Finally! The trip to Sofia, Bulgaria...sorry it too so long!

At the beginning of December, the school sent me and my colleague Tracie to Sofia to be trained in "Google Apps in Education". This whole concept of traveling to another country to get training seems very surreal to me. The concept of the school paying for said trip is also mind blowing. Anyways, Tracie and I arrived in Sofia in the evening on the day of their first snow. I was not prepared for cold weather since our winter gear didn't make the cut when loading our lives into 9 duffel bags in August.

Okay, impressions of Sofia....everything I would think a post Soviet capital city would look like. Large row houses of apartments with the required playground in the middle.  Everything felt like it had a light coat of coal dust on it.  Sofia in in a valley as well so I can imagine that the fog or pollution would just sit in the bowl. The buildings were old and yet some were just HUGE!! Like look at how big our government building can be!

The school was just outside of Sofia. It was very new. Interesting to walk through a 3 year old school now that I have been working in a school building that's over 100 years old.

The people at this school were very friendly. There was a meet and greet for all of the conference members after Saturdays training. I met enthusiastic educators from Denmark, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy and the trainers from California and Canada.  More and more I'm finding that the community of international teachers is a small one. Tracie could pretty much ask anyone if they knew someone from somewhere and they would. She's been to 7 different countries teaching.

After training, we were dropped off a another hotel and had to walk to ours. The wind was blowing and we were freezing but I did get a few pictures taken. My hands were shaking..sorry. The first three pictures are of the "Cultural Center Park" The artwork on the third one was very post Soviet in nature but I couldn't read what it was about. 

 The picture below is of the main shopping road. It pedestrian only. At the end is a very large government building.

  These pictures below are random shots I thought were neat buildings.

 The picture above ended up being a bank but I really liked the old building.

 This picture is a public school we drove past.

 I really liked this old church.  Like Lebanon, Bulgaria is mixed with Muslim and Christian
 believers. The picture below is the HUGE building. there are two lions in front of it. They are bigger than the cars in front. One looked like it had just been cleaned and was shiny. The other was black and dirty.

 Right before our flight Tracie and stopped and had hot chocolate (Tracie) and coffee. Here's a picture of Tracie enjoying. She really liked the warmth of the drink.

 Above is my Caramel Macciato. Not quite the same as Starbucks but it was really yummy! I really missed my family and yet what an experience to see another country in one weekend!

What a "Rain Day" looks like in Beirut! NO SCHOOL!

Yes! We had a day of school cancelled for rain. This truly was an inconceivable concept for me and the rest of the family but when it's explained to you it is understandable. On Tuesday night the Minister of Education cancelled school due to the anticipation of the storm named "Alexa" coming down from Russia. About 2 o'clock in the morning I saw a flash through our bedroom window followed immediately by a loud crack of thunder! It was impressive! The kitties both came to us to hide under the covers but the girls stayed in their rooms. When we awoke in the morning we understood why we had school cancelled. Sadly, Beirut doesn't have a drainage system like Seattle. We also now know why the sidewalks are so high up from the streets. Yes, we had some minor rivers in the city! The rain did stop at around 9:30 and Tim and I ran to the grocery store to get some things before it started again.  What else do you do on a "Rain Day"?? Play games with your friends get caught up on laundry and dishes and relax! Here are some pictures and a video to give you an idea of how rainy it was.  I hope you can hear it!

The New Addition to Our Family!

Well, we did it! and Pumpkin is NOT happy! Janna found her kitten yesterday! We went in search of one on Friday on the American University campus. BOY was that tough! We found one but oh MAN was it flea infested. We found another one but Tim and I were maimed just getting it in the carrier! Blood EVERYWHERE! Then, yesterday, Sharon (our wonderful neighbor - see prior post of the Bietaddine Castle) told us they had kittens FOR FREE at her vet so off we went!

As with all pets we have, the kitten found us! What a cute little handful!  ONE DILEMMA....trying to figure out a name! Janna thought of Fluffles, I thought of Stella. Delaney thought it would be cool to name her after one of Hades' kids in the Percy Jackson series but Hazel didn't seem right and her friend's dog is already named Piper.  This morning we thought of Chewie because she sure looks like a Wookie or an Ewok!

Here are the pictures! Help us out!

South Lebanon, Part Two - Tyre (Sour)

Tyre (Sour) is South of Saida and was the last stop on our road trip to the South of Lebanon.  Tyre is an old city even by this part of the world's standards as it was founded around 2750 BCE. By the time of Alexander the Great, Tyre had developed a reputation that it could not be conquered because of its 150 foot high walls.  It took Alexander 7 months and the largest siege towers ever built to final conquer the city.  He was so furious at the Tyrian's resistance that he had the city sacked and the 30,000 residents put into slavery.  Tyre ultimately recovered, but over the years was repeatedly taken over by the Romans, Mamluk's, Crusaders, Egyptians, and many others.  Tyre was last attacked in 2006 by Israel, just as its economy was starting to recover.  After the war the city did what has done for thousands of years, it rebuilt and moved forward.  Of all the places that we have been in Lebanon, Tyre has been one of our favorites.  As far as sites to see are concerned we loved the Roman ruins and the magnificent beaches.



This is the public beach of Tyre.  It is one of the best beaches in all of Lebanon.

Delaney building a sand castle at the resort we stayed at while in Tyre.

 

Janna walking along a Roman road, heading for the triumphal arch.  It was amazing to see how the Roman's constructed their arches.

 

As a historian I am always amazed by Roman engineering.  I learned on this trip that the Roman's even put slopes on their roads to allow the rain water to run off to the sides.  It amazes me that they were able to do this without modern machinery.

 

Delaney and Janna running on the Hippodrome where Roman chariot races were held.  The stands were said to be able to hold 60,000 spectators.  Second picture is of two goofballs sitting in the stands!!

 

The kids and I decided to climb up onto the stands of the Hippodrome.  Not as hard as you might think because the stairs are still in such good shape.  It really felt like if chariots were available we could have watched some great races!  Hey it beats NASCAR!!!!  

  

After our time at the ruins we walked through the Muslim section of town and I met this gentleman carving a piece of furniture.  I asked if I could take his picture and he gestured for me to follow him into the back of his shop where he showed me one of his carvings.   One thing I love about this country is how friendly the people really are, even if you are an outsider who speaks very little Arabic!

Our final stop was the harbor for a nice cold beverage before heading home.  A perfect ending to a an extraordinary weekend filled with great sites, good people, and fantastic food and drink.

 

Temple of Eshmun, Lady Hester Stanhope and Saida (Sidon)

Last weekend we went on a trip to the south part of Lebanon. We had a lot of fun with our friends and saw many interesting things. First we went to the Phoenician Temple of Eshmun. In it's day it was a place of worship to the God of Healing. Believers felt that if they put their children in the sacred water there they would live healthy lives.  This temple was created when Astarte (a goddess otherwise known as Ishtar) saw a man (Eshmun) hunting in the nearby forest and fell for his beauty. She wouldn't stop pursuing him and so he basically killed himself. The grieving goddess took him to the heavens where he became the God of Healing. Unlike when Tim and I went looking at ruins in Greece, we found that we were the only ones at the Temple of Eshmun. We received a tour from the 10 year old boy of the caretaker who spoke a little English.

 Below is a picture of a part of a mosaic. Many of the mosaics from here are at the National Museum. I have been surprised with how many mosaics are here in Lebanon.

 Here are Janna and Delaney on the Astarte's Throne.

From there, we went in search of Lady Hester Stanhope's home just to the east. Lady Stanhope was quite the British socialite of her time (1776-1839). She traveled throughout the area and chose to end her days here. She was quite the adventurer and therefore, we went on quite an adventure to find her home. We went through a small town asking many people where we could find it. We had a hard time finding anyone who spoke French or English. There was only one sign. Finally, after traveling for a while, we stopped at a small snack shop in the middle of nowhere where it seemed to be popular place for Sunday picnicking. There we found a man who hopped on his scooter and we followed him.....into the middle of NOWHERE!

As we went up into the hills we passed a large family getting ready to eat where a little boy jumped out in front of the car. Philippe was able to stop the car in time and we moved on. Up through a few olive groves along the winding dirt road. Around a corner and there we were. Lady Stanhope's home. We wouldn't have found it without his help! We tried to give him money but he just left. Did I tell you it was in the middle of nowhere. What an adventure!

On our way back down to the town the family that we had passed was beckoning us to join them for their meal. This is very common of Lebanese people. Even if you don't speak the same language, you can eat a meal with anyone and always feel welcome.

From there, we went into Saida (Sidon). We went to the Crusader's Sea Castle and looked around.

We had a great deal of fun climbing around and taking pictures.

 Above, the light was shining through quite beautifully. As with many places we have been, I find myself looking up at the arching ceilings and being impressed with how they created them.

The picture above is interesting. I was wondering what these circles were in the walls all over this castle. Well, they were pillars from the Roman ruins nearby. Talk about reusing!

We then went on a walk through the ancient Souk (Market) of Saida. Since it was Sunday, not many of the stalls and shops were open but that was okay. It was still an adventure.

 I found it interesting that they hang clothing for sale on the electrical lines. As you can see, the ceilings of this labyrinth of walkways were made very similarly to the castle. I was also surprised at how many children were running around. There were so many homes within the souk. There were also two mosques, a few churches and an old palace. Alas, they were all closed. Just a reason to go there again!

 Below, are pictures in a pastry shop we found. Philippe had quite the friendship with the owner. When they saw each other they immediately hugged. After that he wouldn't stop giving us treats. I decided we needed to get some dessert for later. Since we had a little bit of a language barrier this was a problem. I pointed at something and asked what it was. He took this as "please give me some of that". Suffice to say, I ended up with a large plateful of treats. The baklava from there was incredible by the way!

This was part one of our trip. Soon, we will be posting about traveling down to Sour (Tyre).