Oops!

And then there was one...

Four More Sleeps

I have been a very lazy blogger lately.  Look, I can say it is because I have had the flu and have not been feeling up to doing much lately. Or I can say we have been lying low and thus not much to report.  Alternatively I can blame my poor internet connection for not posting regularly, or the heat wave. Or, or... hmmm, can't really think of anything else. 

 

All very true, but not real reasons why I haven't been blogging.  I guess it comes down to... well... sheer laziness.  There.  I've said it.  I have been extremely lazy the past couple of weeks.  Laziness and the fact that I really have not been doing much at all since our return from Lebanon.  Other than going to my aqua aerobics classes, I've been watching television and napping as if prepping for Olympic events. 

 

Ok, ok, I also managed to cook and cleaned up afterwards on most days, did the laundry, experimented with a couple of recipes and even managed to read a chapter of a book I have been meaning to get to for a while now.

 

So, as you can see, thing have been extremely slow and relaxed in the le Roux household the last couple of weeks.  Ramadan left everyone tired and a bit emotional, Eid-al-Fitr went by all too quickly, although we spent most of it in our pyjamas (other than a trip to Haret Jdoudna, of course) and now we are counting down the days until we depart on our much anticipated European vacation (four more sleeps).

 

We leave for Europe on Friday morning and both André and I are very excited about the trip. First stop:  Switzerland.  We have tickets to see the Leonard Cohen concert on Saturday evening in Zürich and we can hardly wait!  Catching a Leonard Cohen concert appears on both our individual "wishful thinking lists".

 

 

On my (actual) list, attending the concert is item number twenty.  Of course, on André's (pie-in-the-sky-I-don't-do-make-believe-but-if-it-will-stop-you-nagging-me) list it would be way down towards the bottom of the list, after things like BASE jumping off Angel Falls, living a life as a professional skydiver in a (mostly) vegetable-free world where everyone lived on steak-eggs-and-chips, biltong* and beer!

 

After Switzerland, we are off to the South of France where I fully plan on crossing off item twenty five of the abovementioned list, namely eating cassoulet**, cheese and crusty bread and drinking red wine in the South of France, in summer.  We are also meeting up with friends (Cameron, Claudia and a bunch of their friends and family) to celebrate Cameron's fiftieth birthday at Chateauneuf du Pape.  Cannot wait.

 

After touring the South of France for a couple of days, all roads will lead to Rome and Toscana and dealing with items twelve (revisit the Trevi fountain) and twenty six (drinking white wine and eating cheese, crusty bread, Parma ham and fresh fruit under the Tuscan sun) of the list. Geez, if things carry on like this, I will run out of items to cross of my wishful thinking list soon! Not sure how I feel about that?

 

So, I will not be blogging for the next couple of weeks, but at least this time I have an actual excuse.  Bear with me, please?

 

Now, if I can only figure out a way to tell Mila that she's not coming with us...

 

A very accurate description of how I felt the last couple of weeks 

 

*  Cured spiced meat. Think beef jerky, but waaay better

** A bean, confit duck and pork dish specific to the region

 

 

Beirut and Jeita Caves

Don't know why is has taken me so long to write this week's post.  Ok, I had a very busy week, with double aqua aerobics classes, Schengen Visa applications and heaps and heaps of laundry to do.  On top of that, my old friend, Mr. Procrastination came around for a visit and has still not left.  So, if I don't write this now, it will never get done. 

 

A short but jam-packed visit that has left me "gat-oor-kop" (head over heels), truly, madly, deeply in love with Lebanon.  We saw and did so much that I find it too much for one post, so I will be posting several instalments about our visit.

 

As you know from previous posts, TVOR* and I visited Lebanon this past weekend.  We arrived to a sweltering hot, sticky and very humid Beirut around midday on Thursday and was met by our driver for the weekend, a very bald, incredibly jolly Mr. Hani, who seemed painfully shy at first but became almost over-friendly as the weekend progressed. 

 

Checked into the elegant Phoenicia Intercontinental on the Corniche and, after freshening up, André left for his business meeting while I wiled away the hours in the spa.  "Treated" myself to a mani-pedicure and was reminded of why I hate these things.  Someone with as low a pain threshold as I should never, ever let anyone near their delicate tootsies!  After a lot of ouch! owie! and damnit's, I hobbled off, grateful to be alive, albeit with perfectly manicured and pedicured hands and feet, much to the relief of the horrified manicurist.

 
 

Beirut, or Beyruth as the locals call it, is the battle scarred grand dame of Lebanon and reminded both André and I of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.  The pre-Civil War (Civil War: 1975 – 1990) architecture is much the same as one can find in Maputo, with modern buildings popping up next to now decrepit art deco-style (amongst other styles) buildings, many of which still bear the scars of not only the Civil War, but also invasion(s) from the Israeli side of the border (Most notably the 1982 attacks and the 2006 war).

 

The Holiday Inn was just completed when the Civil War broke out and stands on the border between what was then known as the Christian side (East) and the Muslim side (West) during the Civil War. This hotel became the centre of many horror stories that unfolded during the war. 
 

 

One such story goes that the Christians and Muslims fought valiantly and vigorously for the right to make the hotel their stronghold.  One morning, after heavy gunfire, Christian soldiers took over the hotel, chased the Muslim soldiers to the top of the building, where they were promptly forced off the roof at gunpoint!  A couple of hours later, Muslims took back the hotel stronghold and chased the Christian soldiers to the top of the building, with very much the same end results.  Apparently this cycle repeated itself a number of times during the course of the war.

 

In the photos below you can see some of the damage done to the Holiday Inn.  The signs of shelling and heavy gun fire a stark reminder of a particularly bloody part of Lebanon's history.

 

 

After André's meeting, we took a leisurely stroll along the Corniche.  This was where we decided that Beirut reminded us of Maputo.  The weather was very much the same as in Maputo, there was a buoyant, almost party-like feel to it, locals were very friendly, but most notably, the juxtaposition of old and new buildings, the used and the abused, bullet holes and now defunct buildings ever reminding the observer of Lebanon's brutal past, much the same as in Maputo.
 

 

The building next to the site where the late President Rafik Hariri was assassinated

Monument erected on the exact spot where President Rafik Hariri's motorcade was bombed. 
Look at the damage to the building, not only from this bombing, but remnants of the Civil War.

 

 

On Friday morning we set off to the Jeita Grottos (caves), some forty kilometres outside of Beirut.  The Jeita caves is a set of two cave systems that spans almost nine kilometres in total.  To reach the Upper grotto you take a short but scenic cable car ride up, in-between the mountains.  Once you get to the grotto entrance, they insist you lock you mobile phones and cameras inside lockers, as no pictures are allowed inside the caves.  I had to "borrow" some pictures off Google Images to show you what some of it looks like.  I did not quite understand this policy.  Clearly people had been allowed to take pictures in the past and they even lit the Grotto up for music and dance festivals, so the "no camera" thing made no sense to me but... when in Lebanon...
 

Allegedly the Upper grotto boasts the world's largest stalactite, but I cannot vouch for this.  It was so overwhelmingly beautiful that I could not pick out the largest of the massive structures if you paid me.

 

Below are some pictures of the Upper grotto.  I half expected to hear organ music when we walked through one particular part of the cave.  Doesn't it look just like massive organ pipes? 

 

 
  

 
 

The Upper grotto is a set of massive, deadly quiet, damp chambers, with the occasional drip-drip-drip the only noise that breaks the silence.  There weren't many visitors while we were there, but everyone visiting the caves at the same time as us spoke in hushed whispers, as if by mutual agreement, so as not to break the almost hallowed silence that filled the thick, humid air.  
 

 

After a very long walk we arrived upon a set of small pools with crystal clear water.  Probably the halfway mark. The pools looked like miniature rice paddies one might find on the hills in the Far East somewhere, clear water cascading down and through each pool with a gentle, steady gurgle.  Here we tossed a couple of coins in one of the pools and made a wish. Wonder if it will come true?  I was a bit in two minds about the coin-story.  On the one hand it is a cutesy tradition, but tradition none the less, judging by the amount of coins in the two upper pools.  On the other, it smacked of littering, pollution and who was I to add anything to the otherwise pristine caves?  Anyway, coins tossed.  Wishes made. Fingers crossed.  End of story.
 

 

Compared to the Upper grotto's almost extreme heat and humidity, the Lower grotto was rather cold, but easily one of the most beautiful natural phenomenons I have yet come across.  After a short walk and many descending stairs, you reach the internal lake.  From there you travel by boat on the way-too-short trip around the caves.  Crystal clear water, ice cold to the touch made me wonder what it would be like to explore these lakes with scuba gear (And with the correct protection from the cold water, of course.  Oh, and a scuba diving course may also be helpful, while I'm at it!).

 

I find words completely inadequate to describe the magnificence that is the Lower grotto, so I'll end this post with some pictures (again, "borrowed" from Google Images) so you can see for yourself.

 

 

I'll try to cover the rest of the trip in my next post.

*The Voice of Reason

Honeymoon in Beirut: Part II

By all accounts, we are off to Beirut, Lebanon, for the weekend.  The Voice of Reason for work.  Me, not so much! Cannot wait.

 

Some people have "Bucket Lists".  Not me.  I do, however, have a wish list of things I want to do and / or see before I return to the Mother ship.  I composed this list last December while waiting for the hubby to return from one or the other mundane task and I add to it from time-to-time. 

 

Somewhere in the middle of the thirty seven items on my list, lies the desire to visit the Jeita Grotto, a series of cave systems that boast the world's largest stalactite.  I have no idea if I would be able to coerce my beloved to take the boat trip on the underground lake to go and visit the cave systems, but I sure am going to try!

 

I also would not mind seeing the Roman Baths, visit the old city of Batroun and of course, go see what Byblos (Oldest inhabited city in the world, inhabited since 8000 BC) is all about.  If I have my way, a trip to Downtown Beirut would also be thrown in the mix and then, of course, water baby that I am, I want to swim in the ocean. 

 

Wow, wonder how much we will be able to fit into the trip?  Only going for two nights...

 

 I shall endeavour to take pictures and share with you next week.  (As always, internet access permitting)

Jeita Grotto

 

Honeymoon in Beirut?

Off to the Lebanese Consulate to beg... Uhm... Apply for a visa to go to Beirut this coming weekend.

Will explain and repory back a little later today, internet signal permitting!

In the mean time, I leave you with this bit of wisdom:

Funk

Not in the best of moods today.  This does not happen very often, default factory settings being jolly, happy-go-lucky, ready to see the funny in almost everything.  So when I wake up in a not-so-happy mood, it kind of throws me off my game a bit.  Oh well, guess I'll just have to get over it.

 

Had ourselves a relatively quiet week last week.  The New Moon was spotted and Ramadan officially started last Wednesday. 

 

So far so good, although I have to confess to a sick and twisted longing for pork belly, which craving I finally succumbed to last night.  I cooked and scarfed it down with great enthusiasm, cheeks all pink and shiny. Happiness.  I know, I know, I am a sick person... Don't judge me.

 

Boredom got the better of me last week and I decided to try my hand at jam making, as any normal person does when bored, right?  Found a relatively simple recipe for sweet chilli jam and made it a couple of days ago.  Absolutely. Fabulous.  Since then I have been planning all my meals around what would go with the jam, with the result that the jar is now half eh... empty (On a good day I would say half full.  Maybe tomorrow).

 

Sweet Chilli Jam

 

What else?  Oh.  I started going to aqua aerobics classes again last week. I have joined a new class with a new instructor.  This woman has no sense of humour, does not understand my jokes and takes life very seriously.  She also has an amazingly toned body, proudly sports an eight-pack, not a six-pack and has such a muscular stomach that her belly button seem to have popped out. I don't think there was space for the belly button and abdominal muscles, so something had to give! So, despite her lack of understanding of my jokes, I love the classes.  A really good workout and I am hoping to report the popping out of my own belly button soon!

 

And that's all for now, folks.  Don't worry, my moods never last too long, it takes up way too much energy.  It has been pointed out that I very possibly also suffer from (a mild case of) ADD, so as soon as I see something shiny, I'll forget what upset me in the first place.  There are advantages to having certain disorders haha.

 

Since I am feeling down today, The Eagles' "Hotel California" and "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum have been fighting for possession of the mind today.  Here are the links.  Listen.  Join me...

Click here to listen to Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale"

Click here to listen to "Hotel California" - The Eagles


 

"The Ride to Agadir" - Mike Batt

Been singing this song since I woke up this morning. 

 

Click on the link below to listen.

 

The Road to Agadir - Mike Batt 

 

     We rode in the morning

     Casablanca to the West

     On the Atlas Mountain foothills

     Leading down to Marrakesh

 

Doesn't it just make your feet itch for a spot of travel?

One Last Hurrah... For Now

The ninth month of the Islamic calendar brings with it the holy month of Ramadan.  It starts with the first sighting of the New Moon and lasts for a lunar month.  During this month of abstinence from earthly pleasures, Muslims all over the world (re)devote themselves to Allah by fasting, one of the five pillars of Islam.  It is also a month of charity and generosity.  I am hoping that the spirit of Ramadan will bring a bit of peace in the broken countries that surround Jordan. 

 

On a lighter note...

 

Our favourite look-out point and picnic spot, some 80 kilometres from Aqaba

Went to Aqaba for the weekend and had ourselves a fine time.  Kind of a last hurrah, if you will, before Ramadan starts.  Booked into the Hilton, a so-called five star hotel but received one star treatment.  I don't think this establishment will see us again. 

 

The hotel was booked to capacity, staff were apathetic, rude and unhelpful and the sea view room that we booked and paid for was not available.  Having said that, the room we eventually ended up in was comfortable, clean, the Crabtree & Evelyn bath and body products were delicious and the cheese burgers we ordered from room service was yummy.  Ok, the burgers took an hour to arrive and we had to get someone in to re-programme the television, as no English channels were available to us. Other than that...

 

Saturday morning's breakfast was an abomination.  As mentioned before, the hotel was booked to capacity and the kitchen/restaurant staff seemed unable to cope with the demand.  I also think having lots of little undisciplined kiddies running around in the restaurant, handling the food as you can imagine little wild ones would, made things even more difficult for staff and more unpleasant for patrons. 

 

André eventually managed to get a plain omelette and I had a slice of watermelon, exactly three dates and a boiled egg.  (I had a croissant on my plate but when I went to get butter and honey to go with it, a little boy stood next to me at the honey-and-jams(preserves) section, put his hands on the marmalade container and sneezed like he meant it, right over the jar! So that was the end of my quest to get honey, or anything else to eat, thank you very much!)

 

Having said that, the weather was wonderful, the temperature gauge reading 38˚C at 11am and we headed off to the beach for some Red Sea swimming.  The water was initially surprisingly cold but I was determined to swim in this lovely clear water so in I went.  And out very fast!  The beach is not the kind of beach we are used to in South Africa, with fine white sand, but rather rocky and therefore quite difficult to get into the water.  Next time I am bringing my reef shoes! 

 

  

One of my favourite things to do is to swim in the ocean, so the rocky start did not deter me at all.  A quick march down the jetty and into the water I went.  I haven't swum in the Red Sea since November 2005 (when the water was freezing, it being winter at the time) and even though I did not have a long swim this time, it was much more enjoyable than back then. 

 

 

That blue, blue water

Wish I was on that jetty now...

 

After my solo swim (The Voice of Reason reckoned the water was way too cold. I think he just did not feel like swimming) we pointed the car North, back to Amman and the realities of a long month ahead of us. Ramadan Kareem*, indeed.

 

North!

I love these mountains outside of Aqaba.
Pretty sure we exceeded the indicated 60km/h

   

 

* Congratulations, it's Ramadan.

The week that was: Bring and Braai

As you may know from previous posts, I have been under the weather lately.  I am the only person I know who can have such a severe tummy bug, eat nothing but three pieces of plain toast per day for six days in a row and only lose half a kilogram! And I strongly suspect that the weight loss can only be attributed to the fact that I shaved my legs that morning!  Happy to report that I am doing much better now, but still not a hundred percent.  Any day now...

 

In the mean time, here's the week that was:

 

Last week André received an invitation from the South African Ambassador's office for us to attend... a Bring and Braai!  Special instructions:  bring meat and beer to share.  In South Africa, if you invite people to a braai (that's barbeque to you non-South Africans), you supply the food and drink, so this struck us as a bit of an odd invitation.  After reading the email several times, discussing it at length and giggling about it quite a bit more than that, we decided that we had to attend, just to go and see what this was all about.  Tummy bugs be damned, I was going to this bring and braai, come hell or high water. 

 

So, Friday afternoon we set off to the Ambassador's residence and, boy, were we pleasantly surprised.  Probably having been put off by the fact that they had to bring their own meat and drinks, a lot of invitees did not show up, but the majority of the people who did make it, were mostly pleasant and we ended up having a thoroughly good time. 

 

Having met the Ambassador, Dr. Molefe Tsele, on previous occasions, we have already established that he is an extremely down-to-earth, likeable man.  Having now seen him in his own home, hosting this picnic-type event, just gave me more respect for the man.  With his laptop outside on a makeshift table he played DJ himself, despite having staff who could do this for him; he promptly "stole" my ginger beer with a wink of the eye to taste if it was the same as Stoney's Ginger beer (the brand of tinned ginger beer available in South Africa) and he mingled from couple to couple and made sure we all felt at home and welcomed. 

 

"Hey, Mr. DJ, put a record on..."

 

The man hired to assist with this event struggled to keep the fires burning and braai the meat to our strict South African standards so of course, some of the men took over the braai and some of the women assisted in the kitchen and with setting the informal buffet-style serving tables.  

 

An additional Weber braai had to be brought in, as there was too much meat and too little braai-space.  The men looked all too happy to MacGyver this Weber together, of course having spare parts left when they were done!  The whole process was severely hindered by one beast of a man who drank way too much, became very loud and obnoxious and just started to get on everybody's nerves.   So, this was exactly like any, or dare I say most South African braai's. 

 

Drunk beast of a man's attention temporarily diverted elsewhere

 and therefore he is not featured in this picture!  :-)

Look at the "official" braaier, who's all but given up at this stage!

 

Dr. Molefe said a couple of words before we had a late lunch and most of us teared up when he talked about Madiba's current medical condition.  This was followed by someone who attempted to dedicate Psalm 23 to Madiba as a prayer, forgot the words, pretended to be overcome by emotion, which forced our host to finish the prayer in an abridged version, after which we finally ate.

 

 

We met some interesting characters, some of them we will attempt to meet up with again, some of them we will try to avoid at all costs, but overall we enjoyed the bring and braai and felt very guilty for having giggled so much at the invite.  Again, it goes to show you not to judge a book, or in this case a casual email invite, by its cover.

 

The Ambassador, the Voice of Reason and some dude from Nelspruit.

(We have no idea who this guy is, but he keeps popping up all over Amman, we are starting to suspect he's following us)

 

Gardening, le Roux-style: Update

Here's an update on our "Let's prettify our balcony" project:

Emily's tomato was successfully adopted, found a new container and a stick to lean on.  Rosa is already showing off quite a number of small yellow flowers and we are hoping to see itty-bitty tomatoes soon.





 

Such is my personality:  if sowing one or two seeds may yield some success, sowing about a hundred seeds of each variety of herb will 100% guarantee success.  Will have to thin these out today. 

 

From left to right, back to front we have more tomatoes; thyme; yet-to-be-seen peppers (mind you, the mini-peppers probably came up, looked around, saw there was no space and receded again); lettuce and finally spring onions. 

 

I find it absolutely amazing that both the lettuce and spring onions already smell and taste like they are supposed to.  Of course, the Voice of Reason pointed out that, given my current medical state I probably should not be taste-testing the plants. Blah!

 

We added two more pots: pink-and-white and more purple to add a bit of pizzazz.  One of the pots seemed to have either sprung a leak or the base may be too small.  I am keeping my eye on the geranium, I suspect it is her...

 

Despite having her head slightly cut off in this picture and being planted in the Death Corner, Miss Olive Grove is still going strong.  Let's hope this continues.  Summer is here...