Whats new?

SO Ive answered questions to THREE of my messages. I hope they've helped. I saved the hardest question for last, and mostly because there is NO WAY i could answer this question alone, through the internet, and any means in Canada. VisitingBeIrUt you presented me witht he hardest of all questions!!! The message i got was as follows:

"Hey Libnan lal Kil, ive been visiting your blog for the past 2 months now, nothing was new in it but lately you've been really blogging hardcore...thank god because i love reading your personal blogs...i burst into absolute laughter all the time, very different type of personality and sense of humor...Love it. My name is Salah my mother is Lebanese, originally from Kfarnis and my father is a Lebanese-Brazilian from Bednayel who has never visited Lebanon IN HIS LIFE. The thing is, i am in love with my culture, and my heritage, and i have visited Lebanon about 5 times but the last time being in 2007. I need your help, I want places and clubs and restaurants that are NEW...names of them, numbers, i don't care, just pleaseeee give me something new. I really appreciate it. Plus do you know any way for me to get into Skybar without the 5 months in advance waiting list?"

Salah (VisitingBeIrUt), you messaged me about 4 days ago, and i read it about 6 minutes after you sent it to me. I am obviously not living in Beirut, so i couldn't really find all these new places for you to check out on my own.... so i asked my three stooges and my personal gangster(hehe)! I sent Charbel, Adham, Fares, and Lina on a mission. The mission? FIND OUT EVERY NEW JOINT IN BEIRUT! Ive written a couple of times about my 4 friends, and who better to look and tell me about any new place but my fellow Beirutis at Heart <3>

1.) check out the festivals (from Lina)

2.) Establishment Club - Monot, Ashrafieh, Beirut

3.) Sidneys, Vendome, Mabu Restaurants - Ashrafieh, Beirut

4.) Classic Burger Joint- Sodeco, Beirut (www.cbj.me)

5.) Golden Tulip Hotel De Ville- Sodeco, Beirut (next to the French embassy)

6.) Coral Beach Hotel and Resort- Jnah, Beirut

7.) Pablos Pub and Restaurant - Gemmayze, Ashrafieh, Beirut (Charbel's home away from home)

8.) The Chocolate Lounge- Sodeco, Beirut

9.) Al Falamanki- Damascus str., Ashrafieh, Beirut (Adham tells you this place has the best Lebanese Mezze in the world)

10.) Al Balad Mezze- Nejmeh Square, Downtown, Beirut (www.albaladrestaurant.com)

11.) Molly Malone's Beirut Irish Pub and Eatery- Gourard Street, Gemmayze, Beirut

12.) Rue Bliss also has many many many new places and Monot's clubs and pubs have alllll changed since 2007 i think.

Thats all that was sent to me...Soo Salah, i will keep you posted until your trip on the 18th. By then my Beiruti friends will hook us up with some more. :)

P.s.: Skybar is a very...interesting club. It fits 2000 people, but yet you can never be seated or allowed in because guess what? ITS FULL? Nope. Its just very very exclusive! I will send you a number in a message, take it and when your in Lebanon call it, and I promiseeeee you'll get into Skybar ;) . Thats my gift to you for the nice message and your interest and love for Libnan.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Beirut

Men know best?

Aparently men have chosen Beirut as one of the top 29 cities in the world, booting out Amsterdam! Ya kalbiiiii ya Amsterdam!

http://ca.askmen.com/specials/2010_top_29/19-beirut.html

Wine anybody?

Another one of my peeps asked me about Lebanese wine. I know the 3 top Lebanese Vineyards and Wineries in Lebanon. But first some background! They all fall in the fertile Bekaa Valley, meaning shu? NOT IN OR NEAR BEIRUT! AHHHH! Hope that doesn't scare you off MilKed201. The wineries are all in the valley, so your surrounded by mountains, ranches, farms, good food, good people and OPEN SPACE! Its a good break from Beirut and other large cities. You guys keep in mind i didn't write the following three "previews" of the Wineries myself, click the names and it'll take you to the site. I PLAGIARIZED! loool (but with good intentions, Milked201 is desperate to know quickly) :)

Chateau Kefraya

In Chateau Kefraya the yearly harvest begins between the 20th of August and the 1st of September, in accordance with samples taken from the vine. These samples are used to determine the optimum harvest period by measuring the amount of sugar naturally contained in the berries, the total acidity and the pH. Offices are in Beirut, but vineyards are in the town of Kefraya in the Western Bekaa Valley!

Telephone

+961-1-485207

Fax

+961-1-485430

E-mail

admin@chateaukefraya.com

Website

www.chateaukefraya.com

Chateau Musar

Chateau Musar Family-owned producer of blended wines from Bekaa Valley grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Grenache, Obaideh, and Merwah. Chateau Musar is located in an 18th Century castle in Ghazir, just fifteen miles north of Beirut, in Lebanon.The vineyards, which lie 30 miles east of Ghazir in the Bekaa Valley, were remarkably close to the frontline of battles in ancient times and during Lebanon's Civil War.

Telephone

(961) 1-201828

E-mail

info@chateaumusar.com.lb

Website

www.chateaumusar.com.lb

Chateau Ksara

Over the past decade, Ksara has seen the introduction of new grape varieties that have grown into vines the Bekaa valley has blissfully nurtured. Ksara has also seen developments in technique such as vines cultivation on wires and the attentive application of advanced science by French oenologists, who watch over the vinification, fermentation and decanting processes.

Telephone

+961 1 328 417

Website

www.ksara.com.lb

MY FAVOURITE? Ksara= for red, Musar= White

Festivals Galore!

Today in Canada, the weather is absolutely... disgusting. So whats better than blogging? If you add an argeeli into the mix somewhere, nothing is better than that! So I know guys Ive been a little bit lacking in my PERSONAL blogs, but theres nothing really going on now... be prepared that my personal blogs will quadruple in size as soon as I'm in Lebanon....boy the stories.

Today I'm just going to browse through my messages, and im gonna answer a couple of questions for some of my faithful fans.. Mucho lovee...mucho mucho. Speaking of fans guys! my messages are from 210 DIFFERENT individuals! WOAH!

So Ivan from Washington sent me a message asking me about some festivals he should check out in Lebanon with his family...and based on these festivals he will decide what time to visit! So i did my research (yes I did alottt of research for your questions today guys!), and this is what i got for ya :). The dates for some of these Festivals have passed, but they fall in the same month every year! Here's my top 14 Lebanese Festivals! (In no specific order)

1.) -Al Bustan Festival (Lebanon)

www.albustanfestival.com
17 to 21 March 2010 (the next one will be February 23 to March 27th)

2.) - Beirut International Tango Festival 2010

www.tangolebanon.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_P57t24sKU
21 to 26 April 2010

3.) -Baalbeck International Festival
www.baalbeck.org.lb
4 July 2010

4.)-Batroun Summer Festival
www.batrounfestival.org/

July-August 2010 (Check the site for for exact dates on this one)

5.)-Beirut International Film Festival
www.beirutfilmfoundation.org

6.)-Beiteddine Festival
www.beiteddine.org
25 June 2010- August 6th

7.)-Byblos international festival
www.jbail-byblos.gov.lb
www.byblosfestival.org
July 1st until July 30th 2010 (THIS is the festival to be a part of this year! I have tickets for almost ALL of the exhibitions: Lebanese Legegnd Wadih El Safi, Najwa Karam and Wael Kfoury [the later two being from my hometown], Mashrou3 Leila, Caetano Veloso,and more)

8.)-Estivales Deir El Qamar
www.estivalesdeirelqamar.org
3 July to 6 August 2010

9.)-Tripoli International Festivals
www.tripolifestivals.org
9 July 2010

10.)-Tyre Festival
www.tyrefestival.com
1 July 2010

11.)-Zouk Mikael

www.zoukmikaelfestival.org

12.)-Dark Matter
Social Design from Lebanon (Part II)
On-OFF 88 - Parliament St.
1 Arab Bank Bldg.Beirut Central district
December 17 till December 31st 2009
From 11am till 7pm
Tel: 00961-1-966179

13.)-Planet Lebanon
June 20-30, 2010
www.planetlebanon.com
www.libc.com
Pavillion Royal Venue in Biel, Downtown Beirut
Call 01-856333 / 09-914692

14.)-Lebanese Mountain Trail Thru -Walk 2010

The Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT) is the first long-distance hiking trail in Lebanon, and the Arab world (www.lebanontrail.org). It extends 440 km from Qbaiyat in the north of Lebanon to Marjaayoun in the south, and traverses 75 towns and villages at altitudes from 600 to 2,000 meters.

The Lebanon Mountain Trail Association (LMTA) is organizing this April the second complete Thru-Walk, from Qbaiyat to Marjaayoun. The objective of this event is to promote the LMT and Lebanon as a world-class travel destination and consolidate support for the Trail’s long-term protection.

The Thru-Walk, an annual event, will: 1. Remind the Lebanese people of the need to protect their heritage 2. Support rural economies in trailside communities 3. Promote responsible eco-tourism as a viable business sector 4. Be promoted as Lebanon’s biggest yearly event, one spanning 29 continuous days of action For more information contact the LMTA at lmta@lebanontrail.org or call them at +961 5 955302/3

I'm very impressed with the festivals list! WOW what a impressive list... or in Lebanese lista hehe. Ivan you also asked me to recommend my top 4 , I'm going to tell you Ive never been to MOST of these but Byblos Festival is my number one this year, followed by Beiteddine Festival, Baalbek Festival, and last but definitely not least the Lebanese Mountain Trail Thru. Those are my top four. The Estivales Deir el Qamar Festival and the Batroun Festival would also be good choices, Ive been to those too...the music isnt as great as my top 3...but the cities are GORGEOUS and packed and full of life. Batroun is a coastal city, and Deir el Qamar is a mountain city. If you haven't noticed Ivan, most of these festivals fall in the same time period/frame, you could actually go to Lebanon and attend three or four festivals in the same month. Keep that in mind and enjoy. Hope I helped :]

You guys I also added a list for Tania here, she asked for the latest Beirut events for the next week or so:

Sat Jun 26 @21:00 - Timbaland @ La Marina - Lebanon 2010

Thu Jul 01 @08:00 - 05:00PM Baalbeck International Festival - Lebanon 2010

Thu Jul 01 @08:00 - 05:00PM Beiteddine Festival - Lebanon 2010

Thu Jul 01 @20:30 - 11:59AM Byblos International Festival 2010

Sat Jul 03 @21:00 - Carl Cox - Lebanon 2010

Sat Jul 03 @21:00 - DJ Tiesto @ La Marina - Lebanon 2010

Fri Jul 09 @08:00 - Zouk Festival - Lebanon 2010