Machu Picchu is one of those bucket list adventures, isn’t it? I’d dreamed of going there since I wrote a report on the Incas in the 5th grade. It only took me more than a…
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The best tour guide to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley
Gabriella (Gaby) Menesis is quite simply the best tour guide to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. Don’t get me wrong, she’s not someone you book at the entrance to Machu Picchu. You know the…
Three Places to Hike Near Lincoln City, Oregon
Let’s face it, you don’t go to Lincoln City, Oregon for the culture, although there is a good old-fashioned movie theater on main street. You might go for the shopping if you love a good…
Best Places to Eat Beirut
Sure, you go to Lebanon for the history, to soak up the vistas of this beautiful jewel of a country along the Mediterranean, or to understand the complicated politics that underlie this region of the…
The Cedars of Lebanon in Jej
When you Google “Lebanon images”, the first results you will stumble upon are cedar trees. Cedars are Lebanon’s national symbol, they are the center of the flag and emblazoned on every conceivable tourist tchotchke from…
Visiting Fatima Gate, Lebanon
Today we are headed to South Lebanon, through the ancient port city of Sidon, with the goal to get to the place they call Fatima Gate. Fatima Gate is at the former border crossing with Israel and…
“I come from Palestinia”
The very first network documentary my husband ever worked on was a film about Sabra and Shatilla for ABC News. Sabra and Shatilla is a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. The film was broadcast in…
Visiting Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley
Baalbek is one of the greatest Roman ruins in the world, located near the Syrian border on the main road from Beirut to Damascus. Much of the Bekaa is now a Hezbollah stronghold. In fact,…
Where’s Israel?
It’s not every day that your average tourist itinerary includes a stop at the Musee de Mleeta, affectionately known as the Hezbollah Museum, but my husband, David Lewis, has arranged for us to have a…
Genuflecting Beirut Style
Under the guise of “when in Rome, do as the Romans,” on our first full day in Beirut, my travel partner Mary and I decide to go to church. There’s a large Greek Orthodox Church…