My other big birthday present was a surprise plane ticket to Beirut so that I could check out Lebanon with my buddy Steve. This was definitely one of the coolest gifts ever. As much as I love traveling, and then to get to do a boy's trip with a great friend; it couldn't be much better. Thanks Anne!
So Steve and I left after school on a Thursday, got a nice hotel in downtown Beirut, rented a car and explored the country for 3 days. Lebanon is a really cool place. It's torn between being Christian and Muslim, Arab and European/Phoenician, modern and conservative. ~90% or more of the population has been affected by some sort of warfare. Even driving around downtown I could see bullet holes in many buildings.
So we drove north to see the castle ruins at Byblos and the stunning natural formations of the Jeita Grottoes, ate a delicious PORK hotdog and fought through traffic. The next day we went to the impressive Roman ruins of Baalbek in Hezbollah territory and right next to the Syrian border. On the way back we stopped at the Ksara vineyards which store their barrels in caves attached to the main building. When driving through the mountains, we were surrounded by snow and drove past plenty of checkpoints with lots of automatic weaponry. The last day we walked around Beirut itself and enjoyed a shisha at Pigeon rocks which were beautiful and made me really want to swim.
While in Beirut I got to eat some good burgers, drink some decent beer, go to NORMAL bars and even dined at a wing restaurant one night. If you know anything about me, it's that I have a slight obsession with buffalo wings. The hotter the better. One thing I didn't like about Beirut was that it seemed like you had to wear black, leather or both to fit in at night. It was like attending a funeral every time we went out. Despite that, Steve and I had a great time and like most places, I can't wait to go back!