A whirlwind of a trip. If I don’t get these thoughts somewhere, they will be lost:

• Lebanon is about family first and food second. Usually combined in family food events.
• The pleasant weather in the winter is a massive bonus and when it rains in Lebanon is pours like no other - probably a function of the water coming up from the Mediterranean and then hitting the mounts straight away.
• It can also be a sad place, with plenty of poverty, stupidity, exploitation and despair on full view. The children begging on streetlights were especially hard to see, with my two boys in the back seat.
• The traffic system is an absolute nightmare. It’s either non existent or irrelevant. The sheer density of the space makes it very difficult for things to function even slightly. It all just falls apart and it’s gridlock. At night, when I was driving a lot, you can sample the city in a different way. What would take you 30min normally takes you 5min.
• This then means that the air pollution is stifling. We ventured out for a walk once. We never repeated it again as we all felt the impact on our lungs in a big way, wishing for Canadian air.
• Travelling with kids (although a minor part of the journey), I’ve also learnt that we need to take a few specific things with us that makes our life a little bit. Overhead earphones and neck pillows are an absolute must.
• There is a ton of creativity within the Lebanese people, who refuse to let things stand fully as they are, but equally, there are some much more deep routed fundamental issues that can never be fixed through this type of organisation.