Spring Break - Part 2

More things to blog about during our Spring Break!

We finally went for a walk to Gemmayze which is a ways away from Ein el Mreissieh (the neighborhood where we live) but still within walking distance.  We were in search for some items to repair a bike that Janna got as a gift but needed some work.  I guess the night life in Gemmayze can be pretty busy but we were there during the day.

A small cafe. 

Rue Gouraud. The main street.

I thought these stairs looked pretty neat. You can see stairs like this in many areas around Beirut.

After we got what we needed for Janna's bike we went in search of a burger shop that supposedly has the best burgers and shakes in Beirut.  While we didn't find it. We found this Mexican, yes, Mexican restaurant that had just opened 4 days ago.  The food was quite good and very reasonably priced! They gave us a bunch of freebies as well including some chips, cheviche and gazpacho since we were the only ones there at the time.

Morenito is the name of the place. The building is really cool.

Delaney liked her chicken tacos.

Janna liked her food as well.

We also dyed Easter eggs with our friends Dillon and Brittany. (Paul and Jill, we knew you were there in spirit!)

We also had the Easter bunny come and see us.  The search for candy eggs was on!

Notice the ones on top of the stove range...they didn't see those for a long time.

Searching behind the DVDs

They even found a few on the balcony....sneaky little bunny!

We also rented some bikes and went for a ride on the Corniche. It was 91 degrees but there was a nice breeze and it wasn't too crowded.

This is a shop around the corner from our apartment. They rent bikes by the hour.

Tim leading the way.

Delaney's friend Maysoun joined us as well.

Here's the whole group. I walked. I wasn't in the mood to ride a bike because I usually crash......

As some of you know, they are in the process of building across the street from us.  First, they had to take down the house that was there. Sadly, they plan on taking out the trees and plants as well. Here are some pictures of the process.

Here is the house after they removed the power lines and the tile roof.

This was quite noisy.

As was this.

This is what it looked like before we left for Batroun (see next blog post)

When we returned from Batroun three days later everything was gone.

So, obviously we will be doing one more spring break post about going to Batroun.  Stay tuned!

Spring Break Part 1

Sorry it has been a while since our last post, but the whole family has really been busy with a variety of activities.  Midge and Delaney performed in the Spring Concert, both kids are in plays, and Midge and I are both very active in school activities.   Needless to say...WE ALL NEEDED A BREAK!!!  Here are a few of the things that have been going on during or just before break.

Our friends Brittany and Dillon are expecting their first child and the staff of the school decided to host a baby shower for them.  We held the shower at our apartment because we have the best space for hosting.  Midge and a few other ladies on staff did a great job organizing a fun day.

Brittany and Dillon filling out the "Baby Quiz"

One of the flower arrangements

The cake from a local bakery...The writing on the cake refers to Brittany and Dillon's last name.

Talar and Zeineb with Elizabeth in the background.  Three friends that we have made in Lebanon.

Elizabeth, Midge, Sharon and Claire

Several months ago, Janna was given a bicycle.  The tires were flat and it needed a little TLC, but it is now back on the road and we decided to go down to the Corniche  to test it out.  It was a really windy day, but a fun couple of hours.

Janna on her first ride on the Corniche

Taking a break to enjoy the waves

One thing we love to do is watch the waves during a storm!

A very windy day!

 

On our way back, the Corniche was blocked off and we could see this family repeatedly throwing something into the water.  We thought they were high ranking people from the gulf states because who else could block the Corniche.  We quickly figured out that they were filming a scene for a movie and these actors were repeatedly trying to get the scene right!

Some signs of spring!

A quick blog on what I see as some signs of spring in Lebanon.  Some things may be the same, some different. The fact that it is averaging a high of 70-80 degrees here every day is a true sign that we are well into what the Lebanese would call "warmer weather" but still, they look at us a little funny when we are wearing short sleeves and they are still wearing their fleeces. 

This is the lettuce we planted about a week ago. It's some sort of romaine type. We didn't understand the package.

When we bought this plant from the nursery the owner called it a "nerd" plant. Happy to see the nerd is starting to bloom!

This is our pomegranate tree on our balcony. The red buds are the blooms about ready to open! Looks like more than one pomegranate this summer!

These tomatoes are part of the garden on our balcony!

The wonderful strawberries that are starting to appear at the fruit stand around the corner.

These are "green" almonds. Many people eat these here. You eat everything but the stem and dip them in salt. I think they are really good!

Next to the school are these really nice flowering trees. Don't know what they are but they are pretty!

This is the moth we saw on the wall of the school on Friday.  It was about 2 1/2 inches from head to tail.

This street cat was living outside of our 3rd floor entrance. Mother's day was two weeks ago and one of our colleagues couldn't leave her on the street to have her kittens.  Last week she had them. I'm sure we will soon be seeing kittens all over the place in Beirut!

Here are all 5 of them in a cute little pile. What a lucky mom and her babies!

Last but not least. Every morning we see these older men going out for a swim in the Med.  Yes, they do it all year around but it seems that there are more of them these days!

Midge goes to Mumbai!

About a week and a half ago, the school sent me to Mumbai, India to learn more about integrating technology into education. What a trip! Mumbai is a city that can overwhelm your senses! The school was incredible as was the city. Since I was in Mumbai for training I didn't get very much opportunity to look around. We had one afternoon to look around.  Here are some pictures of my adventures.

With a view of Mumbai

These TukTuks were everywhere. I didn't get a chance to ride in one. They were the daredevils of the streets.

The streets never emptied. In fact, we arrived in Mumbai at about 3:30 in the morning and the roads were still packed.

I just found this neighborhood entrance interesting.

Having a clean close shave on the street. There were many people living on the streets of Mumbai

My friend Johnny took this picture. I just found it compelling. 

This is the "City" laundry. The clothes are all color coordinated. I don't know how they know whose clothes are whose.

This young lady was on the stairs that went down to the laundry panhandling.

This monument was in the British area of Mumbai.

We went to the "Gate to India" right on the water.

While there, I was blessed and given "good luck" because it was the holy day for....some god. I couldn't understand the monk very well. He gave me some yarn around my wrist, some sort of rock candy to eat and a red dot on my forehead. I feel luckier in life now.

This is a British government building on the water next to the Gate of India

For a tip, this woman posed for a picture. To me, she was quite beautiful in her sari selling peacock feather fans. Her ears were pierced so many times I couldn't count.

We went to Gandhi's home. This was his bedroom. This is all he had in it. Makes you think about what you really truly need in life.

This monument to Gandhi was in the library on the first floor of his house.

We went past this beautiful Mosque on the shore.

We went to a Hindi Temple as well

This was part of the entrance once you went through the gate.

The inside was as ornate as the Mosques we saw in Istanbul. Quite beautiful.

 Below are more street pictures.

A man selling beautifully cut up fruit

A woman taking watermelons into the market.

Here she is going into the market.

A young street entertainer. She walked on this rope the whole time we were waiting in traffic. 

Just a neat building.

A night picture of a family living under the overpass.

Just a quick picture of a man selling street food on the corner.

 While there was a lot of beauty in Mumbai, there are some things I will never forget. The children living on the streets, the really bad smells and the mosquitoes.  Yes, the mosquitoes that NEVER went away and were EVERYWHERE. Mumbai is a great place to visit though. The group of people I went with were wonderful. I learned so much. I am also so happy I live in Beirut!

Here we all are!