Beirutista

I bear good news. The hospitality industry in Lebanon is still alive and well. Very well, in fact, namely at Beirut's premier five-star property Kempinski Summerland Hotel & Resort . Boasting its own private beach and marina on the Mediterranean, the estate is a little piece of paradise promising seclusion, seduction, and absolute sumptuousness. It definitely delivers on those promises, as our visit last week to its cozy Mediterranean eatery Rojo attested. Rojo restaurant at the Kempinski Beirut ( photo source: online gallery ) It was a tempestuous Friday evening and the winds were howling, but we were nestled safely inside at a table for two, eager to embrace the night’s “Wine and Dine by the Sea with Latourba” menu proposition. I knew very little about Latourba , a private Lebanese vineyard located in the West Bekaa in a town called Saghbine. Assuming that we were in for a typical wine and dinner pairing, I was pleasantly surprised to find the owners and founders – Christi...

I'm largely annoyed by the so-called criticism surrounding "Emily in Paris." If you've watched the series on Netflix, whose first season aired in the thick of the pandemic in 2020, you discovered how the show immerses its viewers in the magic and charm of Paris where the entire show is filmed. Emily, played by actress Lily Collins, is a marketing executive who has been sent by her Chicago-based company for a year of international experience at its subsidiary in the French capital. There she strives to fit in with her colleagues and newfound friends, all while grappling with a new language and culture she knows relatively nothing about. In the media, there is an onslaught of negative feedback by Parisian viewers who claim the culture captured on the show is not rooted in reality. The over-the-top fashion Emily sports, the unrealistic spaciousness of Emily's apartment, the minimal hours employees keep at work, the great divide in what is uttered and what is meant....