wednesday, july 29 } abed takes me to a couple of galleries. of all the galleries i visited this trip, this one, galerie janine rubeiz, is by far my favorite. and i loved the art too: ‘the dopamine series: escape through mind exploration’ by adlita stephan. very, very inspiring

i’ve always been in love with scrolls, or scroll-like works

adlita inside, beirut outside

after our gallery visit, abed treats me to a swirly ice-cream cone. here, a soldier and his ice-cream

that night z and i meet up with my nephew, niece and sons for dinner and a movie

thursday, july 30 } z and i have lunch with m and j at the metropolitan restaurant. it’s always good to see them

after yasmine arrives from kuwait we dine with abed and mariam at the mizyan restaurant in hamra. despite the hip vibe, i enjoyed the music, and the food was delicious

it is so good to see yasmine. we have five days of catching up to do

we say good night to sabooha and head to metro al-madinah

our way down, yasmine and i pause for a chat on the landing

i love red velvet curtains but i don’t think i’d ever have them in my home

submarine vibes at the metro. here, abed introduces me to ayman baalbaki, who’s paintings are pretty damn incredible. and he’s kinda hot in a badass punch-you-in-the-face sort of way

and later still we visit a lovely bar in mar mikhael. i haven’t done this many trendy things nor visited this many trendy places in ages. and still a bit more trendiness in days to come

friday, july 31 } yasmine in front of the old emporio armani facade in verdun. a little after this we head back up to the jabal (mountains)

back at my parents’ place in samqanieh, it’s great to see this little family again

saturday, august 1 } this munchkin drives me bananas

the best thing about being up here is that nothing distracts you from family. it’s pure quality time

at night i get jana, yasmine and one of our guests to create this polyhedron. and i must thank (and apologize to) my mom for providing the paper. oh, and it looks great contrasted against aunty suad fishawi’s colorful dress

sunday, august 2 } we head back down to beirut. the two yasmines and i go shopping, which is why i have my glam face on

monday, august 3 } yasmine and i hit mar mikhael again. we start off swimmingly, looking fresh with our hair down and our skin clean and comfortably dry. an hour later our hair is scooped back up and we are swimming in sweat

we step into plan bey to check out their prints and books. another trendy respite from the heat outside

steps are one of my favorite architectural structures. i don’t know if i’ve written this here before but if i ever had a home, i’d have at least two sets of stairs, one indoor and the other outside. and maybe a few in my beautiful half-landscaped, half-overgrown garden

yasmine and the steps. i regret so much not bringing my traveling tap, even though it would have been a pain lugging it around in the heat

eve meets samir and consequently i buy the most expensive pack of gum ever

in my dreams, this is my urban home

the art on 56th gallery. frankly, i was more impressed by the building than the artwork. most of it anyway

tuesday, august 4 } somewhere above syria. i haven’t missed my home this much since maybe the time i visited beirut in 2010. the fact that both times it was beirut is merely a coincidence

ah, home