Take me to the mountains...

Breathe in…breathe out…
Breathe in silence, breathe out noise

Breathe in fresh air, breathe out pollution

Breathe in solitude, breathe out crowding

Breathe in Laqlouq, breathe out Beirut…

And so this is the day I experienced the Lebanese Mountain Getaway. And I must say it was one hell of an experience, I wish I could repeat every single weekend. It begins with a nerve wrecking shopping trip with 10 adults and 2 toddlers, of course I’m in charge of the toddlers. Meats, check. Veggies, check. Snacks, check. Drinks, check. Chestnuts, check. Delis, check. Fresh bread, check. Babies, check. Amid the chaos, it is possible to lose one of the two. We hit the road and have a pleasant trip up having NRJ Fridays to be thankful for serenading us with the best oldschool hip-hop and mashup ever. In a car filled with kids from the 90s’, you know that turned into an hour-long, sing-along. 

We get through the neverending, snakelike mountain roads and spot our destination. A 3-story house, standing there, high up on a hill, in solitude….waiting for us. The anticipation. As we step out of the car and take in the freezing cold mountain air,I look up and realize I’ve never seen such a star filled sky in my life. There’s not an empty dot of space up there. If I had a telescope it would be like putting on 3D glasses, that’s how close the stars seemed to be.

After settling in, all 12 of us, we take to the common room, which had a panoramic view of the mountains and villages in the distance. The women are in the kitchen putting away the food and preparing for tomorrow’s barbecue, someone’s baby proofing the place, another is setting up the drinks. Some of the guys are watching TV, another is entertaining himself with a deck of cards. As everyone finishes with their individual activities, we gather around a chimney and spend the night talking, laughing, singing,drinking, laughing and more drinking and even more laughing. Which eventually leads to a building blocks competition; hey it does say 2+ on the box!

The next morning as some of the men had gone hunting, and the women were looking after the kids. I sneak out through the back door, to get some fresh air; and settle on the ledge overlooking the heavenly scenery. ..

Breathe in, Breathe out…

Not a sound in the air…(except for this poor shivering kitten that’s rubbing on my leg.)

           We spend another night filled with Roasted Chestnuts, wine, grilled pineapple, whiskey, and a shisha on every corner…We end the weekend with a Lebanese mashawi session. Obviously. There’s no such weekend as a kebab-less weekend.

And so, I bid a sad farewell to this wonderful weekend, which reminded me of the importance of human relationships. The fulfillment that we get from spending quality time enjoying others’ presence.  Most of our days are dedicated to mundane, duties and obligations that prevent us from making time for others, and time for nature.

We as human beings, strive on human connections, especially positive ones. So make it a point, to put aside as much time as you can for people who make you smile, laugh and feel good about yourself.

Aren't mountain getaways the best way to spend a cozy winter weekend?? :)