Goodbye India and hello Beirut Lebanon

I have said my fond goodbyes to Mother India,and kept some rupees because I know I will come back! Flew on Wed. to Beirut, Lebanon via Kuwait and am now happily visiting with some of  my oldest and dearest friends Mary and Fateh. Mary and I were art students who worked together in college, and Fateh is her husband. We are going to celebrate their 30th anniversary tomorrow and it is perfect that I am here as I was their maid of honor at the wedding...life is so funny. They have lived overseas since their kids were little as Fateh has worked for human rights organizations for many years, and Mary teaches art at an international school in Beirut.

Beirut is seated right on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea...a mixture of very modern and very old...lots to do as far as culture, nice restaurants, etc. a lot of international flavor. In the picture below you can see a billboard advertising a giant rally going on right now downtown. Anti hezbollah I believe. You can also see a master baker showing off his beautiful breads shaped like handbags....we have had a lot of fun walking around just seeing the sights.

I will fly out Tuesday morning from Beirut and 14 hours later be good old New York City...excited to be going home, and happy I missed a New England winter almost entirely!