a weekend in lebanon.

holidays seem to be a lot fewer and far between here in the middle east than when i was living in italy.

part of it is because the holidays aren't planned in advance most of the time.

since many holidays in muslim countries are based on the moon (islam uses a lunar calendar) the holidays aren't announced until the moon has been sighted within a certain window of time.

but, thanksgiving was a planned weekend, so lindsay, lynn and i planned to go to beirut, lebanon for that weekend.

warning- photo overload coming. a lot of the pictures look so nice, i just can't decide which ones to share!

after a late night, in the rain struggle to find our airbnb, this was what we found in the morning.

blue skies!

scattered street art.

the wiring was completely reminiscent of southeast asia.

we decided to spend our first day wandering about...with a few sights in mind, figuring we'd just let the day play out and see what happened.

the mohammad al-amin mosque, a sunni muslim mosque located in downtown beirut.

cool things to see if you look left and right!

ruins next to the mosque.

it was funny because we happened at this spot just as a very large and somewhat ominous appearing protest headed this way. we took some pictures and quickly got out of the way before we became the next americans on the nightly news.

seems every city has their own photo op just waiting for ya!

the nearby harbor.

if you look closely, you'll notice that some apartments in the building appear occupied.

and others don't even have windows and appear destroyed.

i was quite curious about it.

there's a looooooong boardwalk along the harbor.

the raouche rocks, beirut's iconic rock formations.

the second day we hired a driver to take us outside of the city to some other notable sights. he was so helpful and basically planned the whole day for us and accommodated any of our requests.

we went to the jeita grotto, but no photos are allowed, so you'll have to click the link to see it! it was cool, and worth the time to make a stop there.

we took the cable car up to our lady of lebanon.

that ride was something else.

but the views were definitely worth it.

views from the byblos citadel.

byblos is believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

the clouds and storms in the distance made for some incredible photos.

we had a great meal at local lebanese restaurant, feniqia, which was just a little walk up from the harbor.

my travel buddies for the weekend, lynn and lindsay!

we ate here, twice, so we definitely recommend it!

we also had a great driver for our day trip out of beirut. you can reach salah at +961 79 101 909 via what's app and he'll happily help you plan whatever you need and give you a fair price.

100 Things that I am Grateful For...

A few weeks ago one of my students commented on a blog post about gratitude. It was written by a young student in the US and I was thoroughly impressed by her list of 100 things for which she was grateful.

by pocketful of perspective
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pocketfulofperspective/8114143719/

With that in mind, I'm working on my own list.

1. my family- they really are a fairly amazing bunch

2. travel

3. the ability to read

4. puppies

5. hair cuts

6. photography field trips with my dad

7. the chance to watch my niece try on wedding dresses this past summer

by Tambako the Jaguar
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/8476612001/ 

8. pumpkin everything

9. leggings- I would wear them everyday if I could

10. hoodies

11. pistacchio gelato

12. a hot cup of tea

13. handmade ceramics

14. writing this blog

15. ashtanga yoga- it's changing my life and body

16. deliciously scented candles

17. my rainboots

18. Dancing with the Stars- it just makes me happy, what can I say

19. home cooked meals

20. an unexpected apology

21. a handwritten note from my Aunt Joni

22. candy corn sent all the way across the ocean

23. rides home from school

24. being included

25. a warm smile

26. audio books

27. my parents' commitment to physical activity- my 80 year old dad walks a couple miles several times a week and my mom has run the Rock and Roll Half Marathon the last four years

28. University of Cincinnati basketball

by Jacky Yang
https://www.flickr.com/photos/zen1972/4114606416/ 

29. chicken fingers

30. pedicures

31. unexpectedly understanding an Italian conversation

32. sunshine

33. the ability to cook

34. my education

35. a strong work ethic

36. Facebook- despite annoying me greatly, it does help me keep up with what happens in the US

37. blue skies

38. good friends

39. a great book

40. being able to give

41. teachers

42. a bike ride on a Fall day

43. lazy Sundays in pajamas

44. WINE!

45. freedom

46. choice

47. good health

48. running water

49. indoor toilets

50. change

51. missing American political ads

52. hair color

by Universal Pops
https://www.flickr.com/photos/universalpops/5509323247/

53. bacon

54. fresh mozzarella

55. a cozy sweater

56. living in Europe

57. coming home at Christmas

58. routine

59. friends who listen

60. summers in Savannah

61. Alpha Phi- some amazing women have come into my life because of this sorority

62. hugs

63. challenges

64. face wash

65. friendly hellos

66. playlists

67. Skype

68. my tutoring job- I work with the cutest kid ever

69. storage space

70. clean sheets

71. summers off

72. adventure

73. the Hola unblocker

74. unlimited internet

75. a roof over my head

by Lee Coursey
https://www.flickr.com/photos/leeco/5121662628/

76. the desire to be better

77. my parents' sacrifices

78. cheese dip and margaritas

79. friends who keep in touch

80. comments on my blog

81. each country I've visited

82. hot showers

83. views from the top

84. Ursuline Academy- my all girls high school instilled a strong sense of self

85. chocolate

86. my iPhone

87. a small umbrella and the bag it comes in

88. comfortable shoes

89. picnics in the park

90. frozen food

91. boat rides

92. bug spray

photo by BK
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictoquotes/14671807134/

93. Christmas lights

94. direct flights

95. watching children learn

96. failure

97. time with my family

98. long weekends

99. the men and women of the U.S. military

100. vanilla lattes



So, what are you grateful for? Leave your message of thanks in the comments.

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Bar...Bar...Barcelona!

Thanksgiving seemed to fall sooooooooooooo late this year. But, I guess that the perk of that is now it's already December and I can start counting the days until I get to return to the States and visit my family.

15 days!!!!!!!!!!!

However, the Thanksgiving holiday gave me a four day weekend and I was off to Barcelona. Thankfully, my key to my apartment jammed on Tuesday (and not Wednesday) and gave me time to have it fixed long before I had to jet off to the airport. Thankfully, my landlords are pretty great in that they took over figuring things about getting the whole situation straightened out but it did mean I was locked out of my apartment for about 19 hours. Argh. Thankfully, Caitlin came through and fed me dinner and let me sleep over so that I wasn't stuck outside. This was definitely one occurrence that reminds you that expat life isn't always easy.

Anyways, on to Barcelona!

We arrived easily by AeroBus (€10.80 or so round trip) to Placa de Catalunya and took the metro out to our hotel. I've always heard that Barcelona is notorious for pick pocketing and simple thieves. We hadn't been in town for more than two minutes when some guy tried to open the top section of my backpack. I felt something brush against me and turned and looked around to see some creepy guy a little too close for comfort. He moved away and I got on the metro. Stacia checked out my bag and said the top portion was open. I keep my iPhone there, so I'm happy to report that the thief was unable to ruin my weekend, because my iPhone was safe and sound!!! What a relief!!!

Stacia and me!

We wandered around Thursday night a bit, checking out the area where we were staying and hopping the metro back in to the main part of the city. We tried some tapas at a little joint near the hotel and then headed towards a recommendation from Angela. Oddly enough, we made our way to the place and then ran into Angela! So funny!

Barcelona...under the lights!

On Friday, we started our day at Starbucks (of course!). We decided to check out the Sandeman's Free Tour of the city. While the tour was good, I had a hard time connecting with the history of Barcelona so I spent the time taking pictures and enjoying the sites. We met up with Angela again and she gave us a back alley tour of her old neighborhood. The Gothic Quarter is a really cool section of the city. We indulged in some more tapas and shopped around. Before we went back to the hotel, we had another round of tapas, which quite frankly intimidated us since we couldn't identify anything!

so cute!

Saturday we went to Sagrada Familia. I had booked tickets for the entrance, audio guide and a tower tour in advance. That was the best decision since we didn't wait in any lines at all! Sagrada Familia is Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece. It was so unique and so intricate. I loved that it was meaningful and yet playful all at the same time. I mean there is fruit on the top of some pillars, curved staircases and lines, and so many unique touches.

Passion Facade
cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Martin Pilát:
http://flickr.com/photos/martinpilat/4930300304/

close up of one element of the Passion Facade

fruit, from part of the Passion tower...of course, this place is always under construction

from the tower you could see all the way to the sea!

We also took a stroll past the Block of Disorder, a set of houses designed by Gaudi and others, in the same modernistic design. I really loved the house of his design. Next we moved on to La Rambla and took a stroll down to the Columbus monument and the port of Barcelona. I also went out to Parc Guell to see more Gaudi design.

La Pedrera

kind of love this one...

at the port

Barcelona was a great city and I hope to make it back again. There's so much more to see and do that I didn't get to this time around.

On another note, my favorite sister had a birthday this week! Wishing her the best of days!

Happy Birthday Cece!

Have you been to Barcelona? What's your favorite thing to do in the city?