Weekend in the Cedars

I had a great, if exhausting, weekend and I am still really stiff and sore!

I was invited up to the Cedars ski resort and as Dom was away with work, and I don't know many people in Beirut, I thought I would take the bull by the horns (or the ski by the edge) and go for it.

And I am very glad I did! The Cedars themselves are beautiful, and the resort is not too busy. I understand that the head of the Military is currently residing nearby, so people aren't too keen to go there because of the possible security risks. Anyway, it is fantastic! The first night was spent eating, drinking and doing karaoke. Naturally I felt obliged to sing Bonnie Tyler (Total Eclipse of the Heart) and All by Myself (by someone I can't remember). Anyway, I was complimented for my ability to "shout in tune" which I feel is the only way to sing Bonnie!

Sunday was activity packed. We snow shoed in the morning, walking round the Cedars themselves. One of them is apparently 6000 years old. It looks it too! And in the afternoon I and a few others went skiing. Now, I haven't skied since I was 16 and I have been told that it is much like riding a bike. So, in the time honoured tradition of always overestimating your ability in the sporting arena, I went for a run that was easy. Easy if you are a good skier. Well over an hour later I got to the bottom of the run and went straight onto the nursery slope!

When I got home I discovered that a) I was the most stiff and sore I have been in ages and b) I was covered in bruises. Still, it was an excellent weekend, I met some great new people, and I will be definitely doing that again (if invited, obviously).

For those who are interested you can check out the various ski options on www.skileb.com. It even has webcams and I hope for my own pride that I did not feature on them yesterday.

I will now attempt to upload a photo of the Cedars themselves and post a short history of them. I am not sure if Lebanese Broadband can quite cope with the rather high resolution of the photos from my new camera so we shall see what happens!

A relaxing night tonight as I have got a new job which I start tomorrow!! More details soon...