small town; everyone knows everyone. Our two-day guide, Anwar, joked that when people slow down to at a traffic crash, it's to look and see if they know the people involved. And when we met up with Lucie and Wissam, at the falafel place, a guy approached Wissam and recognized him. It turns out they hadn't seen each other in 20 years. 

The heater in our apartment had a rhythm that sounded like Dun Ringill by Jethro Tull, so that somg was stuck in my head for most of the trip.

Whenever I saw the Lebanese flag, I could only think of Christmas nougat.

FAQs

Why Beirut?

The weather is good there when it is not so good in Minnesota.

Bhob’s favorite falafel in town is at Beirut Restaurant in West St. Paul

A couple of years ago, we watched a CNN segment featuring one of our favorite singers walking around her neighborhood. We both had the exact same thought at the exact same time: “Looks like our kind of place!!”

How big is Lebanon?




 Very small.

The distance from the Northern to the Southern border is about the distance from St. Paul to Duluth.

How was the weather?

 Mixed. The first 5 days were perfect: lows in the 50s and highs in the mid-60s to low 70s in town and a little cooler in the mountains.

The following two days were cloudy with intermittent light and heavy showers.

Then one nice day. The rest of the days were a mix of partly cloudy, sunny and rainy. Still, walking around in 59 degrees with an occasional shower beats the hell out of a Polar Vortex.

How were your flights?

We flew United and Middle East Airlines. Departing, Mpls/St. Paul to Chicago to Paris to Beirut. Returning, Beirut to Frankfurt to Chicago to Mpls/St. Paul.

On the way there, seamless and on time.

For our first segment out of MSP, the gate agent kept announcing that the overhead bins would be full by the time Group 3 had boarded and that people in groups 4 and 5 should come up and check their bags to help expedite the boarding process. Since we were in Group 4, and there was no way we believed that our bags would make it all the way to Beirut with us, we fretted and shifted important items from our overhead bags to our underseat ones. We tried boarding with Group 2, but ( unlike American Airlines), their scanner actually won't let you through until your group has been called. So we reluctantly made our way to get our bags checked, and as the person handed us our tags , the gate agent took one look at our bags and said "Oh, those should fit under the seat."

Hurray!

Continuing on, CDG has nifty kiosks that scan your boarding pass and tells you which concourse and gate your flight is leaving from.

Some globally inspired saltines and cheddar

We knew we had to fill out a visa application upon arriving in Lebanon, but didn't learn until after waiting in the passport line that the applications were on an unmarked table at the entrance (with exactly one pen), so we had the go back, fill them out and get back into the passport line.


The way back was great (Frankfurt to Chicago was about 20% full) until we got to O'Hare, where the mobile passport line was closed and the entire passport area was more packed and chaotic than I'd ever seen it. Luckily (!?) our flight to MSP was delayed, so we could relax. Relaxation turned to frustration as the delay turned to 4 hours. We were all transferred over to the last United flight of the day to MSP.

What did you watch on the plane?

The Will Smith feature was Hitch (meh). Watched some TV shows: Pupparazzi, Pick of the Litter, Trading Spaces, Drunk History,  Flight of the Conchords Live in London, Who Do You Think You Are with Molly Shannon, a very interesting documentary about Susanne Bartsch, a Jim Gaffigan special, and Hoarders.

The other movies were Must Love Dogs ( not great but not as bad as I thought it would be; Middle East Airlines seems to lean heavily towards romantic comedies for their English language film selection) and the Big Winner was the most recent installment of Tomb Raider. It was THE most perfect airplane movie.

Isn’t Beiruit dangerous?

Oh my gosh, you’re right! Maybe we should have gone to someplace safe like Paris, London or Orlando. Seriously though, from what I have read, most bombings are targeted toward specific politicians or guerilla leaders. If I happen to be at the same restaurant as one of these targets, I’ve always said that dying overseas in a terrorist attack is a way better story than dying at home on the toilet. Now, if I am sitting on the toilet at that overseas restaurant when the bomb goes off, I’m not sure how to categorize that.*

As far as street crime, we did a lot of walking around at all times of the day and night, and always felt very safe.

Truly, perhaps the greatest danger in Beirut is being hit by a car.

 *I realize that by obsessing about not wanting to die on the toilet, I am pretty much guaranteeing that I will eventually die on the toilet.

Did you see any military?

There were occasional checkpoints along the motorway, and guards at government buildings and landmarks. For a tiny country surrounded by some hostile entities, I can't imagine otherwise.

Did you learn the national anthem?

 No. Since this was a short, winter getaway type of trip, and I had heard that you could get by without knowing Arabic, I was rather lazy about putting too much time into it, particularly since it was just 4 months after Georgia, for which I did have to learn a new alphabet and key words.

There was one phrase I managed to learn that was a big hit: "Pleased to meet you!"

 

Do many people speak English?

Yes! Even people who replied that they "didn't speak English" understood and spoke enough English to help us find out what we needed to know. The ones who did speak English were fluent and spoke it better than I do.

Everyone speaks the Lebanese dialect of Arabic, and most speak French ( in fact, if a person wanted to practice their French, but didn't want to travel to France or Africa, this would be an ideal destination). Lots of people speak an additional 2 or 3 European languages.

Any surprises?

Anjar! Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't like to see or hear too much about a destination before going there. Of all places I've ever gone, this one this is one that I knew literally nothing but the letters that spelled it. I had heard about Baalbek and Kasara winery, and this was the other segment of the tour we'd booked. Maybe that's why it was so delightful. It reminded me a little of Pompeii, getting a sense of the scale of a small, ancient city.

The size, scale and grandeur of Baalbek was also a surprise.

 

What were your highlights?

Bourj Hamoud. Our first foray early on Saturday morning left us underwhelmed. The second time passing through on a Tuesday lunchtime was more lively. Friday at 7 PM was a revelation! We were officially smitten. Infinite gratitude to Yasmin Hamdan!!

Connecting with Lucie and Wissam was a real treat. Usually, when you tell someone that you're going somewhere that they know someone, and they say "you should get in touch with them", and you're all "Yeah, whatever". For some reason, Lucie's response to her cousin's email was so friendly and inviting, I thought, "Why not?" and I am so glad.

Baalbek was also spectacular.

What kind of drivers are they?

Oh my. Drivers in Lebanon are perhaps the most....ummmm...I don't know the exact adjective. Creative? Opportunistic? OK, aggressive. Traffic lanes and lights are merely suggestions. Crosswalks are infrequent and ineffective. Horn honking appears to be mandatory.

How did you get around?

In town, mostly walking. Out and about, guided tour driver, regular taxi, overpriced taxi, intercity coach, intracity bus. Public transportation in Beirut seems to be of the "informal" variety (AGWAC- A Guy With A Car). There is no official city bus line, but generally agreed-upon routes that are patrolled by privately owned buses (AGWAB). No real bus stops, you just need to know which buses go where, and stand on the route and hail one. The price is 1000 pounds.

 

Is Beirut pedestrian and/or bike friendly?

By scale, yes, By surface, no. It is not a large city, but cars rule the road, and there are a lot of awkward intersections, and you have to do a lot of switching back and forth between walking on the sidewalk and on the street. We saw occasional bicyclists, but I wouldn't dare.

Beirut could use a project like The Big Dig in Boston, but it would never work, because even if they could get organized and efficient, there would probably be too many archaeological layers of Greek, Roman and Phoenecian  ruins.

 

Did you see any refugees?

Probably. It's hard to know for sure. Apparently, there are over a million Syrian refugees in a country with 4 million native citizens. It's become a problem for low wage Lebanese workers because there are so many people willing to work for a lot less.

We did see a lot of young Southeast Asian women walking Pomeranians.

 

Did you eat any memorable food?

Knefe- It's like a sweet grilled cheese sandwich, usually eaten for breakfast 

Manoush- a flatbread with a choice of toppings (usually zaatar) and rolled up. It is a cheap, ubiquitous street food. I can equate it with byrek in the Balkans or khatchapuri in Georgia.

Jalleb- a cold beverage made with rosewater (with something else that I couldn't discern) with whole raw cashews floating in it.

Kishk with walnuts. Flavor reminded me of Persian dish called Whey Eggplant

Arak- The Lebanese variation of Italian Sambuca, Greek ouzo and Turkish raki. I like it the best of all of these anise floavored spirits, as it seems to have little to no sweetening.

Will you continue your sheesha habit in the United States?

No. While I will probably partake in the future if we visit another country where it is as ubiquitous and inexpensive, really it's the fragrance I like best. After about 10 minutes of smoking it, I would grow accustomed to the flavor and could barely notice it anymore. If I need a fix at home, I can always go to a restaurant that has it, get a coffee and breathe in that sweet, sweet smell.

Did you drink the water?

Our apartment had a 5 gallon jug of spring water, so I didn't have to.

Would you go back?

Absolutely! It's a cosmopolitan city with lots of opportunities for exploring. We never got tired of the food, music, great smells and looking at attractive people.

As Bhob puts it: It's like Shiraz, but with booze and dog spas.

What was the exchange rate?
A 1000 Lebanese pound note was worth about 66 cents, so I treated them like dollar bills. When you pay with a credit card, you can have it tallied in pounds or dollars. Also, you can pay with US dollars and get your change in pounds, and sometimes dollars.

 

How much did it cost?   

A lot more than we usually spend! Unlike previous destinations where everything is across-the-board cheap, Beirut was more like other major cities, where prices depend on the neighborhood. Knowing what we know now, we could definitely save on ground transportation, and cut our food prices in half.

 For two people, 10 full days:

Airfare 1752.62

Lodging 988.26

Ground transportation 469.13

Tours guides and admissions (museums, archaeological sites, movies) 111.65

Food and sundries 721.26

 

Total  4042.89  

Per day:  404.29

"On the ground" costs per person, per day 114.51

Who watched Stinkerbell when you were gone? 

 My dear nephew Bryan. 

 

Did you get any clothespins for your collection? 

As a matter of fact, I did!