Birthdays in Beirut

I am a little behind on blogging so this is a bit overdue.  My flatmate has a tradition of going somewhere for his birthday.  He choose Lebanon and it wasn't hard to convince the rest of us to tag along. But since we  had to push the trip back it ended up falling around three of the four of our birthdays.  What a better way to celebrate then eating hummus and fresh tomatoes over looking the Mediterranean sea. 

After flying into Beirut, we rented a car and headed up the coastline.  Our first stop...McDonalds.  I wish I was kidding.  I have a VERY strict no McD's policy when I am in foreign countries but finding good diet coke was a priority so I gave in.  I at least went with something authentic--the McArabia.  It was actually pretty good.  

Next, we went to the Jeita Grotta, amazing underground caverns that you can explore by boat and foot.  We weren't supposed to take pictures but we had to sneak a few.  The best part was the girl in the boat next to me asked me if I was from Lebanon.   Considering 

We continued up the coast and explored the little coastal towns along the way.  

The next day we went for a swim in the sea in the morning and in the afternoon we hiked through the snow and cedars that Lebanon are known for.  How great is a country that you could swim in the sea and snow ski in the same day!  We ended up doing a hike in the cedars which we were promised would be short jaunt up the mountain. Due to some lost luggage we had a pair of flip flops and TOMS that Karen and I swapped back and forth.  No big deal if its a short hike.  However, we were unprepared for the snow we encountered and ended up getting lost on the way back.  Looking back it was funny but at the moment I was a little concerned.  We had a typical battle of the sexes as the boys insisted we just keep walking and we would eventually find "something" that looked familiar while Karen and I wanted a more systematic approach.  It didn't help that our feet were getting frostbite and covered in blistered.  In the end we made it out about three hours after we should have if we had taken the right trail.  

Did I mention I was also wearing a dress?  Nothing like hiking in snow while wearing a dress and flip flops.

The views were amazing and totally worth it.   

We headed back to Beirut and explored more the city.  We spent hours walking up and down the boardwalk watching people dive off the railings into the water.  There were no women swimmers only men. 

Lebanon has a very interesting history.  During the 80s there was a serious war between the Muslims and Christians and hotels were used as headquarters for different groups.  They have started to rebuild but a lot of the hotels are still standing complete with bullet holes.  It was incredible to be in what I felt like was such a safe place but see renents of time when it wasn't as safe.  I love Lebanon because it's not overtaken by tourists at least not western tourists.  I love going to places that aren't overrun by fanny packs and tennis shoes.  Also Shakira is half Lebanese so it has to be a great place right?