Lebanon: Travel guide, visas and free housing · 2026

VBValeryia Brazdetskayalera.brozdetskaya · Dec 9, 2019Read

It's been half a year since my birthday, but the photos and videos from the trip bring me back to that day every time. We specifically flew to Orlando for two days just for this park. Orlando is called the city of parks and drive. It is home to more than 10 huge and famous theme parks. We flew for one, of course, and that was the Universal Studio park. Specifically, the Harry Potter park. These movies and books have been with me my whole conscious life. And of course, when I had the chance to be a part of this fairy tale, we didn't think twice, bought plane tickets, and booked a hotel. And here I am! My childhood dream came true: I rode a broomstick with Harry Potter, spent time in Hogwarts castle, drank butterbeer, and couldn't leave without a magic wand from Ollivander's shop. We left Hogwarts on the real Hogwarts Express train, arrived at platform 9 3/4, and stepped out at the famous Kings Cross station in London. There, we were able to visit Gringotts Bank and Diagon Alley. I'll tell you more about it on my Telegram channel later, although it's impossible to convey all the emotions! I can only show you all this magic and my happy face in these photos.

BSBulat Shaydullinbulat8801 · Feb 1, 2015Read

After receiving my last paycheck, packing my bags, and saying a difficult goodbye to everyone I was close to, I left. It is very, very hard to leave a place where you are happy and loved. Tip: Buy tickets in advance! Tickets are cheaper on Wednesdays than on other days. The first city I decided to visit according to my plan was Orlando for one simple reason: the Harry Potter park! Arriving at the Greyhound bus terminal and checking my hotel location on Google Maps again (because I booked in advance, the room cost me $28 per night), I headed into the city. Tip: Greyhound bus terminals have outlets, Wi-Fi, restrooms, water fountains, luggage storage, and benches. They are open 24/7, so if you have nowhere to go before your next trip or nowhere to go at all, you know where you can stay. In general, a traveler always has a choice: take a taxi, saving time but spending money; or spend time searching for and waiting for buses, but getting there for $1.25-2.50. No matter how attractive the taxi option looks, I recommend using buses, as you will see a lot of unusual and amazing things. After reaching the hotel and washing up, I went to look for a supermarket. A nasty surprise awaited me here: it turns out there are no Walmarts in big cities. Some say it kills other grocery chains, others say Walmart takes up too much space; in short, I was left without my favorite snacks and ate at Wendy's. Fortunately, I had a supply of bananas and apples in my bag from South Carolina. Disney or Universal Studios? For me, the answer was obvious! Arguments? Disneyland costs $200+, while a ticket to both Universal parks is $145. In Disneyland, the rides are for kids and not scary; at Universal, you will scream like crazy. It took a long time to get to Disneyland, while Universal was right nearby, a 20-30 minute walk. And yes, Disneyland didn't have the 2 Harry Potter parks (Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade), a Marvel theme park, and huge, cool roller coasters. Tip: The vast majority of hotels in Orlando provide shuttle buses to Universal Studios, Disneyland, and the Orlando Aquatic Center completely free of charge. This usually happens at 9, 10, and 11 a.m. If you could store happiness in jars, I would have made a huge supply that day. King's Cross Station, Diagon Alley, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Quidditch supplies, Ollivanders wands, scarves, sweaters and ties of all houses, a huge chocolate frog and a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, the dragon on the roof of Gringotts Bank breathing fire every 15 minutes, the Hogwarts Express (which I rode 3 or 4 times), Hogsmeade, butterbeer, a mediocre lunch at the Three Broomsticks, the Hog's Head pub, owl post, incredible rides simulating dragons, amazing and realistic sets inside Hogwarts, endless souvenirs, atmospheric surroundings and decorations, and Hogwarts itself, after all! If you understand what I mean, you can easily imagine my state of mind at that time. You can ride any attraction as many times as you want; all that is required is to wait in line. I was lucky; there was a little rain that day, so there weren't many people, and I was able to ride, take pictures, and walk around the park to my heart's content. I wish the same to everyone who comes to this magical city! In the park, I accidentally met 4 people from Kazan who also came here 7 years ago through the Work and Travel program! And in the evening at the hotel, I met two girls from Novgorod, whom I would later meet in Washington! After chatting and making friends with the receptionist, I found out that his brother lives in Miami. I immediately told him about my future plans and my desire to go to that city and asked if I could stay with his brother. To which I received a positive answer and an offer to drive me to the bus station. Did I ever mention that I'm lucky?)

ASAlexandra Sinichkinasssahsha · Jan 31, 2015Read

The last day in this wonderful city… I really don't want to leave this noisy, fun, festive town… So, the last day, where could we go?? Of course, to Universal Studios, but this time to the Islands of Adventure park. As you know from my previous posts, this is the park I've probably wanted to visit my whole life, my conscious life)) Why? The answer is simple: HARRY POTTER. But I won't start the story with that, I think Harry deserves a separate, colorful post…^^ This park is radically different from the main Universal park. Here everything, absolutely everything, is based on famous movies… Whole streets of pure joy. You walk along and end up in the world of comics, and you really feel like an actor who has stepped into a cartoon world. It's so cool and incredible to feel like someone else, to belong to another world, not like ours… mmm…there's also a whole Jurassic Park…but I don't want to describe it in detail, as I've never been a fan of that movie, and it didn't leave much of an impression on me. It's all done really well, of course, but it's just not my thing…=/ I also really fell in love with the little town from the movie "The Cat in the Hat". Do you remember those terribly obedient kids, the incredibly smart cat, and the amazingly quick Things? Yesss, that's exactly where you want to eat all the buildings and structures like Hansel and Gretel with the witch's house. And it's so funny to see little kids walking around in those cute "Thing 1", "Thing 2", etc. t-shirts)) it looks so cool and sweet)) And, drumroll please, we reached the sweetest part of this post… WORLD OF HARRY POTTER Well…where to start. It's actually so hard to convey my impressions of this unrealistically magical and most desired place of mine… Everything is so realistic and perfectly executed, there's nothing to complain about. And the staff, walking around in robes from different schools, were casting spells around you, dancing, fighting… Everything is just as it should be, as it must be. This is an unforgettable place. On the street, there's the "Zonko's" shop of the mischievous Weasley brothers. And Ollivander's wand shop, where you can feel like a wizard. They put on such a show there. You can't help but believe in magic… Hagrid's hut is as calm as ever, with a pumpkin :D And also meeting all of Hagrid's animal friends)) Mwah And finally…of course, Hogwarts! It's just gorgeous, simply the best place on earth. I want to live there :D Walking through the castle, you meet the famous trio, and they are like real, right in front of you…aaaah. You enter all the famous and secret rooms. (I can't even stop myself from squealing in my head like a fool right now). And the paintings, oh! those paintings. How I dreamed of seeing them. They talk to you, joke, laugh. Isn't it a miracle???!!!) And then you are immersed in the incredible, virtual world of Harry. You fly with him away from a Dragon, play Quidditch…aaaah, how I want to go back!!! I can't believe I was really there. After all, I dreamed about it for so long, and boom, it came true. How? I want, I want more. How I envy, very, very much, those people who will go to this park for the first time… Well…I left this park, but now I am definitely not a Muggle… not in this life ;) p.s.: https://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/?sourc.. http://vk.com/away.php?to=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.universalorlando.com%2Fharrypotter%2F%3Fsource%3Dprtnr.unistudios.web.topnav&post=36460921_3738

SSanSIDORSSR · Oct 19, 2009Read

And so I decided to go to Boston. With our last bit of money. I found housing in the center of the student town. The landlord of the apartment—a huge apartment, I must add—was a student from Lebanon himself, who needed to go back to his homeland for a couple of summer months and didn't want to pay the $1,600 monthly contract rent. So, he agreed to let us stay for just $650 a month to cover at least part of his rent. In general, finding summer housing in Boston is not a problem. Summer is the time when all students fly, drive, leave, or sail home, leaving behind their rooms, apartments, and houses. Of course, they still have to pay for all of this, and they really don't want to. That's why they are willing to let almost anyone in for a modest, non-market price. The problem with Boston for us at that time was something else—the lack of even minimal funds to pay for our potential apartment. I found a way out by fighting for those same overtime payments from my employer. Knowing what kind of person he was, and considering the bad experiences of other students, I didn't even go to talk to Bob. I just decided to file a complaint about the non-payment of legally required overtime with the Department of Labor (I think that's what it was called). I emailed them, explained that I was a student, and that I didn't even have a phone to call them. The response came immediately, also to my inbox. They promised to send an inspector to the site, look into what was happening, and send me a full report of their work via email. To be honest, I didn't believe in success at first. But every day, they conscientiously and responsibly sent me updates on their progress: today we sent an inspector, today he arrived on site, today he discovered this, today he returned. As a result, they asked for my address and sent a first-class envelope with a check for the missing amount. I was delighted and deeply surprised at the same time by how prim, meticulous, and non-bureaucratically effective they were. Don't be afraid to stand up for your rights; it works in America!)