Beirut

Beirut's Marina by night

Beirut. I am back in the town that has taught me to live and have fun, where everyone is friendly and smiley. It is the town where I studied and spent hours on the American University of Beirut’s main gate to get things done for my next classes (which were usually starting within the next 30 minutes). At night, it is where I discovered alcohol: mainly red wine, white wine and the effect of both mixed together.

It hasn’t changed a bit except for the few more skyscrapers built within the last couple of years. Even clubs have remained unchanged (very few additions were made to the list).

So here I am in my 19^th floor bedroom looking outside the huge glassed window and staring at it all. It’s so beautiful. At night it looks like a super developped Western country that has been thrown into the Middle East by mistake. I really love the topography of it all and frankly, if there weren’t more cars and more people than what the country can handle, I would easily live there.

The appartment rocks: My mother has done a wonderful work in making it minimal, modern and at the same time very cozy with a technologically developped living room (extremely important for every young generation’s wellbeing, thanks to my father). I spent hours during the day (as all my friends work) watching series, sipping coffee and listening to the pouring rain.

At night we used to go to several bars / pubs. My favorite was “Angry Monkey”. You HAVE to go to Angry Monkey in Gemmayzeh, a wooden, cozy yet again spacious pub. I loved the food (we had sushi with Rice Crispies on top!), the drinks, the bar and the music. JLP, an emerging Lebanese Rock band, was peforming live; as a rock fan, I was very into the whole atmosphere. The place was packed with people ranging from 20 to 40 years old; so there was a variety of people to observe.

The wooden crafted bar

The Rice Crispies Sushis and the Mini Burgers: Angry Monkey's specialties

In general, when something goes awfully wrong and you want to get out and have a lot of fun, forgetting everything in the world and change settings, the best place to be is Beirut along with one or several best friends.

PLUS: I love the fact I get to shop Tax Free (given the fact I live in Greece). As soon as I get to the airport I give my receipts and get back the taxes on my new stuff! Awesome feeling…   

Soldiers rehearsing for November 22nd: INDEPENDENCE DAY!