fishermen corniche

I spent the late morning and early afternoon on the corniche watching the Beirut Marathon. I was sad to have missed the New York City Marathon last weekend, since Ethan/Ethan and I lived on the route for years and always made sure to watch, usually at a brunch party at our place or Pam’s. Sadly, the Beirut Marathon is nothing like New York’s- people don’t really turn out to watch, there are very few runners, and it doesn’t feel like a celebration.

It was still really pleasant- the weather was absolutely perfect and there were no cars allowed there or on many other streets in Beirut. It was so peaceful not to have the usual traffic and relentless car horns to which everyone here is so accustomed. You could actually hear the waves lapping at the shore. Carrie and I sat beside the sea and clapped for the occasional runner (or walker, as we were sitting at km 39). I called Ethan and told him he should get out of bed in order to witness traffic-free Beirut- for us this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience.