Getting ready for New Year's Eve

While those men would sit in the living room watching TV, we, ladies, had to go through the complete process of manicure, hair-dresser, putting on party clothes, make-up, etc.
Sometimes I feel it's a bit unfair that women have to go through so much effort to look (more) beautiful while their boyfriend / husband / partner barely changes clothes. It was really obvious at the dinner we joined that the women really went through some effort (successfully or not, I mean it all a question of taste). You would see a woman dressed in her best party outfit, hair done, make-up and jewelry with impossible high heels entering the room next to her husband, wearing jeans and T-shirt.

Winning Billions

Today, you could win 3 billions of Lebanese Pound (roughly 1 million euros, 2 million dollars) or more or less depending your source of information. We never managed to find out the exact number, but for sure it was big.
Excited by the perspective of winning billions, we bought tickets just before the counter would close shortly after 4pm.
Between 4pm and the draw we spent some quality time thinking about what we would do with our billions: buy a villa or even a castle, travel the world, get a jet, crazy shopping, and many more.
Sadly, we didn't win anything. At most we had 2 numbers right... not a single cent :( but it was cool dreaming about being a billionaire :)

Baalbek

My family happened to live 30 minutes away from Baalbek which is "famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, known as Heliopolis was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire. It is Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure, and it can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. The largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, they are also among the best preserved."
We spent a couple of hours there exploring the ruins under absolutely fantastic sunny blue sky, trying to get good pictures - which we all know is not that easy ;)

What always amazed me about Baalbek (beside the temples obviously) is that it's been standing there for thousands years, and never was damaged by any of the wars in the region through out the centuries. Seems like despite all differences among people, they all agree on the beauty of this site and that we should preserve it...
Have a look at more pictures here.

The Lady of Lebanon

After a quick lunch of manaeesh (zaatar, zaatar with vegetables, labneh and onions and tomatoes, we went all the way up to Harissa, where stands the Lady of Lebanon.

We first stopped at Saint Paul's basilica, a Melkite Catholic Church nearby the cathedral of Harissa.

Just have a look at this ceiling and the walls covered with Byzatine-style mosaic representing different scenes from the Bible! Who could say they’re not beautiful?





Then we went to see the Lady of Harrissa and enjoy the view over Beirut. We arrived around sunset and had some incredible light on the Lady.


Unfortunately it didn’t last as clouds came up bringing shadows. Still we managed to get a few decent shots of the city.




See all the pictures here.

Vote for Jeita!

This morning Rana and Ramzi my cousins came to pick us up at the hotel for a bit of sightseeing. I haven’t seen my cousins in quite some years now and it was absolutely thrilling to see them again. Rana hasn’t changed: she is the beautiful girl (I guess woman now) I remembered. Ramzi however was a big surprise. Can’t believe the boy I last saw is now a grown up man.
After the family reunion we drove to Jeita to see the grottes (caves). Jeita is simply unbelievable. It’s a series of caves where you can admire the natural sculptures of stalagmites and stalactites. It’s those kind of places where no matter where you look to see something incredible and more beautiful than the previous one.
The only pity: no pictures. It was already frustrating enough just for me as the place is absolutely amazing and the only thing you want to do is take a picture. But hearing Wolfram sighing every 5 minutes made it worse. We managed to cheat and took a few shot with our phones. Not worse showing them to you because they won’t do justice to the place. You can have a feel on the caves’ website here.
Now, the most important part. There is a vote ongoing to select the new 7 wonders and Jeita caves are in the list of candidates. Therefore the motto for the day was "vote for Jeita"
I just completed my vote on the website and strongly encourage you do do the same. Vote for Jeita!!! :)

Gemmayze

Wolfram arrived last night. Mid-morning I sent him a sms to join us for lunch. We all went to one of the best Lebanese restaurant next to the office. Despite we had to eat in only one hour and we showed up before 1pm (tip for the future, don’t plan a lunch at 12pm in Beirut you would simply bump into people finishing breakfast and closed kitchen ;)) we had amazing selection of Lebanese dishes: Kibbeh (my all time favorite), Tabouleh, Fattoush, Hummus, Kibid mi’li, vegetables, lamb, Wara’Enab, warm bread…. It’s almost a pity we had to eat so fast and couldn’t enjoy a few more dishes from the traditional Mezze.
Once I was done with work and could get back to my vacation, Wolfram and I tried to book a table for dinner. Let’s face it, during the holidays, a lot of the Lebanese people leaving abroad come back to visit their families joined by many tourist from Egypt and Saudi. As a consequence all the hotels and restaurants in Beirut are fully booked. We learned it the hard way. We were advised to go to Gemmayze, a street in Beirut where you have many bars and restaurants (actually that’s all there is in that street) and I found on Timeout Beirut the list of restaurants and bars in Gemmayze. Thoroughly we called them one by one (when the description seemed appealing). Luckily for us we could get a table at GEM.
Having a couple of hours to kill until dinner we decided to enjoy the swimming pool and the Jacuzzi. Wouldn’t it be great to have a pool at home?
GEM is a restaurant and bar built in an old traditional house. We sat at our table and enjoyed good food, great lounge music and excellent cocktails.
The only negative note was the smoke. Europe and Asia having non-smoking parts in their restaurants / bars that we forgot what it is to be in a smoky place and what comes the following morning: the smell on your clothes / hair.

First glimpse at the city

I woke up to find a sunny Beirut. Weather is so nice you can walk outside without a jacket :)
Direction the office. 5 min taxi ride and first glimpse of the city. I've always been impressed by how fast Lebanon has rebuilt Beirut over the year. You can still see some buildings with marks from the bombing here and there, but the overall impression is a modern and dynamic city center.
Over lunch (yes on a terrace!) I quickly took a few picture of the street nearby the office. It looks old but it was build recently. I found it great that they rebuild the city matching the original historical style.

Now back to work :)

I'm in Beirut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And somehow I cannot believe it.
After a trip that took forever, it feels amazing to be in Beirut. Can't wait to see my family!
I already called my family who are as amazed as me by the fact that I am in Lebanon, had an excellent dinner with some of my favourites, went for a swim in the pool of the hotel (which was fantastic to release all the tensions from the travel) and now I'm ready for a good night of sleep.
Tomorrow, Beirut awaits for me - well technically speaking, students await for their interviews but that's just a detail :)

Xenophobe's guide to the French

I promised you the French and here are some crispy quotes.
"The French see themselves as the only truly civilised people in the world. Long ago they discovered the absolutes, the certainties, of life, and thus they feel they have a duty to lead and illuminate the rest"
"Since the French are so full of their own self-esteem, they don't really care how others see them"
"What makes French snobbery easier to accept is that it is based on good taste"
"French women believe in feminism, but not at the price of femininity. They still want to be wooed and seduced"
"English children look like devils and behave like devils. French children look like angels and behave like devils"
"Traffic rules are regarded by the French as interesting suggestions which might be considered if one hadn't something far more important in mind"
"One of the first laws the German army imposed on the citizens of Paris in 1940 was that they should cross the roads only at specifically appointed places. The Third Reich was, from that moment, doomed"
"The French greeting kiss, as distinct from the French Kiss, as a subtle affair. As a general rule, observe what's going on around you and act accordingly"
"Seduction is an art form to be practised only among equals"
"Many French films consist simply of several bored people sitting down to a lengthy and wordless meal"
"For the French, enjoyment of food in a good restaurant or in the home of a fine cook, is a spiritual experience, a neo-religious ritual"
"Service must be either useless or excellent - there is no place for the mediocre"
"The way the French deal with bureaucracy is to accept that it is necessary, and indeed proper, but find ways to circumvent it"

PS: the book as note as funny as the one about the Germans maybe because it was not as funny or maybe it's harder to laugh about oneself.

Plane or Train? That's the question

For once that I travel via the Brest airport, there are strike. Fair enough they have a good reason, i.e. the new airport is clearly too big for the capacity needed and cutting salary to reduce running cost is not the smartest idea.
BUT... how do I get to Paris to catch my flight to Beirut?
For several days, we've been monitoring all the flights from Brest waiting to find out what my fate would be.
Friday morning, yes on xmas day itself, my flight is cancelled. My Dad and I went to the airport to find out alternative. That was simple, only 1 option. The flight from Quimper at 6:35 am on Saturday morning :( well, if that's all there is... let's book it. Flight it will be.
Driving back home we were already checking for a trip with the train on Saturday. I had already given hope on leaving on Sunday morning and knew I had to book a hotel by the airport in Paris. Train it will be.
In the process of booking the train, the Air France man called and said he found another flight from Quimper at 5:30pm. Back to the airport to book the later and flight it will be.
Around 5pm came an sms. "Your flight is cancelled". This time I booked the train ticket, fully flexible because you never know. Train it will be.
This morning, the Air France contact called again to tell us the flight was cancelled. Big news! Now he had an alternative offer: Quimper-Nice-Paris. Leaving at 3:30pm. No matter what it will take at least 6 hours to get to Paris and the 2 flights had the advantage to let me have lunch at home. Just 3 extra hours home but 3 extra hours still. I cancelled the train and flight it will be.
2 learnings from this story:
- you can book and cancelled your train ticket online, all the way through :)
- bringing xmas biscuits to Air France staff helps getting a special treatment and secure you a slot
PS: I just hope there will be no more change for today... Fingers crossed

(Belated) Happy Birthday Dad

A few months late, but the first time the whole family was together, we celebrated my Dad's birthday with the most original pineapple "cake" with candles :)

Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

The art of doing nothing

Isn't that the best gift? a kit to teach you the art of doing nothing. Let's all practise!

Christmas 2009 - Menu

Menu:
Bisque de homard with scallops
Koulibiac
Variety of Gouda from Holland
Cookies (see previous entry)
Foie gras made by my brother :)
Doe with 3 purees and home-made Buche. Another year of amazing food for Christmas.

Joyeux Noel

Merry Christmas to all of you!

The most beautiful xmas table

More gifts

Seems we never have enough of them :)

Yummy

This year production of biscuits. Yummy, miam :)



PS: note the Ampelmann gingerbread men, novelty of this year thanks to Joy going to Berlin (well actually thanks to Pearl Jam for giving a concert in Berlin).

Tree #3

This year tree collection is complete. As you can see this year we've put as much light as we could and all the rest on top!
This reminds me I need to get a star to put at the top of mine.
We've already started piling up gifts at the foot of the tree. One obvious observation... we're into big gifts this year and it's becoming a struggle to fit them all under the tree.

Maybe next year, we should introduce size limitation... or get a bigger tree :)

Scary and disgusting

After the long drive home and the snow my car needed a car wash.
Luckily for me, it rained pretty hard overnight and most of the dirt is gone. Still something black was left at the front, by the radiator ventilation space. I went to get a closer look thinking it could be a piece of plastic but it was not. There were feathers! It seems I killed a bird at some point while driving and a pretty big piece of it is still on my car.
Now, no alternative, I need to get the car washed and the "dead body" removed.
Disgusting :(

Xenophobe's guide to the Germans

During our visit in Paris my sister lent me a series of books called "Xenophobe's guides". This series is an "irreverent look at the beliefs and foibles of nations, almost guaranteed to cure xenophobia'.
Naturally I started by reading the one about the Germans, maybe hoping to find some clues there :)
It was truly hilarious to read and let me share with you a few quotes (no offense my dear German friends).
"The Swiss see the Germans as being basically on the right lines, but needing to try a little harder (after all, in Switzerland you may be fined for using the wrong color plastic sack to put your rubbish in, while in Germany you are only fined for not using one)"
"Watching a German relax is exhausting and you may need a day off to get over it"
"Germans hate breaking rule, which can make life difficult because, as a rule, everything not expressly permitted is prohibited"
"If you like sex to be a mysterious smouldering ecstasy, choose the French. To the Germans it is more like an invigorating work-out"
"Cars are not a matter of life and death for Germans, they are much more important than that"
"To help you get a joke, Germans will gladly explain it to you"
"It is not recommended that you come to German literature looking for a happy ending. You won't find one"
"The Germans have an old saying: "one cannot live on bread alone, there must be sausage and ham as well""
I let you read the book for many more, while I move on to the one about the French, that should be interesting :)

Different ways of dealing with snow

This morning, it was snowing again, quite hard. Still, after checking all the relevant authorities, decision was made to leave. I loaded the car (once again proving the incredible loading capacity of my Micra) and left the garage.
Here is my street.

As you can see, nothing was done to remove the snow and my only hope was that at least they would have cleaned the highways.
But not, I happily drove 40-60km/h on the highways all the way to the border. Hoping that there it would be better.

and it was, 5km after the border, the highways were in much better conditions.

For "in-flight" entertainment, Mokka peed in her basket! Right there when we were on the snowy Belgian highways with no hope to stop in the coming km. To limit the damage I reached the only thing I could think of that absorbs and that I had at hand: an Always pad. How much cat pee do you think an Always pad can absorb? a lot, I can tell you. That thing save the seat of my car. At the border I stopped in the parking lot to clean the mess. That was a first time! Never had a cat peeing in during travel.
10 hours and something after we left, we arrived. I was dead but happy to be home.

Snow in Belgium

Chaos in Zaventem

It was snowing hard in Bucharest so we left the city center 2 hours before our flight to make sure we would be on time and despite it took us double the time to reach the airport we were on time.
Given I wanted to be back on Friday night and not start my vacation by flying back from Bucharest to Brussels, I was flying via Munich (no direct flight on Friday night).
At boarding time, our gate was still boarding the previous flight. Obviously we would be late. And we were. We landed in Munich with 1 hour delay and I was really wondering whether I would make it for the next flight.
Let's for once praise the German organization and Lufthansa: a separate mini-bus was waiting for the few passengers with a "very" short connection, took the few of us to the terminal for passport control and drove us all the way back to where we landed to get on our next aircraft (i.e. the one standing next to the previous one).
While I was already running the stairs picturing in my mind an aircraft full of angry passengers because they have to wait for one late passenger (me!) when the flight attendant told me "don't rush, we've got time"
Me: "I'm late"
Her: "we're late, 1 hour late, so take your time" with a big smile
Reality is that Belgium being under snow as well, Zaventem airport was struggling and couldn't deal with us now.
So we waited and finally took off and landed in Zaventem.
I was then struck by the chaos in the airport. It was past 11pm, at that time usually the airport is nearly empty, only those passengers from the late coming flights around. Tonight it was packed with people, tired people who obviously have been waiting there for quite some time.
The best, if I may say, was yet to come. The luggage.
My luggage was supposed to be delivered on belt #2, but the screen kept on saying "baggage delayed". I waited there with the passengers of easily 20 flights, keeping an eye on the screens hoping it would now move to green. Luckily for me, I spent all this time on the phone with Wolfram who was waiting for me in his car, somewhere in the cold snowy airport.
After 1 hour waiting, my flight disappeared from the screen. No more "Munich" in the list :(
I started to walk around hoping it would be on another belt. But no luck. Actually I found tons of luggage everywhere, unattended. Seems like they were brought there and left for people to come and get it. Applause on the organization.


And indeed, after 30min, my suitcase arrived.
After queuing at the baggage counter I found out that my would arrive on belt #2 in the next 15-30min. It's just automatic that after 1 hour, flights don't appear on the screen as they should have been delivered...
If I think of it, door to door, this trip was 9 hours... one more hour and I would have arrive in Beijing :)
PS: while the luggage's team was clearly overloaded, the Starbucks and other bars were still open for people to have a drink and relax while waiting. It's 1am and I'm buying Wolfram a venti Vanilla Latte. That should help forgetting the long wait.

Snow in Bucharest

I was happily surprised when I landed in Bucharest to find snow. And the next morning I woke up in a white city.
I'm not a big fan of cold but somehow snow makes cold more bearable. It brings this element of peace and magic that compensate for the -14C outside and that you can barely feel you fingers when you push the button on your camera.
View from the bedroom:


The streets


The window of the taxi after 5min of snow blowing towards you:

Eugen the taxi driver

After a long day of Brainstorming and a dinner with the team, I got into a taxi to get back to the hotel.
The taxi driver was in the mood for a chat (and maybe more... something told me he was hopping to get more than the taxi fare "are you married? because I'm not and only 32"...)
During the drive back Eugen shared about his life in Bucharest, about how much the situation is tough, about how the government gets all the funding from the EU and keeps it for them instead of investing in the country, about how much it's a pity that people don't know about Romania and the state does not invest in tourism because Romania is a beautiful country, and about how his grand father worked in the construction of the house of the people and that he never knew on which floor in the underground he was working so that no one could figure out how big the building is (it is said that it's the 2nd largest building in the world after the Pentagon).
Believe it or not he managed to cover all of the above in 30min and gave me his phone number... in case I need a taxi (which I did, as I booked him for the next morning).

2 days in Disneyland Paris

Tradition is tradition... this means a visit to Disneyland every year around xmas time.
This year I convinced Aurelie, Romain and Wolfram to join me. On top I managed to find amazing rate for 2 days in the parks and one night in the Newport Bay hotel only a few minutes walk from the parks. It's Disneyland so everything is themed even the hotel. All the decoration was in line with the "by the sea" theme. Quite impressive how far they push the concept... all the way to having small boats on their xmas trees :)
The entrance of the hotel...

and the swimming pool we unfortunately didn't have the chance to try (PS: that was the view from our bedroom)

This year I finally got the chance to try the new attractions from the Studios that happened to open a few months after my last visit: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Crush's Coaster, both very impressive and cool, both got me almost sick :) seems my stomach is not holding up as good as I would like it to do.
A must in Disneyland, meeting the stars and getting a picture with them. Note that you have to fight with the kids and it's serious business when it comes to get a picture with Mickey!

Hungry, have a Mickey burger or pizza... taste is just ok but come on, that's a Mickey burger, looks compensates for the lack of taste.

Moi, moi, moi, me, me, me (from Nemo in case you didn't recognize the 2 seagulls)

Safety first, always! so don't go put 4 adults in a car designed for kids: we tried, we just don't fit :)

Sleepy beauty castle by day and night and illuminated, beautiful!

On the road again, on the road again...

Joy, we didn't forget the picture!

The romantic picture of the day (come on, we needed at least one)

Bye bye Mickey! See you next year!